Straight White American Jesus
733 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1.6K ratingsAn in-depth examination of the culture and politics of Christian Nationalism and Evangelicalism by two ex-evangelical ministers-turned-religion professors. If you have ever wondered what social and historical forces led white evangelicals to usher Donald Trump into the White House this is the show for you. As former insiders and critical scholars of religion, Dan Miller and Bradley Onishi have a unique perspective on the Religious Right. Guests have included Chrissy Stroop, R. Marie Griffith, Janelle Wong, Randall Balmer, Katherine Stewart, and many others.
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Episodes
Sex, Theology, Purity--Response to Al Mohler
March 22, 2021 21:59 - 11 minutesBrad was featured in a NYT article about purity culture and its affect on the Atlanta shooter along with other academics and advocates including Sam Perry, Joshua Grubbs, and Rachael Denhollander. Soon thereafter Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, derided the article and our comments on his podcast. This is Brad's response. He touches on the selective literalism of Evangelical readings of the Bible, queer theologies and lives from the Bible to the present, ...
Weekly Roundup: A Massacre in Atlanta
March 20, 2021 00:28 - 11 minutesBrad and Dan discuss the various threads connecting the massacre in Atlanta: from the history of anti-Asian racism, to the various dimensions of purity culture, to the cover Christian nationalism provides to acts of violence. They then discuss the Vatican's statement on why the Church can't bless same-sex unions. To Brad and Dan this is an instance of the hurtful "loving the sinner, hating the sin" ideal used in Evangelical spaces. They conclude with a segment on Russian interference in our e...
Anti-Asian Hate, Purity Culture, and Christian Nationalism
March 17, 2021 23:55 - 10 minutesIn the wake of the mass shooting of 8 people, 6 of whom were Asian women, Brad ties together the threads of anti-Asian hate, purity culture, and Christian nationalism. Killing half a dozen Asian women and attributing it to sex addiction, not racism, is Christian nationalism in a nutshell: "Purity culture made me feel bad about my sexual needs, so I eliminated the temptation. What does race have to do with that?" (Hint: everything) Purity culture is not simply about sexual "purity." Sexual e...
Faith After Evangelicalism
March 16, 2021 00:28 - 7 minutesBrad explains how evangelicalism destroys faith, because it destroys any sense of uncertainty and unpredictability. By working in a register of moral, political, and theological certainty, evangelicalism becomes the anti-thesis of faith. Brad calls this disenchanted theology. By contrast, he argues that as a secular person he has become a person of faith in ways he never experienced as an evangelicals. For him, even as a non-religious person, the world is enchanted--full of unknowability and ...
Weekly Roundup: Jim Crow in a Suit and Tie
March 12, 2021 22:22 - 7 minutesVoter suppression laws are Christian nationalist policy. They are part of a long lineage of movements that see White Protestants as the only legitimate power brokers in the American landscape. The 253 voter suppression bills put forth by the GOP over the last month are the result of the belief that not everyone should be able to vote and thus not everyone should be able to govern. After this first segment, we turn to Beth Moore's departure from the SBC, and discuss why it is and is not a big...
Inside the World of Christian Nationalism with Katherine Stewart (Re-release)
March 10, 2021 20:21 - 9 minutesThis is a re-release of an episode from last year. Brad talks to journalist Katherine Stewart, author of the Power Worshipers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. Her reporting takes us inside the world of Christian nationalism on the level of lived-experience. She conveys what she has seen at BBQs, political rallies, and even revival meetings at the Trump Hotel in DC. What emerges is a frightening picture of the mechanics of MAGA Nation and its religious communities. Subscri...
The Church Where Defying COVID Orders Takes on a Holy Aura with Sam Kestenbaum
March 09, 2021 19:46 - 9 minutesSam Kestenbaum is an award-winning freelance journalist who regularly contributes to the New York Times. He recently wrote a feature on Godspeak, a Calvary Chapel church in Ventura County, CA. At Godspeak, Sam writes, defiance to COVID mandates takes on a holy aura. It is the reason business is booming--attendance has tripled during the pandemic and the head pastor, Rob McCoy, is a rising star in the Right-Wing influencer world. Sam shares his experiences reporting on Godspeak and how it is a...
