Cara Burnidge
@burnidge.bsky.social
Historian of religion and politics in the US. Researching “progressive” political and religious movements and teaching undergraduates about religious diversity in the US and what they can do with their Religious Studies majors.
“I never despaired about my students, who, when our conditions allowed it, showed me again and again how close reading requires and multiplies both trust and strength.”
I wrote an essay for @bostonreview.bsky.social about what I learned about close reading when I taught at West Virginia University
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
The Claims of Close Reading - Boston Review
Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.
www.bostonreview.net
November 26, 2025 at 10:15 PM
“I never despaired about my students, who, when our conditions allowed it, showed me again and again how close reading requires and multiplies both trust and strength.”
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
i can not be the only person wondering about the five percent gap between bigfoot and the yeti
i mean is this where u draw the line
i mean is this where u draw the line
New polling on aliens
% of U.S. adult citizens who believe the following definitely or probably exist:
Aliens 56%
Bigfoot 28%
The Yeti 23%
The Loch Ness Monster 22%
Chupacabra 16%
today.yougov.com/health/artic...
% of U.S. adult citizens who believe the following definitely or probably exist:
Aliens 56%
Bigfoot 28%
The Yeti 23%
The Loch Ness Monster 22%
Chupacabra 16%
today.yougov.com/health/artic...
November 25, 2025 at 11:37 PM
i can not be the only person wondering about the five percent gap between bigfoot and the yeti
i mean is this where u draw the line
i mean is this where u draw the line
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
We're concluding another successful AAR-SBL gathering, and it’s been wonderful to connect with all our authors in Boston!
With tomorrow as the final day, we're giving away the remaining display books for free! Swing by Booth 813 starting at 8:30!
#AAR #SBL #AARSBL2025
With tomorrow as the final day, we're giving away the remaining display books for free! Swing by Booth 813 starting at 8:30!
#AAR #SBL #AARSBL2025
November 24, 2025 at 9:27 PM
We're concluding another successful AAR-SBL gathering, and it’s been wonderful to connect with all our authors in Boston!
With tomorrow as the final day, we're giving away the remaining display books for free! Swing by Booth 813 starting at 8:30!
#AAR #SBL #AARSBL2025
With tomorrow as the final day, we're giving away the remaining display books for free! Swing by Booth 813 starting at 8:30!
#AAR #SBL #AARSBL2025
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
Met my editors in person for the first time! "Good Christian Girls: Nostalgia and the Making of Evangelical Girlhood" is as of a few weeks ago under contract with @uncpress.bsky.social. #AARSBL25
November 23, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Met my editors in person for the first time! "Good Christian Girls: Nostalgia and the Making of Evangelical Girlhood" is as of a few weeks ago under contract with @uncpress.bsky.social. #AARSBL25
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
Calling all contingent historians and their editors--if you haven't submitted for this year's lists, why not? Seriously, these are our most highly read pieces of the year. They are a great way to get your scholarship in front of people and SELL YOUR BOOKS.
Thank you to @erinbartram.bsky.social for the idea as a public scholarly companion to Contingent's end of year list of publications from non-tenure track historians.
Submissions for @contingent-mag.bsky.social are due by November 29th if you haven't submitted yet!
Submissions for @contingent-mag.bsky.social are due by November 29th if you haven't submitted yet!
Publications by Non-Tenure-Track Historians
Since we began publishing in 2019, Contingent has published end-of-year lists of books and articles by non-tenure-track historians released in the past calendar year. To submit something for inclusion...
contingentmagazine.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Calling all contingent historians and their editors--if you haven't submitted for this year's lists, why not? Seriously, these are our most highly read pieces of the year. They are a great way to get your scholarship in front of people and SELL YOUR BOOKS.
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
I have a query from a colleague looking for someone who can talk theology and politics in US Catholicism, and no names are springing immediately to mind. Any suggestions?
November 20, 2025 at 6:47 PM
I have a query from a colleague looking for someone who can talk theology and politics in US Catholicism, and no names are springing immediately to mind. Any suggestions?
