Straight White American Jesus

Brad and Dan begin by adding some humor to the mix--they tell stories of how they didn't fit in at Oxford and the hijinks that ensued (00:30). They then discuss the pastors who continue to hold services and how a mix of toxic masculinity, resistance to science, and disdain for the government are factors in this phenomenon. They also explain why theologically evangelicals should be the group most w...

Brad speaks to Dr. Nathan Alexander about his new book on the entangled histories of Christianity, atheism, and racism in the 19th and 20th centuries. They try to answer some compelling questions: Are non-religious people more or less susceptible than Christians to supporting racism and racist policies? What can history tell us about this subject? They explore Darwin, early irreligious reformers,...

Religion was in full view this week as it relates to COVID-19. Brad and Dan discuss evangelical leaders and politicians resisting shelter in place directives, the Trump Bible study leader blaming LGBT+ people for the pandemic, Hobby Lobby and visions from God, Liberty University going back to school, Pompeo railroading G7 talks by demanding it be called the Wuhan Virus, the faux-Trump Bump, strong...

Asha Dahya was a happy evangelical when she moved to LA from Australia. But the politics of the Religious Right led her out of the faith. Indian by ethnicity, British-born, Australian raised, and living in the USA since 2008, in a few short years she has become a reproductive rights activist, editor in chief of a feminist website, and author of a new book on women who are changing the world in ext...

" . . only the invented part of life was satisfying." -Gerald Murphy to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/...

Brad and Dan discuss why in this sort of crisis everyone's a socialist (2:55), the fallout from the Burr/Loeffler revelations (7:35), and then spend the bulk of the episode discussing why Bernie Sanders would be a revolutionary candidate in religious terms--the first None President in our country's history. They trace histories of anti-Jewish and anti-secular bias in the USA and discuss the dimens...

Brad discusses the moral failing of Senator Richard Burr and calls on him to resign, fact checks Sen. Cornyn on China, viruses, and more, and challenges us not to allow our fear to transform into racism and xenophobia. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree:...

Aaron Simmons has been asked to leave numerous churches over the last decade. Not over theology or the Bible. But because he votes the wrong way and wants to have open discussions about abortion, race, justice, and other issues. A fourth-generation Pentecostal, he didn't leave evangelicalism. It left him. But he persists--attending an evangelical church whilst voting for Bernie and trying to creat...

On today's daily dispatch, Brad discusses why Trump labeling COVID-19 the "Chinese virus" is part of a long lineage of anti-Asian xenophobia and part of the Christian nationalism held by his supporters (4:00). He discusses a new piece on Christian nationalism and anti-immigrant ideology by Samuel Perry. Brad also touches on how Trump tried to buy the rights to a vaccine from a German company (11:4...

Brad and Dan discuss the conspiracy theories Evangelicals and the President are pushing about Corona Virus (0:30), Title IX exemptions for universities that discriminate against LGBT+ people (17:50), the surprising surge of Biden and his popularity with African American religious voters (27:05), who is the most "religious" candidate left (44:05), and a one-minute explainer on why COVID-19 is a ser...

On the Weekly Roundup, Brad and Dan discuss the Corona virus conspiracies coming from MAGA land (2:45), AOC's sermon in Congress (9:30), the Supreme Court's hearing of Fulton vs. Philadelphia (17:00), which could give religious people the right to discriminate in a myriad of ways, "Progressive" Evangelicalism's quietism (33:15), and --BONUS: 1-minute explainer of Democratic Socialism vs. Communism...

Are Evangelicals still in love with Trump? Do white "liberal" Protestants vote progressively? Is it fair to say that the Republican party is basically the party of white folks? Who are the religious nones and what role will they play in 2020 and beyond? Brad talks with Dr. Ryan Burge, Assistant Professor of Political Science, at Eastern Illinois University, about these questions and more. Subscrib...

