Straight White American Jesus

“Spiritual Warfare 2.0” How do appeals to “spiritual warfare” relate to the social and political struggles of the flesh-and-blood world? How do different kinds of Christian communities and traditions understand the relation between spiritual forces and the flesh-and-blood world? And what role does racial identity play in shaping understandings and expressions of “spiritual warfare”? Dan tackles th...

From the archives, an episode from 2019 centered on how fundamentalist religions are prone to violence. This episode has renewed relevance given the recent discussions of civil war in the wake of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago: Dan and Brad dissect why so many evangelical leaders--and high-level government officials--are threatening civil war if the president is impeached and/or removed. One thing i...

Brad and. Dan begin by discussing the week's GOP primary results, nothing that the GOP remains the Party of Trump. They juxtapose these results with the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, the Trump Org tax case in NY, and the other ongoing investigations. The takeaway: facts and morality don't matter in MAGA land. Just fealty to the leader. They then transition to two stories about American Christianity. F...

“Spiritual Warfare 1.0” What is “spiritual warfare”? Why do some Christians understand their faith and practice in terms of spiritual warfare? And what are some of the concrete effects of understanding Christianity in terms of spiritual warfare? In this episode, Dan outlines where this language of spiritual warfare comes from, how different Christian groups understand and practice spiritual warfar...

Brad speaks with journalist and pastor Angela Denker about the updated version of her book, Red State Christians. Red State Christians: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9781506482507/Red-State-Christians Denker spent a year traveling across the United States, interviewing the Evangelical Christian voters who supported the Trump presidency and exploring how their voting block continues...

Brad and Dan begin by going through the nuts and bolts related to the FBI's search of Trump's residence--what it requires to get a warrant, who had to sign off on it, and what it means that the GOP has no faith in the process or belief in the rule of law. They then examine the reactions to the search from MAGA Nation, followers of QAnon, and influential right-wing politicians, pundits, and influen...

In this episode, Dan revisits the claim or aspiration to be “biblical.” If such claims or aspirations involve efforts to control religious adherents, what are the consequences of this? What claims or attitudes, or actions does it license? How do claims to be “biblical” create an “anything-goes” kind of spirituality? How does this play out in concrete, practical terms? Check out the episode to find...

Brad speaks with Dr. Arlene Sanchez-Walsh, author of Latino Pentecostal Identity, about how and why many Latinx Evangelicals have signed on to Trump's brand of Christian nationalism. They discuss the history of Latinx conversion to evangelicalism and Pentecostalism and how such conversions require participation in an American colonial project that demands assimilation. They also discuss the religi...

Brad and Dan begin by discussing takeaways from Kansas, where voters soundly rejected a state amendment proposal to ban abortion. In one sense, it offers hope that pro-abortion movements and candidates can push back in the wake of the Dobbs decision and make headway in the fight for women's rights, reproductive rights, and healthcare in this country. On the other, it will provide fodder for the Am...

What does it mean when a Christian says something is “biblical?” Why do some Christians talk this way, while others don’t? What do “biblicist” claims tell us about Christians’ understanding of religious authority and social control? Do all Christian groups share these understandings? In this episode, Dan helps to crack the code of being “biblical” to answer these and other questions. Subscribe for...

What is power? How can power be yielded in helpful and harmful ways? Brad is joined by Dr. Stephen Backhouse, an international scholar, speaker, and podcaster. They discuss the idea of magical thinking - not in the sense of sleight of hand tricks - but in the sense of trying to bend other peoples' wills towards yours. This form of power yielding is a zero-sum game - one in which either I win and y...

Dan is joined by guest co-host Dr. Sara Moslener. They begin by the calls by Mike Pence and others for a national abortion ban. Dan puts this in the context of the "culture of life" many Christian conservatives tout as their reasons for implementing inhumane reproductive rights policies. Dan zeroes in on the slogan, "Save the Babies, Save America" as a nationalistic straw man with tragic consequen...

