One of the goals of my research agenda is to make my work accessible to a larger audience who will hopefully get a more nuanced and objective understanding of the interaction of politics and religion. Below are links to my work that has appeared in outlets that appeal to a general audience.

Myself and a number of colleagues who study religion and politics wanted to create a forum for scholarship in our sub-field to reach a wider audience. We believe that academics engaging in public scholarship can help shape the debate based on empirical evidence instead of heated, partisan rhetoric. I have published a number of posts regarding text analysis, machine learning, and the measurement of evangelicalism.

My post list is available here

You can find my full listing of articles for Christianity by clicking: here. 

You can find my full list of articles at Religion News Service by clicking: here. 

You can find my full post listing for Religion Unplugged here. 

You can find my full list of articles for The Conversation by clicking: here. 

American secularism is growing — and growing more complicated. January 14, 2022.

More Americans are becoming secular, poll says. December 17, 2021.

America cannot give evangelicals what they want. November 9, 2021.

The rapid decline of White evangelical America?  July 8, 2021.

The high cost of becoming a none for American Muslims. July 7, 2021.

A great ‘reckoning’ in the Southern Baptist Convention is about to take place. June 14, 2021.

Church membership in the U.S. has fallen below the majority for the first time in nearly a century. March 29, 2021.

Five Myths About Evangelicals. January 22, 2021.

As organized religion shrinks, faith-based charities worry about the future. October 23, 2020.

The pope said he supports civil unions for same-sex couples. American Catholics will approve. The Monkey Cage. October 23, 2020.

Federal loans for small businesses went to thousands of churches and other religious organizations. July 10, 2020.

About three-quarters of U.S. Catholic parishes applied for government paycheck protection. May 8, 2020.

White evangelicals fear atheists and Democrats would strip away their rights. Why? The Monkey Cage. December 23, 2019. (with Paul Djupe)

Why young white evangelicals aren’t likely to leave the Republican Party. The Monkey Cage. September 3, 2019. (with Jeremy Castle and Paul Djupe)

Mormon Leaders Explicitly Ban Guns from Houses of Worship. August 26, 2019.

In God’s Country. August 14, 2019.

Organized Religion is Losing Its Followers. April 15, 2019

Talk of a rising religious left is unfounded. It already exists. April 11, 2019

Are nonreligious Democrats emerging as a counterweight to the evangelical right? April 1, 2019

Regular churchgoing doesn’t make Trump voters more moderate. It makes them more enthusiastic for Trump.  The Monkey Cage. October 9, 2018 (with Paul Djupe)

Romney is running for Senate. Even if he wins, the Mormon Church has already lost powerful status in D.C. February 16, 2018

Hate saying ‘Merry Christmas’ now? Everyone has Trump on the brain. December 22, 2017.

A sin issue or a gun issue? Why evangelicals are deeply skeptical of gun-control laws. November 6, 2017.

Some evangelicals question whether they have overlooked the rural church. December 15, 2016.

Why Most Pastors Avoid Politics. Wall Street Journal. May 26, 2022.

There’s No Crisis on Faith on College Campuses. Wall Street Journal. February 24, 2022.

Why ‘Evangelical’ Is Becoming Another Word for ‘Republican’. New York Times. October 26, 2021.

Two Nations Under God: Evangelicals are Divided Over the Movement’s Support for Donald Trump. The Economist. March 6, 2021.

What is an evangelical Christian? The Economist. March 1, 2021.

2020 Faith Vote Reflects 2016 Patterns. NPR. November 8, 2020.

Why Evangelicals Aren’t What They Used to Be. New York Times. November 6, 2020.

AP VoteCast: Trump wins white evangelicals, Catholics split. Associated Press. November 6, 2020.

Trump faces an existential risk: Slipping Catholic support. POLITICO. October 31, 2020.

These ‘pro-life’ women won’t vote for Trump. Here’s why. USA Today. October 30, 2020.

Trump Is Losing Ground With Some — But Not All — White Christians. FiveThirtyEight. October 29, 2020.

When pastors go into politics: Who are the religious leaders running for Congress? Deseret News. October 28, 2020.

Inside the fight for LGBTQ2 inclusion in evangelical churches. Broadview Magazine. October 16, 2020.

The church is losing touch with working-class Catholics. America – The Jesuit Review. October 16, 2020.

COVID-19 is changing how Tennessee churches reach people online as in-person attendance lags. Tennessean. October 6, 2020.

For New England evangelical leaders, Maine sermon reflects deepening rifts in the faith community. Boston Globe. September 12, 2020.

‘It’s Not What Christ taught’: How voters of faith are viewing Trump and Biden in Arizona. AZCentral.  September 9, 2020.

