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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?

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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)

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.

— Christian pastor and church planter Matt Chandler is on a leave of absence because of “unwise” DMs he sent to a woman on Instagram. (4:20)

— Valley Christian Academy in California will forfeit an upcoming football game rather than play an opposing team that has two girls on the roster. (22:00)

— Wisconsin Republican Peter Schmidt wants to pass anti-LGBTQ policies but doesn’t want anyone knowing about his own homosexuality. (32:20)

— Catholic Charities in Omaha held a fake active shooter drill that traumatized countless employees. (43:03)

— Christian hate-preacher Joe Jones listed out the evil people you should avoid and there’s a pleasant surprise on the list. (49:15)

— Despite a Supreme Court win, nearly all of Maine’s Christian schools are rejecting state funding. (51:19)

— Texas State Sen. Bryan Hughes is trying to fix up his horribly written “In God We Trust” law. (57:00)

— Former Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann insists the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were based on the Bible. She’s lying. (1:06:50)

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 conservative Christian influencer wants women to stop touching themselves. (1:00)

— A Texas law requiring donated “In God We Trust” signs in schools has a loophole, and one atheist is taking advantage of it. (13:27)

— The Door McAllen, which staged a Christianized “Hamilton,” has apologized. (23:45)

— South Carolina stuck a $1.5 million gift for a Christian school in its budget. (34:29)

— The Big Bang Theory is not a hoax, no matter how much Creationists try to lie about it. (38:23)

— An article in Science recently connected a non-binary gender identity with a thirst for curiosity. And yet one professional science communicator is FURIOUS about it. (45:38)

— A leaked investigation into New Zealand’s ARISE Church reveals widespread abuse. (53:21)

— Scott Esk once said sexually active gay people should be executed by the government. He was nearly the GOP’s candidate for a State House seat in Oklahoma. (1:03:35)