Charles McCrary

Assistant Professor of Religious Studies

Religious Freedom

Secularism

Religion in politics and culture

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Magazine article

The Ultimate Goal of the Right's "Religious Liberty" Crusade

by Charles McCrary

Published 07/07/2026

The New Republic

A new report from Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission makes clear that this issue is just a stalking horse for a much broader political project to transform America.

Journal article

Snakes in the Rotunda: Representing Christian Nationalism

by Charles McCrary

Published 06/01/2026

Religious studies review, 52, 2, 240 - 242

“White Christian nationalism” (WCN) is, perhaps among other things, a term that circulates in liberal and centrist media, bolstered by sociological scholarship. As such, it has an awkward relationship to the field of religious studies, for theoretical and material reasons. In a time when many scholars are incentivized to produce “public scholarship,” it can be tempting to contribute to these discourses, particularly when publics show keen interest and political stakes are high. However, one of the most useful moves that all scholars know how to make—indeed, maybe the only one we all share—is to critique and historicize the category “religion,” analyzing its uses. The question then arises: Should religious studies scholars propagate discourses about WCN, or should we study them? Can we do both?

Journal article Peer reviewed

Editor's Introduction to Paradoxes of Education: A Symposium on Without A Prayer

by Charles McCrary

Published 09/15/2025

Religious studies review, 51, 3, 777 - 778