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James Hudnut-Beumler on Religion in the Now South

tonygill — Sun, 27 May 2018 08:00:19 +0000

When you think if Christianity in the U.S. South, images of Southern Baptist congregations, conservative politics, and even snake-handling may come to mind. But Prof. James Hudnut-Beumler, the Anne Potter Wilson Distinguished Professor of American Religious History at Vanderbilt University, reveals that the spiritual tapestry is much more nuanced than might appear on initial glance. Prof. Hudnut-Beumler joins us to talk about his new book Strangers and Friends at the Welcome Table and reveals how several historical traditions have persisted in the region while significant transformations are also taking place.

We commence with a discussion of a definition of “the South,” which can be viewed geographically (starting just below Northern Virginia, running down to the top portion of Florida, and extending westward to Arkansas and encompassing the southern portions of Indiana and Illinois) and spiritually (those areas with a majority Southern Baptist population). Jim explains how this decade-long process took him on a “r0ad trip” around the region to experience the lives and institutions of those living in what he calls the “Now South,” a region with deep roots to its “Old Time Religion” past, but which is also changing in surprising ways. Looking at the historical roots first, we discuss how religion, food, and hospitality are intimately linked via kinship networks and a concern over scarcity being a daily lived experience. Food and visitation are viewed as an expression of love for folks who are ill, imprisoned, or otherwise facing difficult times. Jim also notes that food and hospitality also becomes a basis for various types of social activism as such community involvement is often viewed as a measure of piety. Sometimes such activism can take on hard-nosed policies towards drug addicts who are allowed assistance only if they quickly accept Jesus, or in more open terms that seek to get mentally ill individuals the help they need. We also chat about how Pentecostalism, technically a very small fraction of Southern Christians, has influenced the Christianity of the region, often leading to “Bapticostal” congregations that call their ministers bishops and have multiple offerings. Religion also manifests itself along racial lines in the South, as one might expect, and Jim talks about religiously-infused racial histories can wound but also offer up possibilities for forgiveness. He raises the horrific shooting at the Charleston Emmanuel AME Church in 2015 as an example of these racial divides and how the power of forgiveness is used not necessarily to “forgive and forget,” but to heal tragedies so it doesn’t wound the victims continuously.

The conversation then moves in the direction of the “Now South” and the new trends that have been reshaping the spiritual landscape over the past several decades. We look at how megachurches are setting new standards of worship not only for congregants in the suburbs, but in smaller rural and urban churches as well. Jim points out how the growth of homeschooling has responded to the integration of private religious schools (often called “segregation academies”). The growth of Catholicism with the influx of immigrants from Mexico and Central America has also diversified the religious tapestry of the region. And finally, we discuss the surprising increase in the number of congregations that have taken a welcoming position to the LGBT communities and how it has roiled the waters. Jim explains that while it is easy to preach hate, the culture is changing via kinship ties and the “power of one” wherein one individual can help to change the views of those around them. While still a very small minority of churches, the presence of LGBT-friendly congregations indicate progressive steps forward.

We finish off by asking Prof. Hudnut-Beumler what he would tell a younger version of Jim if he had the chance to travel back in time. The elder Jim provides some interesting words of advice for his younger self recognizing that things you never thought would have made an impression early on often come back to you as new opportunities for exploration and learning. Recorded: May 25, 2018.

Strangers and Friends at the Welcome Table, by James Hudnut-Beumler.

In Pursuit of the Almighty’s Dollar, by James Hudnut-Beumler.

The Future of Mainline Protestantism in America, edited by James Hudnut-Beumler and Mark Silk.

Looking for God in the Suburbs, by James Hudnut-Beumler.

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James Hudnut-Beumler on the History of Church Financing in the US.

Paul Harvey on Religion in the American South.

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David Dixon on Religious Rhetoric and the Civil Rights Movement.

Darin Mather on Evangelicals and Racial Attitudes.

Bradley Wright on Religion, Race, and Discrimination.

Art Carden on Christian Ethics & Economics (Encore Presentation)

tonygill — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 09:00:22 +0000

We’re taking a short break, but will return with some fresh episodes soon. In the meantime please enjoy this popular interview from the past.

