Dear Revealer readers,

Revealer Editor, Brett Krutzsch

For the past several months, I have been thinking about how I do not know much about my mother’s family history. Because of my unique last name, my father’s family has been easier to trace. But my mom’s family name, Weiss, is more common. To learn a bit about them, I am traveling to the Alsace region of France this summer where they once lived, an area that went back and forth between French and German control multiple times. The region was once home to a sizable portion of France’s Jewish community. The Jews of Alsace faced persecution and pogroms in the Middle Ages, expulsion from the main city of Strasbourg, the ability to return to Strasbourg years later but with a prohibition from working most professions, citizenship under Napoleon, antisemitism under Napoleon when the Jewish community didn’t assimilate to his liking, and annexation by Germany during WWII. Although most of Alsace’s Jews fled, were deported, or were murdered during WWII, Alsace still has Jewish communities today. But my family lost its connection to Alsace when my great-great-grandparents immigrated to the United States in the 1880s. They embraced America; my great grandfather even became a “gentleman farmer” in Ohio when he retired from the company he ran. And now, decades later, I know almost nothing about any connections to their past in Alsace.

The June issue of The Revealer is about examining our pasts—personal pasts, national pasts, and religious pasts—to make better sense of our present. The issue opens with Noah Berlatsky’s “Christian Science as Jewish Tradition,” where he explores why so many American Jewish women, including several in his own family, embraced Christian Science at the start of the 20^th century and what that might tell us about assimilation and Jewish identity in the United States today. Then, in “On the Banality of Evil in Catholic Horrors Films,” Matthew Cressler looks at two recent films, Killers of the Flower Moon and The Zone of Interest, to explore the Catholics in them who committed atrocities and what lessons these films hold for today’s world. Next, in “Racism and Religion in America,” an excerpt from The Religion of Whiteness: How Racism Distorts Christian Faith, Michael Emerson and Glenn Bracey investigate what has been happening in American Christianity historically and presently that can help explain why the United States continues to have such profound race problems and inequities. After that, in “Houses of Worship Supporting Latino Communities and Protecting People from Deportation,” an excerpt from Sanctuary People: Faith-Based Organizing in Latina/o Communities, Gina M. Pérez highlights religious communities that have offered sanctuary to immigrants facing deportation.

The June issue also includes the newest episode of the Revealer podcast: “Latino Faith-Based Activism and the New Sanctuary Movement.” Gina Pérez joins us to discuss faith-based activism within Latino communities and the religious roots of the sanctuary movement to protect immigrants. We explore how faith communities are helping families after workplace raids and deportations, and what the possibility of Donald Trump’s reelection portends for Latinos in the United States. You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In this issue we are also spotlighting our recent three-part podcast series on “Conservative Religion and Politics in the United States.” The first episode, “Ex-Evangelicals and U.S. Politics,” featuring NPR’s Sarah McCammon, explores ex-evangelicals’ insights into why white evangelicals remain loyal to Trump and why they continue to move further to the political right. The second episode, “Contemporary Christian Music’s Political and Religious Messages,” featuring Dr. Leah Payne, examines the political and religious aspirations of conservative white Protestants over the past several decades through the Contemporary Christian Music industry. And the third episode, “LGBTQ Republicans,” featuring Dr. Neil Young, explores why LGBTQ Republicans have stayed within the GOP and what their affiliation with the anti-trans and anti-queer religious right reveals about today’s political coalitions.

As the articles and podcast episodes in this issue highlight, uncovering things from our past can be painful and disappointing, but they can also be sources of insight. As we head into the summer months, I hope our June issue inspires you to look into your own histories. And I hope more people take the time to appreciate why knowing our national, cultural, religious, and personal lineages is of great importance for addressing the pressing issues we face today.

Yours,
Brett Krutzsch, Ph.D. 

P.S. We publish a combined July/August issue every summer. Look for The Revealer’s 2024 Summer issue the first week of August!