The Sacred Slope

By Alexis Rice

Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.

For the spiritually tender — those searching for healthier expressions of our global Christian faith and deconstructing harmf

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4.9

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How many episodes does The Sacred Slope have?

The podcast currently has 92 episodes available.

Best of The Sacred Slope

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Number 1: 52. A Different Side of Miss Peppermint: Growing Up in Church, Activism & Christian Nationalism’s Impact on the Trans Community
52. A Different Side of Miss Peppermint: Growing Up in Church, Activism & Christian Nationalism’s Impact on the Trans Community What changes when we simply listen? In this moment in history, listening and empathy are essential. Miss Peppermint joins Alexis Rice for a joyful, vulnerable conversation about faith, storytelling, tea, Christian nationalism, and what the trans community needs from allies now. Raised in Presbyterian and Southern Baptist churches, Miss Peppermint remembers the music and community, as well as anti-LGBTQ teachings from the pulpit. Though she is no longer a practicing Christian, she explains why she chose this conversation. Together they explore: • How anti-LGBTQ theology affects queer and trans people • How Christian nationalism weaponizes faith, fear, power, and violence • What it means for a church to be truly open and affirming • Why rainbow branding and shared identity are not enough • Housing, healthcare, food, safety, employment, and workplace protections • Why churches, labor movements, and LGBTQ+ communities should organize together • Drag Race, Broadway, Survival of the Thickest, Love Is Blind, scary movies, sports, and mint chocolate chip ice cream She also shares the story behind Transcendence, the color-changing tea she created with @moody.teas. A portion of every purchase supports @transequalitynow and its work for trans rights and essential resources. Transcendence: https://shop.moodyteas.co/shop/transcendence-color-changing-joy-blend-with-miss-peppermint-3415 This conversation does not ask Miss Peppermint to defend her humanity. It makes room for Christians to hear how our faith has affected her and decide what love of neighbor requires from us now. ✨ Guest • Miss Peppermint: Actress, singer, Broadway performer, activist, @glaad and @aclu_nationwide board member, and @nycpride Grand Marshal | IG: @peppermint247 📚 People, Projects & Resources Mentioned • Moody Teas @moody.teas | Advocates for Trans Equality @transequalitynow • John Fugelsang, Separation of Church and Hate @johnfugelsang • Andrew Whitehead, American Idolatry @andrewwhitehead • The Necessary Conversation @thenecessaryconversationpod • Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde @mariannbudde | James Talarico @jamestalarico • Rev. Brandan Robertson, Queer & Christian @brandanrobertson • Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez, Conversion Therapy Dropout @timothy.s.rodriguez • Kathy V. Baldock, Forging a Sacred Weapon @kathyvbaldock • Rocky Roggio, 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture @1946themovie • Rev. Jim Keat @revjimruns | Riverside Church @riversidenyc • Michelle Buteau @michellebuteau | Netflix @netflix Survival of the Thickest • Lance Bass @lancebass | Joey Fatone @realjoeyfatone | Cocktail Wars @cocktailwarstv • Zohran Mamdani @zohrankmamdani | AOC @aoc | Kristin Chenoweth @kchenoweth | Don Lemon @donlemonofficial • RuPaul’s Drag Race @rupaulsdragrace Footage courtesy of Netflix and E! #MissPeppermint #TransRights #ChristianNationalism #Christianity #Deconstruction #ProgressiveChristianity #LGBTQ Support the show About The Sacred Slope Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control
September 01, 20261h 21min
Number 2: 50. Same Faith. Different Beliefs. Still Christian. (Part 1) – Rev. Gerlyn Henry (Anglican, Canada), Pastor Paul Drees (ELCA Lutheran, USA) & Pastor Joe Smith (Raised Evangelical, USA)