How does a Christian economist approach the religious charge of helping one’s neighbor? We talk with Art Carden, assistant professor of economics at Samford University and a senior research fellow at the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics, about the relationship between Christian ethics, economic growth, and the best way to help one’s neighbor. The podcast starts out with a dose of good news in these troubling times, and we try to figure out why the past two centuries have been truly unique in human history. Art reveals some of the basic institutions that have arisen to help promote a phenomenal growth in living standards. These institutions include private property rights, honest government, competitive markets and free trade. But economic growth is more than just “getting the institutions right.” Prof. Carden points out that it is also about “getting the rhetoric right.” We delve into this topic by looking at how seemingly well-intentioned policies often have unintended consequences. This discussion is peppered with a number of different examples including laws against price gouging during a disaster, minimum wage laws, donating clothing to earthquake victims, and even holding toy and food drives at church. Prof. Carden then discusses the work he is doing with the Institute of Faith, Work and Economics in trying to help theologians and other Christians gain a better understanding of basic economics, and how this might help them achieve their goals of alleviating the plight of the suffering. He ends on an optimistic note about these efforts with a thankful nod to the internet and podcast series like this one. Recorded: October 29, 2012. (It should be noted that several of the predictions about anti-gouging laws that we made in the run-up to Hurricane Sandy have turned out to be true in its aftermath, including shortages of gasoline and other essential supplies.)

Karen Elliott House on Journalism and Saudi Arabia

tonygill — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 08:00:03 +0000

What is it like to be a Western female reporter with an assignment reporting on the Middle East? And what unique observations can a 32 year journalistic history in the area bring to our understanding of one of the region’s major powers, Saudi Arabia. Karen Elliott House, former publisher of the Wall Street Journal and senior vice president of Dow Jones & Company, discusses her career as a diplomatic reporter and her latest book On Saudi Arabia. Like several of the conversations we have on Research on Religion, this interview examines the life history of the guest as it helps us further understand the perspective they bring to the table. (Note: About two minutes of audio were cut from the beginning of the interview because of distortion. This edited portion contained some idle chat about dogs and a brief story about Ms. House’s Pulitzer Prize, wherein she mentioned that another editor told her that when all is said and done, Pulitzer will be mentioned in her obituary. Tony wished Karen a long and healthy life.)

We begin with Ms. House’s career as a journalist and she details how she was able to go from the small town of Matador, Texas to the hallowed halls of the Wall Street Journal, particularly at a time when the newspaper business was still male dominated. Karen talks about her strict religious upbringing in a Church of Christ denomination and how this gave her an advantage when she eventually came to report on Saudi Arabia. This background becomes helpful when she eventually lived with a very conservative Muslim family while in Saudi Arabia. We then learn how she moved from the University of Texas to the Dallas Morning News and then, taking advantage of every opportunity presented to her, was assigned to the diplomatic desk of the Wall Street Journal in 1977 and covered the Camp David Peace Accords as one of her early assignments. We ask whether or not Karen had a sense of the fundamental change that was about to rock the region with the Iranian Revolution, which spurs and interesting discussion on the predictive power of experts and the collapse of communism.

Tony probes what it was like to be a journalist covering the Middle East at this time, wondering if Karen ever felt endangered while in the region and whether being female in a male-dominated culture had any drawbacks. Interestingly, Karen said there was really only one time in Damascus that she felt nervous and that her biggest concern is traffic in Saudi Arabia. At this point, she brings up the unique advantage being a female had in reporting. Given the religious culture of the country, it would be difficult for a male to ever talk with women one-on-one, let alone at all. However, Karen was granted admission to this world and she relates several conversations she had with women in the region, most notably the females at a home where she recently stayed. We move then to a discussion about the veiling of women and what appears, to Western eyes, to be a form of gender oppression. This is where Karen’s own religious upbringing came in handy and she presents an interesting and enlightening take on various cultural practices that seem at odds to European values and norms. She relays some interesting stories to highlight these points.

