Mark Silk
@directorsilk.bsky.social
Sometime newspaperman and professor; columnist at Religion News Service.
Christian nationalism nixes the Judeo-Christian tradition: bit.ly/4ibodQG @rns.org
On the right, Judeo-Christian values are out and Christian nationalism is in
(RNS) — As someone who has been studying the use of ‘Judeo-Christian’ in American public discourse for over 40 years, I can say with confidence its usage has come full circle.
bit.ly
November 18, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Christian nationalism nixes the Judeo-Christian tradition: bit.ly/4ibodQG @rns.org
Trump goes full Catholic: bit.ly/3WRsb7c @rns.org
President Trump's saintly message
(RNS) — On All Saints' Day, the nominally nondenominational president went full Roman Catholic.
bit.ly
November 10, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Trump goes full Catholic: bit.ly/3WRsb7c @rns.org
American Jewish anxiety, to the left and to the right: bit.ly/3WIdtzq @rns.org
The greater worry: Mamdani or the Heritage Foundation?
(RNS) — Jews have a choice.
bit.ly
November 6, 2025 at 10:52 PM
American Jewish anxiety, to the left and to the right: bit.ly/3WIdtzq @rns.org
Demonic possession from The Exorcist back to the Middle Ages...Happy Halloween! bit.ly/4nB68fU @rns.org
Scary demons? Only if you harbor a little evil yourself.
(RNS) — Possession wasn't as spooky in the Middle Ages as it is in 'The Exorcist.'
bit.ly
October 31, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Demonic possession from The Exorcist back to the Middle Ages...Happy Halloween! bit.ly/4nB68fU @rns.org
Oklahoma's Christian nationalist culture war: bit.ly/3JvnCfB @rns.org
In Walters' wake, Oklahoma pushes back against Christian nationalism
(RNS) — No Bibles in public school classrooms for now.
bit.ly
October 29, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Oklahoma's Christian nationalist culture war: bit.ly/3JvnCfB @rns.org
Ramaswamy's Hinduism v. TPUSA: bit.ly/47Bg03x. @rns.org
Give Vivek Ramaswamy an A- on his church-state quiz
(RNS) — Answering a Turning Point USA questioner, the erstwhile GOP presidential candidate deftly fended them off by citing the US Constitution.
bit.ly
October 17, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Ramaswamy's Hinduism v. TPUSA: bit.ly/47Bg03x. @rns.org
A cautionary note from the Bible's least attractive prophet: bit.ly/47gHkVs @rns.org
Prophet Jonah was bent on destruction. Does he have a lesson for Gaza's combatants?
(RNS) — A tale of two Ninevehs.
bit.ly
October 9, 2025 at 6:53 PM
A cautionary note from the Bible's least attractive prophet: bit.ly/47gHkVs @rns.org
Love v. Hate at the Kirk memorial service: bit.ly/4pNOKHi @rns.org
Kirk's memorial was caught between the Sermon on the Mount and spiritual warfare
(RNS) — Will Donald Trump's or Erika Kirk's Christianity win out?
bit.ly
September 26, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Love v. Hate at the Kirk memorial service: bit.ly/4pNOKHi @rns.org
When the right pushes back against the left's criticism of "thoughts and prayers": bit.ly/3IDGAAl @rns.org
When liberals decry thoughts and prayers
(RNS) — In the Bible, even God was known to say that prayer and repentance aren’t enough.
bit.ly
September 22, 2025 at 11:23 PM
When the right pushes back against the left's criticism of "thoughts and prayers": bit.ly/3IDGAAl @rns.org
MAGA has found its Horst Wessel: bit.ly/3KqAjbF @rns.org
Charlie Kirk is fast becoming an emblem of Trump's political religion
(RNS) — Past leaders have used shocking events to bring us together. Trump is making Kirk a martyr to drive Americans apart.
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September 16, 2025 at 10:25 PM
MAGA has found its Horst Wessel: bit.ly/3KqAjbF @rns.org
Trump v. Kaine re: the Declaration's god-given rights: bit.ly/3V8W95T @rns.org
Trump versus Kaine on God-given rights
(RNS) — A tempest in a teapot sends us back to Thomas Jefferson.
bit.ly
September 11, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Trump v. Kaine re: the Declaration's god-given rights: bit.ly/3V8W95T @rns.org
Rabbis' criticism of Israel's devastation of Gaza falls short of Netanyahu: bit.ly/4lIn3Mv @rns.org
Rabbis criticize Israeli government for Gaza
(RNS) — While several groups of rabbis have taken Israel to task, they are hardly voices crying in the wilderness.
bit.ly
August 26, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Rabbis' criticism of Israel's devastation of Gaza falls short of Netanyahu: bit.ly/4lIn3Mv @rns.org
Why you should read the Texas judge's Ten Commandments injunction: bit.ly/45P7M6U. (Spoiler alert: it a hoot.) @rns.org
Texas judge enjoyably enjoins the Ten Commandments
(RNS) — In blocking a statute requiring the Decalogue to be posted in public schools, a judge’s injunction is both solid jurisprudence and a good read.
bit.ly
August 21, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Why you should read the Texas judge's Ten Commandments injunction: bit.ly/45P7M6U. (Spoiler alert: it a hoot.) @rns.org
When religious needs to be limited: bit.ly/4mNfRzD @rns.org
SCOTUS supported parents' rights in education. But religious free exercise needs limits.
