Faithful Politics

Why are millions of women walking away from American churches, and what finally pushes them to leave?Journalist Sarah Stankorb, author of Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, traces an exodus she says has been building for decades. The conversation examines purity culture, sexual abuse and institutional cover-ups, racism, LGBTQ exclusion, political polarization, and the growing influence of Christian nationalism. Stankorb explains why leaving is rarely about a single event. For many women, questions and contradictions accumulate until the institution they trusted becomes impossible to reconcile with the faith and values they were taught. Some leave Christianity entirely. Others reach a different conclusion: they never lost faith in God. They lost faith in the church.The conversation also looks at Gen Z women, deconstruction, the Christian Right, and what the continued departure of women could mean for the future of American religion. Stankorb's book documents this trend through women's stories from the 1980s through todayBook: Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religionhttps://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091GUEST BIOSarah Stankorb is an award-winning journalist and author whose reporting focuses on religion, politics, gender, and power. She is the author of the national bestseller Disobedient Women and Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Vogue, and Elle. She studied religion and philosophy at Westminster College and ethics and South Asian religion and history at the University of Chicago Divinity School. 

What happens when moderation becomes a political liability inside your own party?Filmmakers Meg Griffiths and Scott Faris join Faithful Politics to discuss The Life of the Party, their documentary following three Republican women in Texas whose careers reveal a party undergoing significant change.Former State Rep. Sarah Davis was once the last pro-choice Republican in the Texas House and represents a tradition of moderate dissent. Former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores, the first Mexican-born woman elected to Congress, represents a newer, faith-driven and MAGA-aligned Republican coalition. And longtime State Rep. Geanie Morrison reflects on an older political culture where bipartisan relationships and compromise were more common.Together, the filmmakers describe them as an outlier, an outsider, and an old guard.We talk about abortion, faith, MAGA, women as the Republican Party's political organizers, partisan purity tests, political identity, and what disappears when disagreement becomes disloyalty. Meg and Scott also explain what they learned as liberal filmmakers spending a year listening to conservative women and why relationships across political differences still matter.Watch the film: https://universecreative.org/the-life-of-the-party/GUEST BIOMeg Griffiths and Scott Faris are documentary filmmakers, producers, and co-founders of Universe Creative. Their work focuses on stories that complicate political and cultural assumptions and elevate perspectives that are often overlooked. Before founding Universe Creative in 2017, they worked together at Teach For America and later in social-impact video strategy. Their documentaries include Impossible Town and The Life of the Party, which follows three Republican women navigating leadership, identity, and political change in Texas.

The Department of Homeland Security sent undercover agents into churches to monitor anti-ICE activists. In at least one case, an agent entered a Baptist church that was already protected by a federal court order restricting certain DHS activity on the property.Brian Kaylor, president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, joins us to walk through the court documents behind his reporting. We discuss DHS surveillance at at least five churches in Minnesota and Michigan, agents secretly recording meetings, collecting license plate information, and monitoring people who were not themselves targets of the investigation.The conversation also gets into the difference between judicial and administrative warrants, First Amendment protections for houses of worship, government surveillance of religious communities after 9/11 and during the Reagan era, and what Kaylor calls the “imperial boomerang” - surveillance powers created for one purpose eventually being used elsewhere.Subscribe: https://publicwitness.wordandway.orgGUEST BIOBrian Kaylor is president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way and leads its newsletter, A Public Witness, which covers religion, politics, and culture. He is a Baptist minister with a Ph.D. in political communication and the author or co-author of seven books on religion and politics. His recent reporting has examined Department of Homeland Security surveillance of churches and religious liberty questions surrounding immigration enforcement.

Robert P. Jones argues that the crisis facing American democracy is also a crisis inside white Christianity. In this conversation, Jones, president and founder of PRRI and author of Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy, explains why he believes white Christian support for Donald Trump and Christian nationalism represents both democratic backsliding and theological apostasy.We dig into one of the interview's most striking findings: among white evangelicals, higher church attendance is associated with stronger support for Trump, anti-immigrant attitudes, and Christian nationalism. Jones also examines the growing Christian critique of empathy, the racial history embedded in American Christianity, how culture shapes biblical interpretation, and what Martin Niemöller's regret can teach Christians today.The conversation ends with the question Jones says Christians and Americans have to confront now: what will we regret not doing while there was still time?Book: Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracyhttps://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781250431134GUEST BIORobert P. Jones is the president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute, or PRRI, and a New York Times bestselling author whose work focuses on religion, race, politics, and democracy. His books include The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy, White Too Long, The End of White Christian America, and his newest book, Backslide. Jones holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University and writes the Redeeming Democracy newsletter

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's fight over Muslim wudu stations at Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth airports opens into a much larger question: who gets protected by religious liberty in America?Washington Post religion reporter Michelle Boorstein joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain why facilities that existed for years suddenly became a political target, how legal experts view Abbott's First Amendment argument, and how the dispute fits into a broader pattern of anti-Muslim rhetoric in Texas. The conversation moves from Employment Division v. Smith and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to Kennedy v. Bremerton, the decline of the Lemon test, Ten Commandments laws, school vouchers, Christian nationalism, and the changing meaning of church-state separation.Boorstein also explains why religious liberty becomes complicated in a pluralistic country and why some of the next major constitutional fights may center on the Establishment Clause.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott takes aim at Muslim washing stations in airports:https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/08/20/fight-over-airport-washing-stations-is-latest-anti-muslim-salvo-gop/GUEST BIOMichelle Boorstein is a religion reporter for The Washington Post who has covered religion, spirituality, politics, and public life for more than two decades. Her reporting examines religious liberty, church-state disputes, changing religious identity, and the political influence of faith communities. She holds a journalism and history degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master's in Near Eastern studies from New York University. Her recent reporting has focused heavily on religion, government, and the changing boundaries between them.

Why would a parent take their child on a dangerous journey to the United States? Gabrielle Oliveira argues that one of the most overlooked answers is care.Oliveira, a Harvard professor who studies immigration, education, and family migration, spent years following 16 migrant families from Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. She explains how violence, insecurity, and a lack of opportunity push families to leave, while safety and education become central to what they hope to find in America.We talk about border detention and family separation, what children remember about migration, why American schools can represent opportunity for immigrant families, and Oliveira's idea of “constrained care” among teachers trying to support immigrant students.She also challenges the way immigrant children are often portrayed only as victims or extraordinary success stories, leaving out the ordinary lives most children eventually build.BOOKBook: Now We Are Here: Family Migration, Children's Education, and Dreams for a Better Lifehttps://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781503644540GUEST BIOGabrielle Oliveira is the Jorge Paulo Lemann Associate Professor of Education and Brazil Studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. An anthropologist of education, her research examines immigration, mobility, family life, and children's schooling across borders. She is the author of Motherhood Across Borders and Now We Are Here: Family Migration, Children's Education, and Dreams for a Better Life, which received the 2026 American Educational Research Association Outstanding Book Award.

Historian Joseph Kelly argues that the roots of American fascism reach much further back than Nazi Germany or Mussolini's Italy. They can be found in the antebellum South and the political system built to defend slavery and racial hierarchy.Kelly, author of The Biggest Lie: The Prehistory of American Fascism, 1818 - 1915, traces how the promise that “all men are created equal” collided with a growing ideology that insisted inequality was natural. We discuss Thomas Jefferson, the Denmark Vesey conspiracy, Nat Turner, pseudoscientific racism, Samuel George Morton, Jim Crow, and the use of fear and political violence to protect white power.Kelly also explains Robert Paxton's definition of fascism, why January 6 changed Paxton's view of Donald Trump, and how election denial can function as a test of political loyalty. The conversation ends with the institutions Kelly believes still protect American democracy, including a free press, independent courts, academic freedom, and organizations committed to defending civil rights.BOOKBook: The Biggest Lie: The Prehistory of American Fascism, 1818 - 1915https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781639732111GUEST BIOJoseph Kelly is a historian and professor of literature and history at the College of Charleston. His work examines American democracy and the historical struggle between egalitarian ideals and systems of racial and political hierarchy. His latest book, The Biggest Lie: The Prehistory of American Fascism, 1818 - 1915, traces the development of American fascist politics from the antebellum South through Jim Crow and the rise of Anglo-Saxon nationalism. He is also the author of Marooned and America's Longest Siege.