On a special episode, Brad is joined by Dr. Thomas Lecaque to discuss the likelihood that Trump will face criminal charges for his role in the Insurrection. Brad begins by recounting the late breaking news that Trump is reportedly part of the DOJ investigation into the efforts to overturn the 2020 election. This news followed on the heels of Attorney General Merrick Garland's interview with Lester...

In this episode, Dan takes his lead from listeners who’ve written in about hearing that “God hates divorce,” that “the family that prays together, stays together,” and so forth. What does this language mean? How have theologically conservative and "traditional" Christians understood divorce? How has Christian rhetoric and messaging about divorce changed over time? Are those changes positive, or do...

Brad is joined by Dr. Charlie McCrary, postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University and author of the new book, Sincerely Held: American Secularism and Its Believers. They discuss how SCOTUS determines what counts as religion, and thus what is deserving of protection under the 1st Amendment. Their conversation focuses on the "sincerity test" of religious belief, which has become a cornersto...

Brad and Dan begin by discussing last night's J6 hearing, focusing on the 187 minutes between when violence erupted at the Capitol and when Trump finally released a video telling his followers to go home. They focus on the callousness of the Commander in Chief watching Fox News for three hours while the Capitol was attacked, police were killed, and the peaceful transfer of power was disrupted. Dan...

“Church Family” What does it mean when a church or spiritual community refers to itself as a “family”? If this is intended as a statement of support and affirmation, why does it make some people feel uncomfortable? And how does it relate to common workplace ideas like being part of the “team” or “community”? Dan tackles all these questions in this episode. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus...

Brad and Dan discuss immigration, refugees, and White evangelicals with Dr. Janelle Wong, Core Faculty in Asian American Studies and Professor of American Studies at the University of Maryland. Professor Wong discusses her new book on evangelicals and immigration in an era of policy change. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archi...

This week’s episode focuses on the intersections of cultural and political debates about race, history, sexual violence, and abortion. Dan and guest co-host Professor Sara Moslener discuss a Fox new claim that "wokism" has taken over Thomas Jefferson's legacy because tour guides at Monticello now highlight his sexual relationships with the people he enslaved. Sara recounts her recent visit to Thom...

What does it mean when cultural and religious conservatives proclaim that they affirm a “culture of life?” We know it means that they oppose abortion and abortion access. But what else does it mean? In this episode, Dan dives in to decode this message to look at the racial, gender, and social positions that are encoded in this seemingly familiar slogan. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus epi...

Brad speaks with Stanford scholar of religion Dr. Kathryn Gin Lum about her new book Heathen. They discuss how White American Christians have used the label "heathen" in order to name those they deem not only different, but in need of saving. In this context, "saving" often meant the occupation of native lands, the overtaking of entire cultures, and the exclusion of those "unassimilable" to the Am...

Brad is joined by guest co-host Dr. Leah Payne. They begin by discussing how many White Americans - especially White Christian nationalists - view the national body as straight, White, patriarchal, and American-born. This framework helps guide a discussion on the drastically different reactions law enforcement took in the cases of Jayland Walker, who was shot by police 60 times in Akron, Ohio, and...

What does it mean when Christians say that we “live in a fallen world”? Where does that language come from? Most importantly, what to different kinds of Christians do with that language? Dan tackles these topics in this episode, discussing what different kinds of Christians imagine when they describe the world as “fallen,” how they think we should respond to that, and exploring how that plays out...

Brad speaks with Dr. Kelsy Burke, a sociologist from the University of Nebraska, who discusses her new book The Pornography Wars: The Past, Present, and Future of America's Obscene Obsession. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/pornography-wars-9781635577365/ Burke spent the last five years researching and interviewing internet pornography's opponents and its sympathizers. She does a deep dive into the...

Brad and Dan are back together. They begin by discussing the validity and significance of Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony at the J6 hearing this week. Brad implores us not to get distracted by claims that her account of certain episodes is being disputed by off-the-record sources who won't testify under oath in front of the nation. They then turn to SCOTUS. Dan breaks down the religious freedom cas...