(RNS) — Case in point: a California faith-based day care lawsuit.
bit.ly
August 20, 2025 at 6:09 PM
When religious needs to be limited: bit.ly/4mNfRzD @rns.org
Euthanasia on the march in Canada: bit.ly/45ktQXV @rns.org
Why has Canada embraced euthanasia?
(RNS) — In short, because Canadians want it.
bit.ly
August 15, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Euthanasia on the march in Canada: bit.ly/45ktQXV @rns.org
Does the arc of the moral universe really bend toward justice? bit.ly/45eHxpU @rns.org
What the story of the Charleston church murders teaches
(RNS) — The twists and turns of racial justice in America.
bit.ly
July 31, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Does the arc of the moral universe really bend toward justice? bit.ly/45eHxpU @rns.org
There's a new religion jurisprudence in town: bit.ly/4l1VpKk @rns.org
The Supreme Court's radical revision of its views on religion in public schools
(RNS) — Promoting religion is now the order of the day.
bit.ly
July 29, 2025 at 12:56 AM
There's a new religion jurisprudence in town: bit.ly/4l1VpKk @rns.org
How Washington State botched a child protection law: bit.ly/45lYmAA @rns.org
Washington state shows how to botch a child protection law
(RNS) — Even Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown told the law's supporters he 'wished lawmakers had worked more closely with his office before passing the bill.'
bit.ly
July 25, 2025 at 8:41 PM
How Washington State botched a child protection law: bit.ly/45lYmAA @rns.org
No, Virginia. Trump's IRS didn't kill of the Johnson Amendment: bit.ly/4kQiT4T @rns.org
Despite tempest over a tax exemption, Trump's IRS keeps Johnson Amendment intact
(RNS) — Notwithstanding the consent decree, it's an open question whether the US Supreme Court would go along with voiding the Johnson Amendment.
bit.ly
July 21, 2025 at 8:22 PM
No, Virginia. Trump's IRS didn't kill of the Johnson Amendment: bit.ly/4kQiT4T @rns.org
When do you think public school students should be permitted to opt out: bit.ly/44lKxR6 @rns.org
A quiz on the Supreme Court's new religious opt-out standard
(RNS) — To what extent are you on board?
bit.ly
July 1, 2025 at 3:14 PM
When do you think public school students should be permitted to opt out: bit.ly/44lKxR6 @rns.org
On the morality of bombing Iran: bit.ly/43WfYCB @rns.org
Was it moral to bomb Iran?
(RNS) — The Greek early church fathers taught that we can consider a war necessary and repent for engaging in it at the same time.
bit.ly
June 23, 2025 at 7:22 PM
On the morality of bombing Iran: bit.ly/43WfYCB @rns.org
Leo's reviving the papal vacation at Castel Gandolfo. Here's something for him to do: bit.ly/4n9vulZ @rns.org
The new pope's going on vacation! A few ideas for his Castel Gandolfo stay
(RNS) — The luxury of time off is back on the papal agenda.
bit.ly
June 18, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Leo's reviving the papal vacation at Castel Gandolfo. Here's something for him to do: bit.ly/4n9vulZ @rns.org
The conservative evangelical charged with assassination in Minnesota is a radical leftist? Uh, no. bit.ly/43Ztvbe @rns.org
How not to deal with the assassination in Minnesota
(RNS) — Trump is true to form.
bit.ly
June 16, 2025 at 8:29 PM
The conservative evangelical charged with assassination in Minnesota is a radical leftist? Uh, no. bit.ly/43Ztvbe @rns.org
Madison wouldn't have approved Oklahoma's religious charter school either: bit.ly/43vahtM @rns.org
The establishment clause lives to fight another day
(RNS) — The Supreme Court keeps Oklahoma from creating a religious charter school.
bit.ly
May 23, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Madison wouldn't have approved Oklahoma's religious charter school either: bit.ly/43vahtM @rns.org
Pat on the back to the American Jewish Committee for working with ed groups to condemn 1) campus antisemitism and 2) Trump administration's campaign against same: bit.ly/4kqKlX5 @rns.org
It's possible to criticize campus antisemitism and Trumpian overreach. The AJC just did.
(RNS) — Unsurprisingly, this didn't go over well on the Jewish right.
bit.ly
May 20, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Pat on the back to the American Jewish Committee for working with ed groups to condemn 1) campus antisemitism and 2) Trump administration's campaign against same: bit.ly/4kqKlX5 @rns.org