Straight White American Jesus

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the various dimensions of the Buffalo massacre and the shooter's understanding of Caucasian Replacement Theory (CRT). Dan demonstrates that this ideology is farm from fringe in today's American Right. Instead, it is a mainstream position touted by the likes of senators, congresspeople, and Fox News talking heads.

Brad dives into the Christian nationalist elements of the shooter's identity, pointing to how he equates Whiteness with Christianity and uses both as the grounds for his violence against those who don't share both those characteristics.

Talia Lavin at Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/buffalo-shooter-white-supremacist-great-replacement-donald-trump-1353509/

Greg Sargent at WaPo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/18/doug-mastriano-insurrectionist/

They both argue that it is not enough to be neutral on these matters. Anti-racism and anti-Christian supremacy stances demand active engagement to thwart and prevent both from cultivating in one's community.

To get involved: startguide.org

In the final segment, they analyze the results of various primary elections across the country. The main thesis is that these elections in PA, NC, and KY highlight the stark contrast in the visions the two parties have for the USA. Across the board, the GOP elected election-deniers and Christian nationalists.

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What is “cool kid church?” It’s the gleaming church-that-doesn’t-look-like-a-church in suburbia. It’s the church with the pastor who’s just a “cool guy” talking with the congregation. It’s the church of modern consumer capitalist America. It’s the church of American suburbia and the upper middle class, preaching a Christian message that provides meaning without producing undue comfort. It’s the church that emphasizes a “relevant” Christianity that will speak to you “no matter where you are on your spiritual journey.” But what do we find as we decode cool kid church? That’s the topic of this episode.

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Brad speaks with Teddy Wilson of Radical Reports about the trickle down effect of overturning Roe. They discuss how this will lead to an expanded police state that surveils women who have miscarriages, stillbirths, and abortions. They dig into how certain states will try to punish women who have abortions or who cross state lines in order to receive care. They discuss what might be next in terms of contraception bans, outlawing IUDS, and even IVF.

The second part of the discussion turns to the fault lines in the anti-abortion movement and how overturning Roe may uncover them. While the overturning of Roe has led to despair for many, it may also open up horizons for countering the anti-abortion movement at a time when it feels victorious.

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Brad and Dan continue to discuss what the post-Roe landscape looks like. They begin by going through a new article by Katherine Stewart and the New Republic. Stewart shows how Alito uses the argument from history to take women's rights away in the future. She compares it to the Dred Scott decision and argues that Alito smuggles in a White Christian nationalist framework into his legal opinion.

Katherine Stewart's article: https://newrepublic.com/article/166404/christian-right-roe-alito-abortion

This leads to analysis of the various calls for civility when protesting the overturning of Roe. Since protesters began going to the houses of SCOTUS justices, there have been calls for civility. Brad reminds us that when those in power call for civility, they are not asking you to be good citizens, but obedient ones.

Tim Alberta at the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/06/evangelical-church-pastors-political-radicalization/629631/

Dan then leads the discuss through a long new article by Tim Alberta at the Atlantic on the radicalization of evangelical politics and what it looks like on the ground.

The episode finishes with both hosts offering a scathing critique of a new anti-abortion oped at Newsweek.

For access to the full series, click here: https://irreverent.supportingcast.fm/products/the-orange-wave-a-history-of-the-religious-right-since-1960

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“It’s Part of God’s Plan”

“God has a plan for your life.” “It’s all part of God’s plan.” How do we decode common religious sentiments like these? Are they sources of hope? Affirmations of a loving and caring God? Sources of solace in difficult times? They can be all of these things. But they can also have a darker side, legitimating authoritarian religious institutions and individuals. They can shut down dissent, questioning, and calls for social justice in name of existing structures of power. In this episode, Dan decodes the complex and often damaging dynamics at work in such sentiments.

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In the wake of the 1964 Goldwater campaign, three young men decided to start the Council for National Policy in order to take back the country for God--and themselves. They joined forces with an army of clergy, big donors, and media moguls in order to take back America. This "shadow network," as the journalist Anne Nelson calls it is the secretive, but pervasive force that has overtaken the GOP and infiltrated every level and every corner of this country's politics. Interview: Anne Nelson, author of Shadow Network, and faculty at Columbia University.

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Since the mid-twentieth century, evangelicals and others on the Religious Right have looked to Hollywood, rather than the Bible, to construct their visions of "cowboy masculinity." It started with John Wayne and Ronald Reagan, then moved to Mel Gibson and others. On the political side, tough guys like Barry Goldwater and Donald Trump were favored over more reflective leaders like Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama. Conservative women, such as Phyllis Schlafly and Maribel Morgan, provided the tools to construct a corresponding submissive femininity. The militant masculinity of the Religious Right is a key component to their love for strongmen leaders, willingness to engage authoritarianism over democracy, and desire to return the country to a white Christian patriarchy. This episode features an interview with Dr. Kristin Kobes du Mez, the author of the new book: Jesus and John Wayne: How Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation."

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The Religious Right has not always existed. White evangelicals have not always been the guardians of far-right immigration policies and patriarchal models of the family. In the 19th century, they were often progressive activists fighting for labor rights, abolition, and women's suffrage. How did they transform into the scions of Christian nationalism? Brad digs in to the history with Professor Randall Balmer of Dartmouth College on the initial episode of The Orange Wave: A History of the Religious Right Since 1960.

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On this installment of the Orange Wave: A History of the Religious Right Since 1960, Brad traces two intertwined histories. First, the Sun Belt Migration, which led to a massive westward population shift in the 1950s and 1960s. The Sunbelt Migration turned Orange County into the nation's hub of defense production. This led in turn into an evangelical wave in Southern California. He interviews Professor Gerardo Marti of Davidson College about this story. Second, Brad examines the decline of the Mainline Protestant denominations during the same time period. The breaking of their cultural and political authority opened a space for the Religious Right to rise. Brad discusses this with Dr. John Compton of Chapman University.

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Some just want to watch the world burn. But for others, the end of the world is an opportunity to rebuild it in their image. On this penultimate episode, Brad explores how global kleptocrats, Donald Trump, and Christian Reconstructionists all view the end of the world as a chance for power and control. It is the simplest and scariest explanation of why the Religious Right continues to support the 45th president--they both want to destroy the world. This episode contains an interview with Prof. Julie Ingersoll, author of Building God's Kingdom: Inside the World of Christian Reconstruction.

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