Randall Balmer
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Articles by Randall Balmer
By the Way | How Jim Bakker Spiritualized Reaganism
by | Oct 14, 2026 | Opinion Jim Bakker Jim Bakker’s death last week at the age of 86 brings to a close one of the sorriest chapters in the history of American evangelicalism.The televangelist scandals captured the nation’s attention in the late 1980s.
Opinion: Restive voters in the midterm elections
"There's something happening here," Buffalo Springfield sang in the 1960s. "What it is ain't exactly clear." Back then, in 1966 when the song was released, the issues were the war in Vietnam, growing social unrest, especially on campuses, and a presidency that seemed unresponsive and out of touch. "Paranoia strikes deep," the song said. "Step out of line, the man come and take you away." Sound familiar? Sounds like a description of an ICE raid. A deep disconnect divides the country.
Christianity and Native Traditions: Never the Twain?
by | Sep 17, 2026 | Opinion (Steve Marquez/Unsplash) When I was writing Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, I visited Standing Rock Indian Reservation, which straddles the border between North and South Dakota. There I met a remarkable man, Innocent Good House, a Sioux Indian and rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Fort Yates, South Dakota.Over several days, Father Good House, a taciturn man in his late sixties, talked about the parallels between Christianity and Native traditions.
Opinion: Rotating the crops in Iowa
Having spent my high school years in Des Moines, I follow Iowa’s fortunes, and especially its politics, far more closely than I probably should. I began writing op-eds for the Des Moines Register when I was in graduate school, and I’ve completed RAGBRAI — the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa — twice and hope to do so again next summer. Until recently, Iowa had a strong progressive tradition in politics, dating to the nineteenth century.
By the Way | Southern Baptists, Roman Catholics & a New (I think) Argument for Women’s Ordination
by | Aug 13, 2026 | Opinion (EyeJoy/Canva) I’m not a theologian, either by training or temperament, but I offer here a fresh argument about the ordination of women. (I can’t believe we’re still discussing this in the third decade of the twenty-first century!) This isn’t so much a brief in favor of women’s ordination as a refutation of one of the principal arguments from those opposed to it.The Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention share very little in common.
Ken Paxton's selective literalism
I’ve often observed that most of the people who claim to be biblical literalists — that is, they profess to interpret the Bible literally — engage in the ruse of selective literalism. Although I don’t claim to be a literalist, I’m sure I practice some form of selective literalism as well. But few people who claim to be evangelical Christians can match Ken Paxton for selective literalism.
Opinion: The theology of Ken Paxton
I've often observed that most of the people who claim to be biblical literalists - that is, they profess to interpret the Bible literally - engage in the ruse of selective literalism. Although I don't claim to be a literalist, I'm sure I practice some form of selective literalism as well. But few people who claim to be evangelical Christians can match Ken Paxton for selective literalism.
By the Way | The Magic of Chautauqua
(Robey Clark/Wiki Commons) In 1874, Lewis Miller and John Heyl Vincent, both Methodists, inaugurated the Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Association on the shores of Lake Chautauqua in western New York. The idea was to provide instruction for Sunday school teachers and out-of-school vacation learning.The location, not far from Lake Erie, was the site of a former Methodist camp meeting, Fair Point.
Column: Why I’m still a patriot
I’m not much for federal holiday celebrations. I acknowledge the significance of Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day. But Columbus Day or Flag Day? Well, not so much. Independence Day — the Fourth of July — celebrates a historic and important milestone, but all the fireworks and the folderal leave me a bit cold.
Column: The march of Christian nationalists
The Rededicate 250 rally on the National Mall in Washington on May 17 featured a who’s who of Republican politicians and Trump administration officials, religiously inflected patriotism and a legion of Christian nationalists — all of it framed by some very bad history. As the nation’s 250th birthday approaches, it’s important to set the record straight.
Opinion: The march of Christian nationalists
The Rededicate 250 rally on the National Mall in Washington on May 17 featured a who's who of Republican politicians and Trump administration officials, religiously inflected patriotism and a legion of Christian nationalists - all of it framed by some very bad history. As the nation's 250th birthday approaches, it's important to set the record straight.
By the Way | Moral Flexibility at First Baptist Church Dallas
by | Jun 3, 2026 | Opinion (Thomas R. Matchninski/Wiki Commons/https://tinyurl.com/74w56wcj) You really have to feel sorry for Robert Jeffress. The faithful are looking to the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, which once claimed to be the world’s largest Baptist congregation, for political advice.
