Impolite Company

In this episode, we discuss the unfamiliar sight of a world leader admitting a mistake, apologizing, and asking forgiveness--as Pope Francis has after initially backing a Chilean bishop accused of protecting sexually-abusive priests.

We also talk about the debate over Mike Pompeo's nomination for Secretary of State, which is strongly opposed not only by Democratic senators but also leading Muslim and Jewish groups. Pompeo's supporters claim that any criticism of his anti-Muslim, anti-LGBTQ remarks is actually criticism of his faith. That's a move we've seen time and again from religious conservatives in politics.

And finally, we discuss the recent gathering of leading evangelicals at Wheaton College, which apparently included New York City pastor Tim Keller bemoaning the "polarization" in evangelicalism. That polarization has been around for at least a century, but better late than never, eh, pastor?

Please visit our Patreon Page and consider becoming a monthly patron of the show, for as little as $1 per month. We're halfway to our goal, which will allow us to actually release the podcast on a regular schedule you can count on!

Discussed This Week:

Pope Apologizes for 'Serious Mistakes' in Handling of Chile's Sex Abuse Scandal (Scott Neuman and Sylvia Poggioli, NPR)

Pompeo's Kansas church asks God to 'give him strength' in Senate confirmation process (Bobby Ross Jr., Religion News Service)

Muslims find Jews standing behind opposition to Pompeo (Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)

Evangelical leaders discuss future of their movement in Trump era (Emily McFarlen Miller, Religion News Service)

Are these evangelicals ready to topple the idol of politics? (Michael Gerson, Washington Post)

Janelle Monae, PYNK

Burn It All Down podcast

The Americans final season

Nish and Amy are back together again!

This week we talk about the abrupt resignation/retirement of Willow Creek's founding pastor Bill Hybels after one of the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct and harassment wrote publicly about her story. When it comes to championing women in ministry, Hybels has been one of the good guys in evangelicalism. But good guys are not immune to abusing their power.

We also take up an alarming BuzzFeed News analysis of Muslim-bashing by American politicians that documents instances in 49 states, primarily by GOP officeholders.

And we ended by talking about Amy's recent piece in the New York Times about Trump and evangelicals, in which she argued that 80 percent of white evangelicals would vote against Jesus Christ himself if he ran as a Democrat.

Please visit our Patreon Page and consider becoming a monthly patron of the show, for as little as $1 per month. We're planning a Google Hangout with patrons in the month of April--there's still time to sign up as a patron and join us!

Discussed This Week:

Why It's a Big Deal That Evangelical Pastor Bill Hybels Just Stepped Down Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations (Ruth Graham, Slate)

Vonda Dyer's Statement Re: Chicago Tribune and Bill Hybels (VondaDyer.com)
Flawed Process, Wounded Women (statement from former Willow Creek board member Nancy Ortberg)

Shining the Light on the Truth (statement from former Willow Creek Elder Betty Schmidt) Why We Can't Move On (statement from former Willow Creek pastor Nancy Beach)

State and Local Republican Officials Have Been Bashing Muslims. We Counted. (Hannah Allam and Talal Ansari, BuzzFeed News)

Trump's Christian Soldiers (Amy Sullivan, New York Times)

Depolarize podcast (Dan Koch)

This week, Nish is back! But it's Amy's turn to take the week off. 

It was a big week for the LDS Church - sustaining a new prophet, appointments of new apostles, and some big structural shifts in how they do ministry. To break down the changes, as well as how the Mormon church handles racism and the #MeToo movement, Nish interviews Janan Graham-Russell, a writer, religion scholar, PhD candidate at Harvard, and practicing Mormon to break down the latest. 

For the second half of the show, Nish answers listener questions! Everything from the Americans with Disabilities Act to practical tips when moving your family to a different state - it all makes an appearance. 

We'll be back to regularly-scheduled programming next week with breaking down the news, Amy's latest piece for the NY Times Sunday Review, and what will likely be a colossal scream-fest during Three Minutes of Nish. 

Please visit our Patreon Page and consider becoming a monthly patron of the show, for as little as $1 per month. We're planning a Google Hangout with patrons in the month of April--there's still time to sign up as a patron and join us!

This week Amy is joined by guest co-host Jack Jenkins, superstar religion journalist and national reporter for Religion News Service. 

We discuss Jack's reporting on the involvement of religious groups in anti-gun-violence demonstrations, often at the urging of young members in their congregations. Many of them are fed up with the oft-heard dodge that politics shouldn't be brought into religion. Especially since they've watched generations of conservative Christians do exactly that.

We also have fun with some recent examples of journalists and other public figures answering religious conservatives with some biblical knowledge of their own.

And we consider the impact young evangelicals are having on Christian college campuses, where out LGBTQ students are a presence.

Please visit our Patreon Page and consider becoming a monthly patron of the show, for as little as $1 per month. We're planning a Google Hangout with patrons in the month of April--there's still time to sign up as a patron and join us!

Nish is away this week, so Amy is joined by guest co-host Rachel Johnson, executive minister of communications at Riverside Church in New York City.

