Three powerful new essays from Revealer contributing editors look at the history, theory, and news of religion and media.

Persecution Complexes: A historian of early Christianity looks at contemporary evangelicalism’s persecution complexes in light of the Christian martyrdom tradition and the dangerously bruised egos of a massive movement that sees itself as victimized minority.
By Elizabeth A. Castelli

Religion is Media: “The critical cultural anthropologist in me asks this question first of all: What does the term ‘religion,’ when actually used by people, out loud, authorize in the production of social life? What does it allow people to do?”
By Angela Zito

The Confession Forum: How mainstream media reduces religion to moral matters and why that hurts the debate about the politics of faith. A critique of CNN’s “Compassion Forum” with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
By Omri Elisha