Straight White American Jesus

Weekly Roundup: Pentagon Pulpit, Silenced Christians: Doug Wilson, James Talarico & the Battle for the American Soul

 Doug Wilson’s appearance at a Pentagon prayer service hosted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is more than a symbolic moment—it’s a window into the kind of Christianity being elevated at the highest levels of American power. Wilson, a self-identified Christian nationalist and longtime pastor in Moscow, Idaho, has built an influential religious and media network rooted in a theology that centers male authority, rejects pluralism in the public square, and frames “Christ is King” as a political claim over the nation itself. His record—documented by journalists like Brian Kaylor and Sarah Stankorb—includes defending rigid patriarchal structures, opposing women’s suffrage, limiting public religious freedom to conservative Protestantism, and mishandling abuse cases within his orbit. That this theology is now platformed inside the Pentagon, amid ongoing fallout from the Epstein scandal and broader debates about power, sexuality, and accountability, raises urgent questions about what kind of moral vision is being fused with state authority—and who it protects. At the same time, CBS’s decision not to air Stephen Colbert’s interview with Texas State Representative James Talarico—an outspoken Christian critic of Christian nationalism—reveals the other side of the equation. Talarico, a seminary student and public school teacher, argues that separating church and state protects both democracy and the integrity of Christian faith. His warning that Christian nationalism is “a cancer on my religion” stands in sharp contrast to Wilson’s vision of public Christianity. The juxtaposition is stark: a hardline theocrat welcomed at the Pentagon, and a soft-spoken Christian democrat sidelined from broadcast television. Together, these events underscore a growing dynamic in American public life—where the state appears increasingly willing to privilege one brand of religion while marginalizing dissenting voices, even within Christianity itself. Subscribe for $3.65: ⁠https://axismundi.supercast.com/⁠ Subscribe to our free newsletter: ⁠https://swaj.substack.com/⁠ Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠ Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's in the Code ep 180: “Freedom and Constraint”

Josh Hawley argues that “modern-day Epicureans” abandon all notions of “history, family, home, and tradition.” He argues that without these, humans have no identity, and that these “Epicureans” have no real sense of who they are. But is this true? Does everyone who disagrees with Hawley’s understanding of the human person lack any identity? And do “history, family, home, and tradition” really define us completely? Join Dan for this week’s episode and find out! Subscribe for $3.65: ⁠https://axismundi.supercast.com/⁠ Subscribe to our free newsletter: ⁠https://swaj.substack.com/⁠ Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠ Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Faith in the Streets: A Pastor's Firsthand Account of ICE's Terror and the Neighbors Resisting It

When the history of this moment is written, Minneapolis may take its place alongside Selma, Stonewall, and Harper’s Ferry—a name synonymous with resistance. In this episode, Matthew Taylor and Susie Hayward return to American Unexceptionalism to reflect on what has unfolded in the Twin Cities over the past two months: mass ICE deployments, escalating authoritarian tactics, and a powerful, community-rooted response. Drawing from the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul, they explore what frontline resistance looks like in real time, how religious leaders have stepped into both pastoral and prophetic roles, and why this moment feels like the full activation of both Trump-era authoritarian impulses and an American resistance movement finding its footing. This conversation serves as a postlude—and a reckoning—with the themes of American Unexceptionalism. Lessons once drawn from Sri Lanka, South Korea, Brazil, and beyond are now being lived out at home, faster and more intensely than expected. Taylor and Hayward unpack why Minneapolis became the flashpoint, how multifaith and multigenerational organizing has changed the terrain, and what these experiences can teach communities across the country preparing for what may come next. The message is urgent and clear: what’s happening in Minneapolis is coming for the rest of America—and the time to learn, organize, and build the relationships needed to defend democracy is now. Dr. Matthew D. Taylor is a visiting scholar at the center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University. His book, The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy (Broadleaf, 2024), tracks how a loose network of charismatic Christian leaders called the New Apostolic Reformation was a major instigating force for the January 6th Insurrection and is currently reshaping the culture of the religious right in the U.S. Taylor is also the creator of the audio docuseries Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation. Rev. Susan Hayward: was until recently the lead on the US Institute of Peace’s efforts to understand religious dimensions of conflict and advance efforts engaging religious actors and organizations in peacebuilding. She has conducted political asylum and refugee work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Advocates for Human Rights. Rev. Hayward studied Buddhism in Nepal and is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. www.axismundi.us Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi Producer: Andrew Gill Original Music and Mixing: Scott Okamoto Production Assistance: Kari Onishi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Sunday Interview: Ableism, WCN, and MAHA

