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Articles by Debra Kennard
J. Kameron Carter and Kambiz GhaneaBassiri Join Danforth Center on Religion and Politics
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis is delighted to announce two scholars joining the faculty effective July 1, 2026: J. Kameron Carter and Kambiz GhaneaBassiri. “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome these two world-class scholars to the Danforth Center,” said Center Director Abram Van Engen.
New postdoctoral fellow announced for 2026-2027
The faculty of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis is pleased to announce its newest postdoctoral fellow, Carlos Ruiz Martinez. The fellowship will begin with the 2026-2027 academic year and is renewable for the following year. Carlos Ruiz Martinez is a Ph.D. candidate in Religious Studies at University of Iowa.
Danforth Center on Religion and Politics Announces New Postdoctoral Fellowship Search
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics seeks applications from junior scholars and recent Ph.D. graduates for up to two postdoctoral fellowships in residence at Washington University in St. Louis. The appointment is for one year, renewable for a second year. Eligible applicants must complete the Ph.D. by July 1, 2026, and are expected to have completed it no earlier than January 1, 2021. In exceptional cases a qualified applicant who completed the Ph.D. prior to 2021 may be considered.
Center offers special course "1776, Then and Now" to commemorate the 250th year since the country's founding
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics will offer a course, “1776, Then and Now,” which will be open to all WashU undergrads in the spring 2026 semester. The course will run one time only as a way to commemorate and respond in 2026 to the events of 1776 and the founding of the United States. How did the United States come to be and what does that origin story mean for us today? How did the United States come to be and what does that origin story mean for us today?
2024-2025 Annual Report Now Available
Take a look back at the past academic year in our newly published 2024-2025 annual report here.
Political Scientist Joins Danforth Center on Religion and Politics Faculty
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis is pleased to welcome Ryan Burge, who will join the Center as Professor of Practice beginning August 1, 2025. Professor Burge is a political scientist whose research focuses on the impact of religion on American life, especially politics. His popular Substack newsletter Graphs about Religion has tens of thousands of subscribers and is read millions of times annually.
Online journal Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera launches podcast
Mark Oppenheimer, Executive Editor of Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera, announced this week a new endeavor of the online journal. He wrote in the weekly newsletter: Have you heard the one about the magazine in 2025 that didn’t have a podcast? No, of course you haven’t, because there is no such magazine. And lest we be held in contempt by Magazine Court, we had to have a podcast, too. Arc: The Podcast is not my first ride at the podcast rodeo.
John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics Awards Three Postdoctoral Fellowships for 2025-2026
The faculty of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis is pleased to announce its new cohort of postdoctoral fellows. The fellowships will begin with the 2024-2025 academic year and are renewable for the following year. Chanhee Heo is a Ph.D. candidate in Religious Studies (with a minor in History) at Stanford University this summer.
In Remembrance of Sen. Alan K. Simpson by John C. Danforth
My service in the U.S. Senate with Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, who died last week, overlapped for 14 years. Toward the end of my career there, just before I went home to Missouri, we were standing on a corner near the Capitol promising that we would stay in touch. Then Al hugged me and said, “Everyone says that, let’s really do it.” And so we did. In the 30 years since, Al and Ann Simpson and Sally and Jack Danforth spent a lot of time together, on the phone when not in person.
Abram Van Engen named next Director of Danforth Center on Religion and Politics
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis is pleased to share the news that Abram Van Engen has been appointed the next director of the Center effective July 1, 2025. He will also hold the title of Professor of Religion and Politics with this appointment. Van Engen is the Stanley Elkin Professor in the Humanities and current chair of the Department of English at Washington University in St. Louis.
Danforth Center on Religion and Politics Announces New Postdoctoral Fellowship Search
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics seeks applications from junior scholars and recent Ph.D. graduates for up to four postdoctoral fellowships in residence at Washington University in St. Louis. The appointment is for one year, renewable for a second year. Eligible applicants must complete the Ph.D. by July 1, 2025, and are expected to have completed it no earlier than January 1, 2020.
Writer and Journalist Mark Oppenheimer to join Danforth Center on Religion and Politics
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis is pleased to welcome Mark Oppenheimer, who will join the Center as Professor of Practice and Executive Editor of Religion & Politics. Oppenheimer will join the Center on May 28, 2024, and will restart the Center’s online journal, which went on hiatus in May 2023. Religion & Politics was founded in 2012 as a public project of the John C.
John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics Awards Two Postdoctoral Fellowships for 2024-2025
The faculty of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis is pleased to announce its new cohort of postdoctoral fellows. The fellowships will begin with the 2024-2025 academic year and are renewable for the following year. Jesse Lee is completing his dissertation in the department of religion at Florida State University. He studies the relationships between religion, race, law, language, and Asian American identities.
Danforth Center on Religion and Politics announces search for postdoctoral fellows
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics seeks applications from junior scholars and recent Ph.D. graduates for up to two postdoctoral fellowships in residence at Washington University in St. Louis. The appointment is for one year, renewable for a second year. Eligible applicants must complete the Ph.D. by July 1, 2024, and are expected to have completed it no earlier than January 1, 2019.
John C. Danforth Center to cosponsor "For 2026" conference
“For 2026: Contested Freedoms”—the second in a series of meetings commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence—will take place in Williamsburg, Virginia, October 26-28, 2023. The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis will cosponsor and its Interim-Director Mark Valeri will participate in this special conference.
2022-2023 Annual Report
The Center published its annual report looking back at the 2022-2023 academic year. Read the full report here: https://rap.wustl.edu/about/annual-reports/.