We then turn to a more academic discussion of Saudi Arabia, focusing on a number of lesser-known aspects of the country. Contrary to the notion that the kingdom is swimming in oil wealth, there is a significant strata of the country that remains remarkably impoverished. Unemployment among Saudis remains high even as they import labor from abroad. The citizenry is also remarkably young with 60% of the population under the age of twenty, which portends some serious challenges for an aging leadership. Via websites that are cropping up on the Internet, these young people are not necessarily asking for political reform in a manner that would eliminate the monarchy, but rather young citizens are asking for transparency, accountability, and equity in terms of how the kingdom’s wealth is used. We also talk about issues of social mobility in a nation where most of the major political positions are tightly held by the Saud family. With a remarkably small proportion of Saudi citizens working in the private sector, the political allocation of resources — and a culture of asking for favors — becomes the norm. Again, all these socio-economic and political observations are peppered with vivid stories only the way that a seasoned journalist can tell.

The conversation moves to a discussion of some of the changes and reforms that are taking place in the country. With high levels of Saudi unemployment, there is a push to have young Saudis trained abroad and to limit the number of foreigners who are licensed to work in the country. Karen points out a very important tension between three crucial factors that are shaping the political economy of the nation: 1) the tendency to buy social peace and acquiescence among the population; 2) the decline in oil revenues as other sources of petroleum come online; and 3) a succession crisis that will be a major challenge politically in the next ten years. The first two tensions run in direct conflict to one another, whereas the third may catalyze these issues. We talk about this in the regional context of the Arab Spring and the chaos it has unleashed, including the current turmoil in Syria and Iraq that is coming close to Saudi borders. We also discuss issues over religious leadership and an erosion of trust the population has in the clerics anointed by the regime. The interview concludes with Karen’s thoughts about the future, at least in the short run, and Tony presses her for any possibilities for optimism to reign. Karen notes that there seems to be a realization that moderation in religious attitudes and politics are being seen as quite crucial for the coming years, particularly amidst the conflict that is spreading regionally. Recorded: July 2, 2014.

RELATED LINKS

Karen Elliott House’s personal website.

On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religions, Fault Lines, and Future, by Karen Elliott House.

“As the Middle East Burns, the Saudis Ease up at Home,” by Karen Elliott House in the Wall Street Journal.

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Ani Sarkissian on Politics and Civil Society in Turkey.

Kevan Harris on Iran’s Revolution and Green Movement.

William Inboden on Religious Liberty, Foreign Policy, and the Arab Spring.

Timur Kuran on Islamic Economics.

Rebecca Shah on Religion & the Enterprising Poor in India

tonygill — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 03:21:56 +0000

Why are the poor, poor? Alternatively, what prevents the poor from improving their financial well-being? These questions have occupied the minds of political economists for centuries, but few beyond Max Weber have ever considered the role of religion as an explanatory factor. Dr. Rebecca Shah, a research associate at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, discusses an ongoing research project called “Holy Avarice” with us. As she reveals, this project examines both wealthy Christian entrepreneurs and the role faith plays in their business success, and poor individuals struggling to break out of their dismal living conditions. We focus on the latter topic for this interview, which takes us to the slums of Bangalore, India to examine how religion affects the economic prospects of what Dr. Shah calls “the enterprising poor.”

Our conversation starts with a discussion of the living conditions of the three neighborhoods she examined during her research trips. The vivid portrayal of life in these poor communities sets the stage for how difficult it is for individuals trapped in poverty to escape. We then cover the role of lending and the different types of loans that are available to the poor. Borrowing funds to cover everything from short-term needs (e.g., paying rent, a doctor bill) to finding ways to finance a small business is a fact of life for individuals in these communites. Becky details how borrowing can have a negative effect on the poor, particularly if loans are used by individuals who tend to significantly undervalue the future. We then move to discuss the micro-finance (or micro-lending) movement that has become popular in recent decades and how women are organizing sangams (self-help groups) to create financial accountability amongst themselves. The role of women is emphasized in this interview given that critical role that they play in organizing small businesses in these communities, as well as the critical spiritual role they play in the family (a topic we review later). Becky relays a number of the social problems that beset women, including physical abuse from their husbands.

