Anthea Butler
MSNBC Columnist
Anthea Butler is a professor of religious studies and Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Her most recent book is “White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America.”
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Anthea Butler
MS NOW Opinion
Immigrants deserve a stronger defender than this new U.S. Catholic leader
Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley is not the leader the U.S. church needs to mount a full-throated response to the Trump administration’s mass-deportation goals.
MS NOW Opinion
Pope Leo calls on U.S. bishops to stand up for migrants’ rights
The pope met this week with a group of more than 100 Latino Catholics from the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry.
MS NOW Opinion
‘Not really pro-life’: Pope Leo’s thoughts on the handling of immigration in America
The pope’s statement calling out the inhumane treatment of immigrants by the United States predictably infuriated conservatives and prompted a response by the White House.
MS NOW Opinion
James Dobson’s harsh, disciplinarian Christianity changed GOP politics
Discipline rooted in fear, not love, was a hallmark of Dobson’s teachings and a hallmark of his writings about children.
MS NOW Opinion
We can blame Jimmy Swaggart for much of our toxic politics
Swaggart’s mix of old-time gospel, his interpretations of biblical prophecy and his evangelistic crusades spread a particular kind of fundamentalist Pentecostalism that endures today.
MS NOW Opinion
The long-shot African cardinals who could make papal history
While an African pope would be a historically stunning development, just one of the drawbacks is that no African cardinal holds a major office in the Vatican.
MS NOW Opinion
The subtly complicated politics of Pope Francis’ funeral
Pope Francis’ funeral is be a moment when different factions from around the world, perhaps frustratingly, have to interact with one another.
MS NOW Opinion
There will never be another pope like Francis
Jorge Mario Bergoglio becoming pope was a singular event, likely not to be repeated in our lifetimes.
MS NOW Opinion
Why you should pray your Easter Sunday worship isn’t interrupted by ICE
A federal judge sided with the Trump administration April 11 and gave permission to ICE to conduct enforcement operations at houses of worship.
MS NOW Opinion
‘Conclave’ could have made a revolutionary statement — but it fell short
The movie asks viewers to consider the role that sexuality and gender have had in clerical life even as it falls prey to damaging tropes about both.