We had a wonderful conversation teasing out some tensions in American religion: religious institutions try to deal with sexual abuse allegations internally to protect their brand--but they're losing congregants precisely because they're not transparent.

Religious conservatives love to hold up "Christian America" as morally superior to the godless cousins over in Europe--and yet you're much more likely to find towns and cities limiting commerce on the Sabbath in Europe than in the U.S. (aside from Chik-fil-A…)

And white evangelicals are convinced that they are the most persecuted of religious groups despite--or perhaps because of--the fact that they have almost never been in any real physical risk in this country.

Please visit our Patreon Page and consider becoming a monthly patron of the show, for as little as $1 per month. We're planning a Google Hangout with patrons in the month of April--there's still time to sign up as a patron and join us!

Discussed This Week:

"Andy Savage resigns from Highpoint Church following investigation" (Ron Maxey, USA Today Network)

"Update from Andy Savage" (Highpoint Church in Memphis)

"Australian court hears public testimony in Cardinal Pell abuse case" (Adam Baidawi, New York Times)

"We Need an Independent Investigation of Sovereign Grace Ministries" (Christianity Today)

"Streets deserted, airport closes for Bali's Day of Silence" (Associated Press)

Victoria (Masterpiece Theater on PBS)

Won't You Be My Neighbor? (Trailer, Focus Features)

TAG (Trailer, Warner Bros. Pictures)

Be Still and Go podcast (Riverside Church)

This week we tackle the Atlantic cover story about Trump and evangelicals: "The Last Temptation" by former George W. Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson. His lament for the evangelicalism he knew as a child and a student at Wheaton is heartfelt, but struck us as omitting some key details and focusing on some mythical bygone era in which evangelicals embraced racial justice and unity. 

We also observed the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis' papacy by talking with religious studies superstar Anthea Butler, professor at the University of Pennsylvania and featured expert on the current CNN docu-series "Pope."

And the explicit rating for this episode is due entirely to Nish's rant about Tony Perkins and his argument for why Christians should be "proud" to support Trump even if he has had affairs with porn stars. Sorry not sorry.

Some parts of this episode, especially near the end, had to be cut due to audio and production difficulties. If you'd like to help us improve the sound quality of Impolite Company, there's a way to do that! Please visit our Patreon Page and consider becoming a monthly patron of the show, for as little as $1 per month.

This week we tackled a delicate issue for many American Christians--churches that hold their own observances of Jewish holidays. Amy talked to Mark Oppenheimer, religion journalist and host of the Unorthodox podcast, to get a Jewish perspective on this cultural appropriation.

We also discussed the rest social media frenzy around photos that seemed to show a Protestant church ceremony to bless parishioners' guns. The "church" in question was actually the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary, an offshoot of the cult-like Unification Church (sometimes to referred to as "the Moonies").

And finally, Nish used her Three Minutes to tell everyone to chill out about the possibility of Oprah or any other incredibly popular celebrity running for president in 2020.

We have a Patreon Page now! If you like what you hear and want to help us continue our work, please consider sponsoring us for as little as $1/month.

This week we took on a trio of stories from the Catholic world: the overwhelming united support for Dreamers among U.S. Catholics, including the group of sisters, priests, and laypeople who were arrested at the U.S. Capitol this week; Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki putting Sen. Dick Durbin on notice that he will be denied communion over his support for abortion rights; and Pope Francis' fiery assertion that it would be better for a bad Christian to be an atheist instead.

We also lamented a recent report showing anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. at the highest levels in 40 years.

And Nish let Amy take over the "Three Minutes of Nish" to rant about the Southern Baptist Convention's attempt to bully the D.C. Baptist Convention into booting a local church that called a lesbian couple to be co-pastors. Not cool.

**We have a Patreon Page now! If you like what you hear and want to help us continue our work, please consider sponsoring us for as little as $1/month.**

In which we call B.S. on the court evangelicals who want us to believe that they're counseling Trump about his misogyny and racism and cruelty behind closed doors--but won't say anything against him publicly.

We also discuss the legacy of Billy Graham, who passed away this week at the age of 99, and question whether his son Franklin will end up being responsible for pushing more Americans away from Christianity than his father brought to it.

Nish finally gets her chance to talk about Mitt Romney and his now-announced candidacy for the Utah Senate seat being vacated by Orrin Hatch.

And guns. In wake of the Parkland gun massacre, NRA's Wayne LaPierre declares that the right to bear arms "is granted by God to all Americans as our American birthright." Get behind us, Satan.

This week, we discuss Rob Porter, former White House Staff Secretary who resigned after images of alleged domestic abuse surfaced in the media. Porter and his ex-wives are all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and we discuss the ramifications of all-male religious leadership when dealing with abuse. 

We also tackle the rise of the progressive Christian left and the plans for a "revival" event in Lynchburg, VA - the home of Jerry Falwell Jr. and Liberty University - with leaders such as Rev. William Barber III, Lisa Sharon Harper, Shane Claiborne, and more. 

Nish rants about the Trump Budget, we give you a couple of book and podcast recommendations, and we get giddy about the new Black Panther film. 

Correction

In the episode, it's stated that there is no public university in the District of Columbia. UDC is a public university in the District.