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What happens when faith becomes a source of harm instead of healing?

In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram sit down with therapist Morgan Piercy, who specializes in religious trauma, deconstruction, and identity rebuilding after high-control faith environments. Drawing from both clinical experience and personal background, Piercy explains how religious trauma forms, why it often surfaces after someone leaves a church, and how it reshapes identity, relationships, and mental health.

The conversation breaks down key concepts like the overlap between trauma and deconstruction, the role of grief and loss of certainty, and how systems of control can operate within religious spaces. Piercy also introduces practical frameworks like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and the BITE model to help listeners understand how belief systems can influence behavior, thought patterns, and emotional well-being.

The episode also explores how pastors and faith leaders can better recognize signs of distress in their congregations, the psychological impact of purity culture and moral anxiety, and the challenges faced by LGBTQ individuals navigating faith communities. Throughout the discussion, the focus stays on autonomy, agency, and the process of rebuilding a belief system that aligns with one’s lived experience.

This is a grounded conversation for anyone working through questions about faith, identity, and what it means to move forward after leaving a rigid religious environment.

Resources & Links

• Morgan Piercy Website: https://www.morganpiercy.com
• Deconstruction Counseling: https://www.deconstructionkc.com

Guest Bio 

Morgan Piercy is a licensed professional counselor who specializes in religious trauma, faith deconstruction, and identity development after high-control religious environments. Her work focuses on helping individuals navigate complex trauma, anxiety, OCD, and the psychological impact of rigid belief systems. Drawing from both clinical training and personal experience, she uses evidence-based approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help clients rebuild autonomy and ali

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What if the abortion debate is missing the most important framework entirely?

In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram sit down with Angela Weszely, founder of ProGrace and author of Becoming ProGrace. Drawing from her experience in both ministry and pregnancy support work, Angela explains why the traditional “pro-life vs pro-choice” divide breaks down—and how a different, Jesus-centered approach could reshape the conversation.

They explore how political language fuels division, why many Christians feel tension with both sides, and what it would look like to prioritize grace, dignity, and shared responsibility for both women and children. This conversation moves beyond policy debates and focuses on how the church can better reflect the character of Jesus in one of the most contentious issues in society.

Learn more: https://prograce.org/

Book: Becoming ProGrace: Expanding the Abortion Conversation Beyond Life Versus Choice: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781514011683

Guest Bio 

Angela Weszely is the founder and CEO of ProGrace, an organization that equips Christians to engage conversations about abortion in ways rooted in the example of Jesus rather than political reflexes. She previously spent nearly a decade leading development for a pregnancy support organization in Chicago, where her experiences exposed the tension between messaging and practice in the abortion space.

Her work now focuses on reframing the conversation around grace, dignity, and shared responsibility. She is the author of Becoming ProGrace, where she outlines a new approach aimed at helping Christians move beyond the traditional pro-life vs pro-choice divide.

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What happens when your faith tradition and your political reality collide? In this episode, we sit down with Peter Beinartto unpack the moral and theological tensions shaping the war in Gaza and the broader debate around Zionism. Beinart walks through his personal evolution from liberal Zionist to a critic of the current Israeli framework, grounded in both lived experience and Jewish theological reflection.

The conversation moves beyond surface-level talking points. Beinart explains how Zionism developed historically, how it became tied to Jewish safety, and why he now believes that framework creates moral contradictions—especially when it requires unequal treatment of Palestinians. He makes a case that systems built on political supremacy tend to generate instability and violence, drawing comparisons to apartheid South Africa and Jim Crow America.

We also dig into something your audience will recognize: the role of religious narratives in shaping political behavior. Beinart draws a clear parallel between Jewish nationalism and Christian nationalism, arguing that when a state becomes central to religious identity, it can displace core theological commitments like human dignity. He points to how scripture—both Jewish and Christian—can be interpreted either to justify violence or to challenge it, depending on the framework applied.

The episode closes with a practical takeaway: if people want a more grounded and humane understanding of the conflict, they need to listen directly to Palestinian voices. Without that, the conversation stays abstract—and disconnected from the human cost.

