February 2022

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Jessica and I spoke about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

— Hold your sympathy for the Alabama high school basketball team whose faith led to them forfeiting their playoff chances. (1:25)

— Christian sex predator Ravi Zacharias was effectively aided by the corrupt leaders at his ministry. (30:25)

— The share of Americans who are absolutely certain God exists has dropped below 50% for the first time ever. (49:03)

— The Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving an anti-gay Christian website designer who doesn’t want to make sites promoting same-sex weddings. (1:01:35)

— Conservative Christian Nebraska State Senator Mike Groene resigned after allegations that he took “objectifying” photos of a female aide without her consent and shared them with other people. (1:09:33)

Patreon supporters who give $5 a month will get an ad-free version of the show!

Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!

Jessica and I spoke about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

— Greg Locke says he’s going to expose six “witches” in his church. (1:09)

— Why won’t anyone give Kevin Sorbo the money he needs to make his movies? (22:26)

— Why is the Catholic League’s Bill Donohue getting paid a million dollars a year? (27:24)

— A Baptist preacher whose daughter died in a car accident last year had his future son-in-law arrested for putting flowers on her grave. (41:44)

— Five leaders at a Christian school were arrested for allegedly not reporting a sexual assault to authorities. (55:09)

Patreon supporters who give $5 a month will get an ad-free version of the show!

Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!

Jessica and I spoke about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

— A Catholic priest resigned for the dumbest (but strangely consequential) reason. (2:17)

— LDS leader Brad Wilcox’s racist comments have caused chaos among Mormons. (8:13)

— A public school Bible teacher in TN told students “how to torture a Jew.” (18:52)

— WV teachers told kids to attend a religious revival during the school day. (31:41)

— The evangelical ‘dissenters’ trying to ‘save’ the faith have their own problems. (42:26)

— Missouri’s governor said he only nominates people with “Christian values” to positions of power. (57:36)

— A Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate urged rape victims to be “heroic” and give birth. (1:01:19)

— A nun was sentenced to prison after stealing $835,000 from Catholic school to go gambling. (1:05:21)

(Image via Shutterstock)

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In this solo episode (Jessica will be back next week), Hemant interviewed Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of the New York Times bestseller Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. The book attempts to explain why white evangelicals overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump, despite all the non-Trumpy values they claimed to hold dear before he came along, by looking at the history of evangelical culture.

2:40 Why did you write this book?
5:00 Did white evangelicals corrupt the faith or did guys like Donald Trump expose the faith for what it’s always been?
7:02 Are you cherry picking bad actors, like Mark Driscoll, who exist in every tradition, or do guys like Driscoll fairly represent this strain of conservative Christianity?
10:20 How much blame should we place on moderate Christians who platform these toxic people?
14:38 Is there a good definition of evangelicalism that outsiders would agree with?
18:28 Are your students more receptive to your ideas than your colleagues?
20:35 Are white evangelicals uniquely bad with toxic masculinity or is this just a problem with Americans at large? Or all of humanity?
23:32 Is Jerry Falwell, Jr. making a comeback?
25:25 Is there going to be a backlash to Trumpism that affects evangelicals?
30:06 SPONSOR: HelloFresh!
31:19 Is the impending end of Roe v. Wade good or bad for evangelicals on a strategic level?
34:12 Are white evangelicals really hypocrites about Trump considering he kept his anti-abortion promises?
37:55 Is evangelical Christianity a force for good?
40:55 What is your reaction to Girl Defined and other young Christian women who promote Christian patriarchy on YouTube?
42:00 What would you say to a megachurch pastor who comes to you for advice?
46:35 How come Christian stereotypes include both manly patriarchs as well as hipster skinny jean pastors?
49:45 Are you unfairly painting lower and middle class white men in the worst possible light?
52:30 Are white evangelicals really as powerful as you suggest they are?