With the 2026 midterms approaching, the rules around voting are becoming part of the political fight itself. Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey joins Faithful Politics to explain what voters actually need to know about election security, voter registration, mail-in voting, voter ID laws, voter roll purges, and misinformation.Andrea walks through current efforts to change how elections are administered, including the SAVE Act, challenges involving mail voting, citizenship verification, restrictions on digital voter registration, and the possibility of federal involvement at polling locations. She also explains what happens if you discover you have been removed from the voter rolls and why checking your registration early matters.The conversation also tackles a larger question: What happens when Americans stop trusting elections themselves? With AI-generated misinformation likely to increase ahead of Election Day, Andrea explains how voters can verify information, protect their ability to vote, and make a plan before problems arise.GUEST BIOAndrea Hailey is CEO of Vote.org, the nation's largest nonpartisan nonprofit voter registration and get-out-the-vote technology platform. Under her leadership, Vote.org has combined digital voter tools, legal strategy, data-driven outreach, and grassroots partnerships to expand access to the ballot. In August 2026, Vote.org announced that Americans had used its platform to register to vote 10 million times. Hailey's career has focused on voter engagement, civic participation, and election access

What does the Bible actually say about politics, and what happens when Christians allow a political party to shape how they read Scripture?Biblical scholar Michael Rhodes joins us to discuss Reimagining Biblical Politics and why Christian political discipleship cannot be reduced to a handful of verses or a partisan platform. We explore Christian nationalism, immigration, poverty, justice, political power, and the ways both conservatives and progressives can allow partisan identity to shape their convictions.Rhodes walks through figures including the Hebrew midwives, Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Jesus to show how Scripture offers several models for engaging public life. He also explains his distinction between “outpost politics” within the church and “pilgrim politics” in the wider world.Book: Reimagining Biblical Politics: What Scripture Says about Public Life and Why It Mattershttps://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781540967558GUEST BIOMichael J. Rhodes is Dean of Faculty and Lecturer in Old Testament at Carey Baptist College in Auckland, New Zealand. An ordained pastor in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, his scholarship focuses on Scripture, justice, poverty, economics, and public life. He is the author of Reimagining Biblical Politics, Just Discipleship, and Formative Feasting, and coauthor of Practicing the King's Economy. His work also draws on years of Christian community development in Kenya, South Memphis, and South Auckland.

Congressman Jared Huffman joins Faithful Politics to discuss his new book, No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism, and the growing influence of Christian nationalism in American politics and government.We talk about Donald Trump, January 6, the New Apostolic Reformation, prophetic politics, Christian Zionism, church-state separation, Christian founding myths, and the religious movements Huffman believes are gaining influence at the highest levels of government. We also discuss why a humanist member of Congress decided to write a book about Christianity and what he believes Christians, secular Americans, and political leaders should understand about this movement.Get No Prophets on Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781324130482Guest bioRep. Jared Huffman represents California's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He publicly identifies as a humanist and in 2018 helped establish the Congressional Freethought Caucus, which focuses on church-state separation and public policy grounded in reason, science and constitutional principles.He is the author of No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism, which examines the religious movements, political networks and theological ideas influencing the rise of Christian nationalism in American government. 

Chelsea Kim Long grew up deeply embedded in conservative evangelical Christianity. She knew what she believed, what Christian womanhood was supposed to look like, and the life she expected to have.Then life got complicated.Motherhood, a traumatic birth, miscarriage, infertility, a complicated pregnancy, and questions about women's place within Christianity forced Chelsea to reconsider much of the theology she inherited.But she never wanted to leave Christianity.Chelsea joins Faithful Politics to discuss her new book, Faithfully Dissident Daughters: Reclaiming Christian Womanhood beyond Patriarchy, and why deconstruction doesn't always end with walking away from faith.We discuss patriarchy, male headship, women's spiritual authority, abortion, feminine images of God in Scripture, and the tension of being told by some Christians that you've gone too far while being asked by former Christians why you're still holding on.At the center of the conversation is a simple question: Can you question the Christianity you inherited and still remain Christian?Bookshop.org - Faithful Politics affiliate link:https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780664269456Chelsea Kim Long:https://www.chelseakimlong.comGuest Bio:Chelsea Kim Long is a writer, lay theologian, meditation teacher, and neighborhood pastor whose work explores Christianity through women's embodied experiences and contemplative spirituality. She co-leads an intentional neighborhood faith community in San Diego, where she lives with her husband and three children.Her debut book, Faithfully Dissident Daughters: Reclaiming Christian Womanhood Beyond Patriarchy, combines personal narrative, theology, and Christian history to explore women's spiritual authority, faith reconstruction, and feminine expressions of the Divine within the Christian tradition. The book features a foreword by Dr. Christena Cleveland and releases September 8, 2026, from Westminster John Knox Press.

Why does American patriotism sometimes feel almost religious?Church historian Wes Crawford joins Faithful Politics to discuss his forthcoming book, One Nation over God, and the complicated relationship between Christian faith, patriotism, and American civil religion.Crawford explains how the United States developed a kind of civil religion built around sacred texts, symbols, rituals, holidays, and national stories. We talk about why the Constitution can be treated almost like scripture, why the national anthem can carry such emotional weight, and what happens when love of country begins competing with allegiance to God.The conversation also gets practical. We discuss patriotic church services, Veterans Day, the flag, Christian nationalism, political polarization, cognitive dissonance, and the difficulty Christians face when their political identity becomes intertwined with their faith. Crawford argues that patriotism itself can have a legitimate place, but Christians need to recognize when national devotion takes on the characteristics of worship or begins overriding their religious convictions.One Nation over God: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780802885470Guest BioWes Crawford is vice provost and associate professor of church history at Abilene Christian University. His research focuses on American religion, race, and the history of Churches of Christ. He previously served for twenty years as a senior pastor and continues to preach and teach in churches. He is the author of Shattering the Illusion and Courage in the Sheer Silence. His newest book, One Nation over God, examines the relationship between Christian faith, American patriotism, and civil religion.

Technology entrepreneur Patrick Gruhn joins Faithful Politics to discuss how artificial intelligence is being used to explore the writings and theology of Pope Benedict XVI.Gruhn explains how the Pope Benedict XVI AI works as a research tool, how it uses verified sources to reduce hallucinations and bias, and why the project is designed to help users investigate Benedict's thought rather than simulate a conversation with him.The conversation also explores Magisterium AI, efforts to digitize historic Vatican documents, the risks of treating AI-generated answers as authoritative, and Gruhn's broader view that AI can increase productivity and human flourishing while still requiring careful moral judgment.Patrick also discusses Benedict's emphasis on faith and reason, why he believes AI should preserve human dignity, and how Catholics and researchers can use these tools to better understand church teaching.The website for the Benedict XVI Society and the Pope Benedict XVI AI project is:https://benedictxvisociety.org/BioPatrick Gruhn is a German-born technology entrepreneur, lawyer, and software developer working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, finance, and faith. He is co-CEO of Perpetuals, vice president of the Pope Benedict XVI Foundation, and an investor in Catholic media and technology projects. His recent work includes developing AI tools that help users explore the writings of Pope Benedict XVI and Catholic teaching through verified church sources.

Josh and Will sit down with Dr. Syed A.H. Zaidi, a scholar of Islamic philosophy, theology, and intellectual history, for a wide-ranging conversation about his personal journey from New York political operative to academic, and what that journey reveals about faith, identity, and politics in America today. Dr. Zaidi traces his path from a politically connected Pakistani-American family in New York, through years working for prominent (and often controversial) Democratic politicians, to a late-in-life pivot toward the study of Islamic philosophy and Sufism. From there, the conversation opens into a broader discussion of what Islam actually teaches, how Sunni and Shia traditions differ, the history of Islamophobia in the U.S., the influence of Saudi-funded Wahhabism on global Islam, and how Muslim Americans navigate hot-button political issues like same-sex marriage ballot measures. The episode closes with a sober reflection on the state of American political life — and a shared hope that today's polarization is a passing phase rather than a permanent condition.Guest BioDr. Syed A.H. Zaidi is a core lecturer in Islamic Studies at Butler University, where his research focuses on Islamic Neoplatonism, Shia thought, Sufism, and the relationship between philosophy and religious revelation. He earned his PhD in Islamic Civilizations from Emory University and is currently working on books examining the Brethren of Purity and the development of Hermetic thought from late antiquity through the medieval Islamic world. He also directs the Muslim Studies Endowment at Butler University.

