Mark Silk

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Mark Silk
Born (1950-05-12) May 12, 1950 (age 74)
Academic career
Institution Trinity College (Connecticut) 1996-present
Alma mater Harvard College (1972 AB) magna cum laude
Harvard University (1982 PhD)

Mark Silk is an American academic. He is Professor of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College, where he also serves as the Director the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life. In addition, Silk is a Contributing Editor of the Religion News Service , specializing in Spiritual Politics.

Contents

Early life and education

Silk was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 12, 1950, and graduated from Harvard College in 1972, magna cum laude. In 1982 he earned a Ph.D. in medieval history from Harvard. He was editor of the Boston Review from 1985 to 1986, and worked as a reporter, editorial writer, and columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution .

Career

Silk is the author of Spiritual Politics: Religion and America Since World War II and Unsecular Media: Making News of Religion in America and co-editor of Religion by Region, [1] an eight-volume series on religion and public life in the United States, [2] [3] and columnist for the Religion News Service. [1] With Andrew Walsh he wrote the series summary volume, One Nation Divisible: How Regional Religious Differences Shape American Politics, published in hardcover in 2008.

In the 1980s and 1990s Silk was a regular contributor to the New York Times , contributing essays and book reviews on feminist theology, [4] new religious movements, [5] Jewish identity, and other religion-related topics. [6] In 1984 he traced the use of "Judeo-Christian" in American culture. [7] In 1995 he argued that the American news media approach religion with certain Western religious preconceptions that do not always do justice to the varieties of religious belief and behavior. [8] In 2005, he traced the history of the idea of civil religion through changing views of the figure of Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. [9] Since 2007 Silk has blogged about religion in public life at Spiritual Politics that began as "A blog on religion and the 2008 election campaign" [10] and is hosted at Religion News Service. [11]

Silk's areas of speciality include religion in America, religion and media, medieval history, and intellectual history of the West. As of 2021, Silk teaches Religion and American Politics and Religion and Climate Change at Trinity College.

Related Research Articles

The term Judeo-Christian is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's recognition of Jewish scripture to constitute the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or values supposed to be shared by the two religions. The term Judæo Christian first appeared in the 19th century as a word for Jewish converts to Christianity. The term has received criticism, largely from Jewish thinkers, as relying on and perpetuating notions of supersessionism, as well as glossing over fundamental differences between Jewish and Christian thought, theology, culture and practice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thealogy</span> The study and reflection upon the feminine divine from a feminist perspective

Thealogy views divine matters through feminine perspectives including but not limited to feminism. Valerie Saiving, Isaac Bonewits (1976) and Naomi Goldenberg (1979) introduced the concept as a neologism. Its use then widened to mean all feminine ideas of the sacred, which Charlotte Caron usefully explained in 1993: "reflection on the divine in feminine or feminist terms". By 1996, when Melissa Raphael published Thealogy and Embodiment, the term was well established.

<i>Pontifex maximus</i> Chief high priest in ancient Rome

The pontifex maximus was the chief high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first held this position. Although in fact the most powerful office in the Roman priesthood, the pontifex maximus was officially ranked fifth in the ranking of the highest Roman priests, behind the Rex Sacrorum and the flamines maiores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Numa Pompilius</span> King of Rome from 715 to 672 BC

Numa Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political institutions are attributed to him, such as the Roman calendar, Vestal Virgins, the cult of Mars, the cult of Jupiter, the cult of Romulus, and the office of pontifex maximus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Televangelism</span> Use of radio and television to preach religion

Televangelism and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of religious messages, particularly Christianity.

Religion in the United States is both widespread and diverse, with higher reported levels of belief than other wealthy Western nations. Polls indicate that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe in a higher power (2021), engage in spiritual practices (2022), and consider themselves religious or spiritual (2017).

