WashU Danforth Center on Religion & Politics

"A new book about the children’s author is conscientious, respectful—and, like any good biography, dedicated to recovering vivid, occasionally unsettling particulars." The New Yorker reviews Mark Oppenheimer's new book: newyorker.com/books/under-re…

“Forty years ago, 'Liam' was the kind of name American tongues stumbled over. Too Irish, too inconvenient.“ In this week of St. Patrick’s Day, the rise of the name “Liam” says something about belonging—and about who still gets marked as foreign. arcmag.org/the-rise-of-li…

Rob Eshman of Forward talks to Mark Oppenheimer on what happens to the community next after the Michigan synagogue attack: forward.com/opinion/812215…

Coverage of Mark Oppenheimer's new book Judy Blume: A Life nytimes.com/2026/03/08/boo…

The Center's Mark Oppenheimer will discuss his new book Judy Blume: A Life with novelist Gavriel Savitat at the St. Louis County Library next Wednesday, March 25. More info: slcl.org/events/mark-op…

Next week (3/26 at 7p)--join us for "Remodeling Minority: Asian American Religion and Politics Reconsidered." @APAReligions More info at rap.wustl.edu/events/remodel…

He snuck his publication day in during WashU's spring break, so a belated CONGRATULATIONS is in order for the Center's Mark Oppenheimer! Judy Blume: A Life is available now. penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734817/j…

Is James Talarico the right man for a different moment? Have Democrats found a religious politics they can stomach? On the Senate candidate who doesn’t fit in with MAGA Republicans—or with today’s Democrats: arcmag.org/an-answer-to-t…

Whatever happened to American Jewish liberalism? Abe Silberstein discusses how American Jewish institutions are embracing parochial retreat just as democracy comes under siege. arcmag.org/whatever-happe…

There a bunch of reasons why I joined @CtrRelPol at @WashU. But, here's a big one: I get support for doing huge data projects. We are going to build a dashboard app that allows users to just type in what information they are looking for and it will generate a graph for them.

What a delight to host this remarkable conversation! Read Student Life coverage of last week's event at studlife.com/news/2026/03/0… 📸: Yolanda Zhang 📝: Nicholas Demba

John Danforth, Norman Eisen, Eugene Fidell, Richard Gephardt, J. Michael Luttig, and Richard W. Painter: "Trump’s War on Iran Is Illegal - Neither a future threat nor regime change can be legal justification for war without congressional authorization." open.substack.com/pub/contrarian…

What turns loyal colonists into revolutionaries? New research from historian Mark Valeri shows how religious ideas helped everyday Americans make sense of the dramatic shift toward independence. bit.ly/3MZBj8o

Professor Jillian Snyder's talk on "The Bible and the Bard" gave us an interesting look at Shakespeare's reception among some Christians. Watch the video here: youtu.be/Qzm4jX0bs7g

Read an excerpt about the book that scandalized a nation from Mark Oppenheimer’s upcoming biography, ‘Judy Blume: A Life.’ vulture.com/article/judy-b…

"Identifying militant jihadi Islamism with the left rests on category errors, rhetorical conflation, and bad faith." Jonathan Judaken reflects on the Bondi Beach massacre as an example of right-wing authoritarian ideology in action. arcmag.org/blaming-the-le…

I'm in the @washingtonpost today, summarizing the thesis of my new book The Vanishing Church from @BrazosPress. And before you ask, yes! There are graphs in this one, too. Link below.

Watch the recording of our recent event "Courage & Faith: Nostra Aetate at 60 and the Future of Catholic-Jewish Relations." More info at: rap.washu.edu. youtu.be/-BhCtWdha3M

"One Battle After Another is attuned to the places beneath the grand historical narrative—those American underbellies where things get really weird—which makes the film a more profound and unsettling depiction of the present" On Thomas Pynchon's America: arcmag.org/its-thomas-pyn…

If you are local to Indianapolis, check out this event with Ryan Burge! Ryan will dive into how religion, church life, politics and more have been changing over the last 50 years. March 1, 4pm at TAB Presbyterian Church! Learn more: tabpres.org/ryan-burge-the…