Historian Joseph L. Locke joins Faithful Politics to discuss his new book, One State Under God: A History of Religion in Texas.Locke traces how religion shaped Texas from Indigenous traditions and Spanish missions to Protestant growth, segregation, the Religious Right, and today's Christian nationalist politics. He also explains why early Texas Protestants strongly defended church-state separation, how that changed over time, and why figures like James Robison and David Barton became so influential.The conversation offers a broader look at how Texas became a major force in the national relationship between religion and politics.About Joseph L. LockeJoseph L. Locke is an associate professor of American history at the University of North Texas. His work focuses on Texas, the American South, and the development of religion and politics in the United States. He is also a co-creator and editor of The American Yawp.Book: One State Under God: A History of Religion in Texas: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781477334201

The conversation delves into the work of Warren Throckmorton, who fact-checks historical claims, particularly those made by political operative David Barton. The discussion highlights the influence of Barton and the credibility and integrity of historical claims, shedding light on the need for accurate historical representation and the impact of political alignment on historical narratives. The conversation delves into the historical context of the American Revolution, exploring the laws and events that shaped the period. It also examines the influence of Christianity on the founding of the United States, shedding light on the role of religion in the nation's early history.TakeawaysHistorical Fact-CheckingInfluence of Political OperativesCredibility and Integrity in Historical Claims Historical context of the American RevolutionThe influence of Christianity on the founding of the United StatesChapters00:00 Discussion on David Barton's False Claims and Influence (Continued)34:28 The Historical Context of the American Revolution39:59 The Influence of Christianity on the Founding of the United States

How did once-fringe religious movements gain influence within the Republican Party and access to the highest levels of American political power?Will Wright speaks with author and scholar Keri Ladner about her book, American Dominion: The Rise and Radicalization of a New Christendom. They examine the history and political influence of dominionism, a movement built around the belief that Christians are called to exercise authority over government, education, media, business, religion, family, and the arts.Keri explains the connections among Christian nationalism, the New Apostolic Reformation, the Seven Mountain Mandate, Christian Reconstructionism, neo-Confederate Christianity, faith healing, spiritual warfare, and the modern religious right. She also traces how these movements helped build evangelical support for Donald Trump and contributed to election conspiracy theories surrounding January 6.The conversation explores:What dominionism means within American ChristianityThe origins and goals of the Seven Mountain MandateThe New Apostolic Reformation and its prophets and apostlesBethel Church, faith healing, and the political power of worship musicLance Wallnau and the claim that Donald Trump is a modern-day CyrusDoug Wilson, Christian Reconstructionism, and neo-Confederate theologyPete Hegseth and the influence of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical ChurchesHow religious movements with conflicting theologies formed a common political coalitionThe relationship between Christian nationalism, white supremacy, and political radicalizationWhat American democracy could face if dominionist movements continue gaining powerThis episode offers an extensive examination of the history, theology, and political strategy behind one of the most influential movements shaping religion and politics in America.About Keri LadnerKeri Ladner, PhD, is a scholar of fundamentalist religion, American politics, and the radicalization of the conservative movement. She earned her doctorate from the University of Edinburgh and specializes in how religious beliefs and movements become embedded within American political power structures.She is the author of American Dominion: The Rise and Radicalization of a New Christendom and End Time Politics: From Moral Majority to QAnon. Her research examines dominionism, the New Apostolic Reformation, evangelical politics, Christian nationalism, faith healing, QAnon, and the development of the modern religious right.Get the BookPurchase American Dominion: The Rise and Radicalization of a New Christendom https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798216275763

What happens when journalists cover politics without understanding the religion shaping the story?Brian Kaylor, president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way and the leader of A Public Witness, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain why religion reporting matters in an era of Christian nationalism, government-sponsored worship, and growing confusion about the role Christianity plays in American public life. Kaylor describes how political reporters can miss biblical references, theological claims, and denominational differences that are central to understanding events such as January 6, presidential elections, and the political influence of conservative Christianity.The conversation then turns to Kaylor's reporting on Christian worship services organized inside the Pentagon and other federal agencies. He explains the involvement of Pete Hegseth, Doug Wilson, Franklin Graham, Southern Baptist leaders, defense contractors, violent biblical rhetoric, and a prayer borrowed from Pulp Fiction. The episode also examines the constitutional difference between a private religious group using a government building and the government planning and hosting its own worship service.The final episode of Church & State 250 returns to the principle at the center of the series: America's most significant religious experiment was the decision to separate church and state. Kaylor argues that this separation protects religious minorities, government employees, and Christianity itself from the corrupting influence of political power.Guest BioBrian Kaylor, PhD, is president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, an independent Christian media organization founded in 1896, and the leader of A Public Witness, a publication covering religion, politics, and culture. A Baptist minister with a doctorate in political communication from the University of Missouri, Kaylor is an award-winning journalist, author, speaker, and scholar whose work focuses on Christian nationalism, political rhetoric, religious liberty, church-state separation, and the ways Christianity is used to support government power. He is the author or co-author of seven books, including Sacramental Politics, Baptizing America, and The Bible According to Christian Nationalists. His Government Worship Watch project documents worship services organized by the Pentagon and other federal agencies, making his reporting central to understanding the current relationship between Christianity and the federal government.Books MentionedThe Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power by Brian KaylorBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780827203501Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism by Brian Kaylor and Beau UnderwoodBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780827203389Relevant Links & ResourcesBrian Kaylor Official WebsiteURL: https://briankaylor.com/A Public WitnessURL: https://publicwitness.wordandway.org/Word&WayURL: https://wordandway.org/

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat happens when Christians begin to believe they are entitled to rule over everyone else? Matthew D. Taylor, a scholar of religion and politics and visiting scholar at Georgetown University's Center on Faith and Justice, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain how Christian nationalism fits inside a much older story of Christian supremacy, empire, and political power. Taylor traces the pattern back to Constantine, Christendom, and the long history of Christians using Jesus to justify conquest, coercion, and rule. He then brings the story into the present through MAGA Christianity, the New Apostolic Reformation, the Seven Mountain Mandate, prophecy around Donald Trump, Paula White-Cain, Lance Wallnau, spiritual warfare, and January 6. The conversation helps listeners understand why Christian nationalism is not one movement, but a spectrum of beliefs and networks competing for power. It is also a warning about what America's 250th means if Christians try to restore the divine right of kings.Guest BioMatthew D. Taylor, PhD, is a scholar of religion and politics and a visiting scholar at Georgetown University's Center on Faith and Justice. His work focuses on Christian nationalism, religious extremism, Christian supremacy, American Islam, and the role of religious pluralism in defending democracy. He is the author of Scripture People, The Violent Take It by Force, and the forthcoming Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists. He also created Charismatic Revival Fury, an audio documentary series on the New Apostolic Reformation and the Christian leaders and ideas that helped fuel January 6. His research connects directly to this episode's focus on Christian imperialism, MAGA Christianity, prophecy, spiritual warfare, and the fight over America's democratic future.Book MentionedThe Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy by Matthew D. TaylorBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781506497785Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. TaylorBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798341900370Relevant Links & ResourcesMatthew D. Taylor Official WebsiteURL: https://www.drmatthewdtaylor.com/Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat does “Christian nationalism” actually mean, and how can people tell the difference between public faith, patriotism, and a political project built around power? Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry, two leading sociologists of religion and politics, join Pastor Josh Burtram and Will Wright to explain Christian nationalism as a cultural framework that fuses a particular kind of Christianity with American civic life. They discuss how survey data connects Christian nationalism with attitudes about race, immigration, voting access, authoritarianism, gender, and who really belongs in America. The conversation also clarifies why they often use the phrase “white Christian nationalism,” what critics misunderstand or misrepresent, and why public prayer or Christians voting their values is not the same thing as Christian nationalism. This is a practical guide to understanding one of the most important forces shaping American politics, churches, and democracy today.Guest BioAndrew L. Whitehead is a professor of sociology at Indiana University Indianapolis and one of the leading scholars of Christian nationalism in the United States. Samuel L. Perry is the Sam K. Viersen Presidential Professor of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma. Together, they co-authored Taking America Back for God, one of the most influential empirical studies of Christian nationalism in America. Perry is also the co-author of The Flag and the Cross, and Whitehead is the author of American Idolatry. Their work helps this episode explain Christian nationalism as a measurable social framework connected to race, democracy, religious identity, and political power.Book MentionedTaking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States by Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. PerryBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780190057886Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comHow did Christian music become one of the most powerful forces shaping evangelical identity and politics? Leah Payne, professor of American religious history at Portland Seminary and author of God Gave Rock and Roll to You, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain why contemporary Christian music is more than a soundtrack. It is a business, a discipleship tool, and a form of cultural power. Payne traces CCM from Pentecostal and revivalist roots to Billy Graham, the Jesus Movement, Amy Grant, DC Talk, purity culture, worship music, and even January 6. She argues that music often forms people more deeply than doctrine because it teaches Christians what to fear, what to defend, what feels sacred, and who belongs. This conversation helps listeners see how evangelical politics was shaped not only by sermons, denominations, and elections, but by songs, celebrities, markets, mothers, youth culture, and worship.Guest BioLeah Payne, PhD, is professor of American religious history at Portland Seminary and faculty lead for the Doctor of Ministry in Faith & Cultural Engagement program. Her work focuses on American religion, evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, popular culture, music, media, gender, and politics. She is the author of God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music, published by Oxford University Press, and co-host of Rock That Doesn't Roll, a Public Radio Exchange podcast about Christian rock and its listeners. In this conversation, Payne helps explain how CCM, worship music, Christian celebrity, purity culture, and evangelical media shaped American religious identity and political life.Book MentionedGod Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music by Leah PayneBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780197555248Relevant Links & ResourcesLeah PayneURL: https://www.drleahpayne.com/ Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comHow did “biblical manhood” become so tied to aggression, politics, and power? Kristin Kobes Du Mez, professor of history at Calvin University and author of Jesus and John Wayne, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain how white evangelical ideas about masculinity helped shape American Christianity and American politics. Du Mez traces the rise of rugged Christian manhood through culture, Cold War politics, the Religious Right, Ronald Reagan, fear of feminism and secularism, anti-Muslim rhetoric, and the culture war machinery that turns complicated issues into loyalty tests. She also connects masculine power to institutional self-protection, including the Southern Baptist Convention's response to women in leadership and sexual abuse reform. This conversation is not just about men. It is about how gender, theology, fear, capitalism, and political power worked together to shape modern white evangelicalism, and why America's 250th raises urgent questions about religious liberty and democracy.Guest BioKristin Kobes Du Mez, PhD, is a historian, New York Times bestselling author, and professor of history at Calvin University. Her work focuses on the intersection of gender, religion, politics, and American evangelicalism. She is the author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, A New Gospel for Women, and the forthcoming Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made. She is also a Senior Democracy Fellow with PRRI. In this conversation, Du Mez helps explain how white evangelical ideas about masculinity, femininity, fear, family, politics, and power shaped the modern church and the country around it.Book MentionedJesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du MezBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781631499050Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made by Kristin Kobes Du MezBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781324090977Relevant Links & ResourcesKristin Kobes Du Mez Official WebsiteURL: https://kristindumez.com/ Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comCan America tell its religious history honestly without confronting race? Jemar Tisby, historian, public scholar, author, and founder of Tisby Media, joins Will Wright for Church and State 250 to explain why race does not “enter” the American story later. It has been there from the beginning. Tisby connects the Declaration of Independence, the Three-Fifths Compromise, slavery, voting rights, segregation, the Black Church, and white Christian nationalism to show how Christianity has been used both to defend racial hierarchy and resist it. He explains how churches labeled slavery and race “political” when doing so protected money and power, while still speaking freely on other moral issues. The conversation also highlights how enslaved people heard a liberating gospel despite distorted biblical teaching, and why America's 250th should be a moment to reclaim patriotism, defend democracy, and work toward a more perfect union.Guest BioJemar Tisby, PhD, is a historian, New York Times bestselling author, public scholar, and founder and creative director of Tisby Media. His work focuses on race, religion, American history, democracy, and justice. He is the author of The Color of Compromise, How to Fight Racism, and The Spirit of Justice, along with several books for younger readers. He is also the executive producer of Jesus Was a Migrant, a documentary from Tisby Studios. In this conversation, Tisby helps explain how race and religion have been intertwined from America's founding through slavery, segregation, voting rights, the Black Church, white Christian nationalism, and the ongoing fight for democracy.Book MentionedThe Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church's Complicity in Racism by Jemar TisbyBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780310113607How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice by Jemar TisbyBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780310154358The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance by Jemar TisbyBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780310144854Relevant Links & ResourcesJemar Tisby Official WebsiteURL: https://jemartisby.com/Jesus Was a MigrantURL: https://jesuswasamigrant.com/ Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat happens when religious freedom becomes a legal tool for imposing religion on others? Andrew L. Seidel, constitutional attorney, author, and Vice President of Strategic Communications at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain how church-state law has shaped American public life. Seidel walks through the Establishment Clause, the Free Exercise Clause, Article VI's ban on religious tests, and major Supreme Court cases including Everson, Brown v. Board, Lemon v. Kurtzman, Kennedy v. Bremerton, and Carson v. Makin. He argues that separation of church and state is larger than one clause in the First Amendment. It is woven through the Constitution's structure and protects people of every faith and no faith. The conversation also explores public schools, vouchers, Christian nationalism, Leonard Leo's influence on the courts, and why America's 250th is a moment to defend religious liberty for everyone.Guest BioAndrew L. Seidel is a constitutional and civil rights attorney, author, and Vice President of Strategic Communications at Americans United for Separation of Church and State. His work focuses on religious freedom, church-state separation, Christian nationalism, and the way constitutional law affects public life. He is the author of The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American and American Crusade: How the Supreme Court Is Weaponizing Religious Freedom, and co-editor of Law and Religion: Cases and Materials. His legal and public writing helps explain how First Amendment law, religious liberty claims, public schools, and Supreme Court doctrine shape the rights of believers and nonbelievers alike.Book MentionedAmerican Crusade: How the Supreme Court Is Weaponizing Religious Freedom by Andrew L. SeidelBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781454943921Relevant Links & ResourcesAmericans United for Separation of Church and State - Andrew L. SeidelURL: https://www.au.org/about-au/people/andrew-l-seidel/ Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comCould enslaved Africans become Christians, and if they did, should baptism lead to freedom? Katharine Gerbner, Associate Professor of History and Director of Religious Studies at the University of Minnesota, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain how religion shaped slavery and race in the Protestant Atlantic world. Gerbner's book, Christian Slavery, examines a tension many Americans rarely consider: early Protestant slaveholders often treated Christianity as a marker of freedom, while missionaries wanted to convert enslaved people without