Peter J. Thuesen
@peterjthuesen.bsky.social
Historian of American religion. Writing a book on Boston's Richard Cardinal Cushing (1895-1970), who was loved more for his humanity than his consistency. Previous books: Tornado God (OUP), Predestination (OUP), In Discordance with the Scriptures (OUP).
In a pre-semester purge of my shelves at the office, I finally parted with this old friend, which accompanied me through writing an undergraduate honors thesis, a Ph.D. dissertation, and my first books. But I realized I now default to an online thesaurus. R.I.P. Rodale!
"There is in the living act of perception always something that glimmers and twinkles and will not be caught, and for which reflection comes too late." —William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902)
Loved Tom Llamas’s reporting tonight on @nbcnews.com about Pope Leo XIV. At a time when our American government is sowing so much chaos around the world, Pope Leo is our best export. He gives me hope.
On this 250th Independence Day, I'm still a romantic about the promise of America. I've been in NC this week clearing out my parents' house. Here are some of their American history books. (Dad was a Stevenson fan.) Grateful for the love of American history they imparted.
We're in the shadow of the Indiana Statehouse this morning to discuss academic freedom in a state where the legislature has significantly weakened it. Just one of the many topics being discussed at the 9th Biennial @csraac.bsky.social conference.
Downtown Indianapolis is buzzing this weekend with scholarly dialogue on American religion! It's the 9th Biennial Religion & American Culture Conference of @csraac.bsky.social. What a privilege to have Americanists here from across the nation!
The Court's decision overlooks reality for a self-serving right-wing fantasy and it will live in infamy.
In the 24 hours since the Supreme Court's majority ruled to demolish the Voting Rights Act's remaining protections, Louisiana and Tennessee have already signaled that they'll redraw their congressional maps with the clear effect of shutting Black voters out.
The storm that prompted a tornado warning on Friday evening was hard on our IU Indianapolis sycamores.
A great piece by Dennis Wieboldt, a J.D./Ph.D. student at @notredame.bsky.social who will soon finish his J.D. at @notredamelaw.bsky.social.
Center for the Study of Religion & American Culture@csraac.bsky.social · 4mo agoThe first article in this new issue looks at how interconfessional hostilities between religious groups shaped the Catholic Church’s parochial school litigation strategy after Everson v. Board of Education (1947). Read the full article here: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
No Kings protest at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis today
My dad, who died before Trump was reelected, was always so proud of his Danish heritage. He would have loved this story by @robschmitz.bsky.social (esp. the part about Danes gathering to sing old songs)! More power to PM Mette Frederiksen in her fight against Trump! www.npr.org/2026/03/23/n...
Denmark goes to the polls in a snap election spurred by Trump's Greenland threat
Danish voters head to the polls in an election spurred by President Trump's threat to seize Greenland.
npr.org
I've been coming to the Cushwa Center's Seminar in American Religion twice a year for 22 years, and I'm always grateful for @notredame.bsky.social's hospitality. Featured book this time is Crabgrass Catholicism, @uchicagopress.bsky.social, by Fr. Stephen Koeth, C.S.C. Should be a great discussion!
The obits for Jesse Jackson this morning reminded me of so much history. Here's a photo I took of him in Washington on Aug. 11, 1990, while I was a college student intern at a North Carolina daily newspaper.
The Hon. Fred Biery of the Western District of Texas is my new literary hero. His order freeing 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from ICE detention is a masterpiece that belongs in the canon of works articulating our core American values. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
In Under 500 Words, a Judge Weaponized Wit to Free the Child Detained by ICE (Gift Article)
Our critic annotates the barbed wordplay of a decision challenging the Trump administration’s theory of executive power.
nytimes.com
Flag at half-staff at IU Indianapolis this morning for U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Indiana), a grad of Indiana University's @iumaurerlaw.bsky.social and a politician respected by members from both sides of the aisle.
A principled Indiana moderate who could rise above the fray. Seems like he was from a different universe now. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/u...
Lee H. Hamilton, a Foreign Policy Power in Congress, Dies at 94
nytimes.com
The Indiana War Memorial in downtown Indianapolis this morning
Another person shot dead by ICE in Minneapolis. This federal occupation of our cities must stop!
Knew this was coming, but it’s still horrible. You’d think public health would be a nonpartisan issue. And it mostly was under normal presidents. U.S. Formally Withdraws From World Health Organization www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
U.S. Formally Withdraws From World Health Organization
nytimes.com
Visited St. Mark’s, Philadelphia, this morning. Beautiful liturgy with lots of incense!
First Amendment monument, with Independence Hall in the background, in Philadelphia this afternoon.
A great thread debunking the "data" used by the Department of Education to evaluate religious studies programs. As @annetteyreed.bsky.social points out, the DoED report also highlights the challenges we face in educating the public about what religious studies even is.
Annette Yoshiko Reed@annetteyreed.bsky.social · 7mo agoWhat is “Religious Studies”? An interesting example comes up in the initiative discussed in this article, which seeks to limit federal funds to programs based on average income after graduation www.chronicle.com/article/coll... +
The morning of the first day of the spring semester at IU Indianapolis. Despite all the headwinds at the state and national levels, we're still here educating for democracy!
Pope Leo (in the form of a very realistic cutout!) stopped by the registration table this morning at the American Catholic Historical Association. @achahistory.bsky.social
Tomorrow at #AHA26, I'm presenting "Cardinal Cushing and the Rise of Ecumenical Catholicism at Harvard," on the history of the Stillman Chair of Catholic Studies at Harvard. Here's Cushing with Harvard President Nathan Pusey. @harvarddivinity.bsky.social @harvard.edu @achahistory.bsky.social