Weekly Roundup: The Seuss Potato Head Party
March 05, 2021 21:38 - 6 minutesBrad compares the current moment to other times in American history when crisis and conflict led to a new normal. What will be our new normal after COVID? Will myth or policy drive us forward? On one hand, the Dems are tepidly putting forward legislation on COVID relief, voting rights, and protections for the LGBTQIA+ community. On the other, the GOP is driving the Big Lie forward, along with culture war items like Dr. Seuss and Potato Head. Which story--and which future--will prevail? Brad ...
We are the Dones. Not the Never Weres.
March 04, 2021 01:05 - 19 minutesFollowing a great thread by @CaitlinJStout, Brad discusses why the people who leave evangelicalism are often the ones who devoted themselves wholeheartedly to it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://swaj.supportingcast.fm
The Atrocity of "Gay Conversion Therapy"
March 02, 2021 02:05 - 9 minutes"Conversion therapy" is a discredited practice of trying to change an individual's sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Lucas Wilson is a Liberty University grad who took part in the university's ongoing "conversion therapy" program. Now a writer and scholar, he shares his experiences and those of others who endured the efforts to change their sexual orientation. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord acc...
Weekly Roundup: Trump is Still King of the GOP
February 26, 2021 22:39 - 10 minutesAt CPAC this week, there is a golden calf, um, statue of Trump making the rounds. Brad and Dan explore how this emblematizes Trump's continuing reign over the GOP. A majority of Republicans view him as a true patriot. Almost half say they would defect if he started a new party. Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan say Trump is the figurehead of the GOP and will be for the indefinite future. This means, we believe, that the type of violence seen on 1/6 will happen again. In the second segment we dis...
Why REvangelical is Not Deconstruction
February 24, 2021 17:30 - 7 minutesBrad lays out the case as to why the REvangelical movement coming from The Gospel Coalition and other voices in the Evangelical universe should not be considered deconstruction. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/15064821...
The Nostalgic Myths that Drive MAGA Nation with Dr. Ruth Braunstein
February 22, 2021 20:32 - 7 minutesBrad talk to Dr. Ruth Braunstein, Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut, about the nostalgic myths that drive MAGA Nation. Their conversation centers on how recognizing the structure of these myths enables us to better see how Christian nationalism pervades right-wing movements that don't have any explicit religious identity markers or symbols. Think: the Proud Boys and the NRA. These groups structure their identities around a certain Christian nationalist interpretation of ...
Weekly Roundup: Abandon the Snowflakes
February 19, 2021 22:40 - 7 minutesWhat is the point of government? Is is capitalist profit or the common good? Brad and Dan explain how these questions connect notable events from this week--from Rush Limbaugh's death, to the energy disaster in Texas, Ted Cruz's Cancun misadventure, and one small town mayor's cruel understanding of how to treat people suffering through a weather catastrophe. We finish with a favorite segment: He's No James; Madison Cawthorn. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listenin...
S1.Ep.9 (Re-release): Genderqueer and Exvangelical Pastor Ann Reilly
February 17, 2021 22:56 - 8 minutesBrad and Dan's interview with Reilly, Associate Pastor at Presbyterian New England Church in Saratoga Springs NY. Reilly shares how she grew up evangelical, realized she was gay right about the time she received the call to ministry, and her role as a possibility model to young people. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhi...
On Sexual Abuse and the Jezebel Type
February 16, 2021 04:28 - 8 minutesBrad discusses the Ravi Zacharias scandal and why sexual abuse is so rampant in Evangelical spaces: authoritarian leadership structures, patriarchal theology, in group/out group mentality, and a lack of oversight. He then relates it to Evangelical theologies of sex and gender by examining how Kamala Harris has been given the Jezebel label. Not is it sexist, but its origins are racist in nature. The Jezebel type is a slur against Black Women. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes,...
Weekly Roundup: Who is the Demon Now?
February 12, 2021 20:04 - 9 minutesIs talking about Christian nationalism akin to demonizing White Christians? Some right-wing theologians and leaders would like you to think it is. But they are wrong. We provide strategies for talking about Christian nationalism without reducing all Christian political involvement as Christian nationalism. We then continue to outline why it is essential to recognize the threat of White Christian nationalism, especially as it relates to rhetoric of war, violence, and political enemies. Our se...
