Episodes

What if told you 9% of Americans think only Christians should be eligible for citizenship? Or if 14% thought that their church should have veto power over American law? What if there was evidence that belief in modern day prophets is linked to political violence and extreme belief? This is exactly what sociologist Paul Djupe found in recent studies on the topic.https://religioninpublic.blog/2023/04/26/is-modern-prophecy-leading-its-followers-to-a-religious-state/Merch: BUY OUR NEW Come and Ta...

Brad and Dan begin by analyzing the surge in vigilantism on the American Right. Brad discusses how vigilantism often rises in times when there is a question of who belongs in the community - and what it means to have a working social order. Dan discusses the ways that vigilantism rises when law and order no longer work - and the perceived need for violence beyond the law takes hold.In the second segment they argue that the bevy of far-right laws passed in Florida represent the attempt to make ...

On this episode of ONE NATION, ALL BELIEFS (subscribe links below) brad speaks with Dr. Allyson Shortle an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma, where she studies group identity in the context of American political behavior. She runs OU’s Community Engagement + Experiments Laboratory (CEEL), Oklahoma City’s Community Poll (Exit Poll), and OU’s Democracy Survey of OU freshmen. Dr. Shortle’s new co-authored Cambridge University Press book, The Everyday Crusade: Christian Nationalism i...

What do Christians mean when they refer to someone having a “servant’s heart”? How does this language, so foreign to those outside of a particular kind of religious context, connect to secular volunteer and non-profit organizations? Beyond the meaning of such language, what are its social effects? How is it often mobilized to manipulate and coerce individuals to “giving of themselves” beyond the limits of what is reasonable or healthy? Dan tackles these questions in this week’s episode.Merch: ...

with Cynthia Miller-Idriss

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the two massacres in one day that happened in Texas last weekend. They borrow from work by Umar Haique who summarizes the state of the USA as a country experiencing "ultraviolence" as a form of societal collapse.https://medium.com/eudaimonia-co/why-cnns-trump-town-hall-was-a-disgrace-and-an-insult-to-democracy-320738e60147Brad links this to the Trump town hall hosted by CNN. He makes the case that this was the platforming of a fascist leader who has no interes...

On this episode of ONE NATION, ALL BELIEFS (subscribe links below) Brad speaks with Indu Kumar, a student fellow with Americans United who is organizing on the ground in Tennessee. She discusses the ways that students, Black churches, and other minoritized groups are building coalitions to fight gun violence and create sustainable movements. Indu explains how separation of church and state is a key issue for young people who care about reproductive rights and LGBT inclusion. She also shares her ...

In the previous episode, Dan looked at what’s going on when people tell us we are “right where God wants us to be.” But what does it mean when those same people DON’T tell us that? Why do they seem to say this at some times, but not others? What does it mean, and what effects does it have on us? In this episode, Dan explores this topic, arguing that this reflects bad theology and that it matters because of the damage bad theology doe to people.Merch: BUY OUR NEW Come and Take It and Election A...

Brad interviews writer Scott Okamoto, author of Asian American Apostate, his wry and ironic story of leaving religion while teaching at an evangelical university. Okamoto’s often-chilling accounts reveal that such schools, where prayer and trite theological debate erupt in any lecture, demonstrate anything but higher education. Stories range from a classroom declaration against interracial marriage because it causes painful pregnancies, to grading a paper entitled, “Why Obama Is a Nazi,” and to ...

Brad and Dan begin with a thorough breakdown of why the Texas bill to post the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms is unconstitutional and un-American. They discuss parental rights, hypocrisy, and the dangerous escalation of religious supremacists - and where we are headed next.Rep. Talarico: https://youtu.be/we0b04QbbvcIn the second segment, Dan discusses all things Florida - from the fight with Disney, to the 1st Amendment implications of banning books, to the way DeSantis is flami...

Today we are launching a new limited series called One Nation, All Beliefs. produced in partnership with Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. This is the series intro.You can subscribe by going here:https://open.spotify.com/show/0HIjnVZjUwY8H1PD0M7F04?si=2653997c43cf442fProduced by Brad Onishi, with help from Emma Hulbert and Isaiah Perkins, at Straight White American Jesus in partnership with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the series highlights the...

What does it mean when someone assure you that you are “right where God wants you to be”? Is it intended as a word of encouragement? As an affirmation that God is control? As a message of empowerment? Or is the aim manipulative, or controlling? And regardless of the intent, what are the possible effects of this assurance, positive or negative? Dan tackles these questions in this week’s episode.Merch: BUY OUR NEW Come and Take It and Election Affirmer ! https://straight-white-american-jesus.cr...

