Category Archives: Politics

America’s Religious Revenge: Or, What We’re Doing Wrong

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Rayan Zehn

I’ve been arguing for years that as the US shifts more towards secular policies, displacing historically sacred values, and as the religious population in the US slowly dwindles, a religious (namely, Christian) reaction will most likely occur. Well, we’ve entered … Continue reading →

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Shocking Consciences: Things Aren’t as Bad as They Appear

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Rayan Zehn

For the last couple days—well, since Friday, anyway—my social circle, which is comprised mostly of college students, military members, and academics, has been shocked by the direction this country is going. When I say shocked, I mean their consciences have … Continue reading →

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What the Hell Happened to Our Fake News?

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Rayan Zehn

Being a skeptic is not trite, but it’s also not difficult. Simply put, don’t believe anything until you have a good reason to believe it. This is true for almost all claims. While it’s unreasonable to expect evidence for claims … Continue reading →

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Security and Religiosity: The Jacksonian Values that Wed American Society to Faith

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

There is a set of academic literature that suggests there is a negative relationship between existential security and religiosity. As security increases, we become less religious as a society. This is demonstrated across societies. More secure societies in Europe are distinctly less religious … Continue reading →

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The Alt-Right and Atheism: Overlap and Divide

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

A small but growing conservative movement is popping up in the US, fueled in part by well-known atheist Youtubers and bloggers. The movement is referred to as the Alt-Right—or alternative right—movement by some. And some atheist are quick to endorse Alt-Right … Continue reading →

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The GOP and Pornography: And Why Should We Protect Children from Sex?

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

According to this article in Fortune released today, GOP delegates meeting in Cleveland have been contemplating their party’s platform language. Among their points of contention include pornography, which is no surprise considering the amendment being contemplated was offered by the sex-obsessed Family … Continue reading →

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Rant about Brexit and Hume’s Guillotine

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

[[Per the title, this post really is a rant.]] As a political scientist whose background includes an extensive study of international cooperation, the Brexit referendum was an event that drew out the most curiosity I’ve ever felt during my career. … Continue reading →

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A Quick Quote from a Research Project I’m Working On

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

One of the main projects I’m tasked with this semester is to empirically analyze Islam in contemporary Europe since March 11, 2004. To do this I’m using World Values Survey data. Doing this as someone who is biased against Islam is … Continue reading →

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Martyrs for Fundamentalism: Signaling High Costs for Religious Mobilization

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

By now Kim Davis is old news. She’s had her 15 minutes of fame, but several questions still linger on. Mostly the debate is settled; she broke the law and paid a very public price for it. Most of the … Continue reading →

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Migrants and Their Tragedies: Yes We Can Fucking Share

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

Pope Francis. Love him or hate him, every once in a while he does something rather remarkable. The Catholic Church’s official position on the European migrant crisis has been consistently impressive. From an initial plea to Europe to get off … Continue reading →

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