Gospel for the Culture with D. Danyelle Thomas

read the essay with me here: https://www.unfitchristian.com/crack-aint-classy-but-it-is-classed/ Whitney Houston once said she made too much money to smoke crack, and the line became a meme. But underneath the joke was a deeply American truth: drugs are not just chemically different—they are socially classed, racially coded, and morally narrated depending on who is using them. In this essaysode, D...

What does it mean to desire without apologizing for it? In this installment of Office Hours with the Dean, Danyelle Thomas reflects on eight years of singleness, purity culture, romantic agency, digital intimacy, and the kind of meet-cute she actually wants: one where a man encounters her mind before he encounters her body. Moving from Threads to the Song of Songs, she reclaims feminine desire as...

“Everybody enslaved somebody” is the kind of sentence that is true enough to end a conversation and false enough to prevent understanding. You can read the text of this episode on UnfitChristian.com In this selection from the American Memory Collection, Passuh Dany examines what gets lost when the racialized hereditary chattel slavery of the Atlantic world is flattened into a generic human history...

In this selection from the Songversation Collection Passuh D. Danyelle Thomas examines Michael Jackson, Joe Jackson, patriarchal family systems, religious authority, reproductive labor, and the transformation of children into economic infrastructure. You can read the companion essay in the written library over on UnfitChristian.com: https://www.unfitchristian.com/michael-joe-the-ambitions-of-the-f...

Welcome to the Empire State of Mind collection. Behind the reference desk, your friendly librarian has pulled today’s selection: Mutha Is Only Half a Word. Nigga is only half the story. What becomes of a people whose racial category entered the social imagination before their personhood did? In this public lecture, D. Danyelle Thomas considers how empire compresses whole worlds into language—how w...

Welcome to the grand opening of the Gospel for the Culture Public Library. For years, D. Danyelle Thomas has written publicly about faith, race, history, culture, and the stories that shape human life. Now the page becomes embodied—spoken, breathed, and offered aloud. Each episode is a literary essay performed as a public lecture for people who want company while they think. There is no weekly rac...

On this episode of Gospel for the Culture, you’ll meet Chapter 3: The Preacher’s Kid, a personal essay of growing up in the very different worlds of my Baptist preacher Dad, my Pentecostal Mommy, and building my experience of God in between. It is a deeply vulnerable narrative about my master wound and all of its contradictions. But most importantly, it is a celebration of all that conspired to br...

As someone deeply aware of the history of racism, classism, death, and oppression tied to Christianity, why do I still identify as a Christian, especially as a conscious Black woman? Can deconstruction and decolonization redeem such a faith? These questions are at the heart of my book, The Day God Saw Me as Black. In this episode of Gospel for the Culture, I introduce you to Chapter 2: White Man’s...

Not me droppin' Season 3! After a four-year hiatus, I’m back and ready to tell it all! In October 2020, I paused Gospel for the Culture because producing the show on my own became too much. Life took unexpected turns; I quit my corporate job, decided to live between states, and embarked on a journey big faith leaps. By 2022, my long-awaited book, The Day God Saw Me as Black, found a publisher, and...

In this episode of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) talks about the intersection of faith + gender + sexuality by revisiting the story of Ruth, Naomi, & Boaz, unpacking her own experiences in purity culture, and thinking aloud about the ways we can shape healthier narratives around sex as believers.  

In this episode of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) talks about the intersection of faith + gender + sexuality through examining the relationship between Black Queer Men + Black Cisgender Women, Black ballroom culture and the high theater of the church, and framing the ills of capitalism as structural sin. Blog Post: CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? THE TENSIONS OF BLACK QUEERNESS,...

In this episode of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) talks about the intersection of faith + gender through gendering God, embracing a womanist theology, and asking who benefits from the marginalization of women in our pulpits and sanctuaries. The episode companion guide is available exclusively to UC Patreons. Become a Patreon today! For as little as $2 a month, you'll get exclu...

