Publications

Publications

(*indicates peer reviewed publication)
(**indicates principal author in jointly written publication)

Books

***Wellman, James K. Jr. High on God: How the Megachurch Won the Heart of America. New York: Oxford University Press. Publication date: February, 2020.

*Wellman, James K. Jr., 2012. Rob Bell and a New American Christianity. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press.

***Wellman, James K. Jr., and Clark Lombardi. 2012. Religion and Human Security: Global Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2008. Evangelicals vs. Liberals: The Clash of Christian Cultures in the Pacific Northwest. New York: Oxford University Press. Honorable Mention, Distinguished Book Award, given annually by the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. (Second out of twenty-six books nominated). Reviewed by: Journal of Religion; Sociology of Religion; Religion; Religious Studies Review; Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; Review of Religious Research.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2007. Belief and Bloodshed: Religion and Violence across Time and Tradition. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 1999. Gold Coast Church and the Ghetto: Christ and Culture in Mainline Protestantism. Champaign: University of Illinois Press. Winner of the 2001 Francis Makemie Award for outstanding book in Reformed History, Presbyterian Historical Society. Reviewed in: Journal of Presbyterian History; Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology; Theological Book Review; The Princeton Seminary Bulletin; Church History; Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; Theological Studies.

**Wellman, James K. Jr. and William H. Swatos, Jr. 1999. The Power of Religious Publics: Staking Claims in American Society. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

Articles and Chapters

***Wellman, James K. Jr. and Katie E. Corcoran. 2022. The Precarious Nature of Cascadia’s Liberal and Evangelical Protestants. In Paul Bramadat and Patricia Killen, eds. Religion at the Edge: Nature, Spirituality, and Secularity in the Pacific Northwest. Vancouver, Canada: University of British Columbia’s Press.

*Wellman, James K., Jr. “International Studies, Religion, and Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy.” In Chris Seiple and Dennis R. Hoover’s The Routledge Handbook of Religious Literacy, Pluralism, and Global Engagement. Oxford: Routledge, 2021.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2021. “The Sociological Phenomenon of Contemporary Megachurches.” In Mark A. Lamport (ed.), The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Contemporary Christianity in the United States.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2021. “Secularizing Culture: The Strange Brew of Contemporary Christianity.” In Mark A. Lamport (ed.), The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Contemporary Christianity in the United States.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. Secularization and Worship. 2021. In Mark Lamport and Khalia Williams, Theological Foundations for Entering Worship. Baker Academic.

***Wellman, James K. Jr. and Mitu Choksi. 2020. “Why Religious Literacy Requires Emotional Literacy,” The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 18:4, 99-104.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2019. “Megachurches as Total Environments.” In Stephen Hunt, ed.  Handbook of Christianity: Megachurches. Brill Publishers.

*Corcoran, Katie E. and James K. Wellman, Jr. 2016. “’People Forget He’s Human’: Charismatic Leadership in Institutionalized Religion.” Sociology of Religion, 77 (4): 309-333.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2016. “Civil Religion.” In George Thomas and Mark Lamport, eds. Encyclopedia of the United States. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2016. “A Post-Modern Impression of Christianity in the US.” In George Kurian Thomas and Mark Lamport, eds. Encyclopedia of the United States. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2016. “A Snapshot of the Future of Christianity in the US.” In George Kurian Thomas and Mark Lamport, eds. Encyclopedia of the United States. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

**Wellman, James K., and Jon Pahl, Jr. 2015. “Empire of sacrifice USA: violence and the sacred in American culture.” In Paul Gifford and Pierpaolo Antonello, eds. Can We Survive Our Origins?: Readings in Rene Girard’s theory of Violence and the Sacred. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.

***Wellman, James K. Jr., Katie E. Corcoran and Kate Stockly. 2014. “‘God is like a Drug’: Explaining Interactive Rituals in American Megachurches.” Sociological Forum 29.3: 650–72.

***Wellman, James K. Jr. and Katie E. Corcoran. 2013. “Religion and Regional Culture: Embedding Religious Commitment in Place.” Sociology of Religion, 74.4: 496–520.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2013. “Turning Word into Flesh: Congregational History as American Religious History.” Journal of Presbyterian History 91.2: 68–77.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2013. “Religious Experience as a Different World.” Religion, Brain, and Behavior 4.1: 72–8.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2012. “The Dance of Desire in Religion and Human Security.” In James K. Wellman Jr. and Clark Lombardi, eds. Religion and Human Security. New York: Oxford University Press.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2012. “Postscript: Lessons for Policy Makers about Religion and Human Security.” In James K Wellman Jr. and Clark Lombardi, eds. Religion and Human Security. New York: Oxford University Press.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2012. “Human Security: A Secularized Social Gospel and the Rediscovery of Religion” In Chris Seiple, Dennis Hoover, and Pauletta Otis eds. Routledge Handbook of Religion and Security. New York: Routledge Publishing.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2012. “Religion and Fanaticism (Is Religion Dangerous?).” In Patrick McNamara and Wesley Wildman, eds. Science and the World’s Religions. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO Press.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2011. “Introduction: Religion and Human Security: An Understudied Relationship.” In James K Wellman Jr. and Clark Lombardi, eds. Religion and Human Security. New York: Oxford University Press.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2011. “The Dance of Desire in Religion and Human Security.” In James K Wellman Jr. and Clark Lombardi, eds. Religion and Human Security. New York: Oxford University Press.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2011. “Postscript: Lessons for Policy Makers about Religion and Human Security.” In James K Wellman Jr. and Clark Lombardi, eds. Religion and Human Security. New York: Oxford University Press.

