Adam Hamilton and Taking Back Religion From the Right

As a longtime Methodist, I can attest that—at least from a distance—it is not the most dramatic of the world’s religious operations. Very little incense, not much speaking in tongues, and sulfur and brimstone are barely in evidence. There are bishops, but they don’t get special hats. Methodist Central Hall, in London, has a magnificent organ, for playing the great Wesleyan hymns (“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”; “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus”), but the contrast between its sternness and the ornate Westminster Abbey, across the street, is instructive. Methodism’s adherents have spanned the political spectrum, though perhaps they share a certain earnestness: Nelson Mandela, Ulysses S. Grant, Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush, Walter Mondale, Scout Finch (and Harper Lee), Beyoncé.