Scientists tell us that people ideally go through 4 to 5 90-minute cycles of sleep, that run from wake to light sleep to deep sleep to REM before repeating the process. Church historians may be tempted to conclude that confessional Protestants go through similar cycles when it comes to social reform and political activism. In the nineteenth century, for instance, Lutherans and Episcopalians in the U.S. avoided splits over the sectional crisis unlike other Protestants. One reason was that they were reluctant, whether owing to theology or formal structures, to issue formal declarations about politics. (Presbyterians, inherently pushy and opinionated, divided into four communions.)

This episode takes the temperature of Anglicans, Lutherans, and Presbyterians on matters woke. What kind of statements have these communions issued, do generational differences characterize the membership and clergy, and which particular headlines generate the most concern among the faithful? Spoiler alert: no one on the recording, Korey Maas, Miles Smith, or D.G. Hart, adopt the mantle of John Knox.