*Thompson, S.R. and James K. Wellman, Jr. 2011. “From the Social Gospel to Neoconservativism: Religion and U.S. Foreign Policy.” Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. Volume 7, Article 6: pp. 1–41. http://www.religjournal.com/.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2010. “Secularization.” In J. Gordon Melton, ed. Religions of the World: a Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2010. “Modernity.” In J. Gordon Melton, ed. Religions of the World: a Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2010. “Religious Violence.” In J. Gordon Melton, ed. Religions of the World: a Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2010. “North America.” In Mark Juergensmeyer and Wade Clark Roof, eds. Encyclopedia of Global Religion. Sage Publications.

**/*Wellman, Jr. James K. and Charles Richter. 2009. “Matrix as Sacred Canopy: Teaching Theory of Religion.” Teaching Theology and Religion 12:2: pp. 141–150.

**/*Wellman, James K. Jr. and Matthew Keyes. 2007. “Portable Politics and Durable Religion: The Moral Worldviews of American Evangelical Missionaries.”Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review 68:4: pp. 383–406.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2007. “Religion and Violence: Past, Present and Future.” In James K. Wellman, Jr., ed. Belief and Bloodshed: Religion and Violence across Time and Tradition. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield: pp. 1–10.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2007. “Is War Normal for American Evangelical Religion?” In James K. Wellman, Jr., ed. Belief and Bloodshed: Religion and Violence across Time and Tradition. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield: pp. 195–210.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2006. “Peeling Back the Evangelical Onion: Worldviews and World Affairs.” Review of Faith and International Affairs. September, pp. 29–36.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2006. “Dueling Truth Claims: Comparing the Moral Worldviews of American Evangelical and Liberal Protestant Christians.” In Unity and Diversity in Religion and Culture: Exploring the Psychological and Philosophical Issues underlying Global Conflict / International Readings on Theory, History and Philosophy of Culture 22. St. Petersburg, Eidos: pp. 315–326.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2006. “Christianity: Evangelicalism.” In Thomas Riggs, ed. Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices, Vol. 1: Religions and Denominations. Vol. 1 of 3. Detroit: Gale Virtual Reference Library: pp. 183–189.

**/*, James K. Jr. and Kyoko Tokuno. 2004. “Is Religious Violence Inevitable?” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 43:3: pp. 291–296. Reprint in Susanne Monahan, William Mirola and Michael Emerson, eds. 2010. Sociology of Religion: A Reader. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Ranked as the most cited article in JSSR between 2005-2007.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2004. “The Churching of the Pacific Northwest: The Rise of Sectarian Entrepreneurs.” In Patricia O’Connell Killen and Mark Silk, eds. Religion and Public Culture in the Pacific Northwest: The None Zone. Religion by Region Series. Walnut Creek: Alta Mira Press: pp. 79–105.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2002. “Religion without a Net: Strictness in the Religious Practices of West Coast Urban Liberal Christian Congregations.” Review of Religious Research 44:2: pp. 184–199.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 2002. “Finding a New Center: The Future of the Liberal Protestant Mainline.” The Journal of Presbyterian History. Reprint. 80:3 (Fall): pp. 172–188.

Welman, James K. Jr. 2001. “Secularism.” In Brenda Basher, ed. The Encyclopedia of Fundamentalism: Religion and Society Series. New York: Routledge: pp. 439–442.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 1999. Introduction to “The Debate Over Homosexual Ordination:

Subcultural Identity Theory in American Religious Organizations.” Review of Religious Research 41: pp. 184–206.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 1999. Guest editor. “Special Issue: Religious Organizational Identity and Homosexual Ordination: A Case-Study of a Protestant Denomination.” Review of Religious Research 41: pp. 184–274.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 1999. “Religion Out of the Closet: Public Religion and Homosexuality.” In William H. Swatos, Jr. and James K. Wellman, Jr., eds. The

Power of Religious Publics: Staking Claims in American Society. Greenwood, CT: Praeger Publishing): pp. 131–151.

*Wellman, James K. Jr. 1998. “The Decentering of the Protestant Mainline: John Timothy Stone, The Chicago Years 1913–1930.” The Journal of Presbyterian History 76 (Fall): pp. 199–213.

Winner of the Student Paper Award, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion

Wellman, James K. Jr. 1997. “Presbyterians.” In The Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. In William H. Swatos, Jr. and Peter Kivisto, eds. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press: pp. 376–378.

Essays and Reviews

Thompson, S.R. and James K. Wellman, Jr. 2011. “Religious Origins of America’s Interventions.” Sightings. Martin Marty Center, University of Chicago Divinity School. August 25, online. http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/publications/sightings/archive_2011/0825.shtml.

Review of Richard Crouter, Reinhold Niebuhr: On Politics, Religion, and Christian Faith. New York: Oxford University Press. In Journal of Church and State. (2011).

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2011. Editorial, “Hiring Michael Young at UW an Opportunity to Promote Religious Tolerance.” The Seattle Times, May 15.

Review of T. Jeremy Gunn, Spiritual Weapons: The Cold War and the Forging of an American National Religion. Westport, Connecticut: Praegers. In Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 49:1, (2010), March: 190-191.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2010. “On Evangelical vs. Liberal Christians.” Podcast interview for Research on Religion. November, online. http://www.researchonreligion.org/church-organization/james-wellman-on-evangelical-vs-liberal-christians.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2010. “Future of Mainline Protestantism: Will the Real Mainline Protestant Church Please Stand Up.” Invited essay for Patheos. August, online. http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Will-the-Real-Mainline-Church-Please-Stand-Up.html.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2010. “Ritual Ecstasy in Religion.” Podcast for Merril Wright Mainstage Theater, Seattle, WA. April, online. http://luxmedia.vo.llnwd.net/o10/clients/otb/20100119_thorsonpod.mp3.

Review of David Martin, On Secularization: Towards a Revised Theory. England: Ashgate Publishing Limited. In Religion 40:1, January, 2010: 62–63.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2009.“Cheerleading for War.” The Immanent Frame. Social Science Research Council. April, online. http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/2009/04/15/cheerleading-for-war/.

Review of Mark Silk and Andrew Walsh, One Nation, Divisible: How Regional

Differences Shape American Politics. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. In Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 48:1, (2009), March: pp. 195–197.

Review of Michael Burleigh, Sacred Causes: The Clash of Religion and Politics, From the Great War to the War on Terror. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. In Journal of Church and State. August 7, 2009.

Review of Paul A. Djupe, and Christopher P. Gilbert, The Political Influence of Churches. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. In Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 48:4, (2009) December: pp. 829–831.

Review of Stuart A. Wright, Patriots, Politics, and the Oklahoma City Bombing. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. In Journal of Church and State 50:2, (2008) Spring: pp. 356–357.

Review of Stephen Ellingson, The Megachurch and the Mainline: Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-first Century. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. In The Journal of Religion 88:4, (2008) October: pp. 539–541.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2008. “The Churching of an Unchurched Region.” Crosscut: News of the Great Nearby. June 3, Seattle, WA.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2008. “Make No Mistake about the Dalai Lama.” US Professors on Politics: The Blog. April 14. http://blogs.uwnews.org/politics/CategoryView,category,James%2BWellman.aspx.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2008. Editorial, “Civic Gospel of Hope.” The Seattle Times, February 7.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2007. “Response to Professor Jon Pahl’s “The Desire to Acquire: Or, Why Shopping Malls are Sites of Religious Violence.” The Religion & Culture Web Forum. May. The Martin Marty Center, The University of Chicago Divinity School, online.

Review of J. Harold Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion: Violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Condensed and Updated Edition. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. In Journal of Church and State 49:4, (2007) Autumn: pp. 770–772.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2005. “Dueling Truth Claims, Borg versus Warren.” The Spirit: A Publication of the Seattle Presbytery. February.

Review of William R. Hutchison, Religious Pluralism in America: The Contentious History of a Founding Ideal. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. In Journal of Church and State 47:2, (2005) Spring: pp. 411–412.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2004. Editorial, “Mixing Church and State Can Damage Both.” The Seattle Times, August 5.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2004. “What Church Leaders Can Learn from Vital Liberal and Evangelical Protestant Churches.” The Spirit: A Publication of the Seattle Presbytery. October.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2004. “The Passion: Redemptive Violence?” The Spirit: A Publication of the Seattle Presbytery. June.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2004. “Religious Scholarship and Insider Status: The Question of Teaching and Faith.” Fostering Student Development through Faculty Development. January, 15, Loyola University, Chicago, online.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2003. “The Idol of Empire.” Sightings. Martin Marty Center, University of Chicago Divinity School. December 3, online.