Chatbot Jesus is many things. one of them is a sign of how little many Christians seem to care about biblical exegesis.
There could be really rich conversations about what informs the code (as @robertpjones.bsky.social suggests) but that seems absent. The goal is to offload interpretation entirely
There could be really rich conversations about what informs the code (as @robertpjones.bsky.social suggests) but that seems absent. The goal is to offload interpretation entirely
Following a wave of coverage on AI and religion this week, I decided to have a chat with AI white Jesus about Trump, immigration, and his own self-presentation.
open.substack.com/pub/robertpj...
open.substack.com/pub/robertpj...
Conversations with Chatbot Jesus--What Could Go Wrong?
Plus the latest episode of The Convocation Unscripted
open.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Chatbot Jesus is many things. one of them is a sign of how little many Christians seem to care about biblical exegesis.
There could be really rich conversations about what informs the code (as @robertpjones.bsky.social suggests) but that seems absent. The goal is to offload interpretation entirely
There could be really rich conversations about what informs the code (as @robertpjones.bsky.social suggests) but that seems absent. The goal is to offload interpretation entirely
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
Anyway, hire more religion reporters.
November 16, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Anyway, hire more religion reporters.
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
A Guide to AI Ethics Literacy: a growing collection of resources from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
www.scu.edu/ethics/focus...
www.scu.edu/ethics/focus...
A Guide to AI Ethics Literacy
A growing list of AI ethics issues and links to relevant materials from the Ethics Center.
www.scu.edu
November 16, 2025 at 1:45 AM
A Guide to AI Ethics Literacy: a growing collection of resources from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
www.scu.edu/ethics/focus...
www.scu.edu/ethics/focus...
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
ICE vs the clergy
November 15, 2025 at 1:32 AM
ICE vs the clergy
My dept is hiring in Religious Ethics!
4/4 load, renewable term with path to promotion (not tenure stream). Specialty open in applied ethics.
Happy to answer questions! #SBLAAR25 #AARSBL25 @aarwomenscaucus.bsky.social
uni.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UNI/jo...
4/4 load, renewable term with path to promotion (not tenure stream). Specialty open in applied ethics.
Happy to answer questions! #SBLAAR25 #AARSBL25 @aarwomenscaucus.bsky.social
uni.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UNI/jo...
Assistant Professor of Instruction - Religious Ethics
If you are a current University of Northern Iowa employee and would like to apply for this position, login to UNI Works and type “Find Jobs” in the search bar to view and apply for open positions. Ful...
uni.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:50 PM
My dept is hiring in Religious Ethics!
4/4 load, renewable term with path to promotion (not tenure stream). Specialty open in applied ethics.
Happy to answer questions! #SBLAAR25 #AARSBL25 @aarwomenscaucus.bsky.social
uni.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UNI/jo...
4/4 load, renewable term with path to promotion (not tenure stream). Specialty open in applied ethics.
Happy to answer questions! #SBLAAR25 #AARSBL25 @aarwomenscaucus.bsky.social
uni.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UNI/jo...
This Back Pages series is wonderful!
I have been thinking about this book on and off for the last year! I’m so glad it’s featured here because, as AP notes, there are through lines to reckon with, especially when trying to understand how white Christian women wield piety as power.
I have been thinking about this book on and off for the last year! I’m so glad it’s featured here because, as AP notes, there are through lines to reckon with, especially when trying to understand how white Christian women wield piety as power.
Back Pages is back again with your biweekly Tuesday installment: Amanda Porterfield on her book Female Piety in Puritan New England (1992). Porterfield reflects on puritan rhetoric and the trial of Anne Hutchinson. Read further here: www.american-religion.org/back-pages/b...
Back to the Puritans — American Religion
Amanda Porterfield on Female Piety in Puritan New England (1992)
www.american-religion.org
October 21, 2025 at 2:22 PM
This Back Pages series is wonderful!
I have been thinking about this book on and off for the last year! I’m so glad it’s featured here because, as AP notes, there are through lines to reckon with, especially when trying to understand how white Christian women wield piety as power.
