Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian is a journalist who writes on foreign policy, religion, criminal justice, civil liberties, electoral politics, and more. She is the author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Bonnie is a columnist at Christianity Today, and her work has also been featured in outlets including The Week, USA Today, CNN, Politico, and Time.

Latest from Bonnie Kristian

National United Methodist Church in Washington, DC

Religion

What the Methodist Split Tells Us About American Political Polarization

However this denominational divorce plays out, theology around same-sex relationships isn’t the only thing driving Methodists apart.

Bonnie Kristian | 8.10.2022 2:55 PM

Nancy Pelosi and officials from Taiwan stand outside an American plane

Foreign Policy

Pelosi's Trip to Taiwan Might Be Good for Her Legacy, but It's Bad for Everyone Else

Nancy Pelosi’s presence in Taipei will not magically make Taiwan more secure from Chinese invasion.

Bonnie Kristian | 8.2.2022 2:45 PM

Russia

Don't Let Russia's Regime Change Plans Draw the U.S. Into War

As appalling as the Russian foreign minister’s admission is, it does not change the reasons to avoid a war with Moscow.

Bonnie Kristian | 7.28.2022 10:10 AM

Joe Biden giving a speech while pointing his finger

Climate Change

Not Everything Is a National Emergency

If the National Emergencies Act goes without reform, presidents will continue to misuse emergency declarations as leverage to shift Congress.

Bonnie Kristian | 7.19.2022 4:20 PM

Split image: Left side is someone at an anti-gun "die-in" protest, right side is children at a political event in front of a sign that says "protect children."

Politics

The Left and Right Are Living in Different Realities

The risk of broad and overcautious policies is one we should take more seriously.

Bonnie Kristian | 7.13.2022 2:15 PM

A Mom and Dad are holding a poster that says "we will adopt your baby"

Abortion

The Troubling Meaning of the 'We Will Adopt Your Baby' Meme Wars

The debate isn’t a panorama of the whole American abortion war, but it is a snapshot of a key battle after a surprise victory, and it shows no path to peace.

Bonnie Kristian | 7.7.2022 12:00 PM

Family

The End of Roe Is Republicans' Latest Excuse for Growing the Size and Cost of Government

There is demand for child tax credits, paid family leave, and funding for crisis pregnancy centers but the Rubio-Romney plan is not the answer.

Bonnie Kristian | 6.28.2022 4:20 PM

a poll worker sitting outside of a voting place

Elections

Elections Are Too Online

We can make our voting systems just a bit dumber and a whole lot safer.

Bonnie Kristian | 6.20.2022 3:35 PM

Yemen

Why Aren't We Out of Yemen Yet?

Biden's vague, partial drawdown isn't enough.

Bonnie Kristian | 6.9.2022 11:30 AM

a person wearing personal performs a nasal swab on a young girl protective equipment

Lockdowns

Only the Constitution Stands Between Us and Shanghai-Style Lockdowns

It would be a mistake to see these lockdowns as a foreign oddity to be pitied and tweeted.

Bonnie Kristian | 6.1.2022 12:20 PM

Foreign Policy

Reckless Foreign Policy Gives the U.S. a Bad Reputation

A significant portion of the world views the U.S. as a threat to democracy in their home countries.

Bonnie Kristian | 5.6.2021 4:30 PM

Foreign Policy

The U.S.-China Relationship Doesn't Have To Be 'Increasingly Adversarial'

Many U.S. complaints about China aren’t about actions that threaten U.S. security.

Bonnie Kristian | 3.31.2021 3:00 PM

Coronavirus

Stop Saying We Can't Go Back to Normal After Vaccines

We can justifiably hope for normalcy by Independence Day.

Bonnie Kristian | 3.4.2021 7:00 AM

Foreign Policy

Dysfunctional and Disorderly at Home, the U.S. Must Stop Meddling Abroad

Our own house is not in order, and Washington has no business policing the world or forcibly remaking other countries in its own image.

Bonnie Kristian | 1.19.2021 11:02 AM

Robots

Bad Cop, No Robot

The case for legally constraining what police departments can do with robots.

Bonnie Kristian | 12.31.2020 1:55 PM

Coronavirus

Stop Saying Lockdown Is 'Not That Hard'

Staying isolated from family and friends is wrenchingly difficult, even when it’s the right thing to do.

Bonnie Kristian | 12.10.2020 2:55 PM

Police

These Mississippi Cops Want a Camera on Your Door

Real-time police spying through smart security cams is already here.

Bonnie Kristian | 12.3.2020 3:35 PM

Biden Administration

Biden's Natsec Team Is Conventional in Style—and, Unfortunately, Policy

Joe Biden's natsec team fulfills his campaign promise of a return to normalcy and conventional Washington. That also means maintaining the failed status quo of the post-9/11 era.

Bonnie Kristian | 12.1.2020 2:30 PM

Foreign Policy

The Foreign Policy Questions Trump and Biden Should Answer

American voters deserve careful scrutiny of the candidates' positions on individual conflicts.

Bonnie Kristian | 10.22.2020 8:30 AM

Libertarian Party

Libertarian Lawmakers or Libertarian Laws?

Advancing laws that further libertarian objectives, no matter who champions them, looks like the surer route to our preferred ends.

Bonnie Kristian | 10.21.2020 12:00 PM

New York City

Orthodox Jews Say They're Being Targeted by New NYC Lockdowns

The newest lockdown, which explicitly targets religious gatherings, seems likely to further skepticism of public health directives.

Bonnie Kristian | 10.8.2020 10:40 AM

Immigration

Will the U.S. Allow in Any Refugees Next Year?

Unless the president takes action, the cap will fall to zero today due to an arbitrary and cruel refugee system.

