Religion

Hawkins, J. Russell. 2021. The Bible Told Them so: How Southern Evangelicals Fought to Preserve White Supremacy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. The Bible Told Them So explains why southern white evangelical Christians in South Carolina resisted the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Simply put, they believed the Bible told them so. Interpreting the Bible in such a way, these white Christians entered the battle against the civil rights movement certain that God was on their side.

Kissileff, Beth, and Eric Lidji, eds. 2020. Bound in the Bond of Life : Pittsburgh Writers Reflect on the Tree of Life Tragedy. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Press. "On October 27, 2018, three congregations were holding their morning Shabbat services at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh & ;s Squirrel Hill neighborhood when a lone gunman entered the building and opened fire. He killed eleven people and injured six more in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history. The story made national headlines for weeks following the shooting, but Pittsburgh and the local Jewish community could not simply move on when the news cycle did. The essays in this anthology, written by local journalists, academics, rabbis, and other community members, reveal a city & ;s attempts to cope, make sense of, and come to terms with an unfathomable horror. Here, members from the three impacted congregations are able to reflect on their experiences in a raw, profound way. Local reporters who wrote about the event professionally contribute stories that they were unable to articulate until now. Activists consider their work at a calm distance from the chaotic intensity of their daily efforts. Academics mesh their professional expertise with their personal experiences of this shattering event in their hometown. Rabbis share their process of crafting comforting messages for their constituents when they themselves felt hopeless. By bringing local voices together into a chorus, they are raised over the din of national and international chroniclers who offer important contributions but do not and cannot feel the intensity of this tragedy in the same way as locals. The essays in this anthology tell a collective story of city shaken to its very core, but determined that love will ultimately win. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to Jewish Family and Community Service of Pittsburgh."-- Provided by publisher

​​Martin, Sean, and John J Grabowski, eds. 2020. Cleveland Jews and the Making of a Midwestern Community. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. This volume gathers an array of voices to tell the stories of Cleveland's twentieth century Jewish community. Strong and stable after an often turbulent century, the Jews of Cleveland had both deep ties in the region and an evolving and dynamic commitment to Jewish life. The authors present the views and actions of community leaders and everyday Jews who embodied that commitment in their religious participation, educational efforts, philanthropic endeavors, and in their simple desire to live next to each other in the city's eastern suburbs. The twentieth century saw the move of Cleveland's Jews out of the center of the city, a move that only served to increase the density of Jewish life. The essays collected here draw heavily on local archival materials and present the area's Jewish past within the context of American and American Jewish studies.

Turner, Nicole Myers. 2020. Soul Liberty : The Evolution of Black Religious Politics in Postemancipation Virginia. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. "That churches are one of the most important cornerstones of black political organization is a commonplace. In this history of African American Protestantism and American politics at the end of the Civil War, Nicole Myers Turner challenges the idea of always-already-politically engaged black churches. Using local archives, church and convention minutes, and innovative Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping, Turner reveals how freedpeople in Virginia adapted strategies for pursuing independent churches, religious freedom, political engagement, and justice to the evolving landscape of emancipation"-- Provided by publisher.