Brian Kaylor is president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, a Baptist minister with a Ph.D. in political communications, and the author or co-author of five books on religion and politics, including a new book on white Christian nationalism with Beau Underwood,…
Was America born as a Christian nation? It’s more complicated than that
No one markets products like evangelical preachers and Donald Trump. While Trump sells Bibles and golden sneakers and politics, Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas is selling copies of his coffee table book version of his annual July 4 sermon…
White evangelicals are three times more likely than Americans in general to support Christian nationalism
New research shows white evangelical Protestants and Republicans are increasingly embracing the ideology of Christian nationalism at much higher rates than the general U.S. population. The survey of more than 6,000 Americans by Public Religion Research Institute and Brookings Institution…
Voting the wrong way makes Christians ‘unfaithful’ to God, Mohler says
Christians who fail to vote or who vote “wrongly” are “unfaithful” to God, Al Mohler told a group of conservative evangelicals Sept. 14. The president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and a leading spokesman for Southern Baptists…
Christian nationalism links gun rights and ‘Christian nation’ ideals in dangerous mix, Tyler and Hollman say
Americans who believe gun ownership is a God-given right and that the United States should be an officially Christian nation are among the most aggressive opponents of common-sense limits on firearms, Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman said in a recent…
A ‘Christian’ nation beset by false witness
It’s in the Bible. In fact, it’s one of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (See Exodus 20:16.) There’s more: Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self…
How American exceptionalism is killing America
Many ironies define the United States, but none is more harmful than this: We routinely silence the life-giving voices that can save us and amplify the death-dealing voices that can kill us. The voices that can save us are those…
Maligned editor says free speech slipping away
A Georgia Baptist newspaper editor widely criticized for questioning whether Islam qualifies as a religion protected under the First Amendment wondered in the days leading up to July 4 if America’s independence is about to slip away. Gerald Harris, editor…
Don’t misread Russell Moore’s disavowal of ‘Christian Nation’ and anti-Trump stance
Republicans of all kinds — religious and political leaders alike — are faced with a difficult choice these days: they can either capitulate to Trump, do a delicate two-step trying to differentiate themselves from him, or reject him outright.