Humanities & Society

Questions about Amy Coney Barrett’s religious affiliation and beliefs have dominated public discussion since President Trump announced that she was his pick to fill the U.S. Supreme Court seat left vacant by Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing. While her Catholicism is considered controversial by some, should it impact her confirmation? A Washington University in St. Louis law professor weighs in.

Ahead of the anticipated SCOTUS ruling on landmark abortion case, Marie Griffith, director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, discussed the Supreme Court case, the history of the abortion debate across religious/political lines and a way forward.

In the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and many more, a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis finds that religion may offer a protective role for black adolescent boys who experience police abuse.

In his book The Genealogical Adam & Eve: Surprising Science of Universal Ancestry, S. Joshua Swamidass, MD, associate professor of Pathology & Immunology in the School of Medicine and of Biomedical Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering, uses science to show that Adam and Eve could have existed and that theology and science don’t lie nearly so far apart.

In a society that is increasingly diverse yet less tolerant, how can Christians live faithfully while respecting those whose beliefs are radically different? A Washington University in St. Louis scholar says before we can find common ground with others, we must start by acknowledging and being comfortable with our own beliefs that make us different.

Marie Griffith, director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, argues that it is time to put away uncompromising and extreme rhetoric and truly listen to one another to find solutions that honor both the sanctity of life and a woman’s right to choose. 

Once more, we grieve; once more, we resolve to do what we can—all that we can—to quell the fires of racism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Muslim bigotry that burn ferociously today.

For nearly three decades, the Weltin Lecture Fund has enabled the Religious Studies Program and Assembly Series to bring renowned scholars of religion to the university. In spring 2018, Elaine Pagels delivered the lecture, sharing her riveting discoveries on art and politics in the Book of Revelation.