S1.Ep8 (Re-release) If You Believe in Gay People, Please Leave! -with David Gushee
February 11, 2021 01:01 - 9 minutesDan's 2018 interview with ethicist and former AAR president David Gushee, who left evangelicalism after changing his views of LGBTQ relationships. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https:/...
Christian Nationalism at the 2021 Super Bowl
February 08, 2021 20:18 - 8 minutesBrad talks about: Christian nationalism and Bruce Springsteen's Meet in the Middle ad Tom Brady's friendship with Donald Trump and White Privilege Tom Brady and Colin Kapernick: The Center and the Margin The Kansas City Football Team's name as the chef's kiss to all of this Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJ...
Weekly Roundup: The Greene New Deal
February 05, 2021 22:51 - 11 minutesBrad and Dan talk about the false equivalence the GOP tried to draw this week between Marjorie Taylor Greene and Ilhan Omar. This takes place in the context of a discussion about the generational legacy Trump holds over the Republican party, which is now dominated by extremists, conspiracy theorists, and Christian nationalists. Dan breaks down why it's a big deal that Trump didn't attend the National Prayer Breakfast and what it says about how Christian nationalism is not about personal relig...
S1.E7 (Re-Release): Dating Jesus
February 04, 2021 02:07 - 50 minutesOn an episode from fall of 2018 Brad and Dan share stories from their experiences with purity culture and provide a primer on gender and sexuality in Evangelicalism. They then interview Reverend Sarah Buteux about her journey from Evangelicalism (where she was told women couldn't be pastors) to ministering at an LGBT+ affirming church. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/message Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access t...
I Would Have Been at the Capitol Insurrection with author Monica Rodden
February 02, 2021 00:59 - 9 minutesMonica Rodden is a novelist and ex-evangelical. She wrote this recent piece in the Boston Globe about how she would have been the type of Christian to be part of the Capitol Insurrection. In her interview with Brad, she discusses the binary thinking that plagues Evangelical culture, how certainty can act as a shield from the harsh realities of the world--and why that's a bad thing--and how the Capitol Insurrection brought back all the memories of feeling hate and disrespect towards those who ...
Weekly Roundup: White Supremacist Christians Are Christians
January 29, 2021 22:15 - 8 minutesBrad and Dan unpack how religions are what people do. The same goes for political parties. This means that White Supremacist Christians and QAnon Christians are Christians. They may not be the kind you like or want to be associated with, but it's unhelpful to write them off as lone wolves who can be dismissed. This also means that insurrection-inciters and conspiracists like Josh Hawley, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Kevin McCarthy are the real Republican party. After discussing why it's import...
S1.Ep.6 (Re-release): Evangelical Cultures of Life and Angel Babies
January 28, 2021 00:43 - 8 minutesIn an episode from fall of 2018, Brad and Dan discuss the issue of abortion in Evangelical culture and how it became a litmus test for who is a "real Christian." Brad then interviews Dr. Myev Rees, an expert on reproductive rights and abortion in Evangelicalism. She discusses the concept of an "angel baby" and what it means for how Evangelicals understands life, conception, and embodiment. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode ...
Religion at the Capitol Siege with Peter Manseau
January 25, 2021 21:00 - 8 minutesDr. Peter Manseau is a curator of American religious history at the Smithsonian and the author of ten books. He started #capitolsiegereligion soon after the January 6 insurrection in order to facilitate a crowdsourced collection of religious symbols and imagery from the siege. He talks to Brad about the Christian (and non-Christian) symbolism among the participants, the ways religious media and rhetoric fostered the resentment and anger that fueled the riot, and the examples from American rel...
Weekly Roundup: Biden Takes Office While MAGA Nation Wonders What's Next
January 22, 2021 19:33 - 9 minutesBrad and Dan discuss the inauguration, including the theological aspects of Biden's speech and the civil religiosity of Biden's approach. They then transition to how key members on the Right, including Tucker Carlson and Rand Paul, were "offended" by Biden's call to dismantle White Supremacy and what it means going forward. Dan explains the troubling aspects of the 1776 Report. Brad explains why QAnon and the Proud Boys are in a moment of transition. They wrap up by discussing how to have ...