Book: Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780593803899

Guest Bio:
Peter Beinart is a professor of journalism and political science at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. He is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and editor-at-large of Jewish Currents. Beinart previously served as editor of The New Republic (1999–2006) and has written extensively on U.S. foreign policy, Zionism, and Jewish identity. His latest book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, examines the moral and theological challenges facing Jewish communities in

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In this episode of Faithful Politics, Pastor Josh Burtram sits down with Old Testament scholar and author L. Daniel Hawk to unpack the theological roots and lasting impact of Manifest Destiny. What many Americans were taught as a story of courage and expansion is reexamined through a harder lens—one that reveals how Christian language and scripture were used to justify colonization, displacement, and violence against Indigenous peoples.

Hawk explains how ideas like the Doctrine of Discovery and interpretations of Genesis were used to frame land expansion as part of God’s will. He walks through how these beliefs became embedded in American identity, shaping both policy and culture, and why those narratives still matter today. The conversation also explores how violence was often initiated by settlers, how historical memory has been shaped to obscure that reality, and how Christian institutions were complicit in reinforcing these systems.

The episode closes with a forward-looking discussion on what it means to confront this history honestly. Hawk offers practical steps for listeners—learning local history, engaging Indigenous voices, and rethinking how faith can be expressed without repeating colonial patterns. This is a grounded, historically informed conversation about faith, responsibility, and what it takes to build a more honest public witness.

Buy Undoing Manifest Destiny: Settler America, Christian Colonism, and the Pursuit of Justice:  https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781514008645

Guest Bio

L. Daniel Hawk is a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Ashland Theological Seminary and an ordained United Methodist minister. His work focuses on biblical narrative, especially conquest texts like Joshua, and how scripture has been interpreted in ways that shape moral imagination and public life.

He is the author of Undoing Manifest Destiny: Settler America, Christian Colonism, and the Pursuit of Justice, where he examines how theological ideas were used to justify colonization and how those narratives continue to influence American culture and Christianity today.

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In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram speak with Rachel Laser, President and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, about the growing legal and political battles over religion in American public life. Laser argues the country is in a “code red” moment for church-state separation as court rulings and policy efforts increasingly blur the lines between religious belief and government authority.

The conversation explores recent controversies including efforts to post the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, parental rights claims affecting school curriculum, and religious freedom challenges to abortion laws. Laser explains how these cases reflect deeper tensions in a religiously diverse country where different faith traditions often interpret moral and legal questions very differently.

Throughout the discussion, the hosts examine how these conflicts are shaping debates over religious liberty, public education, and constitutional protections, while asking whether church-state separation remains the best framework for protecting both faith and pluralism in American democracy.

Guest Bio

Rachel Laser is the President and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to defending religious freedom and ensuring that religion and government remain separate. She has spent her career working in civil rights advocacy and public policy, including leadership roles at the Open Society Foundations and other national organizations focused on democracy and human rights.

Resources and Links

Americans United for Separation of Church and State
https://www.au.org

Summit for Religious Freedom
https://www.thesrf.org

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What if the basic way we talk about politics is fundamentally flawed?

In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram sit down with Verlan Lewis, professor of constitutional studies at Utah Valley University and co-author of The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America. Lewis argues that the familiar political spectrum dividing society into “left” and “right” oversimplifies political reality and distorts how Americans understand issues, parties, and even each other.

Lewis explains how the left-right framework emerged historically, why it became dominant in modern political discourse, and how it encourages ideological tribalism. Instead of seeing politics as a complex set of issues where people may agree on some topics and disagree on others, the spectrum pushes citizens to sort themselves into rigid teams. According to Lewis, this mindset can reduce intellectual humility, weaken meaningful dialogue, and contribute to the rising hostility in American politics.

The conversation explores how media ecosystems reinforce ideological identities, why political beliefs often cluster together even when they have little logical connection, and how faith communities can offer a different approach to civic engagement. Lewis suggests moving beyond ideological labels and focusing on individual issues, allowing for more thoughtful discussion and collaboration across differences.

For listeners interested in understanding polarization, political identity, and how faith might shape a healthier civic culture, this episode offers a thoughtful examination of the assumptions that structure modern political debate.

• The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780197680629

Verlan Lewis is an associate professor of political science and constitutional studies at Utah Valley University and a fellow at the university’s Center for Constitutional Studies. He is co-author of the book The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America, which challenges the idea that modern politics can be accurately understood through a simple left-right ide

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What do the numbers actually tell us about Christian nationalism in the United States?

In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram sit down with Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), to walk through the latest national data on Christian nationalism and what researchers are seeing across the country.

