The Progressive Christians Podcast

At the National Prayer Breakfast President Trump announced that he was creating a task force to "eradicate anti-Christian bias" in the government and in institutions that receive federal funding. In this episode we discuss Trump's remarks during the prayer breakfast and the eradicating anti-Christian bias executive order. Surprise bonus episode! There is a lot going on right now that deserves our...

We read (a lot) of it so you wouldn't have to. In this episode, we discuss the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, the 900-page document that Trump "had nothing to do with" but accurately describes almost everything that his administration has been doing during his first few weeks in office. We examine the four pillars that inform their political ideology, how these pillars are rooted in half-trut...

"Without women we don't have Jesus. We don't have Christianity. We don't have any of it," writes Claire McKeever-Burgett, theologian and author of "Blessed Are The Women: Naming and Reclaiming Women's Stories from the Gospels." In this episode we speak with Claire about her amazing book, what inspired her to write it, and the importance of women's stories in the story of Christianity. Claire's new...

It is not worse than we thought—it is exactly what we thought it would be! During our conversation, which felt a bit like our post-election analysis, we examined the first few days of the Trump presidency and discussed how progressive Christians might respond and resist. We also discussed former president Joe Biden's legacy and what's going on with TikTok and Meta.  In this episode, Rev. Dr. Carte...

In today's episode we discuss the impact of the LA fires on our community and dissect the conservative conspiracy theories about the origin of the fires and how they have been handled. We then discuss the legacy of President Jimmy Carter, a Southern Baptist and the first Evangelical president of the United States. We compare and contrast his progressive evangelicalism with what we see in the MAGA...

Los Angeles is suffering from a historical fire. Thankfully, Julia, Westley, Rev. Blair, and Dr. Carter are safe, but we are thinking about and actively working on ways to support our local community. If you are interested in supporting, please check out the links below. In this episode, Rev. Dr. Carter is solo, recording from San Diego, where he and his family have evacuated from the Pallisades a...

Evangelism is a word you rarely hear in progressive Christian spaces. In this episode, we discuss why that is the case (hint: trauma) and what a progressive Christian vision of evangelism could look like. This episode is part of our Progressive Christianity 101 "What Is" series. At least one episode per month will examine topics from within the Christian tradition from a progressive Christian pers...

Merry Christmas! In this "minisode," the Progressive Christians podcast crew discusses our favorite Christmas traditions. We close the show discussing how grateful we are for each other and for y'all, our amazing listeners.  Our goal is to create a platform for Progressive Christians to discuss topics that are important to us in a way that reflects the radical love that we see in our tradition. It...

In this episode, we discuss what we each have learned about Christmas as a progressive Christian that opened up the Christmas story in new and meaningful ways. We end with a discussion about the Netflix film, Mary, and how paying closer attention to the social and political circumstances that Jesus' mother faced should move Christians towards a feminist (i.e., anti-sexist) analysis of the story of...

In this episode, we discuss the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the public reaction to it. While we believe that violence is not the solution to the healthcare crisis in America, we discuss how certain forms of violence, i.e., the violence of denying people the health coverage they have paid for, are the root cause of so much suffering in our country. We conclude by discussing w...

Everyone is talking about Wicked, and there is so much to discuss! Throughout our conversation, we discuss the themes related to politics and religion that appear throughout the film and tie them to our contemporary moment. For this episode, we were delighted to be joined by singer, actress, and activist Malynda Hale . Malynda and Julia give us an insider's perspective on the film, which you don't...

Many of us typically visit family and friends over the holidays, but the recent elections have complicated what should be a joyous occasion. Can you share a table with someone who voted for candidates who embraced nationalist ideologies? In this episode, we discuss how to "Thanksgiving" with family and friends who voted for Trumpism. The articles and scripture passages we discussed in this episode...

Given the results of the 2024 presidential election, what is the state of progressive Christianity? In this episode, we discuss the role Christian Nationalism played in the election of Donald Trump and how we plan to respond to it through this podcast. We give our big takeaways from the presidential election, and we end by discussing Rev. Dr. Carter's appreciation of People Magazine's sexiest man...

We really want to hear from our listeners - what do you need from us right now? What type of content would be most helpful for you? Please leave a comment on this episode or in a podcast review. We love you all and our aim is to become a place of refuge, hope, and resistance. In this episode, recorded on Wednesday November 6th, we begin to digest the results of the 2024 presidential election. It i...

Congregations aligned with Christian Nationalism are funding state and local political candidates, helping people run for school boards, and training local police departments. How and why is this happening? In this episode we discuss Christian Nationalism, it's political rise, and its growing influence in mainline congregations and politics. Articles and authors discussed in this episode: https://...

During the Million Women March in October 2024, conservative women expressed their concerns that secular society is pressuring their children to change genders and that the bodies of their children are not safe. In this episode we discuss the march, the Christian Nationalist theology that undergurds it, and the truth that conservative clergy, and not the queer community, are the perpetrators of mo...

Over 250 people have died due to the effects of hurricane Helene. In this episode we grapple with the loss of life from this disaster and the politicalization of natural disasters by Donald Trump, and the progressive Christian history of environmental justice.  Note - Rev. Blair was only able to participate in the first half of the podcast and we forgot to mention it during the episode! So please...

Why is immigration a theological issue ? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Victor Carmona, Associate Professor of Theology at the University of San Diego and an expert on immigration. He discusses the failures of both political parties and lays out his vision for what a theology of immigration should look like. We also discuss the VP debate and the role conservative religious rhetoric plays in sh...

Young women are leaving the Church because they (rightly) believe that churches do not treat men and women equally. So, why is this information being framed as "young men are more religious than young women?" - patriarchy , that's why. We fell into this trap in the beginning of this episode before pivoting to a deep discussion on how progressive churches can create a culture where women know they...

All churches, including progressive churches, struggle to create inclusive spaces for people with disabilities. In this episode, we are joined by Melissa Brasher, the mother of two amazing children, one of whom is disabled. We discuss her journey with her disabled son, the impact he has had on her and his community's faith, and what churches can do to create spaces that are welcoming to all types...

Donald Trump doesn't believe in repentance and cannot ask for forgiveness. Given the centrality of forgiveness in Christianity (i.e., you know, salvation), how and why do conservative Christians continue to support him?

Raising children in America is difficult, so difficult that the US Surgeon General is raising concerns about the stress and mental health challenges of parenting. So why are Christian conservatives like JD Vance critical of people who decide not to have kids? We also discuss the Harris/Walz campaign hiring a National Faith Engagement Director, and we end with a discussion about how to be "very dem...

The speeches of Dough Emhoff, President Barack Obama, and Gov. Tim Walls gave us a very different portrayal of masculinity and, unsurprisingly, raised the alarm of some Christian conservatives. In this episode, we discuss what progressive Christian masculinity can look like, and we critique the toxic masculinity of "biblical patriarchy." The books we mentioned in the podcast were: The Making of Bi...

The persuasive power of the Black Church tradition has been center stage during the first two days of the Democratic National Convention. The speeches of Senator Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock and Michelle and Barack Obama found their footing in the black preaching tradition. In this episode we discuss the connections between the Black Church tradition and progressive politics.

Has Western Christianity weaponized marriage and made those who are single, especially women, feel as though they are "bad" Christians? What should progressive Christians think about the Harris/Walz ticket? And breakdancing at the Olympics - wow! Funky Friday podcast featuring Kirk Franklin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbTAUsXheyg