Thomas Tweed
tomtweed.bsky.social
Thomas Tweed
@tomtweed.bsky.social

Historian of religion. Author of 9 books, including Religion: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford); and Religion in the Lands That Became America (Yale). https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300221480/religion-in-the-lands-that-became-ame .. more

Political science 35%
Sociology 26%
Our investigation found 40+ cases in which federal immigration agents used chokeholds or other moves that can restrict someone’s breathing: https://propub.li/4rq51BV

We showed video clips from our reporting to Marc Brown, a law enforcement expert. This is what he said.

Reposted by Thomas A. Tweed

REMINDER: The deadline to apply for the Arvel M. Steece Research Fellowship for non-academic researchers is March 1st. Pastors, church historians, and anyone interested in Congregational history are invited to apply. Learn more at https://congregationallibrary.org/fellowships

Reposted by Thomas A. Tweed

Lilly Endowment invites organizations to submit proposals to its new Exploring Christian Practices Initiative. This opportunity aims to help individuals address their spiritual interests and questions, find and build community with others, and nourish their religious lives.

Find out more below!
Exploring Christian Practices Initiative - Lilly Endowment
This new initiative aims to increase access to settings that help individuals explore and engage in Christian practices.
lillyendowment.org

More of this coming…if Amazon wants to do the right thing—or just get a PR win—announce instead a new program to help 16,000 employees find affordable housing.

Reposted by Thomas A. Tweed

Breaking News: Amazon said it would cut 16,000 jobs to reduce bureaucracy and free up money to spend in “strategic areas” like A.I.
Amazon to Cut 16,000 Jobs in Latest Round of Layoffs
The e-commerce giant has been cutting costs in part to redirect money into building data centers to compete in the race to dominate artificial intelligence.
nyti.ms

Reposted by Thomas A. Tweed

Escalating tensions over Greenland are supercharging a dynamic that was already under way: a shift in the world economic order that had put the U.S. at the center of the global economy.
Greenland Clash Risks Undermining America’s Place in World Economic Order
The U.S. has long been a beacon of safety when uncertainty reigns. That is changing.
on.wsj.com
It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the USA, so here's his handwritten index card on existentialism and a little thread on why Dr. King thought Jean-Paul Sartre was wrong about freedom. 1/ ⬇️

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Spending on data-center construction is expected to rise by 23% in 2026, while the building of offices, hotels and apartments is seen declining slightly. on.wsj.com/3ZgqVM2
Commercial Builders Are Losing Their Appetite to Build Anything but Data Centers
Spending on data-center construction is expected to rise by 23% in 2026, while the building of offices, hotels and apartments is seen declining slightly.
on.wsj.com

Reposted by Thomas A. Tweed

The rare level of confidence and trust that the public gives museums is an opportunity and a responsibility. As debates over science, history, and art intensify, museums are being called upon to do something more fundamental: to model how people might think and listen together.
How museums can help rebuild trust in a divided America
As social divisions grow, museums provide forums for civic connection and discourse across political and cultural lines.
theconversation.com

Reposted by Thomas A. Tweed

About 1,500 active-duty soldiers have been placed on alert for a potential deployment to Minnesota in response to widespread protests over immigration enforcement in the state, according to four defense officials.
Pentagon Places 1,500 Soldiers on Alert for Possible Minnesota Deployment, Officials Say
The move comes as President Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to widespread protests.
on.wsj.com

Reposted by Thomas A. Tweed

My department at Princeton is hiring a full-time lecturer in Asian Religions. Deadline: February 18.

Expertise in Buddhism in East and Southeast Asia and ability to teach undergraudate courses on Chinese religions and on Great Books in Buddhism of interest.
apply.interfolio.com/180148
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com

Reposted by Thomas A. Tweed

Civically engaged Hoosiers subscribe to The Indiana Citizen.

The latest news and insightful commentary from across the state. Delivered directly to your inbox each Friday evening.

What are you waiting for?

indianacitizen.org/newsletter/?...

#hoosiersky #christiannationalism
Newsletter - THE INDIANA CITIZEN
Stay informed about the latest news from across the Hoosier state with The Indiana Citizen's free weekly newsletter. Once subscribed, you will need to confirm your email address before you will…
indianacitizen.org
Deadline today but please if you're interested drop us a line! Conference on Religions and Freedoms c 1776 (really, VERY broadly circa), joint @jcblibrary.bsky.social and the Danforth Center for Religion and Politics at Wash U.

TIMELY STUFF. More info and link here: jcblibrary.org/events/confe...