50. Same Faith. Different Beliefs. Still Christian. (Part 1) – Rev. Gerlyn Henry (Anglican, Canada), Pastor Paul Drees (ELCA Lutheran, USA) & Pastor Joe Smith (Raised Evangelical, USA) What if something you were taught you had to believe to be Christian was something millions of other Christians were never taught at all? That question exploded after a Sacred Slope “Put Your Finger Down: Christian Edition” video reached more than a million views across platforms. The comments were filled with Christians from different traditions essentially asking one another: Wait…you were taught WHAT? So Alexis Rice reunites with Rev. Gerlyn Henry, Pastor Paul Drees, and Pastor Joe Smith for the conversation a two-minute video couldn’t hold. Alexis and Joe were formed in American evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity. Gerlyn is an Anglican priest in Canada. Paul is an ELCA Lutheran pastor in the U.S. They share a faith - but they were formed with remarkably different assumptions about what Christians must believe. In Part One, they compare notes on Genesis and the talking snake, biblical literalism, evolution, the sinner’s prayer, salvation, hell, baptism, confession, grace, and universalism. For Alexis and Joe, some of these beliefs once carried enormous stakes: Believe this. Pray this. Get this right. Your salvation may depend on it. For Gerlyn and Paul, some were never requirements at all. The result isn’t a debate over who is the “right” Christian. It’s an honest, funny, sometimes painful conversation about what happens when we become curious about the Christianity outside the one that formed us - and discover that questioning something we inherited doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning Jesus. Same faith. Different beliefs. Still Christian. 💬 In This Episode • “Wait - you weren’t taught that?” • Genesis, talking snakes & biblical literalism • Creation, evolution & reading Scripture differently • Is the sinner’s prayer required for salvation? • Hell, baptism, confession & grace • Universalism & hopeful universalism • Religious trauma & the fear of questioning • Deconstructing certainty without abandoning Jesus • Saving people from hell vs. bringing heaven to earth • Discovering Christianity beyond the version you inherited ⛪ Meet the Pastors • Rev. Gerlyn Henry - @gerlynhenry - Anglican priest, Canada • Pastor Paul Drees - @pastorpauldrees - ELCA Lutheran pastor, USA • Pastor Joe Smith - @therealjoe.smith raised Free Will Baptist/evangelical; Disciples of Christ pastor, USA 📚 People & Resources Mentioned • Pete Enns - @peteenns - The Sin of Certainty • Pastor Meredith Anne Miller - @meredithannemiller - Wonder & Woven • Brian Recker - @berecker - Hell Bent • Bradley Jersak - @bradley.jersak - A More Christlike God • C.S. Lewis - “true myth” • Nadia Bolz-Weber - @sarcasticlutheran • Dolores Williams • Brené Brown - @brenebrown • Church Clarity - @churchclarity • AllianceQ • 1946 @1946themovie 🎧 Part One of a special two-part Sacred Slope conversation. Support the show About The Sacred Slope Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control
August 24, 20261h 47min
Number 3: 55. Birdy Mae (Southern Baptist) - When Evangelical Christianity Stops Feeling Like Home
55. Birdy Mae (Southern Baptist) — When Evangelical Christianity Stops Feeling Like Home Birdy Mae knew how to be a good Southern Baptist woman. Know the Bible. Serve constantly. Believe the right things. Raise your kids the right way. And be certain. “I was desperate to be like her. Because I thought she knew Jesus.” Eventually, Birdy became her. Then the certainty started cracking. Women. LGBTQ+ Christians. Church abuse. Race. Political power. Christian nationalism. And finally, January 6. For women raised inside conservative evangelical Christianity who still love Jesus but increasingly wonder, How did the faith that formed me become something I barely recognize?