March 2023

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Dr. Suzanna Krivulskaya is an Assistant Professor of History at California State University San Marcos where she teaches courses in United States history. Her first book, Disgraced: How Sex Scandal Transformed American Protestantism, will be published in early 2024 by Oxford University Press.

A specialist in the fields of U.S. religion and sexuality, Suzanna has published in both scholarly and popular outlets, like The Revealer and Religion and Politics. Her scholarly work was recognized by the 2019-2020 Virginia Ramey Mollenkott Award from the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. In 2022, she was named a Public Research in Religion Institute Fellow in the area of Religion and LGBTQ Rights. Always interested in translating academic expertise to broader publics, she currently serves as a trainer in the Sacred Writes program, which connects students of religion with public-facing scholarship.

We spoke about the Falwells, the Bakkers, the Haggards, why the wives often stand by their scandal-plagued pastor-husbands, and what these scandals reveal about evangelical Christianity.

— Why do scandal-plagued pastors’ wives stay by their husbands’ side? (5:00)

— Is the supposed shame of divorce too strong? (8:00)

— Should we feel bad for these wives? (9:42)

— What the heck is going on with the Falwells? (11:59)

— Suzanna describes her journey from missionary to doubter (14:24)

— Are younger evangelicals changing how we talk about this issue? (16:05)

— How long have these scandals been going on? (18:06)

— What do these scandals say about evangelical Christianity? (20:12)

— How can these pastors still preach “purity”? (26:54)

— Did anything in Suzanna’s research surprise her? (31:30)

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

— A Florida principal was fired after students saw an image of Michelangelo’s “David.” (0:33)

— A Christian woman claimed her three amputated toes were regrown during a prayer service. (19:09)

— A Colorado bill would make Catholic hospitals say what services they don’t provide. (34:05)

— A Christian ministry trademarked the phrase “Worship Leader,” creating mass chaos. (45:23)

— Citing his faith, a Texas university leader canceled a drag show fundraiser. (54:36)

— The Satanic Temple is not promoting adult content to kids, no matter what this Christian ministry says. (1:04:30)

— A Texas bill would cut property taxes for couples with 10 kids. (1:19:36)

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Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!

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

— A Christian lawmaker used the Bible to justify the physical abuse of kids with disabilities in public schools. (0:37)

— Americans still view atheists unfavorably… but it’s not all bad news. (25:42)

— In a lawsuit, a teenager says a teacher assaulted her for not saying the Pledge of Allegiance. (43:37)

— An editorial defending college football coach Deion Sanders’ proselytizing fumbled the facts. (54:35)

— The Santa Rosa Catholic Diocese in California has filed for bankruptcy. (1:13:29)

— A Christian school in Vermont is banned from competing in state-sanctioned events after refusing to play a team with a trans athlete. (1:21:03)

Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!

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

— A Christian pastor wrote the most WTF essay about Jesus penetrating the church. (0:57)

— A Catholic non-profit spent millions of dollars to track the whereabouts of gay priests. (32:35)

— An Arizona school board rightly ended its contract with an anti-LGBTQ Christian college. (48:25)

— An employee of Catholic Charities has sued the group for its hyper-realistic active shooter drill. (58:37)

— This is going to be the worst conference ever. (1:07:00)

— Why is a taxpayer-funded tourism group in Kentucky promoting Creationism? (1:15:05)

— The Supreme Court won’t weigh in on a police-led Christian prayer vigil… yet. (1:20:35)

— A Tennessee bill would let county clerks refuse to sign same-sex and interracial marriage licenses. (1:36:50)