John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics

2026-2027 Season: Our upcoming series, Practice of Citizen, begins Thursday, October 1st. Mark your calendars for a great lineup of FREE public events! More info coming soon. Visit the link in our bio to learn more.

New Book Release! The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics celebrates Elena Kravchenko’s new book release, “Becoming Orthodox: Women, Religion, and Ethnicity in the American South” (Fordham University Press 2026). For more info, visit rap.washu.edu

New book alert! The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics celebrates the release of Abram Van Engen’s new book, Anne Bradstreet Now (Oxford University Press 2026). More info .wustl.edu

1776, Then and Now - John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics A one-time course examining the origins of the United States on the 250th anniversary of its founding.

Great news for the Center and !

https://rap.wustl.edu/news/j-kameron-carter-and-kambiz-ghaneabassiri/

C-SPAN has begun airing lectures from the Center's "1776, Then and Now" course as part of their America 250 programming! View the first one here:

Religion and The American Revolution Washington University hosted a series of lectures called "1776: Then and Now" with the first exploring religion in Revolutionary America.

Our "1776, Then and Now" course offered lectures from 16 different scholars. Sara Savat of WashU covered several of them, including this by the Center's Tazeen Ali.
https://source.washu.edu/2026/06/washu-expert-how-thomas-jeffersons-quran-became-test-case-for-religious-liberty/
You can watch all the lectures at our website rap.washu.edu.

WashU Expert: How Thomas Jefferson's Quran became test case for religious liberty Tazeen Ali, an assistant professor of religion and politics at Washington University in St. Louis, says Thomas Jefferson's Quran confronts us with the question of what the founders themselves knew they couldn't avoid: Will the promises of 1776 stop at the edge of our own religion, or will they exten...

Our "1776, Then and Now" course offered lectures from 16 different scholars. Sara Savat of WashU covered several of them, including this by Mark Valeri:
You can also watch all the lectures at our website rap.washu.edu.
https://source.washu.edu/2026/02/the-pulpit-and-the-patriot-how-religion-fueled-the-american-revolution/

The pulpit and the patriot: How religion fueled the American Revolution In the years leading up to the Revolution, Protestant preachers, sometimes referred to as the “black-robed regiment,” used biblical texts and spiritual ideas to reframe the treasonous act of rebellion into righteous moral duty, according to Mark Valeri, vice director of the Danforth Center on Re...

Leigh Schmidt was a panelist on "Conspirituality" at the 9th Biennial Conference on Religion and American Culture hosted earlier this month by the IU Indianapolis Center.

Conspirituality - Religion and American Culture Throughout American history, populist movements have often looked for hidden truths and behind-the-scenes activities to explain social upheaval. Today, we see a fusion of UFO disclosure movements, Q-Anon narratives, and digital apocalypticism. From the ‘Q-drops’ to leaked UAP footage, these move...

Congrats to the new cohort! Especially pleased to see four former Center postdocs! (Susanna, Cody, Eric, and Esra!)

Meet the 2026-2028 Young Scholars in American Religion Cohort! The members of this cohort were chosen for their commitment to excellence in research, teaching, and interdisciplinary collaboration within the fields of American Religion. Follow along as we share more info about them & their work!
Learn more about the new cohort here: https://raac.indianapolis.iu.edu/programs/young-scholars/