Alena Smith

I'm excited to be co-organizing a Working Group at MPSA 2026 with @alenasmith13.bsky.social and @brooklynwalker.bsky.social. If you’re mapping out your conference schedule, we hope you’ll join us in Chicago to build community and share research on religion & politics.
www.mpsanet.org/conference/w...

@alenasmith13.bsky.social and I were awarded the 2025 Best Student Paper Award from @sssreligion.bsky.social. Thank you to everyone who helped along the way! @apsareligion.bsky.social @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org #polrel #polisky

SSSR 2025 Student Paper Award (Published) for ‘Sacred speech: Analyzing the influence of congressional leadership on religious rhetoric,’ published in Politics and Religion.

Congratulations to @julthomson.bsky.social & @alenasmith13.bsky.social, winners of the SSSR’s 2025 Student PaperAward (Published) for ‘Sacred speech: Analyzing the influence of congressional leadership on religious rhetoric,’ published in Politics and Religion.

sssreligion.org/awards-grant...

The 2026 Midterms: Speaker Mike Johnson’s religious rhetoric will continue to shape how Republicans speak to their constituents | USAPP As we move towards the 2026 midterms, religious rhetoric will likely remain part of the political toolkit, especially for Republicans seeking to mobilize evangelical and culturally conservative…

As the 2026 #Midterm elections in the #US draw nearer, speaker Mike Johnson’s #religious rhetoric will continue to shape how Republicans speak to their constituents.

@alenasmith13.bsky.social @stanford.edu and @julthomson.bsky.social @georgemasonu.bsky.social for @lseusablog.bsky.social.

The 2026 Midterms: Speaker Mike Johnson’s religious rhetoric will continue to shape how Republicans speak to their constituents | USAPP As we move towards the 2026 midterms, religious rhetoric will likely remain part of the political toolkit, especially for Republicans seeking to mobilize evangelical and culturally conservative voters...

Speaker Mike Johnson’s religious rhetoric will continue to shape how Republicans speak to their constituents write @alenasmith13.bsky.social of @stanford.edu and @julthomson.bsky.social of @georgemasonu.bsky.social

blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...

My latest with @alenasmith13.bsky.social on what religious rhetoric might mean for the 2026 midterms. #relpol #USAPP @lseusablog.bsky.social

Googly Eyes, Joy Oladokun & Allison Ponthier | Jesus and John Wayne (Official Audio) YouTube video by googly eyes

@kkdumez.bsky.social If you haven't heard it yet, there's a new (excellent!) song out with the same title as your book about how churches today have left Jesus ("Blessed is America, but only for Americans"): www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsZu...

The Johnson Effect: How the New Speaker Sparked a Religious Rhetoric Surge By Alena Smith and Julianna J. Thomson [Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons] After Mike Johnson (R-LA) became Speaker of the House in October 2023, Republican legislators started using significantly mo…

New post up at Religion in Public with @julthomson.bsky.social! We look at what happened to religious rhetoric in Congress after Mike Johnson became Speaker.
In short, no change in “God talk” on the House floor, more in Republican newsletters to voters.
religioninpublic.blog/2025/07/14/t...