S1.Ep.5 (Re-release): White Evangelicalism, Nationalism, and Populism
January 20, 2021 23:49 - 8 minutesAn episode from Season 1 where Brad and Dan discuss nationalism and populism in the White Evangelical subculture. This is a nice primer for understanding what we now call Christian nationalism and its pervasiveness in American politics. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.co...
Hitler, Trump, and the Danger of Failed Coups
January 18, 2021 19:46 - 9 minutesBrad is joined by Dr. Richard Steigmann-Gall, a historian and expert in Nazi Germany. They compare Hitler's failed coup of 1923 and the Jan. 6 Insurrection at the US Capitol. The discussion focuses on several themes present in 1923 Germany and 2021 USA: Cultural resentment Right-wing authoritarianism Extra-military militias The danger of unity with fascists Christianity as a marker of cultural identity Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to ...
Weekly Roundup: They Told Us Civil War Was Coming
January 15, 2021 21:28 - 9 minutesBrad and Dan begin by recalling their episode from the eve of Trump's first impeachment, when the quoted a number of Evangelical leaders threatening/predicting civil war if Trump was impeached. Then, it seemed hyperbolic. Now, it is terrifying. They relate this to the prevalent "cosmic war" motif among various White (Christian) nationalists: from the Proud Boys to White Evangelicals and QAnons. Brad talks about the Q Caucus (Madison Cawthorn, Lauren Boebert, and Marjorie Taylor Greene) and th...
S1.Ep.4 White Jesus (Re-release)
January 12, 2021 18:10 - 8 minutesIn an interview from 2018, Brad and Dan talk to Dr. Glenn Bracey of Villanova University about his experiences in White churches as a Black man. Dr. Bracey unpacks racialized dimensions of the Evangelical culture that shed light on what's happened during the the last four years--and even the last few weeks. His firsthand account and researcher's sensibilities make for a compelling interview on the troubling dynamics of race and White supremacy in contemporary American Evangelicalism. Subscri...
A White Christian Nationalist Coup Long in the Making - with Dr. Kelly J. Baker
January 11, 2021 21:32 - 9 minutesDr. Kelly J. Baker, author of Gospel According to the Klan: The KKK’s Appeal to Protestant America, 1915-1930, stops by to discuss how the January 6 insurrection was long in the making. Using the 1920s Klan as a historical precedent, she and Brad discuss White supremacy in American culture and politics, the longstanding entanglement of White Protestantism and White nationalism, the Confederate legacy, the class dimensions of both the Klan and the coup, and what we can expect in the near futur...
Weekly Roundup: Trump's Insurrection
January 08, 2021 19:26 - 9 minutesBrad and Dan analyze the January 6 Insurrection at the United States Capitol. They begin by discussing the unprecedented aspects of the events. Then, a discussion of Christian nationalism and its manifestation through insurrectionists, the actions and rhetoric of Senator Josh Hawley, and the activism of Ginny Thomas--wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. After discussing the new conspiracy theory that antifa was behind the Insurrection, they turn to details surrounding the Capitol...
S1.Ep3 (Re-Release): The History of the Religious Right
January 05, 2021 20:21 - 7 minutesWhat if I told you the Religious Right formed on the basis of racism and not abortion? What if segregation was the real issue and the unborn were used later to justify it? That's what we discover on this episode. Brad and Dan trace the history of the Religious Right from the 60s to the present. And then Brad interviews Dr. Randall Balmer, professor of religion at Dartmouth College and one of the world's leading scholars on American Evangelicalism. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus epi...
S1.Ep.2 (Re-release): 81% WTF
December 29, 2020 19:34 - 10 minutesThink of this as a SWAJ primer. We cover many of the major themes of the show in a relatively brief conversation. On our second ever episode, we put the White Evangelical support for Trump in historical perspective. Brad lays out the details on how more White Evangelicals supported him than Bush, McCain, or Romney. Dan then provides a sociological analysis as to how this happened. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive,...
S1.Ep.1 (Re-Release): Why Straight White American Jesus?
