Web cookies (also called HTTP cookies, browser cookies, or simply cookies) are small pieces of data that websites store on your device (computer, phone, etc.) through your web browser. They are used to remember information about you and your interactions with the site.
Purpose of Cookies:
Session Management:
Keeping you logged in
Remembering items in a shopping cart
Saving language or theme preferences
Personalization:
Tailoring content or ads based on your previous activity
Tracking & Analytics:
Monitoring browsing behavior for analytics or marketing purposes
Types of Cookies:
Session Cookies:
Temporary; deleted when you close your browser
Used for things like keeping you logged in during a single session
Persistent Cookies:
Stored on your device until they expire or are manually deleted
Used for remembering login credentials, settings, etc.
First-Party Cookies:
Set by the website you're visiting directly
Third-Party Cookies:
Set by other domains (usually advertisers) embedded in the website
Commonly used for tracking across multiple sites
Authentication cookies are a special type of web cookie used to identify and verify a user after they log in to a website or web application.
What They Do:
Once you log in to a site, the server creates an authentication cookie and sends it to your browser. This cookie:
Proves to the website that you're logged in
Prevents you from having to log in again on every page you visit
Can persist across sessions if you select "Remember me"
What's Inside an Authentication Cookie?
Typically, it contains:
A unique session ID (not your actual password)
Optional metadata (e.g., expiration time, security flags)
Analytics cookies are cookies used to collect data about how visitors interact with a website. Their primary purpose is to help website owners understand and improve user experience by analyzing things like:
How users navigate the site
Which pages are most/least visited
How long users stay on each page
What device, browser, or location the user is from
What They Track:
Some examples of data analytics cookies may collect:
Page views and time spent on pages
Click paths (how users move from page to page)
Bounce rate (users who leave without interacting)
User demographics (location, language, device)
Referring websites (how users arrived at the site)
Here’s how you can disable cookies in common browsers:
1. Google Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data.
Choose your preferred option:
Block all cookies (not recommended, can break most websites).
Block third-party cookies (can block ads and tracking cookies).
2. Mozilla Firefox
Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
Under the Enhanced Tracking Protection section, choose Strict to block most cookies or Custom to manually choose which cookies to block.
3. Safari
Open Safari and click Safari in the top-left corner of the screen.
Go to Preferences > Privacy.
Check Block all cookies to stop all cookies, or select options to block third-party cookies.
4. Microsoft Edge
Open Edge and click the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies and site permissions.
Select your cookie settings from there, including blocking all cookies or blocking third-party cookies.
5. On Mobile (iOS/Android)
For Safari on iOS: Go to Settings > Safari > Privacy & Security > Block All Cookies.
For Chrome on Android: Open the app, tap the three dots, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies.
Be Aware:
Disabling cookies can make your online experience more difficult. Some websites may not load properly, or you may be logged out frequently. Also, certain features may not work as expected.
The Weekly Roundup is a student-led initiative of the Meanings of Democracy Lab highlighting the latest news about Christian Nationalism and resistance to it.
CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM IN THE NEWS
Northeastern Global News: Jeremy Paul, a professor of law at Northeastern, deemed Louisiana’s Ten Commandments ‘intimidating and coercive’
The Fayetteville Observer: Black, gay Fayetteville minister Mark Robinson details Christian Nationalism in North Carolina towards the LGBTQ+ community
Axios: Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled what would be the nation’s first publicly funded religious school unconstitutional
PBS: After the Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked public funding for a Catholic charter school, State Superintendent Ryan Walters mandates Bibles in every public school classroom
Rollingstone.com: RFK Jr.’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, warns of ‘demonic’ influence in the government
U.S. Catholic: Reverend Jim Wallis, author of The False White Gospel, spoke on white Christian Nationalism on the Just Politics podcast (transcript included)
The Hill: The implications of Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law
The Weekly Roundup is a student-led initiative of the Meanings of Democracy Lab highlighting the latest news about Christian Nationalism and resistance to it.
CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM IN THE NEWS
CNN: A voucher program is sending taxpayer money to private religious schools
Louisville Public Radio: Women leaders and members oppose the Southern Baptist Convention’s priorities
The Hill: The ACLU, ACLU of Louisiana, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit against a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms
VPM: The Extremely American podcast returns with a focus on the rise of Christian Nationalism in the college town of Moscow, Idaho
Politico: Michael Flynn, former Trump insider, is using harmful Christian Nationalist rhetoric to describe American politics
Axios: Louisiana becomes the first state to require the Ten Commandments be posted in all public schools
Newsweek: The Southern Baptist Convention voted to oppose in vitro fertilization (IVF)
Led by Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, a Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and former North Carolina president and national board member of the NAACP, Repairers of the Breach is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) not-for-profit training activists, artists, and faith leaders to organize and mobilize. Their advocacy around a moral policy agenda prioritizing love, truth, and justice thrust them into the conversation regarding Christian Nationalism.
ROTB was founded in2015 with the mission of reclaiming the language of morality from religious extremists that became prominent in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. This effort is carried our through their Moral Fusion Organizing initiative, which supports grassroots and national movements for social change by advocating for multi-identity and multi-issue organizing. By reclaiming the moral language of the public square, ROTB challenges“so-called conservatives” who “hijack the powerful language of faith” in partisan debates. ROTB’s Poor People’s Campaign joins religious leaders of all races and faiths to combat systemic poverty, thereby promoting multiculturalism and cooperation in the face of pressing partisan divides regarding how to address poverty in the United States. Examples of efforts by the Poor People’s Campaign include the Moral March on Washington, teach-ins, and Moral Monday Rallies across the country.
Katherine Dattner is an honors political science major at the University of Connecticut. Her interests include public policy and international relations.
For more information about the organizations and individuals resisting Christian Nationalism in the United States today, check out our Pluralist Resistance to Christian Nationalism project page.
Looking to keep up with the latest documentary films and podcasts about Christian Nationalism? There is so much creative and insightful content being created about Christian Nationalism, its history, and the real people working to both spread and resist it. We’ve screened it all so you don’t have to. Here are the docs we recommend most. Let us know if you have any suggested additions to the list!