In the Season 2 opener of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) talks about the complicated legacy of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the future of the US Supreme Court, her viral post about Cardi B & Offset [read it here ], Auntiechella, nostalgic TV on Netflix, and kissing impostor syndrome goodbye. Become a Patreon today! For as little as $2 a month, you'll get exclusiv...

In this super-packed season finale of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) sits down with multidisciplinary artist, Rashida Khanbey Miller ( @RashidaKhanBeyMiller ) for some girl talk on sex, sensuality, and the eroticism of sacred spirituality. Make sure you grab your exclusive listener-only offer from Rashi here! Become a Patreon today! For as little as $2 a month, you'll get excl...

In this episode of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) talks about The Nap Ministry ( @TheNapMinistry ), Steve Harvey, and learning how to sit her ass down and rest and listen. As always, Danyelle manages to find the divinity in the mundane, grounding this week's discussion in Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus's invitation to rest. Become a Patreon today! For as little as $2 a month, you'll...

In this episode of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) dives into going viral (again) over this week's Hot Takes of Ayesha Curry's Red Table Talk interview with her family-in-loves of the Curry Dynasty. As always, Danyelle manages to find the divinity in Black cultural conversations and grounds this week's discussion in John 5:1-8, the healing of the man at the pool of Jerusalem. B...

In this episode of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) gets into the spirit of oversharing after being filled with the (distilled) spirit! Sharing her top 10 confessions of her #Churchy experiences like accidentally flashing her entire Vacation Bible School class and racy Church Sex Fantasies, this episode is a hilarious ride from beginning to end. Become a Patreon today! For as li...

In this episode of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) gets personal about her own struggles with anger and disappointment and re-imagines the meaning of Ephesians 4:26 when your anger is with God. In the words of Solange, "you got the right to be mad, but when you carry it alone you find it only getting in the way. They say you gotta let it go..." Become a Patreon today! For as li...

In this Easter Edition of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) talks about going viral again, The Mueller Report, Donald Trump, and the real-life impact of diluting the HOW and WHY Jesus was crucified. Become a Patreon today! For as little as $2 a month, you'll get exclusive bonus content and early access to all new Gospel #ForTheCulture podcast episodes. To subscribe, click here: ...

In this long overdue episode of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) talks about going viral, Billy Porter snatching edges and lives with his Christian Siriano tuxedo gown, and the real consequences of deeply held homophobia disguised as opinions. Become a Patreon today! For as little as $2 a month, you'll get exclusive bonus content and early access to all new Gospel #ForTheCulture...

In this episode of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) discusses the Federal Government Shutdown of 2019, the presidency of Donald Trump, and the religious culture that got us in this mess in the first place! Get Tickets to “gOD-Talk: A Black Millennials and Faith Conversation Series”: Tickets Get the  Gospel #ForTheCulture Devotional from Our Bible app!  iOS |  Android Become a Pa...

In this episode of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) continues her exploration of sex and sexuality as a GOOD and GOD thing. In the continuation from last week's episode, Danyelle builds on the history in the first part and retells the story of Rahab the harlot through the lens of the Black cult classic, Harlem Nights! Listen in as she shares how sex work SAVED, not sullied, Raha...

In the first episode of Gospel #ForTheCulture, D. Danyelle Thomas of Unfit Christian uses the hilarious viral sensation of Naszir Ferrell, the 6 year old voice of an generation of folks sick of church as usual. She discusses her journey through deconstructing her own faith and beliefs and why she just had to create space for the people she knew were undoubtedly just like her: needing a community o...

In this episode of Gospel #ForTheCulture, Danyelle ( @UnfitChristian ) explores sex and sexuality as a GOOD and GOD thing. In the first part of a two-part conversation, she shares the history of sex for both the Black community and the church and how this one part of our nature is the first part we MUST free on the road to liberation for all. Become a Patreon today! For as little as $2 a month, yo...

Gospel for the Culture, a weekday podcast hosted by D. Danyelle Thomas of Unfit Christian, gives motivation and inspiration through the lens of Black Pop Culture. Join us as we take moments in pop culture, politics, music, and television to give you the extra juice you need to get your day going strong! There'll be cussing, but that's expected from the Unfit Christian. There'll be bonus episodes a...