Marie Griffith on conclusion of her leadership of John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics and next steps
As many of you know, after 12 years as director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, I will be stepping down and returning to full-time faculty status at the end of June. While it is definitely the right move for me at this time, I cannot deny feeling wistful, as I have loved my job and feel very proud of what my faculty and staff colleagues and I have accomplished together.
John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics Awards Three Postdoctoral Fellowships for 2023-2024
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis is pleased to announce it has awarded three postdoctoral fellowships to exceptional early career scholars. The fellowships will begin with the 2023-2024 academic year and are renewable for the following year. Michael Baysa is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of religion at Princeton University and has taught at New York University.
Washington University in St. Louis seeks next director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics
Washington University in St. Louis seeks a dynamic leader and distinguished scholar of religion and U.S. politics to serve as the Director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. This position reports directly to the Provost.
John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics Seeks Applications for Postdoctoral Fellowships
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics seeks applications from junior scholars and recent Ph.D. graduates for up to four postdoctoral fellowships in residence at Washington University in St. Louis. The appointment is for one year, renewable for a second year. Eligible applicants must complete the Ph.D. by July 1, 2023, and are expected to have completed it no earlier than January 1, 2018.
2021-2022: The Year in Review
We have publshed an annual report and invite you to review the academics, events, and people that defined the 2021 – 2022 academic year at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. See the digital copy on our website or write us at rap@wustl.edu to request a paper copy.
Statement from Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship Cochairs Danielle Allen, Stephen Heintz, and Eric Liu on the events in Washington D.C. - John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics
January 6, 2021 Our commission recommended many strategies for reinventing our American democracy. But they all boil down to something fragile and indispensable: faith in our Constitution and each other. When a president incites insurrection against the Constitution and the rule of law, and turns the people against each other and toward disunion, every leader of every institution in the United States must condemn it. We do so today.
Statement by John C. Danforth (U.S. Senator, R-MO, 1976-1995) Concerning Challenges to the Votes of the Electoral College
Jan. 4, 2021 Citing my support for Josh Hawley’s campaigns, a number of people have asked me to comment on his decision to challenge votes of the electoral college. Lending credence to Trump’s false claim that the election was stolen is a highly destructive attack on our constitutional government. It is the opposite of conservative; it is radical.
Henry Luce Foundation awards $1 million to launch “The Crossroads Project: Black Religious Histories, Communities, and Cultures”
“The Crossroads Project” has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to advance public understanding of the history, politics, and cultures of African American religions. The grant was awarded to Professor Judith Weisenfeld, Agate Brown and George L. Collord Professor and Chair of Princeton’s Department of Religion, Anthea D. Butler, Associate Professor of Religion at the University of Pennsylvania, and Lerone A.
Danforth in The Washington Post: Trump’s attack on the debate commission is an attack on the election itself
From The Washington Post; October 20, 2020 John C. Danforth, a Republican, represented Missouri in the U.S. Senate for three terms and has served on the Commission on Presidential Debates since 1994. Like all members of the Commission on Presidential Debates, I have maintained a strict vow of silence regarding my personal feelings about the current presidential campaign.
Priests John Danforth and Matt Malone on "A First Step Toward Loving Our Enemies"
Commentary published by The Wall Street Journal on September 3, 2020. A First Step Toward Loving Our Enemies by John C. Danforth and Matt Malone When Pope Francis appeared before Congress in 2015, he spoke about the divisiveness that had overcome American politics. The pope called for an end to “the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners.” Few heeded his warning.
Mark Valeri to Give Virtual Talk on "Protestant Images of Other Religions in the 18c." on April 30
Professor Mark Valeri will offer a virtual talk for The Library Company of Philadelphia on Protestant Images of Other Religions in the Eighteenth Century. Free registration and more information for the event on Thursday, April 30 (7p EST/6p CST) can be found at https://librarycompany.org/fireside-chats/. Valeri is the Reverend Priscilla Wood Neaves Distinguished Professor of Religion and Politics at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University.
Sen. Jack Danforth Among 70 Former Republican and Democrat U.S. Senators Behind Open Letter to the U.S. Senate
70 Former Republican and Democrat U.S. Senators Call on the Senate to Create a Bipartisan Caucus to Protect and Restore Senate’s Constitutional and Legislative Powers, and Prevent Further Eroding of the Institution In Open Letter, Bipartisan Group Warns Breakdown of Regular Order, Obstructionism, and Abuse of Procedure Are Diminishing Senate’s Constitutional Role Today, a bipartisan group of 70 former United States Senators warned current members of the Senate that its...
COVID-19 Information for Event/Campus Guests
The university is closely tracking the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). At present there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the WashU campus. Visitors to Campus or University events: Whether or not you are exhibiting symptoms, visitors who have been in a location identified here with widespread transmission of COVID-19 within the past 14 days are not allowed to visit campus or attend university events.
Virtual Book Talk on Abram Van Engen's New Book City on a Hill
Professor Abram Van Engen will offer a virtual talk for the Massachusetts Historical Society on his new book City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism. Free registration and more information for the event on Friday, May 1 (2p EST/1p CST) can be found at https://www.masshist.org/calendar/event?event=3145. Van Engen is Washington University in St. Louis Associate Professor of English, Interim Director of American Culture Studies, and a faculty affiliate of the John C.
Congratulations to the WashU Class of 2020 graduates with a minor in religion and politics!
All of us in the Center on Religion and Politics want to congratulate our special 2020 class of graduating minors and our student with a special major in Religion and Political Power*: Neil Agarwal Anika Boyd Morgan Dunstan Lindsay Gassman Mary Grace Gorman* Celia Stern Malik Stewart Ismene Vedder Collin Wettach Hannah White Visit our Twitter and Facebook pages for more information about these students and their next steps after commencement. Best wishes to the graduates! Previous
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