disrupting slavery. That conflict helped produce what Gerbner calls “Protestant supremacy,” a religious framework that came before the legal solidification of whiteness and helped justify slavery through religious difference. The conversation moves through Quakers in Barbados, baptism, Catholic and Protestant slave systems, enslaved Christians, and theologies used to defend bondage. It is a hard but necessary look at how Christian language could be used both to seek freedom and to preserve power.Guest BioKatharine Gerbner is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Religious Studies Program at the University of Minnesota. Her work examines how religion shapes, and is shaped by, race, freedom, politics, and technology. She is the author of Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World, which argues that religion was central to the development of both slavery and race in the Protestant Atlantic world, and Archival Irruptions: Constructing Religion and Criminalizing Obeah in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica. Her scholarship connects directly to this episode's focus on Christian slavery, Protestant supremacy, baptism, enslaved Christians, and the religious arguments used to justify or challenge slavery.Book MentionedChristian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World by Katharine GerbnerBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780812224368Relevant Links & ResourcesKatharine Gerbner Faculty ProfileURL: https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/kgerbner Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comHow did white Southern evangelicals use the Bible to defend segregation after slavery ended?J. Russell “Rusty” Hawkins, Dean of the John Wesley Honors College and Professor of Honors Humanities and History at Indiana Wesleyan University, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain the theological arguments behind Jim Crow Christianity. Hawkins, author of The Bible Told Them So, shows how white evangelicals read stories like Babel, Levitical separation laws, Acts 17, and Revelation as evidence that God intended racial separation. The conversation moves through the Civil War as a theological crisis, Brown v. Board of Education, Christian colleges, Bob Jones University, local church resistance, and the rise of “colorblindness” as a religious argument against integration. This episode matters because it shows that segregation was not defended only through politics or culture. For many Christians, it was defended as biblical truth, which should make today's believers more humble about certainty.Guest BioJ. Russell “Rusty” Hawkins is Dean of the John Wesley Honors College and Professor of Honors Humanities and History at Indiana Wesleyan University. He is the author of The Bible Told Them So: How Southern Evangelicals Fought to Preserve White Supremacy, published by Oxford University Press in 2021, and co-editor of Christians and the Color Line: Race and Religion after Divided by Faith. His work focuses on religion, race, white evangelicalism, segregation, and the civil rights era, making him a strong guide for understanding how theology shaped resistance to racial equality in American life.Book MentionedThe Bible Told Them So: How Southern Evangelicals Fought to Preserve White Supremacy by J. Russell HawkinsBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780197571064Relevant Links & ResourcesJ. Russell “Rusty” Hawkins Faculty ProfileURL: https://www.indwes.edu/academics/faculty/profiles/rusty-hawkins Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat happens when Christianity becomes a tool for defending racial hierarchy? Robert P. Jones, founder and president of PRRI and author of White Too Long, The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy, and the forthcoming Backslide, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to examine how white Christianity shaped slavery, segregation, public memory, and American democracy. Jones traces the story through his own Southern Baptist family history, the denominational splits over slavery, the religious defense of the Confederacy, lynching, the Lost Cause, segregation academies, and the long refusal of many white Christians to fully repent of white supremacy. The conversation also looks at why terms like “white Christian” and “white evangelical” are uncomfortable but necessary, and how racial identity still shapes religious and political behavior. This episode asks a hard question: if Christians once used the Bible to justify slavery and Jim Crow, what are Christians being asked to confront now?Guest BioRobert P. Jones, PhD, is the president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute, known as PRRI, and a New York Times bestselling author. His work examines the intersection of religion, race, politics, democracy, and American identity. He is the author of The End of White Christian America, White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future, and the forthcoming Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy. His research and writing connect directly to this episode's focus on white Christianity, slavery, segregation, Christian nationalism, public memory, and the future of democracy.Book MentionedBackslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy by Robert P. JonesBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/56272/9781250431134The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy  by Robert P. JonesBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781668009529Relevant Links & ResourcesPRRI - Robert P. JonesURL: https://prri.org/staff/robert-p-jones-ph-d/ Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWas America founded as a Christian nation, or has that story been repeated so often that it feels true? Warren Throckmorton, retired professor of psychology and author of The Christian Past That Wasn't and co-author of Getting Jefferson Right, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to test popular founding myths against primary sources. Throckmorton walks through claims about the Constitution, religious tests, Benjamin Franklin's prayer motion, Thomas Jefferson, the Danbury Baptists, the Cape Henry prayer, the 1774 Continental Congress prayer, and David Barton's influence on modern Christian nationalist history. He argues that many Christian nation claims depend on selective quotation, invented stories, or ignoring the actual records of the Constitutional Convention. The conversation also explores why these myths are emotionally powerful. Fear, identity, and power can make bad history feel comforting, especially when people believe their faith or country is being taken away.Guest BioWarren Throckmorton, PhD, is a writer, researcher, and retired professor of psychology at Grove City College. His work examines Christian nationalism, American religious history, psychology, and the misuse of historical claims in public life. He is the author of The Christian Past That Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths That Hijack History and co-author, with Michael Coulter, of Getting Jefferson Right: Fact Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson. In this conversation, Throckmorton brings together historical fact-checking and psychological insight to explain why myths about America's Christian founding remain powerful, why primary sources matter, and why separation of church and state protects religious freedomBook MentionedThe Christian Past That Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths That Hijack History by Warren ThrockmortonBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889835820Getting Jefferson Right: Fact Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson by Michael Coulter and Warren ThrockmortonBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798990900622Relevant Links & ResourcesThe Throckmorton InitiativeURL: https://warrenthrockmorton.substack.com/ Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWas America founded as a Christian nation, or is that question usually about today's politics more than the eighteenth century? John Fea, historian of early America and American religion, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to slow the conversation down. Fea explains why many Americans historically believed they lived in a Christian nation, while also showing why that does not settle what the founders intended. The discussion moves through state constitutions, religious tests, the First Amendment, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, the Constitutional Convention, anti-Federalist objections, and the difference between religious freedom and religious toleration. Fea argues that Christianity clearly mattered in the founding era, but the federal Constitution did not create a Christian republic. The episode also asks what America's 250th should mean if we want better history, better citizenship, and a more honest public conversation about faith and democracy.Guest BioJohn Fea, PhD, is a historian of early America, American religion, and the founding era. He is Senior Fellow at the Lumen Center for the Study of Christianity and Culture in Madison, Wisconsin, and taught U.S. history at Messiah University for more than two decades. He is the author or editor of several books, including Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?, Why Study History?, Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump, and the forthcoming In God We Trust: Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? His work helps listeners think historically about the founders, religious liberty, the Constitution, Christian nationalism, and the difference between using the past responsibly and using it for present-day political agendas.Book MentionedIn God We Trust: Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? by John FeaPublisher: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780664269579 Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWas the American Revolution really a fight for religious freedom? Katherine Carté, Professor of History at Southern Methodist University and author of Religion and the American Revolution: An Imperial History, helps separate the national myth from the historical record. Carté explains that the Revolution was not one simple story. It was both a break from British rule and the messy process of building a new United States. Religion mattered deeply, but not always in the way Americans assume. The conflict was not mainly Protestants fighting Britain for religious liberty. It was a political struggle over sovereignty, power, empire, and who had the right to rule. Carté shows how British imperial Protestantism connected Anglicans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, missionaries, donors, and colonial institutions before the war disrupted that order. The conversation also explores religious establishments, loyalists, Catholics, Jews, religious tests, secular citizenship, and why “Was America founded as a Christian nation?” is too narrow a question.Guest BioKatherine Carté is Professor of History at Southern Methodist University, where she studies early American history, the eighteenth-century Atlantic world, the Age of Revolutions, early modern religion, and digital humanities. She is the author of Religion and the American Revolution: An Imperial History, published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and UNC Press, and Religion and Profit: Moravians in Early America. Her work helps explain how British imperial Protestantism shaped colonial life, how the American Revolution disrupted that religious and political order, and why the founding era cannot be reduced to simple claims about America being either Christian or secular.Book MentionedReligion and the American Revolution: An Imperial History by Katherine CartéBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781469662640Relevant Links & ResourcesKatherine Carté Faculty ProfileURL: https://people.smu.edu/kengel/ Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comHow did Christianity become so deeply woven into the American story? Matthew Avery Sutton, professor of history at Washington State University and author of Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain why American Christianity and American history cannot be told as separate stories. Sutton traces Christianity's influence from Columbus, Spanish Catholic missions, Jamestown, Puritans, Quakers, Catholics, enslaved Muslims, Indigenous nations, and the First Amendment to revivalism, slavery, abolition, apocalyptic evangelicalism, and Christian nationalism. He argues that disestablishment did not remove religion from public life. Instead, it created a competitive religious marketplace where churches had to persuade, organize, innovate, and grow. The conversation also challenges both oversimplified “Christian nation” claims and overly clean secular founding myths. This episode helps listeners see America's 250th as a moment for humility, honesty, and a fuller reckoning with the faiths that shaped the country.Guest BioMatthew