By the Way | ‘Baptist Battles’ Five Decades Later
Stock Photo (Credit: Chelsea Audibert/Unsplash/https://tinyurl.com/3jxmzrc9) Robert Downen’s superb article about Paul Pressler in the May issue of Texas Monthly may not have covered new ground. We are well aware of the tawdry beginnings of the conservative takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention as well as the moral failings of the principal architects, Pressler and Paige Patterson.
Column: Trump, Roman Catholics and White evangelicals
I remember the moment clearly all these decades later. I was not yet ten years old when my parents confronted me on the stairway and informed me earnestly but in no uncertain terms that if I ever married a Roman Catholic, I would be disowned. I can’t say that I was actively considering marriage at the time, but I was warned. We were living in rural southern Minnesota in a parsonage surrounded—literally—by cornfields. My father was pastor of a fairly large evangelical congregation.
Opinion: Donald Trump, Roman Catholics and white evangelicals
I remember the moment clearly all these decades later. I was not yet 10 years old when my parents confronted me on the stairway and informed me earnestly but in no uncertain terms that if I ever married a Roman Catholic, I would be disowned. I can't say that I was actively considering marriage at the time, but I was warned. We were living in rural southern Minnesota in a parsonage surrounded - literally - by cornfields. My father was pastor of a fairly large evangelical congregation.
By the Way | Tony Perkins Is Wrong Yet Again
Stock Photo Illustration (Credit: doidam10/Canva/https://tinyurl.com/3vkefrc8) It’s a good rule of thumb that if Tony Perkins lines up on one side of an issue, it’s better to be on the other side.
Opinion: Searching for moral clarity at a megachurch
When I accompanied a group of Dartmouth students on a tour of civil rights sites in the South a couple of weeks ago, we attended two churches on Sunday morning in Atlanta, the venerable and historic Ebenezer Baptist Church and an evangelical megachurch. The success of the megachurch suggests that young adults may be returning to religion. It's called simply 2819 Church, a reference to the so-called Great Commission, the mandate for evangelism in the New Testament book of Matthew.
Column: By the Way: Searching for moral clarity at a megachurch
When I accompanied a group of Dartmouth students on a tour of civil rights sites in the South a couple of weeks ago, we attended two churches on Sunday morning in Atlanta, the venerable and historic Ebenezer Baptist Church and an evangelical megachurch. The success of the megachurch suggests that young adults may be returning to religion. It’s called simply 2819 Church, a reference to the so-called Great Commission, the mandate for evangelism in the New Testament book of Matthew.
Opinion: Nancy Guthrie and All Lives Matter
Please understand that I have deep sympathy for Savannah Guthrie and her family as they agonize over the disappearance of the television host's mother. In a case yet to be solved at this writing, Nancy Guthrie, 84 years old, was apparently abducted from her home in Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 1. The media are transfixed by this drama, with regular updates in newspapers and on cable television.
By the Way | Jeffrey Epstein’s Friendship With Ken Starr and Obsession with the Vatican
Stock Photo Illustration (Credit: Gage Skidmore/Wiki Commons/https://tinyurl.com/mut2h9ad) It appears the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files will keep journalists and pundits busy for years. It may take a similar period to reckon with the fallout.
Column: Nancy Guthrie and All Lives Matter
Please understand that I have deep sympathy for Savannah Guthrie and her family as they agonize over the disappearance of the television host’s mother. In a case yet to be solved at this writing, Nancy Guthrie, 84 years old, was apparently abducted from her home in Tucson on February 1. The media are transfixed by this drama, with regular updates in newspapers and on cable television.
Close to Home: Red doors and moral crisis
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... It began as a curiosity. I was at the time rector of an Episcopal parish in Connecticut, and I wanted to know why the doors of so many Episcopal churches are painted red. What I learned bears some relevance to the moral crisis we are facing in Minnesota and elsewhere in the nation. I came across several theories for red doors.
By the Way | Donald Trump’s (Singular) Moment of Truth
(Credit: Whitehouse.gov/https://tinyurl.com/mwk7vsee) When someone issues 30,573 false or misleading statements in the space of a four-year term, as documented by the Washington Post, it’s important, in all fairness, to notice when that person actually tells the truth. Such is the case with Donald J. Trump during an otherwise unhinged, not to mention inappropriate, speech at the recent National Prayer Breakfast. The meandering remarks went on for 77 minutes.
Opinion: Red doors and moral crisis
It began as a curiosity. I was at the time rector of an Episcopal parish in Connecticut, and I wanted to know why the doors of so many Episcopal churches are painted red. What I learned bears some relevance to the moral crisis we are facing in Minnesota and elsewhere in the nation. I came across several theories for red doors.
