Straight White American Jesus

The Sunday Interview: The Bachelor, Christian Nationalism, and the Politics of Purity w/ Claire Fallon

What can reality TV tell us about Christian nationalism, purity culture, and the politics of gender? Annika Brockschmidt talks with journalist and podcaster Claire Fallon about the surprisingly deep connections between The Bachelor, evangelical Christianity, and the conservative politics shaping American culture. They discuss how the franchise normalizes heterosexual marriage, traditional gender roles, purity culture, and evangelical assumptions; how conservative Christian contestants have turned reality TV fame into influential media platforms; and how figures like Madison Pruitt have moved from The Bachelor into the world of MAGA Christian influence. They also explore the politics of dating in the Trump era, the rise of Mormon reality TV, and what shows like Love Is Blind and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reveal about the changing relationship between religion, politics, sex, and popular culture. 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠ www.ground.news/swaj for 40% of the Vantage Subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Weekly Roundup: "Free Derek Chauvin" + the Anti-Democracy Christian Nationalism Debate

Christian nationalism is not simply a religious movement—it is a political project that challenges the foundations of a pluralist democracy. Brad Onishi and Dan Miller examine the growing Christian nationalist effort to redefine who counts as a “real” American, from arguments about immigration and religious identity to the defense of Derek Chauvin and the rejection of democratic accountability. They also break down the recent Christian nationalism debate featuring Doug Wilson, Joe Rigney, Al Mohler, and Paul Miller, and explain why the movement’s vision of a Christian America is fundamentally at odds with religious freedom and equal citizenship. 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ #ChristianNationalism #Democracy #ChristianNationalismDebate #ReligiousFreedom #AmericanDemocracy #ChristianityAndPolitics #Trump #MAGA #PoliticalExtremism #RuleOfLaw #DougWilson #JoeRigney #DerekChauvin #GeorgeFloyd #JamesComey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's In the Code 203: "Who Are God's Chosen People?"

Theologically conservative Christians believe apparently contradictory things about Judaism and Jewish people. On the one hand, they will often describe Jewish people as being “the people of God.” On the other hand, they typically hold that, as non-Christians, Jewish people are condemned to go to hell when they die. How do these attitudes fit together? Is it possible to hold them together consistently? What do the answers to these questions tell us about conservative Christians’ understandings of Judaism and Jewish identity? And why are questions like these ones we’re not supposed to ask in church? Join Dan for this week’s episode to find out! Get signed copies of American Caesar at Annie Bloom's: ⁠⁠https://annieblooms.com/⁠⁠ Join us September 16 at Annie Bloom's for the American Caesar book launch! 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/ Go to ⁠⁠groundnews.com/SWAJ⁠⁠ to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world. 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ICE Infiltrated Churches: The Secret Operation Targeting Minnesota Protesters

ICE agents infiltrated churches, activist meetings, libraries, and community organizations in Minnesota as part of what has been dubbed Operation Puppet Master. In this episode of Axis Live, Matthew D. Taylor and Rev. Susie Hayward discuss what newly disclosed documents reveal about the government's surveillance of protesters—and what it means for religious freedom, constitutional rights, and the future of democracy. They also examine the growing anti-Muslim campaign targeting Dearborn, Michigan, including a planned "Crusader March" backed by MAGA activists, and explore how Christian nationalism is fueling new forms of religious exclusion. Finally, Taylor and Hayward discuss the dismantling of the U.S. Institute of Peace, the loss of religious expertise within American foreign policy, and what the current crisis tells us about the health of American democracy—and where hope for a democratic revival might come from. 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ #ICE #OperationPuppetMaster #ChristianNationalism #ReligiousFreedom #Trump #MAGA #Immigration #Minnesota #Dearborn #Islamophobia #AmericanDemocracy #Democracy #USIP #PoliticalExtremism #AxisLive Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Sunday Interview: Congressman Jared Huffman on the Christian Nationalist Threat to Democracy

In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi sits down with Congressman Jared Huffman to discuss his new book, No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism. Huffman shares his journey from growing up in a devout Mormon community to becoming a humanist and the only openly non-believing member of Congress, and explains how the rise of Trump and Christian nationalism pushed him to speak publicly about the dangers of religious extremism. They discuss the New Apostolic Reformation, January 6, the religious forces surrounding Trump, Mike Johnson, the influence of Christian nationalism in Congress, Christian Zionism, traditionalist Catholicism, and why the separation of church and state is increasingly under threat. Huffman also explains why he believes saving democracy will require religious and nonreligious Americans to work together—and why, even in a deeply troubling political moment, he refuses to give up. 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎧 Listen to the Axis Daily Brief:Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M... No Prophets: https://bookshop.org/p/books/no-prophets-the-fight-to-save-democracy-from-christian-nationalism-jared-huffman/b28b36a73cf41cdd Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices