You guys can keep repeating this all you want, but it doesn’t make it true. America was founded as a secular republic, not a Christian nation. The Constitution is pretty clear about that.

This is a disaster Funding from the National Science Foundation's directorate of Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) has dropped by 90%. This is doing massive damage to crucially important scientific fields and is going to ruin many young scientific careers in these fields.

Dan Garisto@dangaristo.bsky.social · 6d ago

But no part was hit as hard as SBE, which went from an average of 800 new grants to just 91, a precipitous, 90% decline. SBE spent just 95 million on new grants, far less than its average of 247 million.

Two more days to submit for the Religion Preconference at SPSP 2027! We’re accepting all formats: talks, data blitzes, and posters. Submit until October 8! Application here: spsp.wufoo.com/forms/2027-p...

Nava Caluori@ncaluori.bsky.social · last mo.

The Religion & Spirituality Preconference at @spspnews.bsky.social 2027 is now accepting applications! We're excited for a full day of programming, including talks from @conradhackett.bsky.social, Patty Van Cappellen, Kristin Laurin, & @lfitouchi.bsky.social. More here! 📣 spsp.org/events/annua...

We’re talking church-state separation with @couriernewsroom.bsky.social and you’re NOT going to want to miss it! Join us on October 20th either in person in DC or virtually. You can register at luma.com/0fyxneiq?utm...

Weaponizing Faith: Christian Nationalism at the Supreme Court · Luma

What’s happening at the Supreme Court and the push to tear down the wall between church and state are deeply connected. To protect our democracy, we have to…

luma.com

***NEW REPORT*** Using a large (23,000 people) national survey collected in 2026 by @kettering.org & @gallup.com, I wrote this expansive report on Christian nationalism and Americans' views of democracy. As we head toward Nov., this report shows us what is at stake. kettering.org/christian-na...

Christian Nationalism and the State of American Democracy in 2026

What do Christian nationalists mean by "democracy"? New Democracy for All Project survey data reveals competing visions of power, citizenship, and democratic values.

kettering.org

TODAY at 1 PM ET: Thinking about applying for our 2027 Summer Institute for Social and Personality Psychology? Join us for a virtual info session to learn more about the SISPP experience and receive guidance on the application process. RSVP here: https://ow.ly/BlcK50ZU0lW

Worth a read. We should all be frightened when the government commissions poor science to advance a clearly ideological goal. So much for "gold standard science" from HHS.

NPR@npr.org · 2w ago

The report is the agency's latest effort to chip away at trust in established health care models for transgender people. Critics say it frames transgender identity as illegitimate or even dangerous. n.pr/4hlmOIv

This man is a monster. He seeks out women survivors because he hates them. And he hates them because he hates himself. He has harassed me and other women survivors many times over the years. It must end. He should never have a job anywhere.

The Serfs (youtube.com/theserfstv)@theserfstv.bsky.social · 2w ago

Michael Tracey is actively attempting to dox Jane Doe in the Cornell 7 rape case

🚨NEW PREPRINT🚨 @aiyanakoka.bsky.social Meara Geraty and I revisited religious priming, breaking the causal claim into links that we robustly tested. Do God Primes Prime God? Converging Evidence Against the Efficacy of Experimental Religious Priming osf.io/preprints/ps... #PsychSciSky #metascience

The administration is airing a new TV ad touting President Trump’s accomplishments, with music proclaiming “love me” — which it says is a “public service announcement” funded “by the U.S. government.”

White House says new pro-Trump ad funded by the ‘U.S. government’ is a ‘public service announcement’

The ad praises Trump and plays a song with the words “love me” repeated over and over. The administration hasn’t disclosed more details about its funding source.

nbcnews.to

New from @melissadeckman.bsky.social and @ruthbraunstein.bsky.social at @newsweek.com "A potential electoral backlash to Trump’s appeals to Christian nationalism may also be spurred by the rising prominence of progressive religious voices on the campaign trail." www.newsweek.com/resistance-t...

Resistance to Christian nationalism could help decide midterms | Opinion

"Backlash to Trump’s appeals to Christian nationalism may be spurred by the rising prominence of progressive religious voices."

newsweek.com

We have a new paper on the study of epistemically suspect beliefs We argue that research on social identity can explain how people select information & social environments, evaluate evidence & process information in ways that affirm their identities You can read it here: osf.io/preprints/ps...

Fascinating explainer from the NYTimes today — and not just because it cites RNS (thanks!). Tucked in here is one of the most succinct assessments* of mainline Protestantism's historic US political role I've seen this cycle — an important this for folks to grasp. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/m...

Can Democrats Reclaim the Christian Moral High Ground?

A surprising number of pastors are running as Democrats this year, challenging Americans’ assumptions about politics and faith.

nytimes.com

Of course. While Trump opposes any common sense AI safety regulations, he & his sons are profiting off the free ride he’s giving the AI industry. Even with the future of humanity on the line, Trump’s profits come first. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Trump and sons invest heavily in AI economy as he resists calls for slowdown

Trump’s decisions as president on one of the most consequential policy debates of his administration could affect the value of his personal investments.

washingtonpost.com

JSSR "When we force respondents to choose which option best reflects making God's Kingdom present, Christian nationalism corresponds to deprioritizing acts of charity or justice, while prioritizing electing Christians to power, changing laws to reflect biblical principles & engaging in evangelism."