December 22, 2020 20:08 - 8 minutesAfter many requests, we begin the re-release of Season 1! On this first episode Brad and Dan introduce themselves and tell their stories of being evangelical youth group kids, ministers, and seminarians, and then leaving the movement. They also explain why it was necessary to start Straight White American Jesus. This is our origin story. Take a listen! Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: htt...
Weekly Roundup: American Insurrection and Beth Moore's Anti-Christian Nationalism
December 18, 2020 20:32 - 7 minutesOn the last Weekly Roundup of the year, Brad and Dan discuss: 1) the myth of the stolen election and how it has gained legitimacy through support from GOP leaders 2) comparing it to the lasting nature of the Birther controversy 3) examining the consequences of the myth, including the radicalization of a generation of White Americans, calls for implementing the Insurrection Act, and the development of a new Lost Cause (what Brad calls the Lost Pause). We finish the episode by examining Beth M...
Ken Kemp on White People Doing the Work
December 15, 2020 23:00 - 7 minutesKen Kemp is not the person you'd expect to be leading small groups and table talks helping White folks understand the histories of racism and strategies to combat it. He's a White male Boomer. Someone born into evangelical culture. A guy who went through seminary and was almost ordained twice. But late in life he had an awakening through visits to India, South Africa, and via friendships and events that woke him up to the racialized dimensions of White Evangelicalism. He shares his story with...
Weekly Roundup: Christian Privilege and Raced Religion
December 04, 2020 21:13 - 10 minutesBrad and Dan briefly touch on three stories: MAGA rebellion in Georgia, Obama on "Defund the Police," and the federal government's abandonment of the American people in the face of COVID. We then dig deeper into two stories about religion and politics: -the attacks on Raphael Warnock as part of a long history of White Evangelical castigation of Black faith and movements. -the Supreme Court's ruling that religious gatherings override COVID health measures Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get...
Left Behind- on the Similarities Between White Nationalists and Christian Nationalists - with Sophie Bjork-James
December 01, 2020 13:00 - 43 minutes - 40 MBDr. Sophie Bjork-James is an anthropologist at Vanderbilt University. She is a specialists in race, gender, and religion with a focus on White nationalism and White evangelicalism. One of her recent projects is a close reading of the Left Behind series and the Turner Diaries, what many consider the Bible of the White supremacy movement. Reading these two texts together reveals the stunning similarities in White nationalism and Christian nationalism, including their belief that violence is ju...
Sophie Bjork-James on the Similarities Between White Nationalists and Christian Nationalists
December 01, 2020 13:00 - 9 minutesDr. Sophie Bjork-James is an anthropologist at Vanderbilt University. She is a specialist in race, gender, and religion with a focus on White nationalism and White evangelicalism. One of her recent projects is a close reading of the Left Behind series and the Turner Diaries, the latter many consider the Bible of the White supremacy movement. Reading these two texts together reveals the stunning similarities in White nationalism and Christian nationalism, including their belief that violence i...
Anne Nelson on the Shadow Network Behind Trump's Coup, ACB's nomination, and the Coming Cold Civil War
November 24, 2020 23:50 - 9 minutesBrad speaks with journalist Anne Nelson whose book Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right outlines in vivid detail the network of organizations, media empires, and churches that sync the Radical Right. She explains how groups such as the NRA, Susan B. Anthony List, and Family Research Council are all interwoven into a nexus that both helped create the presidency of Donald Trump and will continue the takeover of the United States even after he's gone. For example...
Weekly Roundup: Frederick Douglass on a Divided Nation, Whose Faith Counts as Really American?, and American Exceptionalism in Religious Terms
November 20, 2020 23:31 - 8 minutesBrad and Dan begin by drawing on a famous speech by Frederick Douglass in order to put the nail in the coffin on the idea that it is the Democrats' job to reach across the aisle. They then explain why Republicans think it is okay to attack the faith--including the sermons--of Raphael Warnock, but would not allow one utterance of criticism related to Amy Coney Barrett's religious belief and practice. They finish by looking at stats that tell the real story of American Exceptionalism--the prese...