Avery Sutton is a historian of American religion and politics at Washington State University. His work examines how Christianity, evangelicalism, revivalism, missions, apocalyptic belief, and political power have shaped American public life. He is the author of Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity, American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism, Double Crossed: The Missionaries Who Spied for the United States During the Second World War, and Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America. In this conversation, Sutton helps frame the Church and State 250 series by showing how Christianity has been both a force for power and reform throughout American history.Book MentionedChosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity by Matthew Avery SuttonBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781541646339American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism by Matthew Avery SuttonBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780674975439Relevant Links & ResourcesMatthew Avery Sutton Faculty ProfileURL: https://history.wsu.edu/faculty/wsu-profile/sutton/ Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comHow did Manifest Destiny become a Christian story about land, providence, and moral duty? L. Daniel Hawk, Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Ashland Theological Seminary and author of Undoing Manifest Destiny, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain how theology helped justify conquest, removal, and Indigenous erasure. Hawk traces Manifest Destiny through John O'Sullivan's famous phrase, the Doctrine of Discovery, Lewis and Clark's “Corps of Discovery,” Genesis 1:28, and the settler belief that land had to be owned, fenced, cultivated, and turned into property before it counted as rightly used. He also challenges a common assumption: early Americans did not usually justify westward conquest by directly appealing to the book of Joshua. The deeper story, he argues, was a Christianized vision of dominion, civilization, and national innocence. This conversation helps listeners understand how biblical language shaped American expansion, and why that history still matters for churches, politics, and America's 250th.Guest bioDr. L. Daniel Hawk is Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Ashland Theological Seminary. He is the author of Undoing Manifest Destiny: Settler America, Christian Colonists, and the Pursuit of Justice. His work helps explain how biblical interpretation, settler colonialism, and American national identity shaped Christian justifications for conquest, land seizure, and Indigenous erasure.Book MentionedUndoing Manifest Destiny: Settler America, Christian Colonists, and the Pursuit of Justice by L. Daniel HawkBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781514008645Relevant Links & ResourcesL. Daniel Hawk Faculty ProfileURL: https://seminary.ashland.edu/faculty-and-staff/l-daniel-hawk/ Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comCan America tell the truth about itself if it starts the story in 1776? Mark Charles, Navajo writer, speaker, activist, and co-author of Unsettling Truths, opens Church and State 250 by arguing that America's religious story begins with land, conquest, colonization, and theology. Charles explains the Doctrine of Discovery, the papal ideas that gave Christian Europe permission to claim land already inhabited by Indigenous peoples, and how that logic later shaped colonial charters, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Manifest Destiny, Supreme Court precedent, and modern Christian nationalism. He challenges familiar phrases like “Columbus discovered America,” “nation of immigrants,” and “We the People,” asking listeners to notice who was excluded from those stories. This is not an easy opening conversation. It is a necessary one, because Charles insists that the country cannot build a shared future without first creating a common memory.Guest BioMark Charles is a Navajo writer, speaker, consultant, activist, and co-author of Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery. The son of an American woman of Dutch heritage and a Navajo man, Charles teaches on the intersections of American history, race, culture, faith, land, and Christendom. He is the author of Reflections from the Hogan, co-founder of the Would Jesus Eat Frybread? college-conference series, and in 2020 ran as an independent candidate for president while advocating for a national Truth and Conciliation Commission on race, gender, and class. In this conversation, Charles helps explain why America's religious history has to begin with Indigenous land, the Doctrine of Discovery, colonization, and the stories the country tells about itself.Book MentionedUnsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan RahBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780830845255Relevant Links & ResourcesMark Charles Official WebsiteURL: https://wirelesshogan.com/about/ Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhy do racial myths continue to shape American politics, religion, and culture long after people claim to reject racism? Greg Garrett, author of White Lies: Dismantling Ten Cultural Myths About Race, joins Faithful Politics to explain how false stories about race have been used to justify slavery, segregation, voting restrictions, exclusion, and white Christian nationalism. Garrett draws from film, theology, law, politics, sermons, advertising, James Baldwin, the Lost Cause, The Birth of a Nation, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture to show how myths do real public work. They tell people who belongs, who leads, and whose suffering can be ignored. The conversation does not treat myth as harmless folklore. It asks who these stories serve, why they are still persuasive, and what truth-telling requires from Christians, citizens, and communities that want to do better.Book MentionedWhite Lies: Dismantling Ten Cultural Myths About Race by Greg GarrettBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780197652183Relevant Links & ResourcesGreg Garrett - Baylor UniversityURL: https://english.artsandsciences.baylor.edu/person/dr-greg-garrettGuest BioGreg Garrett is the Carole McDaniel Hanks Professor of Literature and Culture at Baylor University and Canon Theologian for the American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Paris. He has written more than thirty books, including White Lies: Dismantling Ten Cultural Myths About Race, The Gospel According to James Baldwin, and A Long, Long Way: Hollywood's Unfinished Journey from Racism to Reconciliation. His work focuses on the intersection of faith, culture, literature, film, race, and public life, which makes him a strong guide for this conversation about the myths that sustain racial hierarchy in American religion and politics. Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat does conservatism mean when personality politics starts replacing policy, principle, and coalition-building? Tim Chapman, president of Advancing American Freedom, joins Faithful Politics to explain how he thinks about the future of the conservative movement, the Republican Party, and the role of long-term policy advocacy in American public life.Chapman brings more than two decades of experience in conservative politics, including work with Heritage Action, the Heritage Foundation, P2 Public Affairs, and several U.S. senators. The conversation covers Reagan-era tax reform, Jack Kemp's persistence on policy, conservative fusionism, traditional values, free markets, strong national defense, and the challenge of building institutions that can survive beyond one political figure. Will, Josh, and Tim also discuss the One Big Beautiful Bill, civility in Congress, Iran, America First foreign policy, and what America 250 should mean for the next generation.Relevant Links & ResourcesAdvancing American FreedomURL: https://advancingamericanfreedom.com/Guest BioTim Chapman is the president of Advancing American Freedom, a public policy advocacy organization founded by former Vice President Mike Pence. He has spent more than two decades working in conservative policy and political advocacy, including service as a principal at P2 Public Affairs, executive director of Heritage Action, chief of staff at the Heritage Foundation, and as an adviser and staff member to Senators Jim DeMint, Don Nickles, and Tim Hutchinson. His work focuses on conservative coalition-building, public policy strategy, and helping shape the future direction of the conservative movement.Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat should Christians do when global politics becomes personal, chaotic, and violent? Dr. Robert J. Joustra, Professor of Politics and Spoelhof Chair at Calvin University and author of Christ and Covenant in Global Politics, joins Faithful Politics to ask what Christian theology can actually contribute to international relations. Joustra argues that Christians have often thought carefully about domestic politics, but far less about diplomacy, war, trade, climate, Israel, China, Iran, and the moral responsibilities nations have to each other.Drawing on John Calvin, Augustine's idea of rightly ordered loves, covenantal pluralism, and the just war tradition, he explains why “Christ is King” should limit state power rather than sanctify it. The conversation moves from America's 250th anniversary and Christian nationalism to Israel, Iran, World War II, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the moral purpose of force. At its core, this is a conversation about whether Christian politics can be serious enough to pursue justice without turning nations into idols.Book MentionedChrist and Covenant in Global Politics: A Christian Introduction to International Relations by Robert J. JoustraBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/christ-and-covenant-in-global-politics-a-christian-introduction-to-international-relations-robert-j-joustra/fe15a081a65ad89dRelevant Links & ResourcesChrist and Covenant in Global Politics - IVP AcademicURL: https://www.ivpress.com/christ-and-covenant-in-global-politicsGuest BioDr. Robert J. Joustra is Professor of Politics and Spoelhof Chair at Calvin University. He is a political scientist whose work focuses on international relations, public theology, religious freedom, pluralism, and the moral responsibilities of political communities. He is the author of Christ and Covenant in Global Politics: A Christian Introduction to International Relations, a book that brings Christian ethics into questions of diplomacy, war, political economy, climate, global justice, and covenantal pluralism. He has also authored and edited other books and serves as Senior Editor with The Review of Faith & International Affairs.Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhy do people stay in political movements even after they begin to have doubts?Rich Logis spent seven years as a committed MAGA activist, commentator, and organizer before ultimately leaving the movement and founding Leaving MAGA, a nonprofit that helps people who are questioning or leaving MAGA find community and support. In this conversation, Rich explains why he was initially drawn to Donald Trump, how political identity became intertwined with belonging, and what made it so difficult to walk away.The discussion explores misinformation, political tribalism, Christian nationalism, media ecosystems, and the emotional cost of changing deeply held beliefs. Rich argues that leaving MAGA is often less about changing political opinions and more about losing a community that provided meaning, purpose, and connection.The conversation also examines whether MAGA can outlast Trump, the role fear plays in political movements, and why people across ideological lines need spaces where disagreement does not require dehumanization.Book MentionedOne Betrayal Too Many: Why I Left MAGA by Rich LogisBook page: https://leavingmaga.org/one-betrayal-too-many/Relevant Links & ResourcesLeaving MAGAURL: https://leavingmaga.org/Guest BioRich Logis is the founder and executive director of Leaving MAGA, a nonprofit organization that helps people leave the MAGA movement, reconnect with friends and family, and share their stories publicly. A former MAGA activist, commentator, and podcaster, Logis spent seven years deeply involved in the movement before leaving in 2022. He is the author of One Betrayal Too Many: Why I Left MAGA, a memoir that examines political identity, misinformation, community, and the challenges of changing deeply held beliefs.Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat does religious freedom actually protect when people are afraid of someone else's faith? Maggie Siddiqi, Senior Advisor at Interfaith Alliance and former Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Education, joins Faithful Politics for a conversation about Islam, pluralism, public schools, Christian nationalism, and the fear surrounding Sharia law.Maggie shares her own story of growing up Baptist, converting to Islam, and still holding deep respect for her Baptist roots. She also explains why religious freedom works best when it protects every community equally, including Christians, Muslims, Jews, and people of no faith. The conversation gets into antisemitism, Islamophobia, public school religious expression, the politics of anti-Christian bias claims, and why Sharia law is often used as a political scare tactic. At its core, this episode is about how fear of religious difference can weaken democracy, and how pluralism gives Americans a better way to live together. Relevant Links & ResourcesInterfaith AllianceURL: https://www.interfaithalliance.org/Guest BioMaggie Siddiqi is Senior Advisor at Interfaith Alliance, where her work focuses on religious freedom, interfaith solidarity, public policy, and standing against hate. She previously served as Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Education, where she worked on religious freedom issues including antisemitism, Islamophobia, and church-state separation. She has also served as Senior Director of the Religion and Faith team at the Center for American Progress and is a Non-Resident Fellow on Muslim-Jewish Partnerships at MPAC. Her background in Christian-Muslim relations, public policy, and faith-based advocacy makes her a strong guide for this conversation about pluralism, democracy, Islamophobia, and religious freedom in American public life. Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comHow is Christian nationalism showing up inside the U.S. military chaplaincy, and why does it matter for religious freedom?In this episode, Will talks with Leigh Larson, a theologian, Air Force veteran, public scholar, and founder of Follow the Leighder. Larson's research focuses on Christian nationalism in U.S. military chaplaincy, giving her both personal experience and academic grounding for this conversation.Military chaplains serve at one of the most complicated intersections of church and state. They are religious leaders inside a government institution, but their job is supposed to protect the spiritual care of every service member, including people of different faiths and no faith at all.Larson explains how chaplains are trained, why endorsing bodies and faith codes matter, and what happens when spiritual care shifts toward proselytizing or political theology. The conversation covers religious pluralism, Wiccan and humanist recognition, Cold War civil religion, post-9/11 evangelical influence, and the growing concern over Christian nationalism inside military culture. Relevant Links & ResourcesFollow the Leighder: https://www.followtheleighder.com/Follow the Leighder Substack: https://followtheleighder.substack.com/Guest BioLeigh Larson is a theologian, veteran, and public scholar, and the creator and host of Follow the Leighder, a multi-platform society and culture brand reaching 245K+ followers across five platforms.She holds a Master of Theological Studies from Phillips Theological Seminary, where her thesis examined Christian Nationalism in US military chaplaincy through original research including 22 interview subjects and a 116-response survey. She is a 2025–2026 Disciples of Christ HELM Global Theological Fellow (one of nine selected nationally) and a 2025 Stone-Campbell Journal Graduate Essay Finalist. During her first year of seminary, she served in the United States Air Force Reserve as a Chaplain Candidate and Second Lieutenant. She holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was both a Presidential Scholar and Jefferson Scholar.When she is not recording or writing, Leigh is somewhere on the road with her dog, Professor Huckleberry.Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat happens when feelings become the test of truth?Robert P. George joins Faithful Politics to talk about what he calls “the age of feeling,” a moment where many people treat personal emotion as the final word on what is true. George argues that this does not lead to tolerance. It often makes disagreement feel like a personal attack, which shuts down honest conversation and creates real problems for democracy. The conversation moves through faith, reason, truth, tribalism, intellectual humility, and the challenge of disagreeing with your own side. Will brings in Jonathan Haidt's work on intuition and political identity, while Josh and George work through harder questions around same-sex marriage, gender, Obergefell, Loving v. Virginia, and the deeper moral assumptions underneath those debates.At its core, this episode is about whether Americans can still disagree seriously without turning each other into enemies. George's answer is that truth-seeking requires more than strong opinions. It requires reasons, evidence, humility, and the courage to listen when your tribe says one thing and your conscience says another.website: robertpgeorge.comGuest BioRobert P. George is the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. He is a legal scholar, political philosopher, and public intellectual whose work focuses on natural law, constitutionalism, religious liberty, conscience, civil discourse, and moral reasoning in public life. He is the author of several books, including Conscience and Its Enemies, Making Men Moral, Seeking Truth and Speaking Truth, and Truth Matters, co-authored with Cornel West. Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat happens when people believe in religious pluralism, but still lean into Christian nationalism when they feel threatened?In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram speak with political scientists Brooklyn Walker and Paul Djupe about their research on Christian nationalism, religious pluralism, and why appeals to tolerance do not always work the way we assume. Their work shows something surprising: many Christian nationalists already say they support ideas like religious freedom, diversity, and pluralism. The issue is that when they feel their identity, rights, or way of life are under threat, those pluralistic beliefs often get pushed aside. Brooklyn and Paul help unpack why Christian nationalism is different from simply being Christian or patriotic. It places boundaries around who fully belongs in America and who the country is meant to serve. They also explain why threat plays such a powerful role in shaping political behavior, especially when religious and political leaders repeatedly tell Christians they are being persecuted, silenced, or replaced.The conversation gets into some unexpected findings, including why some Black, Latino, LGBTQ, and religiously pluralist Americans may still hold Christian nationalist views. Rather than treating Christian nationalism as one simple ideology held by one type of person, this episode looks at the deeper identity dynamics that shape how people think about belonging, fear, citizenship, and power.Research / Articles“The weakness of anti-Christian nationalism: when religiously inclusive orientations can't increase tolerance” by Paul A. Djupe and Brooklyn Walker, Politics and Religion: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/politics-and-religion/article/weakness-of-antichristian-nationalism-when-religiously-inclusive-orientations-cant-increase-tolerance/ABD3180209B76C360FC85AA2FECD0372Guests biosBrooklyn Walker is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research focuses on American politics, religion and politics, public opinion, and political psychology, with particular attention to Christian nationalism and how religious identity shapes political and social attitudes. Paul Djupe is a Professor of Political Science at Denison University and Director of the Data for Political Research Program. His work focuses on religion and politics, democratic life, public opinion, and the role religious identity plays in American political behavior. Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat happens when the justice system becomes one of the central battlegrounds of American politics?In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram speak with Adam Klasfeld, veteran legal journalist and editor in chief of All Rise News, about several major legal fights unfolding in the Trump era. Adam has spent years covering high-profile court cases from inside the courtroom, including Trump's criminal and civil cases, the E. Jean Carroll litigation, the Epstein prosecution, impeachment proceedings, and major cases involving civil rights and due process.The conversation begins with Trump's proposed $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund. Adam explains where the fund came from, why its structure is raising alarms, and how taxpayer money could potentially be distributed with little public oversight. He also walks through why Capitol Police officers Harry Dunn and Dan Hodges are challenging the fund, and what the fight says about January 6, political loyalty, and accountability.The episode then turns to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was sent to El Salvador despite a court order blocking his removal. Adam explains why this case has become such an important due process fight, why judges across the political spectrum have raised concerns, and why the case matters even to people who may not follow immigration law closely.Finally, Adam breaks down the Trump Justice Department's case involving the Southern Poverty Law Center. He explains the government's claims about SPLC's former informant program, the connection to Charlottesville and Unite the Right, and why the case raises larger questions about civil rights organizations, extremism, and the rewriting of recent history.Relevant links for Adam Klasfeld:All Rise Newshttps://www.allrisenews.com/https://substack.com/@klasfeldreportshttps://x.com/KlasfeldReportshttps://www.instagram.com/adamklasfeld/Guest BioAdam Klasfeld provides some of the “best legal writing inside the courtroom” (MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell) and insights that are “always so smart and on the money” (MSNBC's Katie Phang). For more than a decade, he's covered the top stories and court cases from state, federal and military courts across the United States.A senior journalism fellow at Just Security, an online forum affiliated with NYU School of Law, Adam has served as a legal contributor for MSNBC's The Last Word. Previously, Adam served as the senior legal correspondent for The Messenger, the managing editor for Law&Crime, and a reporter for Courthouse News. He has appeared as a guest on the Dan Abrams Show on NewsNation, the Lawrence O'Donnell Show on MSNBC, CBS's Inside Edition, the BBC, and NBC on a variety of topics. He hosted the podcast "Objections: with Adam Klasfeld" and was prominently featured in the documentary "Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?" — which premiered on the Starz Network and the UK's Channel 4. International television appearances include Sky News, CBC, and CTV, discussing Jeffrey Epstein's thwarted prosecution. Radio appearances: National Public Radio's “All Things Considered,” “Here and Now,” and “Trump, Inc.”; BBC (World, Scotland and Wales); Radio New Zealand; SXM Canada Talks; Sirius FM and more. He cut his teeth at the legal news beat for a decade at Courthouse News, and his bylines also have appeared on NBC, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and other outlets. Most major news outlets have cited his scoops and reporting, including the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, Newsweek, Reuters, U.S. News and World Report and the Associated Press.Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat happens when LGBTQ students navigate faith, identity, and education inside religious schools?In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright talks with Jonathan Sawyer, a PhD in education policy from the University of Colorado Boulder, about his research on LGBTQ students in Catholic schools. His dissertation explores how educators support these students while working within a traditionally conservative religious framework.The conversation looks at what these schools actually feel like for students, how experiences vary by region and leadership, and how some teachers lean on principles like dignity and care rather than directly challenging doctrine.They also dig into bigger questions around school vouchers, public funding, and how religious freedom intersects with non-discrimination laws. Sawyer shares his own background in conservative Christian spaces and connects it to broader issues of faith-based harm and student well-being.The episode adds context to a topic often reduced to politics, focusing instead on how students and educators navigate faith, identity, and belonging in real time.Guest BioJonathan Sawyer recently earned his PhD in education policy from the University of Colorado Boulder, where his research focuses on the intersection of religion, law, and LGBTQ student experiences in K-12 schools. His work examines First Amendment issues, school voucher policies, and the impact of religious education on marginalized students. His dissertation explores how Catholic educators support LGBTQ students within a conservative doctrinal framework using an ethics of care approach.Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comIn this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram talk with historian D.G. Hart about Christian nationalism, church-state separation, the American founding, and what can happen when Christianity becomes too closely tied to political power. Hart brings a distinctive perspective to this conversation. He is a conservative Presbyterian and a historian of American religion, but he is deeply skeptical of efforts to make Christianity dependent on government power.Hart argues that one of the unusual features of the American experiment is that the United States broke from a long history of church-state entanglement. That separation was not just a legal technicality. It created space for religious pluralism and helped prevent Christianity from becoming coercive through the power of the state.Book:D.G. Hart, Protestants and Patriots: Presbyterians in the Age of Revolution: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780268210823Guest BioD.G. Hart is a historian of American religion and professor of history at Hillsdale College. His work focuses on Protestantism, American religious history, church life, and the relationship between Christianity and political authority. He is the author of several books, including Benjamin Franklin: Cultural Protestant and Protestants and Patriots: Presbyterians in the Age of Revolution. In this conversation, Hart brings a historically grounded and theologically conservative perspective to debates about Christian nationalism, church-state separation, and the American founding.Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWas America founded as a Christian nation? Warren Throckmorton joins Faithful Politics to unpack the historical myths behind that claim and explain why they still matter today. Drawing from his book The Christian Past That Wasn't, Warren walks through stories about Ben Franklin, the Constitutional Convention, Roger Williams, John Winthrop, David Barton, and the use of Christianity to justify everything from colonial conquest to slavery and Jim Crow. The conversation looks at how Christian nationalist history works, why it appeals to people, and why protecting church-state separation is one of the clearest ways to defend religious liberty for everyone.Resources MentionedThe Christian Past That Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths That Hijack History by Warren Throckmorton: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889835820Guest BioWarren Throckmorton is an author, speaker, and former psychology professor whose work focuses on the intersection of psychology, history, religion, and public life. He is the co-author of Getting Jefferson Right: Fact Checking Claims About Our Third President, which examines inaccurate claims about Thomas Jefferson and religious liberty. His latest book, The Christian Past That Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths That Hijack History, challenges popular Christian nationalist narratives about America's founding by comparing those claims against primary historical sources. Throckmorton's work helps readers understand how myths about the past shape political identity, religious belief, and public policy.Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comDavid Daley joins Faithful Politics to explain how gerrymandering, mid-decade redistricting, and recent Supreme Court decisions are reshaping the 2026 elections. The conversation covers Virginia's redistricting fight, the Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais, the weakening of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and the potential loss of Black political representation across the South. Daley also explains why noncompetitive districts fuel polarization and why reforms like proportional representation, multi-member districts, ranked choice voting, and the Fair Representation Act may be necessary to restore meaningful voter representation.https://fairvote.org/Guest bio:David Daley is a senior fellow at FairVote and a leading writer and commentator on gerrymandering, redistricting, voting rights, and democratic reform. He is the author of the national bestseller Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count, which helped bring national attention to the modern strategy, technology, and political consequences of partisan gerrymandering. He is also the author of Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy and Antidemocratic, which examines the Supreme Court, voting rights, and the long-term weakening of democratic protections. Daley's journalism and commentary have appeared in outlets including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Slate, The New Republic, CNN, MSNBC, and NPR. He previously served as editor-in-chief of Salon and has become one of the country's most prominent public voices on how redistricting shapes political power. Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comIn this Faithful Politics POV episode, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram examine the Trump administration's anti-Christian bias report and ask whether it proves real discrimination against Christians or mostly reframes policy disagreements as persecution. They discuss the FACE Act, the Richmond FBI memo involving traditionalist Catholics, IRS scrutiny of Christian nonprofits, vaccine exemptions, Liberty University fines, and the broader politics of religious liberty. The conversation is less about defending one administration and more about how Christians should evaluate evidence, resist easy outrage, and protect religious freedom without turning every conflict into persecution.Wait, We're the Oppressed Ones? Part Eight: https://faithfulpolitics.substack.com/p/wait-were-the-oppressed-ones-part-535?r=1bt7sxOur live POV episodes happen every 2nd Thursday. Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat did the Apostle Paul actually teach about heaven, resurrection, and the meaning of life on earth?Dr. Nijay Gupta joins Faithful Politics to talk about Paul, heaven, resurrection, and why Christian faith is not meant to function as an escape from the world. Drawing from his new book Paul for the World, Gupta explains how Paul's letters speak to ordinary life - friendship, work, suffering, grief, money, community, and hope. The conversation challenges the idea that the gospel is mainly about getting to heaven after death and instead presents Paul's vision of resurrection as a call to live faithfully in the world God intends to renew.Paul for the World: A Grounded Vision for Finding Meaning in This Life, Not Just the Next by Nijay K. Guptahttps://bakerpublishinggroup.com/products/9781540966926_paul-for-the-worldGuest BioDr. Nijay K. Gupta is the Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary, a senior translator for the New Living Translation, and cohost of the Slow Theology podcast. He is the author of numerous books on the New Testament and early Christianity, including Tell Her Story, Strange Religion, and Paul for the World: A Grounded Vision for Finding Meaning in This Life, Not Just the Next. His work focuses on helping readers understand Scripture in its historical, theological, and practical context.Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat if racism is not just a belief someone holds, but something people do through everyday choices, institutions, and patterns of behavior?Ainsley LeSure joins Faithful Politics to explain why racism cannot be reduced to personal belief, private intent, or what someone claims is in their heart. Drawing from her book Locating Racism in the World, LeSure argues that racism is better understood through practice, behavior, outcomes, institutions, and the everyday relationships that shape our shared world. The conversation covers institutional racism, the post-civil rights era, Christian political mobilization, democracy, equality, voting rights, and the ways racial common sense continues to shape American politics. We also discuss the recent BAFTA awards incident involving racist language during an acceptance speech connected to Sinners, using it as a real-world example of how harm, responsibility, intent, and public response become more complicated when racism is treated only as a question of personal motive.Locating Racism in the World:https://global.oup.com/academic/product/locating-racism-in-the-world-9780197833865?cc=us&lang=en&Guest BioAinsley LeSure, Ph.D. is a political theorist and Assistant Professor of Political Science and Africana Studies at Brown University, where she specializes in race and racism, phenomenology, democratic theory, feminist theory, and political thought. Her book Locating Racism in the World develops a phenomenological account of antiblack racism and challenges post-civil rights understandings that reduce racism to individual belief or intent. Her work helps explain how racism operates through everyday practices, institutions, relationships, and democratic life. Support the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat does religious trauma actually look like inside high-control Christian environments?In this episode of Faithful Politics, we sit down with Tia Levings, author of A Well-Trained Wife and I Belong to Me, to unpack her experience inside Christian fundamentalism and her journey out. Tia shares what life looked like inside a patriarchal, high-control religious system and how those environments shape identity, relationships, and personal agency.We explore how theology, culture, and authority structures work together in these spaces. Tia explains how belief systems are reinforced through obedience, how questioning is discouraged, and how survivors often internalize blame for harmful outcomes. She also discusses how movements like the Institute in Basic Life Principles and figures like Doug Wilsoninfluence broader religious and political culture.The conversation goes deeper into the concept of religious trauma and how it can mirror symptoms associated with PTSD. Tia walks through common patterns survivors experience, including loss of identity, fear responses, and difficulty trusting themselves after leaving. She also explains why rebuilding a sense of self is often harder than leaving the environment itself.We also examine the connection between high-control religion and broader political movements, including Christian nationalism. Tia highlights how these belief systems scale beyond individual households into larger cultural and political influence.Finally, Tia shares what healing looks like. Her latest book, I Belong to Me, focuses on recovery, autonomy, and rebuilding identity after leaving high-control environments. This episode offers a practical and honest look at what it takes to move forward.Buy the book, I Belong to Me A Survivor's Guide to Recovery and Hope after Religious Trauma: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781250374271Guest BioTia Levings is an author and advocate focused on life inside high-control religious environments and the recovery that follows. She is the author of A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy and I Belong to Me. Her work centers on religious trauma, deconstruction, and helping survivors rebuild identity and autonomy after leaving fundameSupport the show

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat is the religious right, and how has it shaped American politics over the last 50 years?In this episode of Faithful Politics, we sit down with Peter Montgomery to break down the religious right and its influence on American politics.We trace the movement from its modern roots in the late 1970s through figures like Jerry Falwell and the rise of organized political infrastructure. From legal battles over church-state separation to coordinated efforts in the courts, Peter explains how conservative Christian activism became a sustained political force.We also explore the difference between the religious right as a movement and Christian nationalism as an ideology, including how it shapes policy, culture, and debates around religious liberty, education, and LGBTQ rights. Organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom and initiatives like Project 2025 are part of that broader strategy.Finally, we talk about what it looks like to engage these issues without losing perspective, and why understanding the people behind the movement matters as much as understanding the movement itself.Right Wing Watch: https://www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwatchGuest BioPeter Montgomery is the Research Director at People For the American Way and a senior analyst for Right Wing Watch. He has spent more than two decades studying the religious right, its political strategies, and its influence on American law and culture. His work has been featured in major publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Montgomery is widely recognized for his expertise on the intersection of religion and politics in the United States.Support the show