September 2022

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

— An 8-year-old girl was expelled for not wanting to send her teacher a picture of herself reading in the bathtub. (0:55)

— Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is going after Republican Darren Bailey for using a fundamentalist Christian curriculum in a school he opened. (10:36)

— Are Tennessee’s license plates making it easier for cops to spot atheists? (24:19)

— Students in Baton Rouge, Louisiana thought they were attending a “College & Career Fair.” Instead, they were taken to church. (30:44)

— Fundamentalist Christian mom Lori Alexander wants women to avoid feminism. This chart isn’t helping. (38:55)

— Bible preacher Mike Winger says you should kill someone if God tells you to. (47:30)

— The documentary Jihad Rehab is poorly and irresponsibly made, but some prominent atheists are whining about “identity politics.” (52:47)

— The Satanic Temple sued Indiana’s top officials to block an extreme abortion ban. (1:08:35)

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

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

— Greg Locke is very unhappy about his depiction in the Peacock series Shadowland. (1:47)

— Despite the Supreme Court giving him his old job back, Joseph Kennedy, the football coach who held prayer spectacles at midfield after games, is long gone. (14:04)

— Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma claimed that God showed approval for his state’s extreme abortion ban by… making it rain after a drought. (26:15)

— God’s Not Dead 5 is coming soon. (32:18)

— Dr. Albert Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, says Christians must vote a certain way or else they’re being “unfaithful” to God. (45:20)

— When Liberty U. comes into town, UMass football will hold “Pride Day” (56:22)

— Many of New York’s Hasidic schools are taking public funds but not educating kids. (1:00:55)

— Rapper Kanye West has opened his own private Christian school where parents have to sign NDAs. Yikes. (1:12:00)

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In this solo episode (Jessica will be back next week), I spoke with Andrew Seidel, the Vice President of Strategic Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the author of The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American. He’s written and spoken extensively about these issues in a variety of online and print publications, and on several news shows.

His latest book, out this month, is called American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom.

0:00 Intro
1:08 How did you write a book about the Supreme Court when the Court kept issuing new, harmful rulings? (An update to the book can be found here: https://andrewlseidel.com/moreac/)
3:24 What church/state barriers are next to fall?
8:09 Is the Federalist Society a Christian organization?
13:37 Why isn’t there a liberal equivalent to the Federalist Society?
15:14 SPONSOR: https://www.expressvpn.com/friendlyatheist
16:34 Is the Supreme Court helping or hurting the country?
18:40 Is there one justice whose presence is ultra-crusade-y?
21:04 Should we care about the details of Amy Coney Barrett’s faith?
24:16 What impact will Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson have on this Court?
25:45 What would be the best way to fight back against this activist Court?
33:45 What does success mean for you when it comes to readers of “American Crusade”?
42:10 What do you say to future lawyers who care about church/state issues?

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.

— Britney Spears said in a now-deleted Instagram reel, “I’m an atheist, y’all!” (3:45)

— Even married advocates of Purity Culture can’t handle Bridgerton. (12:57)

— A federal judge ruled that an HIV drug mandate violated Christians’ religious freedoms. (20:35)

— These preachers have no idea how masturbation works. (35:00)

— Pope Francis is lying about having a “zero tolerance” policy for handling abuse. (41:21)

— The GOP lawmaker who condemned an extreme anti-abortion bill previously sponsored… an extreme anti-abortion bill. (48:30)

— A Christian school baptized 100 kids without telling their parents. (55:11)

— The Archdiocese of St. Louis is putting dogma over decency, urging schools to let kids go hungry rather than feed them for free. (1:00:30)