Brad speaks with Jeff Sharlet about his NYT bestseller The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War. Jeff talks about everything from his long conversations about MLK Jr. with Harry Belafonte, to the lustful feeling of the first Trump rallies in 2015, to the desire for vengeance felt among MAGA nation in the wake of 2020, to following the ghost of Ashli Babbitt all over the country. In all, he paints a picture of a cracked nation filled with fear - and a longing for hope.Merch: BUY OUR NEW Come ...

Ten Commandments in Schools = religious freedom? In this economy?Brad and Dan discuss Tucker Carlson's ouster at Fox News - and what it means in the short and long terms.Dan takes us through the situation in Montana, where Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the only trans legislator in the state, has been locked out of the legislative session for no reason.The battle to repeal no-fault divorce - and how it relates to trans rights, reproductive rights, same-sex marriage, and so many other issues around the...

On the day that the Pornography Wars is released, we re-release Brad's interview with the author Dr. Kelsy Burke, a sociologist from the University of Nebraska.https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/pornography-wars-9781635577365/Burke spent the last five years researching and interviewing internet pornography's opponents and its sympathizers. She does a deep dive into the long history of pornography in America and then turns her gaze on our present society to examine the ways this industry touches on...

What is “public confession,” and what is its relation to the practice of sharing one’s testimony? When and how does sharing a testimony verge into public confession? Why does public confession have to be “public,” and what concerns does this raise? In this second of a two-part pair of episodes, Dan explores these and other questions.SWAJ Seminar: https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/seminars/Merch: BUY OUR NEW Come and Take It and Election Affirmer ! https://straight-white-american-jesu...

Many are wondering how and why religious minorities in the USA adopt conservative - and even fascist - political identities when it seems that the American Right is anti-immigrant and in many cases explicitly racist. Scholars Dr. Jane Hong (Occidental) and Dr. Adrian de Leon (USC/NYU) argue that Asian American (religious) conservatism should be understood not just as an imported phenomenon from outside these communities, but as something structural within the formation of Asian America itself, w...

Dan and guest co-host Annika Brockschmidt discuss "Stand Your Ground Laws" in the wake of more shootings in the USA. They outline the catch 22 of perpetual fear that people live in as "wrong place, wrong time" murders rise in the country.They then turn their attention to the onslaught of authoritarian legislative violence in Florida, including a law that would take children away from parents for giving them gender-affirming care.And then, finally, to SCOTUS and the abortion pill case - as we...

What do Christians mean when they refer to their “personal testimonies”? What do they mean when they refer to “witnessing” to others? Why do some Christians emphasize “testifying”? This language can be confusing to religious outsiders. For “insiders” to this way of speaking, it provokes a wide range of emotional responses, ranging from hope and encouragement to feelings of guilt and anger. In this first of two linked episodes, Dan explores these issues and others, exploring the basic idea of “gi...

Brad speaks to Dr. Miguel de la Torre about his new book, Resisting American Apartheid. They talk about how "Euro-Christianity" distorts faith. They talk about how becoming "un-American" might be the best way to save democracy. With unflinching analysis, De La Torre takes on authors revered in Christian theology, including Paul, Augustine, and heroes of the Reformation, aiming to uproot the ideological foundations of racism in Christianity. Following these through lines of oppression, he warns o...

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the utterly confusing rulings from several judges on legality and availability of mifepristone, commonly known as the abortion pill. Dan takes us through the complicated web of rulings and Brad analyzes how creating this mess was an intentional strategy by Christian nationalists to get the case kicked up to the Supreme Court.In the second segment the hosts discuss a case from Texas where Greg Abbott has promised to pardon a man recently convicted of murdering a...

G.R.A.C.E.: “God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense.” B.I.B.L.E.: “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.” Acronyms like these are a common feature within the preaching and practice of a certain kind of popular American Christianity. What do they reveal about that distinctly American expression of religion? How do they relate to the influence of corporate and consumer culture within popular American Christianity? What does it mean for a church to be “on-brand,” and what does it mean that some Christ...

Brad speaks with writer, director, and comedian Holly Laurent, creator of the hit podcast MEGA about a satirical megachurch. They talk about her childhood in Haiti as a missionary, her path of deconstruction, and the winding pathways that healing takes us on. It's a raw interview about caring for family who have fallen into MAGA traps, hoping for change, and finding ourselves even when it feels like we are most lost. Oh, and they a laugh. ALOT.MEGA: https://www.megathepodcast.com/Holly's Essa...

+ Clarence Thomas, Trump is Arraigned, and Wisconsin and Chicago Go Left