November 2025

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Marissa Franks Burt is a novelist, editor, teacher, and cohost of the At Home with the Lectionary and In the Church Library podcasts. She lives in Washington state with her husband, six children, and heaps of books. She has a masters in theological studies from Columbia International University.

Her latest book, written with Kelsey Kramer McGinnis, is “The Myth of Good Christian Parenting: How False Promises Betrayed a Generation of Evangelical Families.” (Amazon affiliate link)

The premise of the book is that Christian parents want to raise godly children. But many popular biblical parenting methods cause more harm than good. The stories bear that out. The research bears that out. And this book exposes how the Christian parenting industry has sold families false promises for five decades, leaving a trail of religious trauma, damaged relationships, and lost faith in its wake.

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!

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

— Hemant will be speaking in St. Louis this weekend for the Ethical Society of St. Louis. Events are free to the public. COME!

— Supreme Court declines case involving loudspeaker prayers at high school football games. (1:45)

— The Catholic League’s Epstein defense is even worse than you think. (21:45)

— New Hampshire town pulls plug on open forum after Satanists hoist flag. (40:26)

— How the Assemblies of God became a safe haven for sexual predators. (49:15)

— Colorado’s “first public Christian school” isn’t a mistake. It’s a test case. (1:05:15)

— Florida’s proposed loyalty oath for educators would ban atheists from becoming teachers. (1:13:40)

— U.S. Catholic bishops double down on anti-trans policies in new hospital rules. (1:18:00)

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!

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

— A TikToker is exposing churches that refuse to help a hungry baby. (2:32)

— Axios tried to shame Christian U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico—and ended up exposing itself. (24:30)

— Texas sues school district for following the law and not posting the Ten Commandments. (54:17)

— Anti-abortion conservatives in Australia tried to turn a mother’s tragedy into a political game. (1:05:09)

— Texas’ third-largest school district just rejected Christian extremism on the board of trustees. (1:19:00)

— Pumpkin Palooza panic: How a cross-carved gourd sparked a mini culture war. (1:28:30)

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!

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

— JD Vance wants his Hindu wife to convert. It’s Christian Nationalism: Home Edition. (5:09)

— How the American Humanist Association is empowering a new wave of atheist content creators. (30:36)

— Florida Republicans are furious that Muslims are using a voucher program meant to boost Christianity. (52:30)

— Texas Supreme Court says faith-based bigotry by judges doesn’t violate ethics rules. (1:04:55)

— Federal judge rules against defiant teacher who refused to remove crucifix from classroom. (1:18:20)

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.