I have been thinking about this book on and off for the last year! I’m so glad it’s featured here because, as AP notes, there are through lines to reckon with, especially when trying to understand how white Christian women wield piety as power.
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
Is there anything better than having scholars you admire engage closely with your work? Thanks Cara Burnidge, Karine Walther, Kate Moran, Mike Verney, and Jay Sexton! @burnidge.bsky.social @karinewalther.bsky.social
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
H-Diplo Roundtable XXVII-4 on Conroy-Krutz, _Missionary Diplomacy_ | H-Net
H-Diplo Roundtable XXVII-4 Emily Conroy-Krutz. Missionary Diplomacy: Religion and Nineteenth-Century American Foreign Relations. Cornell University Press, 2024. ISBN: 9781501773983.
networks.h-net.org
October 13, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Is there anything better than having scholars you admire engage closely with your work? Thanks Cara Burnidge, Karine Walther, Kate Moran, Mike Verney, and Jay Sexton! @burnidge.bsky.social @karinewalther.bsky.social
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
This quote:
“writing requires an unending effort at something resembling authenticity. Most mistakes come from not being yourself, not saying what you think, or being afraid to figure out what you really think.”
“writing requires an unending effort at something resembling authenticity. Most mistakes come from not being yourself, not saying what you think, or being afraid to figure out what you really think.”
Chiming in on Lynn Hunt. A gorgeous prose writer - and she works at it, which is why I also love assigning this by her! www.historians.org/perspectives...
How Writing Leads to Thinking (and Not the Other Way Around) – AHA
Writing is stressful. Sitting in my computer chair my neck and shoulder muscles almost immediately tense up as I dig around in my brain for the best phrase or even any coherent string of words.
www.historians.org
September 25, 2025 at 10:21 PM
This quote:
“writing requires an unending effort at something resembling authenticity. Most mistakes come from not being yourself, not saying what you think, or being afraid to figure out what you really think.”
“writing requires an unending effort at something resembling authenticity. Most mistakes come from not being yourself, not saying what you think, or being afraid to figure out what you really think.”
"We want to gear on the side of entertainment," he said, "because we think especially biblical content is over-indexed to educational." …is a remarkable statement given Religious Studies Departments around the country closing.
"The AI Bible is a way to really bring these stories to life in a way that people have never seen before. Think of if we were like, the Marvel Universe of faith," said one of the site's creators.
Fantasy or faith? One company's AI-generated Bible content stirs controversy
"The AI Bible is a way to really bring these stories to life in a way that people have never seen before. Think of if we were like, the Marvel Universe of faith," said one of the site's creators.
n.pr
September 7, 2025 at 10:41 PM
"We want to gear on the side of entertainment," he said, "because we think especially biblical content is over-indexed to educational." …is a remarkable statement given Religious Studies Departments around the country closing.
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
I’m teaching modern US history survey in-person in the spring for the first time in six years. What are the new cool supplemental books to assign students? 🗃️
September 7, 2025 at 8:15 PM
I’m teaching modern US history survey in-person in the spring for the first time in six years. What are the new cool supplemental books to assign students? 🗃️
One of the reading groups this fall at my institution is @cjdenial.bsky.social Pedagogy of Kindness. Love to see it!
September 4, 2025 at 3:25 PM
One of the reading groups this fall at my institution is @cjdenial.bsky.social Pedagogy of Kindness. Love to see it!
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
@uncpress.bsky.social is having a flash sale to celebrate their new website 🎉 You can save 50% off all books, including pre-orders of mine, for 48 hours with code 01NEWSITE50!
uncpress.org/978146969032...
Plus there are new blurbs from @therubellion.bsky.social and @rachelbgross.bsky.social!
uncpress.org/978146969032...
Plus there are new blurbs from @therubellion.bsky.social and @rachelbgross.bsky.social!