Sarah Posner on the Secession of MAGA Nation
November 17, 2020 18:21 - 9 minutesBrad speaks with Sarah Posner, author of Unholy: Why White Evangelicals Worship at the Altar of Donald Trump. They discuss how Trump is the result of strategies used by GOP operatives in other countries. The approach is simple: label liberal democracy as an assault on family, faith, and nation; sell a strong, charismatic leader as the only hope to save the country from ruin at the hands of godless socialists; then systematically weaken all democratic guardrails in order to ensure the leader h...
Weekly Roundup: Reviving the Lost Cause - the Real Meaning of Trump's Refusal to Concede + Biden's Religious Voters + SCOTUS and Obama Care
November 13, 2020 20:39 - 7 minutesDan begins by explaining why Biden didn't underperform and why emotionally this should feel like a big win He and Brad also discuss the White religious voters who fled Trump for Biden and why it is/and is not a big deal They touch on SCOTUS and the Affordable Care Act, including the surprising comments from Justice Kavanaugh The bulk of the episode is then spent on discussing the real meaning behind Trump's refusal to concede. Dan explains why a hard coup is not imminent; Brad sets what he...
The Brown Church: 500 Years of Resistance and Organizing - with Robert Chao Romero, PhD, JD
November 10, 2020 13:00 - 8 minutesIn his new book, The Brown Church, Robert Chao Romero speaks from spiritual borderlands. As a Latino pastor and scholar trained in critical race theory, he speaks to those managing what many times feel like mutually exclusive identities. In the process his book has something essential to teach all of us about the history of the Brown Church in North America and how Indigenous and Latina/o peoples have been fighting to decolonize faith, decenter Whiteness, and create more inclusive and equal c...
Weekly Roundup: A Historic Election, the Religious Left's Huge Impact, and the Religious Right Remains the Religious White
November 06, 2020 19:50 - 10 minutesAs we process the unfolding events related to the election, Brad and Dan discuss: why Tuesday night felt so dismaying, despite knowing it would be a long road the disappointing turnout for Trumpism and the need to reckon with Whiteness the myriad of reasons to be not only relieved, but hopeful Madison Cawthorn = future of the Religious Right Stacey Abrams, Raphael Warnock, Cori Bush, and the Squad = Vanguards of the Religious Left Why Christian nationalism is far from defeated Subs...
Religion, Roots, and Black National Identity with Richard Newton
November 02, 2020 18:42 - 9 minutesIn an episode recorded as part of a public lecture at Skidmore College, Brad speak with Dr. Richard Newton about his new book, Identifying Roots: Alex Haley and the Anthropology of Scriptures. They discuss how Haley's book Roots and the ensuing TV mini-series marked a new chapter in telling the story of Black Americans, how Roots became the "Black family Bible," and what it means in regard to our current cultural moment. Professor Newton explains how the story has become a sacred narrative ab...
Weekly Roundup: America's Tense Moment
October 30, 2020 20:31 - 9 minutesIn the week before the election, Brad and Dan begin with another chapter of Falwell's Follies. Dan then explains why the polls are similar, but different from 2016 and how Trump's surrender to COVID has hurt his reelection chances. Brad expands on his explanation of why the Supreme Court should be expanded by providing numbers on how many unfit and inexperienced judges--including ACB--Trump and McConnell have pushed through, explaining how the Senate process has been tainted, and reminding ev...
After Evangelcalism with David Gushee
October 27, 2020 16:05 - 9 minutesDan speaks with Dr. David Gushee, Professor of Ethics and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University. The former president of the American Academy of Religion, he is a prolific author who writes often about his journey out of evangelicalism. He and Dan discuss his new book, After Evangelicalism: The Path to a New Christianity. Their discussion delves into issues such as community, race, and sexuality--and how White evangelicals are getting those tragically wrong....
Weekly Roundup: Hunter Biden Explained, Pope and Civil Unions, and the American Values Survey
October 23, 2020 19:47 - 9 minutesOpener: Brad and Dan each get 2 minutes uninterrupted on the last debate Explainer: Hunter Biden non-scandal mularkey Explainer: Pope announces he is in favor of same-sex couples having civil unions (but not marriages?) Deep Dive: The American Values Survey from PRRI -critical issues for Republicans and Democrats (one thinks COVID is a big deal; the other doesn't) -how White Evangelicals are different from any other religious group in the country -attitudes toward race, income inequalit...