Our students don’t deserve this. For those who don’t understand UT Austin admissions, most undergrads get in bc they were top 5% of their graduating class, from a Texas high school. Anyone calling for more white students is advocating for race conscious admissions - to help out white students.

Corey Rayburn Yung@coreyryung.bsky.social · 3w ago

From the official Dept of Education account on X, an endorsement of Bo French's racist tweet about Indian students at a University of Texas football game. Just awful.

Groups make more economically rational decisions. A paper compared Individual and Group Behavior in the Ultimatum Game. Groups offered less than individuals. But groups were also willing to accept lower offers. "groups are more rational than individuals" link.springer.com/article/10.1...

An attendee at the Republican midterm convention on Thursday night shouted three times, “He should be shot!” — when Sen. Ted Cruz talked about New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democratic Senate nominees Abdul El-Sayed and James Talarico.

GOP convention attendee calls for shooting Democrats during Cruz’s speech

Democrats condemned the calls for violence. The Republican senator did not address the outburst in the moment but later posted a clip in which it could be clearly heard.

washingtonpost.com

Saying the quiet part out loud

CNN@cnn.com · last mo.

President Donald Trump closed out the GOP’s midterm convention Thursday night by calling on its attendees to vote and pledge to “cheat like hell” to help Republicans keep control of Congress. Read more about the final night of the GOP’s midterm convention: https://cnn.it/4iotUgm

Another record enrollment in Illinois. The University of Illinois Chicago is seeing record enrollment two years in a row. A win for our schools, our students, and our state.

University of Illinois Chicago sees record enrollment two years in a row

The University of Illinois Chicago reported its highest enrollment numbers in school history for the second consecutive year, recording over 37,000 students.

chicagotribune.com

The US is facing a mass exodus of scientists The funding cuts & attacks on science are demoralizing a generation of brilliant minds One-third of young scientists who were planning careers in academic research changed their minds in 2025 and many now plan to leave www.nber.org/system/files...

🚨 ‼️ new paper ‼️ 🚨 With political scientist Nathan Chan, we used the latest 2024 and 2020 CMPS to look at why Asians and Latinos (the 2 largest immigrant groups in US) might support deportation policies. Out now in Political Psychology! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Working hard to belong: Meritocratic ideology and deportation sentiments among Latino and Asian Americans

Why do some Latino and Asian Americans support conservative policies that may discriminate against them? Elaborating on system justification theory, we argue that ideologies such as meritocracy perpe...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

samuel mehr@mehr.nz · 11mo ago

🚨BREAKING 🚨 if you tweet your new paper in red-alert emojis, and the paper has not actually cured cancer, then you should reevaluate your perceived self-importance

Oh wait, someone has thought of this before!

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.

Rachel Campos-Duffy on Trump's $5k offer to voters if they vote Republican: "This just shows how creative and rule-breaking and out of the box President Trump is. I'm surprised nobody has thought of this before."

Sharing this hot off the press conversation with historian @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social about my new book BACKSLIDE, and what happens when Christian faith turns on democracy. www.redeemingdemocracy.net/p/when-faith...

When Faith Turns on Democracy: Live with Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Robert P. Jones

A recording from Robert P. Jones and Ruth Ben-Ghiat's live video

redeemingdemocracy.net

Great study! 1) It illustrates how media effects tend to be larger in lab/survey experiments than in field experiments and observational data. A consistent pattern for over 80 years. 2) It also illustrates the weak power of nonpartisan messages compared to messages from partisan opinion leaders.

Brendan Nyhan@brendannyhan.bsky.social · last mo.

Extremely impressive field experiment by @nmalhotra.bsky.social et al. had few effects on election attitudes among conservatives in TX despite being "exposed to an average of 20 online videos, 18.5 cable TV videos, 23.9 display ads, 3 text messages, and 3 postcards" www.science.org/doi/full/10....

National Jewish Survey, Sep 1, 2026 Generic congressional ballot: 67% D, 26% R Approvals JD Vance: -68 MAGA: -59 Donald Trump: -53 ICE: -50 Benjamin Netanyahu: -40 Marco Rubio: -33 "Israeli policy in Gaza": -30 Barack Obama +32 jewishvoters.org/wp-content/u...

UIC--Chicago's public research university is setting enrollment records while pursuing access and excellence!

The University of Illinois System@uofilsystem.bsky.social · last mo.

For the first time, fall enrollment across the University of Illinois System has topped 102,000 — a new system record. 📈 The growth is coming from home: in-state undergraduates are up 4.2%, and Illinois residents now make up nearly 80% of our undergraduate population: https://ow.ly/psSG50ZLfv8

This is yet another telling example of the Trump regime’s racism. There’s no pretense here of targeting criminals - the usual excuse for mass deportations. DHS is specifically encouraging Haitian “doctors, lawyers, scholars and engineers” to leave. Any decent society would value these people.

“UIC estimates that Cook County retail and restaurant businesses have lost roughly $1.26 billion in commercial activity and about $107 million in tax revenue since ICE enforcement increased last year.”

Chicago-Area Businesses Lost $1.2 Billion Because Of Immigration Crackdown, Report Says

Border Patrol's Operation Midway Blitz and ICE arrests discouraged Cook County shoppers from spending money, according to a new UIC report.

blockclubchicago.org

I’ll be reviewing PhD apps for the 27-28 AY! My lab studies questions related to how people (1) talk and think about (their own/experiences with) racism, (2) have difficult conversations, (3) socialize their children about racism and identity. Learn more here: www.sciplab.com