Free-Range Religion
Ethical and moral concerns about food and diet commonly feature in individuals' religious identities and expressions. These concerns extend beyond what one s...
uncpress.org
August 25, 2025 at 4:16 PM
@uncpress.bsky.social is having a flash sale to celebrate their new website 🎉 You can save 50% off all books, including pre-orders of mine, for 48 hours with code 01NEWSITE50!
uncpress.org/978146969032...
Plus there are new blurbs from @therubellion.bsky.social and @rachelbgross.bsky.social!
uncpress.org/978146969032...
Plus there are new blurbs from @therubellion.bsky.social and @rachelbgross.bsky.social!
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
In Arlington, a church and artist mark sidewalks where ICE tore families apart. These ‘stumbling stickers’ force memory onto public ground—reminders of grief, resistance, and the refusal to let erasure win.
Local church and artist memorialize Arlington ICE arrests with ‘stumbling stickers’ | ARLnow.com
A new collaboration between a South Arlington church and a local artist is seeking to memorialize places where immigration enforcement has arrested people in Arlington. Led by the Rev. Ashley Goff, me...
www.arlnow.com
August 21, 2025 at 3:56 PM
In Arlington, a church and artist mark sidewalks where ICE tore families apart. These ‘stumbling stickers’ force memory onto public ground—reminders of grief, resistance, and the refusal to let erasure win.
So much is happening in the Sweeney ad and it’s not just the play on the word “jeans.” There’s also a play being had on emphasizing her jeans being “blue.”
How did blue get passed down for generations?
www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ame...
How did blue get passed down for generations?
www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ame...
Race, Slavery, and Blue Jeans | AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | PBS LearningMedia
Learn how the production of indigo and denim relied on the skills and labor of enslaved people brought to colonial America from Africa and how these products became vital to the economies of the South...
www.pbslearningmedia.org
July 30, 2025 at 2:31 AM
So much is happening in the Sweeney ad and it’s not just the play on the word “jeans.” There’s also a play being had on emphasizing her jeans being “blue.”
How did blue get passed down for generations?
www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ame...
How did blue get passed down for generations?
www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ame...
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
Critical secularism studies - are we still doing this? Any juice left in that lime? I say yes!
New from me in JAAR -
“Review Essay: Critical Secularism Studies in These Times” academic.oup.com/jaar/article...
“Review Essay: Critical Secularism Studies in These Times” academic.oup.com/jaar/article...
Review Essay: Critical Secularism Studies in These Times: The Coloniality of the Secular: Race, Religion, and the Poetics of World-MakingSecularism as Misdirection: Critical Thought from the Global So...
In our era of polycrisis, so many targets of struggle and critique are linked, overlapping, symbiotic. It is imperative but difficult to find terminology t
academic.oup.com
July 25, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Critical secularism studies - are we still doing this? Any juice left in that lime? I say yes!
<turning to look directly at the camera from an office at a public, teaching-emphasis university>
one of the things that gets me about so many of the pundits who pontificate about "higher education" when they really mean a handful of elite private institutions is that most of them live within driving distance of either a community college or a non-selective public institution
July 16, 2025 at 3:48 PM
<turning to look directly at the camera from an office at a public, teaching-emphasis university>
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
thinking for no apparent reason about @felixh.bsky.social's brilliantly titled chapter "Invisible Umpires" in his book Ku Klux Kulture
July 16, 2025 at 3:39 PM
thinking for no apparent reason about @felixh.bsky.social's brilliantly titled chapter "Invisible Umpires" in his book Ku Klux Kulture
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/07/died...
Excellent piece by @danielsilliman.bsky.social
These two screen shots are horrifying
Excellent piece by @danielsilliman.bsky.social
These two screen shots are horrifying
July 15, 2025 at 5:45 PM
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/07/died...
Excellent piece by @danielsilliman.bsky.social
These two screen shots are horrifying
Excellent piece by @danielsilliman.bsky.social
These two screen shots are horrifying
How to I not merely dislike a Spotify suggestion but make the algorithm feel shame for even suggesting it in the first place?
July 14, 2025 at 6:44 PM
How to I not merely dislike a Spotify suggestion but make the algorithm feel shame for even suggesting it in the first place?