Dr. Andrew Whitehead joins Brad Onishi to discuss his groundbreaking research revealing a disturbing connection: Christian nationalism is one of the strongest predictors of discrimination against Americans with disabilities. As the Trump administration slashes protections, funding, and civil rights for disabled people, from dismantling DEIA efforts to appointing RFK Jr. to HHS, this conversation exposes the theological and ideological roots of ableism in the Christian nationalist movement. Whitehead's peer-reviewed research shows that those who embrace Christian nationalism are three times more likely to believe we've "done enough" for people with disabilities and twice as likely to say disabled Americans "demand too much." The discussion traces these attitudes through Project 2025, prosperity gospel theology, and the historical fusion of Christian nationalism with free-market capitalism that elevates economic productivity as the measure of human worth. This episode challenges listeners to confront how certain strains of Christianity have interpreted disability as divine punishment or an opportunity for charity, rather than recognizing structural barriers that demand collective responsibility. From religious school vouchers that exclude disabled students to the dangerous myth that autism is spreading like a disease, Whitehead and Onishi reveal how the imagined "ideal American body" in Christian nationalist ideology is explicitly straight, white, native-born, and able-bodied. The conversation offers a powerful counter-vision through theologians like Nancy Eiesland, who reimagined God as disabled, and calls for Christians to vote for policies that truly value all people, not just prayers, but action. Subscribe for $3.65: ⁠https://axismundi.supercast.com/⁠ Subscribe to our free newsletter: ⁠https://swaj.substack.com/⁠ Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Weekly Roundup: Epstein, ICE & the Super Bowl Culture War: What MAGA Prioritizes

 In this episode of Straight White American, Jesus, we unpack the unraveling of Pam Bondi’s moral rhetoric under the weight of the Epstein files. Bondi once ran campaign ads promising to protect children from trafficking “monsters,” yet when Epstein survivors stood behind her in a hearing room, she refused to turn around and acknowledge them. Pressed about Donald Trump’s and Howard Lutnick’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, she lashed out at questioners and deflected to stock market numbers. The hypocrisy is hard to miss: a movement that built its identity on “saving the children” now treats actual survivors as political inconveniences. When Jared Moskowitz held up the Trump-branded Bible and noted that Trump’s name appears in the Epstein files more times than God’s appears in Scripture, the exchange crystallized the contradiction—commodified faith, selective outrage, and a refusal to confront abuse when it implicates one’s own side. We also turn to the Twin Cities, where clergy and neighbors continue resisting ICE operations on the ground. As Axios reports, faith leaders are organizing prayer circles, serving as human shields, and explicitly naming Christian nationalism as incompatible with the teachings of Jesus. The theological divide is stark: Christian nationalists invoke Romans 13 to defend “state-authorized violence,” while progressive clergy center the red-letter teachings—love your neighbor, protect the least of these—even when it puts them in harm’s way. From the politics of the Epstein files to the culture-war meltdown over Bad Bunny’s Spanish-language Super Bowl performance, the throughline is clear: whose America is this, and whose lives count? As always, we follow the code. Subscribe for $3.65: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Subscribe to our free newsletter: https://swaj.substack.com/ Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices