I’m delighted to be joining Beliefnet’s News and Politics stable. I remember when the site was just a gleam in Steve Waldman’s eye, and a couple of years ago had the pleasure of filling his blogging shoes when he went on vacation. In the online religion world, there’s no place like this one.

Over the years I’ve wandered back and forth between academic and journalistic life–from studying and teaching medieval history to freelance writing and editing to daily newspapering to directing a center for the study of religion in public life. Blogging combines both lines of work. It’s opinion writing with footnotes.

A few years of putting together editorials and columns for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution taught me that a good piece of opinion aims to instruct as well as persuade, to entertain as well as analyze. Instead of preaching to the choir, I’d rather have a go at the skeptical who have somehow found their way into the pews. Maybe they won’t be convinced, but at least I can hope to send them home with something to think about. If you want to see how I’ve been doing, you can check it out here. See you around.