—this conversation will feel familiar. Birdy joins Alexis Rice for a funny, vulnerable conversation about what happens when changing your mind costs you relationships, certainty, and belonging—but not Jesus. Together they explore: • Becoming the “good Christian woman” she thought she had to be • Hell houses, purity culture & fear-based Christianity • Beth Moore, women preaching & cracks in Southern Baptist certainty • Church abuse scandals & institutional power • Realizing she had been wrong about LGBTQ+ Christians • Travel & discovering Christianity beyond an American lens • January 6 and Birdy’s breaking point • Christian nationalism & political identity • Women, gender roles & what younger women are inheriting • Losing relationships after publicly changing her mind • Why questioning your faith doesn’t have to mean losing Jesus • Why Birdy still attends a Southern Baptist church Birdy calls her journey “untangling”—pulling the threads of Jesus away from the rules of religion. Can you grieve what your Christian world has become without giving up the Jesus you found there? “You have the right to question everything.” ✨ Guest • Birdy Mae (Mary) — Southern Baptist storyteller & creator — @birdymaesays • Substack: The Back Row 📚 Books, People & Resources Mentioned • Kristin Kobes Du Mez — @kkdumez — Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made; Jesus and John Wayne • Pete Enns — @peteenns — The Sin of Certainty; The Bible Tells Me So • Beth Allison Barr — @bethallisonbarr — The Making of Biblical Womanhood • Rachel Held Evans — @rachelheldevans — A Year of Biblical Womanhood • Sarah Bessey — @sarahbessey — Field Notes for the Wilderness / Braving the Wilderness of Faith • Beth Moore — @bethmoorelpm • Andrew Whitehead — @ndrewwhitehead — American Idolatry • April Ajoy — @aprilajoy — Star-Spangled Jesus • Cody Deese — @codydeese My Internal Universe • Kathy Baldock — @forgingasacredweapon1946 Forging a Sacred Weapon • 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture — @1946themovie • Oprah Winfrey — @oprah 📺 Movies, TV & Culture Mentioned • The Handmaid’s Tale — @handmaidsonhulu • The Righteous Gemstones — @HBO @therighteousgemstones • Mrs. America — FX @ mrsamericafx #Christianity #Deconstruction #Evangelicalism #SouthernBaptist #ChristianNationalism #ChurchHurt #WomenInChurch #LGBTQChristians #Faith Support the show About The Sacred Slope Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control
September 11, 20261h 19min
Number 4: 51. Same Faith. Different Beliefs. Still Christian. (Part 2) – Rev. Gerlyn Henry (Anglican, Canada), Pastor Paul Drees (ELCA Lutheran, USA) & Pastor Joe Smith (Post-Evangelical, USA)
🎙️ 51. Same Faith. Different Beliefs. Still Christian. (Part 2) – Rev. Gerlyn Henry (Anglican, Canada), Pastor Paul Drees (ELCA Lutheran, USA) & Pastor Joe Smith (Post-Evangelical, USA) What were you taught you had to believe in order to be a Christian? And what happened when you started asking questions? In Part 2 of this conversation, Alexis Rice returns with Rev. Gerlyn Henry, Pastor Paul Drees, and Pastor Joe Smith to finish the viral “Put Your Finger Down: Christian Edition” experiment that revealed just how differently Christians can be formed—even while following the same Jesus. This time, the questions move into some of the places where faith, politics, identity, and fear collide. Together they explore: • Abortion, reproductive rights & whether there is one “Christian” position • Evolution, creation & science • The assumption that Christians should vote Republican • Christian nationalism, political power & the American Church • Biblical literalism, inerrancy & how seminaries teach Scripture • What happens when questioning theology costs you relationships • Why doubt may not be the opposite of faith • Purity culture, shame & sexuality • What Christians from different traditions can learn from one another Joe shares what happened when he began publicly questioning biblical inerrancy—and friendships with people he had loved for years simply disappeared. Paul talks about discovering ideas that challenged his politics not by abandoning the Bible, but by reading it more deeply. And Gerlyn offers another framework entirely: faith was never meant to mean certainty. Doubt, mystery, wrestling, trust, and seeking understanding can all belong inside a faithful Christian life. The conversation ends with a challenge that may be more important than debating what someone believes today: Ask what they were taught. What was church like when they were a child? What were they told they had to believe? What were they afraid to question? What happened if they did? Because if we want to understand the divisions inside Christianity—and the rise of Christian nationalism—we need to understand how people were formed. ⛪ Guests • Rev. Gerlyn Henry — Anglican Church of Canada | IG: @gerlynhenry • Pastor Paul Drees — ELCA Lutheran | IG: @pastorpauldrees • Pastor Joe Smith — Post-Evangelical / Disciples of Christ | IG: @therealjoe.smith 📚 People & Resources Mentioned • Andrew Whitehead — American Idolatry | IG: @andrewwhitehead • John Fugelsang | IG: @johnfugelsang • C.S. Lewis • Luther Seminary • Columbia Theological Seminary And yes—if you stay until the end, the pastors reveal their celebrity crushes. 