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God, Country and the American Story: The battle over Christian nationalism and 'secular religion'

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Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Stephen Dinan

Rep. William Lacy Clay, a Democrat whose district includes Ferguson, Missouri, says the federal government needs to provide training with weapons. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Military equipment for local police questioned amid Ferguson violence

Police forces are not only turning to military-style equipment to take on law enforcement tasks, but sometimes aren't even trained properly in how to use the weapons of war, the congressman who represents the St. Louis suburb that has been ensnared in a week of violence said Sunday. Published August 17, 2014

FILE - In this April 1, 2014, file photo, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. President Barack Obama scored a rare win in his 5-year-old campaign to close the federal prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as a Senate panel approved giving him the authority to transfer terror suspects to the United States if Congress signs off on a comprehensive plan to shutter the facility. Levin hailed the defense bill provision as a significant change in the long standoff between the Obama administration and bipartisan congressional opponents over the post-Sept. 11 prison for terror suspects. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File)

Top Dem vows review of police access to military equipment

The top Senate Democrat overseeing the military said Friday that Congress will reexamine the programs that allow state and local authorities to buy or borrow military equipment, as the backlash against heavily armed and armored police grows. Published August 15, 2014

Actress America Ferrera reads a book to a Central American immigrant boy during her visit with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation humanitarian project, Monday July 28, 2014, at a Sacred Heart Church shelter in McAllen, Texas. The program focuses on providing the children with hope and relief from their plight through reading, playing and praying. (AP Photo/The Monitor, Delcia Lopez)

Illegal immigrant children get first-class treatment at taxpayers’ expense

From culturally sensitive music to special meals for the lactose intolerant, the organizations the federal government is paying to house and care for the children who have surged across the border illegally are taking pains to make sure they are as comfortable as possible. Published August 14, 2014

Supporters of immigration reform protest in San Antonio. Gay immigrants are now mounting a campaign to demand that they be included in any unilateral moves President Obama makes this year to halt deportations. (Associated Press)

Gay illegal immigrants demand deportation protection

Gay immigrants are mounting a campaign to demand that they be included in any unilateral moves President Obama makes this year to halt deportations, arguing that they face unusual circumstances that otherwise might leave them on the outside. Published August 12, 2014

**FILE** Illegal immigrants file into a U.S. Border Patrol facility in Tucson, Ariz. (Associated Press)

DHS broke law in releasing hundreds of criminal aliens: Audit

The Obama administration violated the law when it released thousands of illegal immigrants last February, more than 600 of whom had criminal records, according to an internal audit released Tuesday that blamed the problem on poor planning and bad leadership from Washington. Published August 12, 2014

Sen. Kay R. Hagan of North Carolina has yet to have a piece of legislation named for her pass the Senate, a fact Republican opponent Thom Tillis points to as evidence she isn't helping voters. (Associated Press)

Senators’ effectiveness attacked over lack of namesake laws

Senate Democrats haven't had to take many tough votes this year, but the flip side is that this also means they aren't notching many legislative accomplishments for voters back home — and it's becoming an issue in politically vulnerable Democrats' re-election races. Published August 10, 2014

FILE - In this July 24, 2014, file photo, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, talks with the media on Capitol Hill in Washington. While much of the rest of the world watches the Gaza war in horror and scrambles for a cease-fire, U.S. lawmakers are pressing the Obama administration to take no action that puts pressure on Israel to halt its military operations. Boehner said Monday, July 28, the administration should "stand with Israel, not just as a broker or observer but as a strong partner." (AP Photo/File)

Boehner: Lack of Obama strategy ‘emboldens’ ISIL

President Obama was right to strike at ISIS targets in Iraq, but he still needs to come up with a broader strategy for halting the insurgents' advance, House Speaker John A. Boehner said Friday morning. Published August 8, 2014

** FILE ** President Obama speaks at the Wallace Theater in Fort Belvoir, Va., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Lost emails scandal spreads to top Obamacare official