Brad is joined by guest co-host Blake Chastain, who is host of the Exvangelical Podcast and the Post Evangelical Post newsletter. They discuss a surprising LGBTQ-affirming church in Texas (5:30), the way some white Mainline and Catholic voters prioritize their whiteness over anything else (10:20), and the incident at Baylor University's chapel this week, which shows the toxic effects of envisionin...

Brad talks with Dr. Matthew Avery Sutton, author of the new book "Double-Crossed: The Missionaries Who Spied for the United States During the Second World War". They discuss how missionaries became undercover agents during WWII, how religious professionals and rhetoric have shaped US diplomacy, and how the legacy of these missionary-spies still informs our public square. Subscribe for $5.99 a mont...

Dominionists are shaping your life: from your kid's sex-ed program, to local gun laws, and national elections. They see themselves as called to rule the world as proxies for God. Dominionists strategize as to how to infiltrate and control every aspect of human life--government, economics, culture, media, education, and so on. They are not fringe. They are operating in local, state, and national go...

Brad and Dan discuss how we should interpret Mitt Romney's vote to convict Trump as an expression of how the Latter Day Saints view the president, and why they are less likely to be Christian nationalists. They also dig into the National Prayer Breakfast, the Southern Baptist Convention's views on the LGBT community, and Franklin Graham's woes in the UK. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus ep...

Brad dissects the evangelical scrutiny of the halftime show, demonstrating how Franklin Graham's (et al) criticism comes from the misogyny of purity culture, a history of othering people of color through a sexual lens, and willful ignorance on forms of exploitation. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and m...

Brad's audio essay on his great grandmother, Hisao, a picture-bride who couldn't speak English, but who became an American, a Californian, and an Angelino through the Lakers; the woman who began four generations of his family's love of basketball. In the wake of Kobe Bryant's death, it's a reflection on the joy and sorrow of migration, love, and 'Ohana. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus epi...

Brad and Dan talk about Jerry Falwell's call for secession, harmful transgender treatment bills, and Paula White, Trump's spiritual advisor, the woman who called for the miscarriage of satanic pregnancies, and a prosperity preacher. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.c...

On the Weekly Roundup Brad and Dan discuss Espinoza vs. Montana, a supreme court case that will determine if states must fund private schools. They discuss how currently millions of dollars in tax money is being sent to anti-LGBT institutions. They also discuss the whitewashed radicalism of MLK JR., and evangelical quietism on abortion. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free li...

Brad talks with Deirdre Sugiuchi about her story of leaving a fundamentalist boot camp in the Dominican Republic. Deirdre, a writer whose work has been featured at Electric Literature, Guernica, and who contributed an essay to EMPTY THE PEWS, speaks of the emotional and sexual abuse at Escuela Caribe and the dangers she sees in the current administration's approach to religious education. *WARNING...

On the weekly roundup, Dan and Brad focus on a Politico story about the Trump campaign reaching out to Catholic voters. They explain how a sizable number of Catholics fall into the Christian Nationalist category, what it means for 2020, and how we should expand our vision of Trump's religious supporters beyond white evangelicals. They also talk about controversy between the two popes, a cringewort...

Brad and Dan discuss how Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo brought their end-times theology to bear on American foreign policy through the assassination of Quassem Soleimani. They explain how evangelical approaches to the end of the world are informing our nation's decision-making at the highest levels. Plus: Don Jr. Crusades gun, the Evangelicals for Trump Rally, and Jim Bakker says you must be saved in...

Brad speaks with PRRI CEO and author of "The End of White Christian America" Robert P. Jones. They discuss the ongoing developments with Iran, the United Methodist Church's split over LGBT issues, and how evangelicals are a shrinking demographic that somehow continues to hold enormous power in American politics. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the en...

Brad talks with Prof André Gagné about evangelical visions of the apocalypse and how they are directly related to Iran (and the assassination of Quassem Soleimani) Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's book: ht...