Straight White American Jesus

Brad is joined by guest co-host Dr. Leah Payne. They begin by discussing the first primetime hearing of the J6 Select Committee. Brad observes that they seemed to have two goals - first to show that Trump and Trump's team knew that there was no legal basis for contesting the election, whether via voting machines, vote counts, or anythign else. Two, that there was a months-long conspiracy to stop the certification of the election by the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.

They then focus on Tucker Carlson's response to hearings. He had a White supremacist guest, Darren Beattie, on the show to put forth the conspiracy that J6 was an inside job conducted by the FBI.

In the final segment, Leah zeroes in on some election results from the recent primaries in order to talk about whether or not the national headlines match local realities when it comes to criminal justice reform and other issues.

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SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

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What does it mean when someone asks you if you’re “saved”? If you’re active in the life of a Christian church or tradition (of whatever kind), and someone says, “that’s fine, but are you saved,” what’s going on? In this first of paired episodes, Dan explores this question, decoding the different ideas of “salvation” and Christian identity that define and structure so much of the terrain of contemporary American religion.

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Brad speaks with journalist Elle Hardy about her new book, Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity is Taking Over the World. How has a Christian movement, founded at the turn of the twentieth century by the son of freed slaves, become the fastest-growing religion on Earth? Pentecostalism has 600 million followers; by 2050, they’ll be one in ten people worldwide. This is the religion of the Holy Spirit, with believers directly experiencing God and His blessings: success for the mind, body, spirit and wallet.

Pentecostalism is a social movement. It serves impoverished people in Africa and Latin America, and inspires anti-establishment leaders from Trump to Bolsonaro. In Australia, Europe and Korea, it throws itself into culture wars and social media, offering meaning and community to the rootless and marginalized in a fragmenting world.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Find Elle Hardy's book here: https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/beyond-belief/

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Brad and Dan begin by discussing the mass shootings that took place this week at a funeral, a hospital, and more. They ask what can be done about gun violence in a country where one party has chosen to worship handheld killing machines (and the money it brings their leaders). Should laws be passed that allow for civil suits against gun owners responsible for violence and/or manufacturers?

They then turn their attention to an op-ed at the New York Times that tries to downplay the GOP's Christian nationalism and present the party as the "nonreligious right." Brad and Dan dissect the analysis, showing how it rests on faulty metrics and erroneous assumptions.

At the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/01/opinion/republicans-religion-conservatism.html

They end with a report about the "army" of GOP trained poll workers who plan to saturate voting places across the country in this year's midterms. At Politico: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/01/gop-contest-elections-tapes-00035758

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What does it mean when a church declares itself to be “open and affirming?” How does this relate to churches that claim that “no matter where you are on your spiritual journey, you’re welcome here”? In this episode, Dan decodes these phrases to highlight their very different meanings, and suggests that they represent a significant resource for charting the terrain of American Christianity.

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Brad speaks with Dr. Khyati Joshi, author of White Christian Privilege: The Illusion of Religious Equality in America (NYU 2020).

https://nyupress.org/9781479840236/white-christian-privilege/

The United States is recognized as the most religiously diverse country in the world, and yet its laws and customs, which many have come to see as normal features of American life, actually keep the Constitutional ideal of “religious freedom for all” from becoming a reality. Christian beliefs, norms, and practices infuse our society; they are embedded in our institutions, creating the structures and expectations that define the idea of “Americanness.” Religious minorities still struggle for recognition and for the opportunity to be treated as fully and equally legitimate members of American society. From the courtroom to the classroom, their scriptures and practices are viewed with suspicion, and bias embedded in centuries of Supreme Court rulings create structural disadvantages that endure today.

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On an emotional weekly roundup, Brad and Dan discuss the timeline, law enforcement failures, and nihilism of the Uvalde Massacre. From the handcuffing of parents trying to rescue their kids, to the myth of the good guy with a gun, to the hypocritical theologies of Christian nationalists . . .

Brad points out that this took place in a town near the Southern Border--but that instead of an outsider other, who the GOP always tries to demonize, it was a monster created in this country, abiding by its gun laws, and acting in a way that only happens here--not in Mexico or anywhere else.

Dan responds to the Uncle Rons of the world who would claim this is a result of a loss of Christian values, the nuclear family, or patriotism.

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This past week a 400-page report outlining the culture of coverup and the widespread abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention was released. The SBC is the country’s largest Protestant denomination with roughly 14 million members. Together Its 45k churches bring in roughly 11 billion dollars annually. The bombshell report provides details of an abuse and cover up scandal in the SBC that goes both to the very top of the organization but also spreads to every corner of its vast network of churches.

Robert Downen has been covering the SBC and its various scandals since 2018. After having written dozens of articles on the abuse, the silencing of survivors, the threats against whistleblowers, and the resignation of executive leaders accused of rape and cover-ups, he sits down with Brad to discuss the newly released report.

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“No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, you’re welcome here.” This is a slogan we might read on church flyers, websites, or signs. We might here it in the welcome given by the pastor of a church. But what does it mean? In this episode Dan decodes this phrase to find out if it delivers on the promise of acceptance and inclusion it communicates. He explores what kinds of churches make this affirmation and what the limits of acceptance might be on “wherever you are.”

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

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Brad speaks with sex educator Erica Smith about her experiences working in abortion care and what the overturning of Roe looks like on the ground for ordinary Americans. They discuss how and why abortion is healthcare and the health risks involved for pregnant people if abortions are not accessible. They also discuss how the misguided approaches to sex education in this country lead to reductive conversations about pregnancy, abortion, and reproductive rights. They finish by discussing ways to get involved in the fight for reproductive rights at a time when organizing and activism are as important as ever.

National Network of Abortion Funds: https://abortionfunds.org/

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