Our focus then turns to the role of religion. We discover the interesting religious diversity of these poor neighborhoods, including the recent growth of Pentecostalism amongst the population which is majority Hindu, but also contains a significant number of Muslims, Catholics and a smattering of other faiths. It is interesting to see how religious tensions are relatively minimal in the poor communities that Becky examines. We place the most attention on how Pentecostals are shaping the financial fortunes of poor women. Becky’s research has revealed that tithing to one’s religious community on a regular basis creates a degree of accountability and financial expectation that promotes a pattern of responsible saving. This behavioral pattern, in addition to the accountability that sangams create amongst their members, facilitates an economic discipline that allows entrepreneurial women to achieve some economic success. Other ritualistic behaviors such as fasting also sends signals to members in the community who may not share a particular individual’s religious faith, but nevertheless helps to build bonds of trust among different people. Becky’s research also shows how a woman’s Pentecostal faith and the practice it entails can also mitigate problems such as domestic violence and alcohol abuse amongst the men in the household, a trend that has also been witnessed in Latin America. Recorded: June 6, 2013.

The Holy Avarice Project.

The Reformation of Machismo: Evangelical Conversion and Gender in Columbia, by Elizabeth Brusco (mentioned in the podcast).

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Alessandra González on Islamic Feminism.

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Theodore Malloch on Spiritual Capital & Virtuous Business

tonygill — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:00:34 +0000

In the light of recent business scandals involving the likes of Enron, Tyco, and Bernie Madoff, Research on Religion turns attention to the role that spiritual capital can play in America’s free enterprise system. Dr. Theodore Malloch, a research professor at Yale University’s Center for Faith & Culture and CEO of The Global Fiduciary Governance LLC, joins us to discuss his most recent book on that topic aptly titled, America’s Spiritual Capital. We begin with a bit of chat regarding the annual Davos meeting of important political and business leaders as Ted has served on the board of the World Economic Forum and has some insights into that high profile, albeit sometimes secretive, gathering. We then dive into the world of spiritual capital, definining it is relation to the other types of capital that economists often talk about. This moves us into a discussion about America’s “modernity project” and how the United States was able to produce such phenomenal technological growth over the past two hundred years. Ted links innovation, economic freedom, political freedom, and limited government to a responsible use of freedom that rests upon a Judeo-Christian foundation. He makes an excellent point that economists often forget about the cultural underpinnings of a free society. He spells out a number of cultural traits that differentiate our modern times from the feudal era, with a focus on personal autonomy among other things. This personal autonomy helps to provide the eventual cultural milieu that leads to the demise of slavery and the rise of entrepreneurship. Our conversation also weaves its way through the tension between fostering liberty and promoting equality, with Dr. Malloch having some interesting points to make with respect to that debate. We then move on to a discussion of virtue in the business world with Ted explaining the difference between hard and soft virtues. He uses several examples of businesses that illustrate one or another of these virtues, and our talk focuses extensively on the issue of humility, which is one of the virtues Ted believes is most important to successful leadership and one that may be slipping away in our culture. This portion of the interview also includes some thoughts on the role of “individualism” and Ted’s thoughts on Ayn Rand. We conclude with some reflections on where America’s spiritual capital and business environment is heading in the next few decades. Recorded: January 4, 2013.

RELATED LINKS

Theodore Malloch’s biography at his personal website.

Spiritual Capital Initiative at the Yale Center for Faith & Culture.

America’s Spiritual Capital, by Nicholas Capaldi and Theodore Roosevelt Malloch.

Doing Spiritual Business: The Remarkable Success of Spiritual Enterprise, by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch.

The End of Ethics and a Way Back: How to Fix a Fundamentally Broken Financial System, by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch and Jordan Mamorsky.

Renewing American Culture: The Pursuit of Happiness, by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch and Scott T. Massey.

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Art Carden on Christian Ethics, Charity, and Economics.

Robert Sirico on Markets, Morality, Faith, and Freedom.

