Social justice and civil rights activists had a lot to like in President Obama’s address, but religious conservatives were concerned by the “reframing” of issues such as gay marriage as matters of freedom and justice. More →

January 23, 2015

“The president’s State of the Union Address ends where his Second Inaugural Address began: the question of American civic identity” and, for religious citizens, “a view of democracy as an ongoing contest over sacred values.” More →

February 15, 2013

“By nursing our admiration for our military’s virtues, President Obama suggests, we can transform our beleaguered democracy into a more cohesive and mission-focused political community.” More →

January 25, 2012

“This economic wound will not heal without profound disagreement—that is the nature of democracy—but Obama hopes that we might bind it charitably and without malice.” More →

January 25, 2012

“Obama is back on message. Echoing Franklin Roosevelt, he preached economic liberty to the poor and justice to the oppressed without pandering to religious prejudices.” More →

January 25, 2012

In his State of the Union address to the 112th Congress, President Obama spoke of America’s “common creed” and “moral example.” More →

January 28, 2011

What did people of faith think about President Obama’s State of the Union address? Watch our panel of religion analysts assess the speech. More →

January 27, 2011

“The spiritual value of seeing God in the other cannot be stressed enough in politics today.” More →

January 27, 2011

Does “winning the future” assume America can manage history as it unfolds? If so, it is a pretentious and dangerous position for any nation to believe in as a matter of religious or political destiny—or both. More →

January 26, 2011

Mainstream Protestantism has declined sharply in the US, but the big speeches of our political leaders still routinely echo the Protestant history of the nation. More →

January 26, 2011