Religion Scholars Gather for Midterm Politics Talks

The AAR and SBL joint annual meeting in Denver will feature political programming ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Religion — General

Wide photograph of the Rocky Mountain Front Range above Denver under a clear autumn sky, with a stone civic building on open plains. — The American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature open their joint annual meeting in Denver in late November, with midterm politics on the program. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature hold their joint annual meeting in Denver in late November, weeks after national elections. The program includes a roundtable on religion and the 2026 midterms, which will determine which party controls both houses of Congress.

Why it matters

The midterms will shape the fate of President Trump's agenda, and recent attacks on university research, funding, and admissions affect career academics and graduate students. The meeting gives scholars a forum to discuss how these political stakes intersect with religion.

The meeting follows the 2026 national elections by weeks and features a Friday 6-9 p.m. authors roundtable at the Colorado Convention Center's Bluebird ballroom. Attendance figures and the specific policy positions panelists will take were not provided in the source.

The players

Bradley Onishi

Bradley Onishi is founder of the Institute for Religion, Media and Civic Engagement, a group that studies the intersection of religion, media, and public life.

Alba Onofrio

Alba Onofrio is executive director of Soulforce Inc., an organization focused on LGBTQ+ equality and religious justice advocacy.

Matthew Taylor

Matthew Taylor is a visiting fellow at the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University, where he researches religion and public policy.

The details

The programming includes a panel of scholars, journalists, and clergy discussing religion and the 2026 midterms, along with a Tuesday roundtable on the book Trump and the Politics of Prayer, published by Bloomsbury Academic. A Friday 'Singing Resistance' event presented by the Hymn Society in the U.S. and Canada invites attendees to sing protest songs at Celtic on the Market in Denver.

Late November 2026: AAR and SBL joint annual meeting held in Denver.
Friday, 6-9 p.m.: Religion and the 2026 Midterms authors roundtable at the CCC's Bluebird ballroom 3GH.
Tuesday, 9-11 a.m.: Trump and the Politics of Prayer roundtable at the CCC in room 107.
Friday, 6-8 p.m.: Singing Resistance event at Celtic on the Market, 1400 Market Street.

Big Picture

Academic religious societies have increasingly built political programming into their annual meetings in election years. This year's meeting continues that pattern, but scheduling it after the vote gives the discussion a different role than pre-election forums.

Denver residents can attend the Singing Resistance event at Celtic on the Market on Friday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. The academic sessions at the Colorado Convention Center are open to conference attendees and may affect traffic and hotel availability downtown during the meeting.

The takeaway

Scholars and religion watchers can follow how academic discussion of faith and politics unfolds in the weeks after the midterms. The meeting shows how religious studies institutions are positioning themselves in a politically charged environment.