All Posts By

Allison Vander Broek

Essay

Practicing Pluralsim

A few weeks ago, the New Yorker ran a piece on evangelicals and the Democratic Party. I read just about everything I can get my hands on about religion and politics so it piqued my interest. The article was meant…
Essay

Rediscovering Religion as an Adult

As a historian of American religion, I’ve always been fascinated by the ways religion has changed over time--how it’s shaped society and been shaped by society in return. Increasingly, I find myself deeply interested in people’s personal histories of religion,…
Essay

Thank You, Rachel

A little over a month ago, Rachel Held Evans passed away after a brief illness. After her death, there was an outpouring of grief from people across the religious spectrum. Just recently, beautiful reflections on her life and legacy were…
Essay

Reading for the Civic Mind

One of my favorite things about the last two years has been a new tradition started with my best friend from back home in Iowa--our weekly long-distance book club. I don’t even remember whose idea it was but at some…
Essay

Out of the Bubble

It’s not an infrequent occurrence that my friends will reference a song from the 1990s or early 2000s and I have no idea what they’re talking about. My response is usually along the lines of “No, I’ve never heard that…