Deckman explains how PRRI measures Christian nationalism, why the concept is often misunderstood in public debate, and what the data reveals about who tends to hold these views. The conversation explores how religion, identity, and politics intersect in American life, along with the demographic and cultural patterns researchers are tracking.

They also discuss how survey questions are designed, why some people react strongly to the label “Christian nationalism,” and how researchers try to measure belief systems without reducing complex identities to a single label.

For anyone trying to understand the role of religion in American politics today, this conversation offers a clear look at what the research actually shows. 

Recommended Links and Resources

• PRRI – Public Religion Research Institute: https://www.prri.org
• Mapping Christian Nationalism Across the 50 States: Insights from PRRI’s 2025 American Values Atlas: https://prri.org/research/mapping-christian-nationalism-across-the-50-states-insights-from-prris-2025-american-values-atlas/

Guest Bio

Melissa Deckman is the CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), one of the nation’s leading research organizations studying the intersection of religion, culture, and politics. She previously served as the Louis L. Goldstein Professor of Public Affairs at Washington College and is a political scientist whose work focuses on religion, gender, and civic engagement in American political life.

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How secure are America’s elections, and what actually happens behind the scenes when votes are cast and counted?

In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Josh Burtram sit down with election journalist Jessica Huseman, Editorial Director of VoteBeat, to walk through the real mechanics of the U.S. voting system. The conversation explores the proposed SAVE Act and what it would change about voter registration, why some counties are returning to hand-counting ballots, and the logistical strain election administrators face as redistricting reshapes districts just before key primaries.

Huseman also addresses claims about non-citizen voting, the FBI raid on stored ballots in Fulton County, and how technical systems and local election offices adapt when political decisions force rapid changes. The discussion pulls back the curtain on how elections actually work on the ground, why misinformation spreads so easily, and why the biggest fights over election legitimacy often happen after the ballots are cast. 


Guest Bio:
Jessica Huseman is the Editorial Director at VoteBeat, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering election administration and voting policy across the United States. She is an award-winning investigative journalist who has spent years reporting on how elections are run at the local and state level, focusing on the mechanics of voting systems, election law, and the people responsible for carrying out elections. Huseman previously reported for ProPublica and has become one of the country’s leading journalists covering election infrastructure, misinformation, and voting policy.

Relevant Links:
VoteBeat – https://www.votebeat.org

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What does it mean to call America a “Christian nation”? And has it ever truly been one?

In this episode, we sit down with Matt Avery Sutton, historian and author of Chosen Land, to unpack the long and complicated relationship between Christianity and American public life. From Christopher Columbus and biblical prophecy to premillennialism, evangelical political power, and the modern Supreme Court, Sutton traces the historical through line of Christian influence in the United States. We explore why America became more religious — not less — after disestablishment, how an unofficial Protestant establishment shaped public life, and why separation of church and state did not secularize the country. We also discuss the role of capitalism and corporate funding in shaping both the religious right and the religious left, the theological roots of political activism, and how beliefs about the end times influenced public engagement. 

Finally, we examine three emerging coalitions competing to define America’s future: Christian nationalist conservatives, progressive pluralists who bring faith into the public square, and strict separationists who want religion kept out of politics. This conversation isn’t just about what America was — it’s about what kind of country we want to be moving forward.

Guest Bio

Matt Avery Sutton is a distinguished professor and chair of the Department of History at Washington State University. He earned his PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

He is the author of multiple books, including:

• Chosen Land
• American Apocalypse

His work focuses on the intersection of religion, politics, and American culture, with particular attention to evangelicalism and apocalyptic belief.

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Note: This episode was recorded prior to Tricia McLaughlin announced she was leaving DHS: (read)

Minnesota-based YouTuber and former pastor Pat Kahnke returns to Faithful Politics to discuss federal immigration enforcement, media narratives, and the emotional toll on local communities. He describes how recent operations in the Twin Cities have affected families, churches, and public trust, and how conflicting information shapes national perception. The conversation explores how Christians interpret immigration through scripture, why many congregations are divided, and how political messaging influences public response. We also examine the midterm political implications, the role of media ecosystems, and how to engage friends and neighbors who see the situation differently. This episode focuses on how faith, civic responsibility, and real-time events intersect — and what constructive engagement looks like in a polarized moment.

Guest Bio:
Pat Kahnke is a Minnesota-based commentator, former pastor, and host of the  @culturefaithandpolitics podcast. His work focuses on the intersection of religion, civic life, and public policy, with particular attention to how faith communities respond to political conflict and social change.

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