Art Carden on Christian Ethics, Charity, and Economics

tonygill — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:00:15 +0000

Margarita Mooney on Pope Benedict XVI & Cuba

tonygill — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:00:34 +0000

We celebrate our 100th episode with returning guest Prof. Margarita Mooney discussing Pope Benedict XVI’s historic visit to Cuba. Prof. Mooney is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Faculty Fellow at the Carolina Population Center. As a Cuban-American, she has maintained a personal link to the island nation, has made several trips to Cuba and maintains contact with a variety of individuals still residing there. Our conversation begins with a general survey of the religious landscape in Cuba since the 1959 communist revolution. Prof. Mooney details how religion, and particularly the Catholic Church, was repressed by the Castro regime. Priests were imprisoned and bishops excluded from the island, serving to weaken the institutional strength of the Catholic Church, but not extinguish its presence entirely. We also discuss how communism served to create what Prof. Mooney terms “anthropological impact,” a concept that basically relates to how social relations between individuals are damaged. As we discuss later, repairing this damage was a centerpiece of Pope Benedict’s message to Cubans. The recent religious history of Cuba also covers the relative thawing between the communist regime and the Church following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Cuban government’s subsequent loss of subsidies. The need to rely upon religious institutions for help in dealing basic social services was one of the concerns here. We also talk about the importance of Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to the island in 1998. Following this discussion, Margarita summarizes the main points made by Pope Benedict XVI in his “Homily in Havana.” The issue of promoting “authetic liberty” as well as promoting virtue as a basis for creating an “authentic fatherland” were central to the pope’s message to Cubans. Prof. Mooney also notes Pope Benedict’s emphasis on marriage, an aspect of the homily overlooked by the media, and why this was such an important point of emphasis for an ailing culture in Cuba. She also notes that the pope brought up the issues of faith & reason and his concern over the relativism that has been creeping into the intellectual thought of many Western nations. We finish off the interview with Margarita’s thoughts on how the pope’s visit has affected the Cuban Catholic Church and whether it exaccerbated or healed some rifts within the institutional leadership as to how the Church must deal with the regime. It is noted that some priests have preferred a more confrontational approach while the hierarchy has urged more prudence in dealing with a regime that appears to be at an important crossroads with both Fidel and his brother Raúl entering their twighlight years. Prof. Mooney closes with some optimistic thoughts about the future of Cuba and the role that faith will play in that nation. Recorded: April 16, 2012.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Margarita Mooney’s webpage.

The Black, White and Gray blog on Patheos.com.

Direct links to Prof. Mooney’s blog postings on Cuba at Black, White, and Gray.

Faith Makes Us Live: Surviving and Thriving in the Haitian Diaspora, by Margarita Mooney.

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Margarita Mooney on Religion & Haitian Immigrants.

Roger Finke on Religious Persecution.

Bradley Wright on the Upside of Life

tonygill — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:00:08 +0000

If you are feeling depressed about all the horrible news you’ve been hearing recently, Prof. Bradly R.E. Wright — associate professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut — returns to Research on Religion to deliver you some upbeat news from his recently published book Upside. Brad starts by reminding Tony that it was the Connecticut Huskies, not the Washington ones, that recently won a basketball championship and that is one of the reasons he is in a good mood. But more than that, Prof. Wright shares a number of suprising statistical trends that show the world is becoming a better place all around. We begin our discussion with the state of the economy, covering growing wealth in the US and the world over the past 50 years. This discussion covers the oft-repeated claim that the middle class is disappearing and we take a closer look at income inequality. Our attention then turns to crime , showing that crime rates have decreased significantly since the 1970s. The middle part of our interview takes a step sideways to reflect upon why so many people think the world is getting worse even though the statistical record suggests otherwise. We look at the role of the media, clergy, and academics in perpetuating negative information about the state of the world. After this discussion we move on to health, happiness, marriage, and the environment, before closing with reflections on whether Christianity is on the brink of disappearing. Throughout this podcast, Brad spices up his statistics with stories about how Christians are actively engaged in making a positive difference in people’s lives. Listen until the end to discover what prescriptions Prof. Wright has for continuing the positive trends we’ve seen over the past half century. Recorded: June 7, 2011.

RELATED SITES

Bradley Wright’s website and blog.

Upside: Surprising GOOD NEWS About the State of Our World by Bradley R.E. Wright.

Christians Are Hate Filled Hypocrites … and Other Lies You’ve Been Told by Bradley R.E. Wright.

News about the North Korean happiness survey, ranking China and North Korea #1 and #2 respectively!

Urban Ministry website.

HOPE International website.

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