Bonnie Kristian | 9.30.2020 12:11 PM

Middle East

Don't Sell Weapons to the UAE

Selling weapons to the UAE would stamp brutality and extremism abroad with American approval.

Bonnie Kristian | 9.29.2020 12:25 PM

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris' Limited Vision of Religious Liberty

The presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee offers a highly circumscribed notion of the role of faith in public life.

Bonnie Kristian | 8.18.2020 9:45 AM

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Cancel Culture

What Cancel Culture Has In Common With Medieval Outlawry

Both outlawry and cancel culture grow out of the same human impulse toward ostracism, the desire to exclude offenders from “respectable” society.

Bonnie Kristian | 7.28.2020 9:12 AM

Coronavirus

Do COVID-19 Complications With Marriage Licenses Show It's Time To Get the Government Out of Marriage?

Post-pandemic deregulation will be more complicated than it looks.

Bonnie Kristian | 7.14.2020 2:20 PM

Foreign Policy

Trump Said 'You Don't Have To Drop Bombs on Everybody.' He's Right.

The president’s accidental vision of a war-free second term.

Bonnie Kristian | 6.29.2020 5:15 PM

Foreign Policy

The War on Terror Comes Home

The foreign policy lesson in the struggle for police reform

Bonnie Kristian | 6.9.2020 1:25 PM

Coronavirus

As Pandemic Spending Rises, Pentagon Spending Needs Cuts

The coronavirus pandemic should certainly occasion more prudence at the Pentagon in strategy and spending alike.

Bonnie Kristian | 5.1.2020 11:00 AM

Coronavirus

Trump Should Forget Iran. America Has a Pandemic To Handle.

Keeping up maximum pressure is a dangerous distraction for the United States and catastrophic for the Iranian people.

Bonnie Kristian | 4.2.2020 8:15 AM

Foreign Policy

This Is the Executive War-Making the Founders Tried To Prevent

The framers of the Constitution were quite right that wars should be difficult to start and easy to end.

Bonnie Kristian | 1.29.2020 4:55 PM

Foreign Policy

Escalation Breeds Escalation, in Iran and Beyond

Washington's dangerous reliance on military intervention does not serve American interests, increase our security, or put us on a path to peace.

Bonnie Kristian | 1.10.2020 11:05 AM

Foreign Policy

Iraqi Protests Are Yet Another Reason To End U.S. Intervention

America's exit from Iraq could benefit both Iraqis and Americans.

Bonnie Kristian | 12.10.2019 3:20 PM

Foreign Policy

Trump's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Foreign Policy

President Trump's foreign policy flies in the face of his rhetoric.

Bonnie Kristian | 10.29.2019 6:00 PM

Foreign Policy

We Can Learn 3 Lessons From Trump's Partial Syria Withdrawal

Reshuffling is not only a haphazard half-measure—it is no substitute for the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.

Bonnie Kristian | 10.10.2019 7:00 AM

Foreign Policy

America Can't Win Afghanistan's Civil War for Kabul

Washington's priority should be ending America's role in this fight.

Bonnie Kristian | 9.24.2019 12:30 PM

Foreign Policy

The U.S. Shouldn't Play Endless Whac-A-Mole in Syria

ISIS' terror should not be minimized, but Washington should refrain from inflating it to justify unnecessary military action.

Bonnie Kristian | 8.9.2019 5:00 AM

Foreign Policy

Give Nuclear Freeze a Chance

Integrating North Korea into the global economy, not forcing denuclearization, is our best chance at improving ordinary citizens’ quality of life.

Bonnie Kristian | 7.2.2019 11:20 AM

Afghanistan

Here Are 3 Bad Reasons We're Still in Afghanistan

There is no military solution to be had. It's time to simply come home.

Bonnie Kristian | 5.2.2019 10:00 AM

Trump Administration

The Folly of Conflict With Russia Over Venezuela

There is at least one point on which Washington and Moscow find themselves at odds: Venezuela.

Bonnie Kristian | 4.2.2019 4:55 PM

Somalia

Escalation in Somalia Is a Foreign Policy Failure in Progress

U.S. intervention quietly escalates in Somalia.

Bonnie Kristian | 3.12.2019 1:05 PM

Venezuela

Military Intervention in Venezuela Would Be a Reckless, Dangerous Option

The push for intervention is no surprise, and it should be given no quarter.

Bonnie Kristian | 3.1.2019 12:15 PM

Somalia

If Trump Isn't Planning to Draw Down U.S. Intervention in Somalia, He Should Be

This is not a battle crucial to American security.

Bonnie Kristian | 1.8.2019 3:25 PM

Pentagon

The Pentagon's Serial Waste and Shoddy Accounting Don't Preclude It From Getting More Money, Apparently

Defense budgeting should be a strategy debate, not a rubber stamp for higher spending

Bonnie Kristian | 12.11.2018 12:45 PM

Donald Trump

Trump's Messy Messaging on Iran

The president was at the United Nations today

Bonnie Kristian | 9.25.2018 2:00 PM

Afghanistan

Trump Isn't Winning in Afghanistan

He's repeating the mistakes of Bush and Obama

Bonnie Kristian | 9.5.2018 11:00 AM

Taliban

Time to Talk to the Taliban

The Trump administration deserves credit for its willingness to come to the table.

Bonnie Kristian | 7.24.2018 11:50 AM

North Korea

Mike Pompeo's Reckless Approach to North Korea Shows Why He Shouldn't Be Secretary of State

Pompeo's past support for regime change, and his current refusal to disavow the idea, disqualify him for the position of America's top diplomat.

Bonnie Kristian | 4.19.2018 1:00 PM