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Is the politicisation of religion on the rise in Britain? Our latest briefing explores a new report from Good Faith Partnership & @hopenothate.org.uk on how faith narratives are being used for both division and the common good. Find out more and watch the full briefing:
RMC Briefing: Religion, identity and division in Britain
In our first briefing of 2026, we look at a new report which explores the reasons why faith narratives are being mobilised for causes of division in Britain
religionmediacentre.org.uk

Reposted by Thomas A. Tweed

Greenlanders, such as tour guide Casper Frank Moller, said they hoped for a diplomatic solution, ahead of the January 14 meeting in Washington between the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers and U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Reposted by Thomas A. Tweed

Pope Leo XIV strongly condemned the Church's failure to welcome survivors of sexual abuse, calling it a "scandal" that deepens their suffering, even though the issue was not a main topic at the Jan. 7-8 extraordinary consistory in Rome.
Survivors praise pope's words during consistory that not welcoming abuse victims is 'scandal'
Pope Leo XIV strongly condemned the Church's failure to welcome survivors of sexual abuse, calling it a "scandal" that deepens their suffering, even though the issue was not a main topic at the Jan. 7...
bit.ly

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Happening now, Gavin Moulton presents his paper "The Slavic Church System: The Architecture and Political Economy of Slavic Churches in Industrial America" at our Eastern European Catholicism in America panel. #ACHA26 #AHA26 @historians.org @aschurchhistory.bsky.social

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2-yr Visiting Assistant Professor in Religion in the US at Middlebury College. Deadline 2/7/2026

"Among the courses expected from the candidate will be an introductory course on religion in America and a course on the intersections of religion and politics in the contemporary United States."
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com

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So much to explore and analyze when it comes to religion, Jan 6, and our memories of it.

@miketheprofessor.bsky.social and @petermanseau.bsky.social did us all a service by creating the Uncivil Religion digital resource.

uncivilreligion.org/home/about-t...
Uncivil Religion: About Uncivil Religion
A collaborative digital resource
uncivilreligion.org
Looking to understand the long history behind the US attack on Venezuela? Here are a few introductory-level reading recommendations from a professor and historian of US-Latin American Relations: (1/5)
🗃️ #history
1. Kyle Longley's "In the Eagle's Shadow: The United States and Latin America"

Reposted by Thomas A. Tweed

Stephen Miller isn’t just closing borders. He is trying to overturn decades of American history and progress.

Let’s stop pretending this is normal.
trib.al/ABOQ90r
Inside Stephen Miller’s Dark Plot to Build a MAGA Terror State
He is descended from Russian Jews—you know, the kind of people who were once denounced as alien and unassimilable. Today, his project is to unleash government persecution of those he deems alien and unassimilable. How far will Miller’s sadistic designs go?
trib.al

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From plant leaves to oceans, nature's designs remind us of life's balance.

But nature is in crisis. Biodiversity loss is accelerating at an unprecedented rate. One million animal & plant species are threatened with extinction.

Take action #ForNature today & every day: www.unep.org/topics/natur...
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page:

Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”

Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Inside the New Fast Track to a Presidential Pardon
Even some of the president’s closest advisers have been surprised by a number of the recent series of pardons.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by Thomas A. Tweed

The standard story was that 1950s religious revivals were about contrasting America with the godless commies of the USSR, but I found material that hinted at an older well funded campaign that reframed the revival as a corporate pushback against the New Deal.

So I followed that unexpected thread!
It’s feeling very real!!!

Publication date: June 16, 2026.

@pennpress.bsky.social

Can’t wait to see this forthcoming book!
@tisawenger.bsky.social
@uncpress.bsky.social
🗃️ My History Department is hiring for a tenure track position in Native American history. See link for details!

jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
​Assistant or Associate Professor of History
jobs.colorado.edu
My new book is now available for pre-order from UNC Press @uncpress.bsky.social! Use code 01SOCIAL30 at checkout to save 30%. uncpress.org/978146969362...
Spirits of Empire
The Declaration of Independence depicted Native Americans as bloodthirsty savages, and from its founding the United States aimed to expand westward by seizin...
uncpress.org
Applications for the postdoc at the @ctrrelpol-washu.bsky.social are due by January 5, 2026.
Danforth Center on Religion and Politics Announces New Postdoctoral Fellowship Search - John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics
rap.wustl.edu

It’s difficult to imagine targeting Sister Norma, who won Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal in 2018 for her extraordinary work with migrants at the border.

open.substack.com/pub/lettersf...
Trump-Vance White House Targets Beloved Nun in Texas, Retaliates Against Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley — praised by Pope Leo as an “agent of hope” — now faces a six-year federal funding ban. Church leaders say it’s a vendetta by the Trump-Vance White House.
open.substack.com