Trump vs. Biden Is an American History Rerun. New York Times. August 19, 2020.

Viral Video Seemed to Show BLM Storming a Church. The Real Story is Much Darker. BuzzFeed News. August 9, 2020.

Trump’s faith outreach aims to cast Democrats as the enemy. Associated Press. August 1, 2020.

Thousands of Texas pastors got taxpayer-funded paychecks. Here’s why that’s historic. Houston Chronicle. July 10, 2020.

Evangelicals wrestle with racism and their own silence: ‘We repent’. Seattle Times. July 5, 2020.

Trump, Pence Lean Into Evangelical Voter Bloc Ahead Of 2020. Newsy. June 24, 2020.

Vast Majority of White Catholics, Evangelicals Support Trump Over Biden: Polls. Newsweek. June 23, 2020.

Trump lost crucial white evangelical voters during George Floyd protests, analysis shows. Houston Chronicle. June 23, 2020.

More Christians are saying black lives matter. But faith-based support for the police runs deep. Deseret News. June 10, 2020.

Some evangelicals fear the ‘mark of the beast’ from a coronavirus vaccine. Yahoo News. May 14, 2020.

University professors say more churchgoers believe Trump is ‘anointed by God.’ Fox News. May 13, 2020.

Trump Is Staking Out His Own Universe of ‘Alternative Facts’. New York Times. May 13, 2020.

Nearly A Fifth Of Religious Americans Say They Are Still Attending Services, Despite The Coronavirus Pandemic. BuzzFeed News. March 27, 2020.

Schools, libraries and gyms are shut down. Why are some churches still open? Deseret News. March 27, 2020.

In God We Divide. New York Times. March 25, 2020.

Republicans and Democrats responded very differently to the rise of COVID-19. Is unity still possible? Deseret News. March 21, 2020

The fight against coronavirus faces another threat: declining faith in medicine. America. March 10, 2020.

Want some good news about the future of faith? Look to Generation Z. Deseret News. March 1, 2020.

Does religion influence your choice of pet? Minneapolis Star-Tribune. February 28, 2020.

For many young evangelicals in Iowa, climate is front and centre. Al-Jazeera. February 1, 2020.

“Evangelicals Are Getting Scammed”: Anti-Trump Evangelicals Are Trying To Figure Out What To Do Next. BuzzFeed News. January 24, 2020.

Wisconsin Public Radio’s Central Time. January 10, 2020.

Atheists put their faith in ‘godlike’ cats. The Times of London. January 6, 2020.

Trump seeks to shore up evangelical support at ‘prosperity gospel’ church. Reuters. January 3, 2020.

One surprisingly simple reason evangelicals love Trump. Vox. December 27, 2019.

Holiness in the midst of pain: Reflections on a year of difficult events. Deseret News. December 22, 2019.

Wisconsin Public Radio’s Central Time. November 21, 2019.

The Overstated Collapse of American Christianity. New York Times. October 29, 2019.

CBN Newswatch. October 17, 2019.

Losing Our Religion: Finding Meaning Beyond the Pew. NBC Left Field. October 9, 2019.

Piqued by Trump, Colorado Democrats make a play for religious voters. Denver Post. September 29, 2019.

The Church Where You Don’t Have to Believe in God. The Times of London. September 14, 2019.

Losing faith. World Magazine. September 5, 2019.

We Aren’t Seeing White Support for Trump for What It Is. New York Times. August 28, 2019.

More Americans identify with no religion than ever before but three states see evangelical growth: study. Fox News. July 15, 2019.

Who Do Non-Religious Democrats Prefer? 538. June 3, 2019.

Why Democrats Struggle to Mobilize A ‘Religious Left’ 538. May 29, 2019.

C-SPAN’s Washington Journal Program. April 21, 2019.

At Easter, faith leaders reflect on the future of their churches amid declining attendance. Deseret News. April 18, 2019.

Americans Lose Their Taste for Going to Church. The Times of London. April 16, 2019.

There are now as many Americans who claim no religion as there are evangelicals and Catholics, a survey finds. CNN. April 13, 2019

President Donald Trump wants to add a citizenship question to the census. What about a question on religion? Deseret News. April 11, 2019.

Is America becoming Godless? The number of people who have no religion has risen 266 per cent – one third of the population – in three decades. The Daily Mail. April 4, 2019

The Power of the Pulpit. Governing Magazine. April 2019.

Christianity is losing ground in the US, new survey says. New York Post. April 3, 2019.

‘On Paper, the Election Is the Democrats’ to Lose.’  New York Times. March 27, 2019.

Younger evangelicals look an awful lot like older evangelicals post-2016. Vox. November 12, 2018.