The Obama administration admitted Thursday it has lost emails from the key official who oversaw the botched rollout of the federal Obamacare website, and may have broken the law by failing to report the problem to the National Archives. Published August 7, 2014

Sen. Tom Coburn, the Oklahoma Republican who worked on the bipartisan USASpending.gov website to audit government spending, says that the site's accuracy rate is incredibly flawed. (Associated Press)

Federal spending transparency website riddled with errors: GAO audit

It's supposed to be the government's transparency website so that the public can see how taxpayer money is spent, but USASpending.gov is so error-prone that it's missing more than $600 billion in awards from 2012 alone, and as much as 98 percent of its records were plagued by inaccuracies, according to a scathing new audit. Published August 5, 2014

** FILE ** This June 23, 2014, file photo shows a temporary shelter for unaccompanied minors who have entered the country illegally at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. The government said Monday it will soon close three emergency shelters it established at U.S. military bases to temporarily house children caught crossing the Mexican border alone. It said fewer children were being caught and other shelters will be adequate. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Feds to stop using military bases to house illegal immigrant children

The Obama administration is shutting down the three emergency shelters for illegal immigrant children it opened on military bases, health officials said Monday in another sign that the federal government is getting a handle on the surge of Central Americans trying to jump the U.S. border. Published August 4, 2014

** FILE ** Texas Parks & Wildlife Wardens patrol the Rio Grand on the U.S.-Mexico border in Mission, Texas. Texas is spending $1.3 million a week for a bigger presence from the Department of Public Safety along the border. (Associated Press)

With Congress adjourned, new options sought for border

With Congress gone for August, the duty of trying to stop the illegal immigrant surge on the southern border now belongs to President Obama and border governors — chiefly Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who said Sunday he will move ahead with plans to deploy 1,000 National Guard troops on the border. Published August 3, 2014

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, leaves a closed-door Republican strategy session on the immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border after last-minute maneuvering failed to lock down conservative support, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 31, 2014. The surprise developments, coming on Congress' final day of action ahead of a five-week summer recess, were an embarrassing setback for Speaker John Boehner and his leadership team as a small group of tea party lawmakers once again upset their plans. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House backs faster deportations, cancels ‘dreamer’ policy

House Republicans resurrected their border bill Friday, powering it through on a late-evening near party-line vote and sending it over to a Senate that's already gone home for a five-week summer vacation, leaving the border chaos unsolved. Published August 2, 2014

Speaker of the House John Boehner of Ohio, walks past reporters following a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Aug. 1, 2014, to discuss the border crisis. House Republicans expressed optimism that a revised, $694 million bill addressing the surge of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border would win over reluctant conservatives and give a divided GOP a political win. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House GOP resurrects border bill, predicts successful Friday vote

House Republicans resurrected their border bill Friday morning and said they were on track to pass the rewritten measure later in the day — though with the Senate gone for the summer the vote will be more a political statement than a policy-making exercise. Published August 1, 2014

An Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept a rocket from Gaza Strip in the costal city of Ashkelon, Israel, Saturday, July 5, 2014. The Israeli military said its “Iron Dome” defense system intercepted the rockets that were aimed at Beersheba. The military also said at least 29 other rockets and mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel over the weekend. It said it had retaliated with airstrikes on militant sites in Gaza. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Senate approves money for Israel’s Iron Dome defense

Rushing to aid Israel, senators approved more than $200 million Friday morning to replenish Israel's supply of rockets for its Iron Dome defense system, marking a brief spurt of bipartisanship. Published August 1, 2014

A stuffed bear and children's book sit on a child's bed the Karnes County Residential Center in Karnes City, Texas on Thursday, July 31, 2014. Federal officials gave a tour of the South Texas immigration detention facility that has been retooled to house adults with children who have been apprehended at the border. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Congress leaves Obama holding the burden of border children

In a last gasp of futility, the House and Senate failed to get their border bills passed Thursday, and lawmakers heading into a five-week recess are leaving President Obama with no extra funding and no additional powers to grapple with a surge of children in the U.S. illegally. Published July 31, 2014