The Fourth Great Awakening was a Christian awakening that some scholars – including economic historian, Robert Fogel – say took place in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, while others look at the era following World War II. The terminology is controversial, with some historians believing the religious changes that took place in the US during these years were not equivalent to those of the first three Great Awakenings. Thus, the idea of a Fourth Great Awakening itself has not been generally accepted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egeria (mythology)</span> Legendary wife of Roman king Numa, minor goddess

Egeria was a nymph attributed a legendary role in the early history of Rome as a divine consort and counselor of Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, to whom she imparted laws and rituals pertaining to ancient Roman religion. Her name is used as an eponym for a female advisor or counselor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Harpur</span> Canadian biblical scholar and journalist (1929–2017)

Thomas William Harpur was a Canadian biblical scholar, columnist, and broadcaster. An ordained Anglican priest, he was a proponent of the Christ myth theory, the idea that Jesus did not exist but is a fictional or mythological figure. He was the author of a number of books, including For Christ's Sake (1986), Life after Death (1996), The Pagan Christ (2004), and Born Again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish Telegraphic Agency</span> News agency and wire service

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish newspapers and press around the world as a syndication partner. Founded in 1917, it is world Jewry's oldest and most widely-read wire service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathleen Falsani</span> American journalist and author

Cathleen Falsani is an American journalist and author. She specializes in the intersection of religion/spirituality/faith and culture, and has been a staff writer for the Chicago Sun Times, the Chicago Tribune, Sojourners magazine, Religion News Service, and the Orange County Register in Southern California. Falsani is the author of several non-fiction books on religious, spiritual, and cultural issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion of Black Americans</span>

Religion of Black Americans refers to the religious and spiritual practices of African Americans. Historians generally agree that the religious life of Black Americans "forms the foundation of their community life". Before 1775 there was scattered evidence of organized religion among Black people in the Thirteen Colonies. The Methodist and Baptist churches became much more active in the 1780s. Their growth was quite rapid for the next 150 years, until their membership included the majority of Black Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ze'ev Chafets</span> American novelist

Zev Chafets is an American-Israeli author and columnist.

In the United States, between 4% and 15% of citizens demonstrated nonreligious attitudes and naturalistic worldviews, namely atheists or agnostics. The number of self-identified atheists and agnostics was around 4% each, while many persons formally affiliated with a religion are likewise non-believing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Waldman</span> American journalist

Steven Waldman is an American journalist. He is president and co-founder of Report for America—a national service program that deploys emerging journalists to local newsrooms. He is also the founder and president of Rebuild Local News, a nonpartisan nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to addressing the decline of local news and enhancing local democracy.

Patheos is a non-denominational, non-partisan online media company providing information and commentary from various, mostly religious, perspectives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Schneider</span>

Nathan Schneider is a scholar focused on economic justice in the online economy. Since 2015, he has been a professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Previously, he worked as a journalist.

New religious movements in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States have a history going back to the 19th century.

Judaeo-Christian ethics is a supposed value system common to Jews and Christians. It was first described in print in 1941 by English writer George Orwell. The idea that Judaeo-Christian ethics underpin American politics, law and morals has been part of the "American civil religion" since the 1940s. In recent years, the phrase has been associated with American conservatism, but the concept—though not always the exact phrase—has frequently featured in the rhetoric of leaders across the political spectrum, including that of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson.

References

  1. 1 2 "Columns". Religion News Service . Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  2. "Religion in the News Current Staff". Religion in the News. Trinity College. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011.
  3. Front-page Religion, New York Times , 1988-4-3
  4. Is God a feminist?, New York Times , 1982-4-11
  5. Outsiders welcome, New York Times , 1989-6-18
  6. Styles of Jewish Identity, New York Times , 1998-5-7
  7. Silk, Mark (Spring 1984). "Notes on the Judeo-Christian Tradition in America". American Quarterly . 36 (1): 65–85. doi:10.2307/2712839. JSTOR   2712839.
  8. Silk, Mark (1995). Unsecular Media: Making News of Religion in America . University of Illinois Press. pp.  91–106. ISBN   978-0-252-06742-6.
  9. "Numa Pompilius and the Idea of Civil Religion in the West," Journal of the American Academy of Religion 72, no. 4 (December 2004), 863-96.
  10. "Spiritual Politics". Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  11. "Mark Silk: Spiritual Politics Archives". Religion News Service. Retrieved September 13, 2018.