Religious leaders resist ICE crackdown in Minneapolis
It began as a curiosity. I was at the time rector of an Episcopal parish in Connecticut, and I wanted to know why the doors of so many Episcopal churches are painted red. What I learned bears some relevance to the moral crisis we are facing in Minnesota and elsewhere in the nation. I came across several theories for red doors.
By the Way | Where’s the Line?
Stock Photo Illustration (Credit: Ted Balmer/Unsplash/https://tinyurl.com/ms3bh3cc) While having dinner the other night at our local Mexican restaurant, a young couple was seated at the table beside us, the man wearing a black MAGA hat with “Trump” embroidered in the back.
Trump's name change triggers controversy
The possibilities are limitless. The Trump administration renamed the United States Institute of Peace the Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace only months after having forcibly seized the building and sacked its employees. More recently, Trump’s hand-picked board of directors for the Kennedy Center voted to rename Washington’s premier cultural institution the Donald J. Trump and John F.
Opinion: What else can we name for Donald Trump?
The possibilities are limitless. The Trump administration renamed the United States Institute of Peace the Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace only months after having forcibly seized the building and sacked its employees. More recently, Trump's hand-picked board of directors for the Kennedy Center voted to rename Washington's premier cultural institution the Donald J. Trump and John F.
By the Way | Stephen Colbert, Our Most Important Theologian
Stock Photo Illustration (Credit: Montclair Film/Wiki Commons/https://tinyurl.com/44yxb3cz) Stephen Colbert may be our most important theologian. In accepting the Ripple of Hope Award on December 5 from the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, Colbert invoked the image of Robert Kennedy breaking bread with Cesar Chavez on the day Chavez ended his hunger strike.
Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey Into the Evangelical Subculture in America
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Opinion: No prayer in schools? Here's a simple solution.
Many years ago, I was on a panel discussing the relationship between religion and public education. These were the early days of the Religious Right, and one of the panelists held forth at some length about the importance of reinstating prayer in public schools. I expect that one of my eyebrows twitched a bit, and I may have muttered something about religious diversity and the First Amendment. "That's really not a problem," the panelist responded brightly.
Prayer in school? Kids do it all the time
Many years ago, I was on a panel discussing the relationship between religion and public education. These were the early days of the religious right, and one of the panelists held forth at some length about the importance of reinstating prayer in public schools. I expect that one of my eyebrows twitched a bit, and I may have muttered something about religious diversity and the First Amendment. “That’s really not a problem,” the panelist responded brightly.
Column: The debate over prayer in public schools
Many years ago, I was on a panel discussing the relationship between religion and public education. These were the early days of the Religious Right, and one of the panelists held forth at some length about the importance of reinstating prayer in public schools. I expect that one of my eyebrows twitched a bit, and I may have muttered something about religious diversity and the First Amendment. “That’s really not a problem,” the panelist responded brightly.
By the Way | A Curriculum for Political Engagement
A megachurch in Texas is offering a course to encourage evangelicals to run for public office. I have a couple of suggestions. According to the Texas Tribune, Mercy Culture, a megachurch based in Fort Worth, is trying to foster so-called “spirit-led candidates” by offering lessons in how to “stand for spiritual righteousness.” Nothing wrong with that. But how is “spiritual righteousness” defined? Turns out “spiritual righteousness” opposes LGBTQ rights and access to abortion.
Opinion: The perils of majoritarianism
A growing popular disregard for the separation of church and state, a circumstance abetted by the current Supreme Court's contempt for the First Amendment, is taking a toll around the nation. This is true not merely in places like Iowa or Louisiana or Texas, where Republican supermajorities eagerly dole out taxpayer money for religious education or require the posting of the Ten Commandments in schoolrooms, but even in blue states like Massachusetts.
By the Way | Willow Creek and the Cultural Idiom of Megachurches
The fiftieth anniversary of Willow Creek Community Church provides an occasion to consider the impact of megachurches on the landscape of American evangelicalism. In October 1975, Bill Hybels, a former youth pastor and graduate of now-defunct Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois, convened a gathering at the Willow Creek Theater in Palatine, Illinois.
Opinion: The historical malpractice of David Barton
It would be like hiring a WWF fighter as a wedding planner, or an arsonist as fire department chief. Or, well, appointing an anti-vaxxer as head of the Department of Health and Human Services. It makes no sense whatsoever. That's the logic, if you can call it that, behind the Texas State Board of Education retaining David Barton to serve as "Expert Content Advisor" for the revision of the state's social studies curriculum.
By the Way | Charlie Kirk, David Barton, and The Necessity of Popular Scholarly Engagement
During a recent podcast interview, I was asked to comment on David Barton and Charlie Kirk. They have been two of the most prominent fabulists promoting Christian nationalism, the fiction that the United States was founded as and should remain a Christian nation.I groaned—perhaps audibly, but certainly inwardly.