😂 A huge thank you to Pastor Paul Drees, Pastor Joe Smith, and Rev. Gerlyn Henry for the vulnerability, humor, pastoral care, and generosity they brought to this two-part conversation. May we become more curious about one another’s formation—and a little less certain that our version of Christianity is the only one. #Christianity #Deconstruction #ProgressiveChristianity #ChristianNationalism #Faith #ReligiousTrauma #Bible Support the show About The Sacred Slope Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control
August 27, 202655min
Number 5: 48. John Fugelsang – (Aspiring Christian) Separation of Church and Hate: Reclaiming Jesus from Christian Nationalism
48. John Fugelsang – (Aspiring Christian) Separation of Church and Hate: Reclaiming Jesus from Christian Nationalism John Fugelsang returns to The Sacred Slope for a deeper conversation about the book Alexis named the very first Sacred Slope Book of the Year: Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds. Together, they explore why so many Christians and non-Christians alike have embraced the book, what it means to distinguish the teachings of Jesus from Christian nationalism, and why reclaiming Christianity from fear, power, and authoritarianism matters now more than ever. John reflects on growing up with faith, writing a New York Times bestselling book that speaks to believers and skeptics alike, and why he believes Jesus remains one of history’s most radically compassionate voices. Alexis and John also discuss biblical literacy, Matthew 25, Christian resistance throughout history, and how ordinary Christians can push back against the weaponization of faith without becoming consumed by hatred themselves. Whether you’re deconstructing, reconstructing, politically exhausted, or simply longing for a Christianity that looks more like Jesus than power, this conversation offers hope, humor, and practical ways to engage difficult conversations with compassion and courage. 📚 Listeners outside the U.S.: Separation of Church and Hate is now available internationally! 💬 In This Episode • Why Separation of Church and Hate became The Sacred Slope’s first Book of the Year • What surprised John most after the book became a New York Times bestseller • Why Christians, atheists, and agnostics are embracing the book • Christianity versus Christian nationalism • Following Jesus versus simply following the Bible • Matthew 25 and the teachings Jesus actually emphasized • Why Jesus challenged power, wealth, and religious coercion • Christian resistance throughout history—from the abolitionists to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. • Christian nationalism, fear, power, and authoritarianism • How to respond to difficult conversations using scripture with compassion rather than contempt • Why reclaiming Jesus matters for believers and non-believers alike Congratulations to This Year’s Book of the Year Nominees! 📖 Braving the Truth – @rachelheldevans & @sarahbessey 📖 Hell Bent – @berecker 📖 We Can Be Brave & I Can Learn to Be Brave – Bishop @mariannbudde 📖 Live Laugh Love – @kkdumez 📖 The Small and the Mighty & We Are Mighty – @sharonsaysso 📖 Separation of Church and Hate – @johnfugelsang 📖 American Idolatry – @ndrewwhitehead 📖 Queer & Christian – Rev. @brandanrobertson 📖 Awake – @jenhatmaker 📖 Wonder – Pastor @meredithannemiller 🏆 The Sacred Slope Book of the Year John Fugelsang Separation of Church and Hate Congratulations, @johnfugelsang, and thank you to every author who shared your wisdom with The Sacred Slope community this year. 👥 People & Resources Mentioned • Mayor Zohran Mamdani – @zohrankmamdani & @nycmayor • Simon Moya-Smith – @simonsaidtakeapic • Julie Francella – @juliefrancella • Jordan Klepper – @jordanklepper • The Daily Show – @thedailyshow Support the show About The Sacred Slope Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control
July 30, 20261h 21min