About the Author: Anthea Butler
Anthea Butler is associate professor of religion at the University of Pennsylvania. Her most recent book is Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making A Sanctified World (UNC Press, 2007).
President Obama’s recent announcement of his intent to nominate the Rev. Dr. Suzan D. Johnson Cook, or Dr. Sujay, as she is known on the “circuit,” as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, was soft news in a busy news week. But despite the lack of attention to what should be a critical diplomatic post, the nomination speaks volumes about the President’s proclivity for flash rather than substance in religious matters.
Arizona’s Republican governor and many conservatives may not be aware of the extent to which immigration cuts across religious groups—liberal and conservative. If draconian measures like S.B. 1070 take hold and opposition gains steam Republicans may see their 2010 and 2012 hopes evaporate in the Summer sun.