Wellman, James K. Jr. 2001. “God and Business.” Sightings. Martin Marty Center, University of Chicago Divinity School. August 8, online.

Review of Kimon Howland Sargeant, Seeker Churches: Promoting Traditional

Religion in a Nontraditional Way. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2000. In The Journal of Religion 81, (2001) July: pp. 473–4.

Review of Ronald R. Stockton, Decent and in Order: Conflict, Christianity, and

Polity in a Presbyterian Congregation. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2000. In Review of Religious Research 43:1, (2001) September: pp. 95-96.

ONLINE EssayS and EDITORIALS

Editorial, April 17, 2019. “Watching Notre Dame Burn, I thought of the Northwest’s own coming catastrophe.” Crosscut. < https://crosscut.com/2019/04/watching-notre-dame-        burn-i-thought-northwests-own-coming-catastrophe/>

Editorial, October 5, 2017. “More Blood at the Altar of the Gun.” The Seattle Times. < https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/more-blood-at-the-altar-of-the-gun/>

Essay, April 3, 2017. “Weak Theology and the Anti-Gospel of American Exceptionalism.” The Immanent Frame. <http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/2017/04/03/weak-theology-and-the-anti-gospel-of-american-exceptionalism/>

Essay, March 4, 2015. “A Theology for Cascadia: From None Zone to Abundant Zone.” <http://christandcascadia.com/a-theology-for-cascadia-from-none-zone-to-the-abundant-zone/>

Essay, September, 2014. “The Oprahfication of Rob Bell? The Question of Desire, Resistance and the Megachurch Culture of Celebrity.” Religion and Culture Web Forum, University of Chicago Divinity School. <https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/imce/pdfs/webforum/Sept2014/Wellman-%20Bell.pdf>

Essay with S.R. Thompson. August 25, 2011. “Religious Origins of America’s Interventions.” Sightings. Martin Marty Center, University of Chicago Divinity School. August 25, online. <http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/publications/sightings/archive_2011/0825.shtml>

Essay, July 27, 2010. “Future of Mainline Protestantism: Will the Real Mainline Protestant Church Please Stand Up.” <http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Will-the-Real-Mainline-Church-Please-Stand-Up.html>

Editorial, May 15, 2011. “Hiring Michael Young at UW an Opportunity to Promote Religious Tolerance.” The Seattle Times. <http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/hiring-of-michael-young-at-uw-an-opportunity-to-promote-religious-tolerance/>

Essay, June 3, 2008. “The Churching of an Unchurched Region.” Crosscut: News of the Great Nearby. <http://crosscut.com/2008/06/the-churching-unchurched-region/>

Editorial, February 7, 2008. “Civic Gospel of Hope.” The Seattle Times. <http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/the-civic-gospel-of-hope/>

Essay, May 2007. “Response to Professor Jon Pahl’s ‘The Desire to Acquire: Or, Why Shopping Malls are Sites of Religious Violence.’” Religion and Culture Web Forum, University of Chicago Divinity School.

Editorial, August 5, 2004. “Mixing Church and State Can Damage Both.” The Seattle Times. <http://old.seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2001996885_wellman05.html>

Wellman, James K. Jr. “Religious Scholarship and Insider Status: The Question of Teaching and Faith.” Fostering Student Development through Faculty Development. January, 15, Loyola University, Chicago, online.

Essay, December 3, 2003. “The Idol of Empire.” Sightings. Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion, University of Chicago Divinity School. <http://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/idol-empire-%E2%80%94-james-wellman>

Essay, August 8, 2001. “God and Business.” Sightings. Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion, University of Chicago Divinity School. <http://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/god-and-business-james-k-wellman-jr>

blog posts (james wellman on american religion)

October 26, 2017. “A Lament for Liberal Protestantism.” <http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jameswellman/2017/10/lament-liberal-protestantism/>

October 21, 2017. “Driscoll on Patheos: My Request for an Apology.” <http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jameswellman/2017/10/driscoll-patheos-request-apology/>

October 5, 2017. “More Blood at the Altar of the Gun.” <http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jameswellman/2017/10/blood-altar-gun/>

June 29, 2017. “We are all Hagar.” <http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jameswellman/2017/06/we-are-all-hagar/>

April 9, 2017. “Everything Belongs and the End of Religion. <http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jameswellman/2017/04/everything-belongs-end-religion-2/>

March 27, 2017. “I’m Praying for Sean Hannity.”     <http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jameswellman/2017/03/im-praying-sean-hannity/>

March 20, 2017. “A Shack of Grace.” <http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jameswellman/2017/03/a-shack-of-grace/>

March 5, 2017. “Bread and Breasts.” <http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jameswellman/2017/03/bread-and-breasts/>

February 27, 2017. “Princeton Theological Seminary Statement Against America First.” <http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jameswellman/2017/02/princeton-theological-statement-american-first/  >