Close to Home: Endorsements shouldn’t come from a pulpit - with a tax break
Beginning with his first run for the presidency in 2016, Donald Trump has promised to undermine the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits the endorsement of political candidates on behalf of tax-exempt organizations. That’s a bad, even dangerous, idea. In 1948, Lyndon Johnson had won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate (then tantamount to election) by fewer than a hundred votes – and those votes very likely were stolen.
Opinion: Chicken Little and 'school choice'
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. As a proud alumnus of Iowa public schools (Des Moines Hoover, class of 1972), I’ve watched in increasing despair as Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Republican Legislature have proceeded to eviscerate public education in Iowa. Their playbook is both cynical and all too familiar. It begins by starving schools of resources.
The Johnson Amendment: Good idea then and now
Beginning with his first run for the presidency in 2016, Donald Trump has promised to undermine the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits the endorsement of political candidates on behalf of tax-exempt organizations. That’s a bad, even dangerous, idea. In 1948, Lyndon Johnson had won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate (then tantamount to election) by fewer than a hundred votes — and those votes very likely were stolen.
By the Way: In defense of the Johnson Amendment
Beginning with his first run for the presidency in 2016, Donald Trump has promised to undermine the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits the endorsement of political candidates on behalf of tax-exempt organizations. That’s a bad, even dangerous, idea. In 1948, Lyndon Johnson had won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate (then tantamount to election in Texas) by fewer than a hundred votes, and those votes very likely were stolen.
Opinion: In defense of the Johnson Amendment
Beginning with his first run for the presidency in 2016, Donald Trump has promised to undermine the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits the endorsement of political candidates on behalf of tax-exempt organizations. That's a bad, even dangerous, idea. In 1948, Lyndon Johnson had won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate (then tantamount to election) by fewer than 100 votes - and those votes very likely were stolen (When he arrived in the Senate, he was known as "Landslide Lyndon").
Freedom for Worship – Daniel N. Gullotta
What is the United States’ greatest achievement? Winning World War II? Landing a man on the moon? Hollywood’s global reach? For Dartmouth College historian and Episcopal priest Randall Balmer, all these accomplishments pale in comparison to a less celebrated but more enduring breakthrough: the separation of church and state. Few ideas, he argues, have done more to preserve both religious vitality and civic peace.
By the Way | Blaine and Johnson Amendments: Reinforcing the Wall of Separation
The vital task of patrolling the wall of separation between church and state, America’s best idea, has enlisted some unlikely allies over the years. Although the motives animating some of those measures can undoubtedly be called into question, those contributions have nevertheless been crucial.Consider the Blaine amendments of the nineteenth century and the Johnson Amendment in the twentieth century. Though born in Pennsylvania, James G.
Close to Home: Christian nationalists on the march
Enabled by the Trump administration and the U.S. Supreme Court, Christian nationalists, those who believe the United States was founded as a Christian nation, are surging right now, pressing their case to eviscerate the First Amendment and the separation of church and state. The notion that church and state should be discrete entities was a novel idea late in the 18th century when the new nation was being formed.
America's best idea is under attack
The separation of church and state — America’s best idea — is under attack as never before. The notion that church and state should be discrete entities was unprecedented when the founders decided to embark on what one historian has called the “lively experiment” of disestablishment. The founders were well aware of the Wars of Religion and the English Revolution, conflicts largely over religious differences.
By the Way: Christian nationalists on the march
E-Edition Advertise Newsletters Subscribe Home News Opinion Sports Photos Arts & Life Obituaries Classifieds Calendar Puzzles Randall Balmer. Copyright (c) Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
Randall Balmer: When Darrow took on Bryan 100 years ago, science got the win. Or did it?
Before O.J. Simpson’s “trial of the century,” another courtroom clash riveted America and merited that title. In the sleepy town of Dayton, Tenn., on July 10, 1925, the Scopes “Monkey Trial” was gaveled to order. The issues contested in the second-story courtroom of the Rhea County courthouse may seem long settled, but they still divide Americans 100 years later. At the behest of the American Civil Liberties Union, a young science teacher, John T.
The Bible vs. Darwin: A long shadow over American life | Opinion
Before O.J. Simpson’s “trial of the century,” another courtroom clash riveted America and merited that title. In the sleepy town of Dayton, Tenn., on July 10, 1925, the Scopes “Monkey Trial” was gaveled to order. The issues contested in the second-story courtroom of the Rhea County courthouse may seem long settled, but they still divide Americans 100 years later. At the behest of the American Civil Liberties Union, a young science teacher, John T.
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