Catherine Brekus

A Bible in front of a gray American flag

The Uproar Over the 'Ultimate American Bible'

September 16, 2021
“Putting the Bible or placing American history within the Bible, or suggesting the U.S. is a source of revelation, is seen by many evangelicals as a kind of heresy,” said HDS Professor Catherine Brekus.
Professor Catherine Brekus

Salem, 1692

March 18, 2021
HDS Professor Catherine Brekus discusses the Salem Witch Hunt and talks about what leads a close-knit community to turn against each other—and draws some uncomfortable parallels with our own moment, from conspiracy theories to the demonization of opponents, especially women.
Joe Biden stands on the steps of the Capitol as he is sworn in as president. AP photo

Recognizing Pain but Seizing Hope

January 21, 2021
The prayers offered during President Joe Biden's inauguration ultimately “reflected Biden’s desire to overcome religious as well as political divisions and to unite people in service of the common good,” said HDS Professor Catherine Brekus.
Supporters of President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Photo by New York Times

America's Divide Seen in a Clash of Symbols

January 15, 2021
"Biden is intent on taking his oath on the steps of the Capitol because he understands its symbolic power. He is determined to reclaim the Capitol from those who claimed, in the midst of erecting nooses and wreaking violence against the police, to be America's truest patriots," says HDS Professor Catherine Brekus.
Religion and the Election poster

Video: Religion and the 2020 Election: A Conversation with James Kloppenberg and E.J. Dionne

October 30, 2020

View a conversation on religion and the 2020 election with James Kloppenberg, Charles Warren Professor of American History at Harvard, and E.J. Dionne, Visiting Professor in Religion and Political Culture at HDS. This event was moderated by Catherine Brekus, Charles Warren Professor of the History of Religion in America at HDS, and was sponsored by the Council on the Study of Religion, the Committee on the Study of Religion, and Harvard Divinity School.... Read more about Video: Religion and the 2020 Election: A Conversation with James Kloppenberg and E.J. Dionne

Professor Catherine Brekus

Harvard Professors Discuss Role of Religion in the 2020 Election at Divinity School Lecture

October 23, 2020
"Trump's greatest effect on religion has been to privilege the voices of white evangelicals, who have supported him in huge numbers because of their hope that he will restore something that they feel has been lost—namely, the white, Protestant identity of the United States. In contrast, both Jim Kloppenberg and E.J. Dionne noted that religious pluralism has strengthened American democracy," said HDS Professor Catherine Brekus.

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