In today’s world of white supremacist politics, white evangelical worship is the sugar that helps the poison of power go down. And perhaps no event has put this more clearly on display than the Charlie Kirk memorial service. When many…
Reflections on a five-hour memorial service
I must report a grievous theft. God’s sacred gifts to me, my words, have been stolen. They have been filched and deceptively redefined, their time-honored meanings scrapped and their hollowed sounds marshalled for cheap tricks. This switcharoo is not my…
The making of a martyr
The gunshot that killed Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University Sept. 10 changed everything. The conservative activist’s assassination tornadoed through America’s Christian nationalist movement, which reeled at the loss of one of its greatest warriors in a battle for the soul…
Oklahoma Supreme Court blocks social studies curriculum
The Oklahoma Supreme Court dealt Ryan Walters another blow Sept. 15 and he responded by calling the court “embarrassing and … out of step with Oklahomans.” Walters, the state superintendent of schools, is easily the most controversial person ever to…
You Might Not Recognize CALI Gubernatorial Candidate Che Ahn, But His Brand of Militant Christianity Should Feel Familiar
“Joel’s Army”—the militant Protestant movement that fueled both the January 6 insurrection and the recent political assassinations in Minnesota—is rearing its head once again, this time in the 2026 race for California governor. Pasadena megachurch pastor Che Ahn, who announced his…
What are Christians to make of this season’s South Park?
The television show South Park first aired in 1997, the same year I graduated college. I don’t remember watching it right away, but by the second season, I was an avid fan. I was drawn to the show’s total irreverence…
My summer quest to learn more about Christian nationalism
As a Baptist and Faith and Freedom Fellow with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Tennessee, I have observed how Christian nationalism is reshaping American churches, often blurring the lines between faith and political power. This poses a significant risk to our values…
Active Clubs are white supremacy’s new, dangerous frontier
Small local organizations called Active Clubs have spread widely across the U.S. and internationally, using fitness as a cover for a much more alarming mission. These groups are a new and harder-to-detect form of white supremacist organizing that merges extremist ideology with fitness and…
The Rise of Right-Wing Nihilism
Democratic friends, let’s try a thought experiment. Imagine you woke up one morning and all your media sources were produced by Christian nationalists. You sent your kids off to school and the teachers were espousing some version of Christian nationalism. You…
What they’ve gained
Every time we report on another atrocity committed by President Donald Trump and his administration, people ask why evangelicals continue to support the cruelty and criminality of Trump’s dictates. As our Maina Mwaura wrote today, Trump clearly is not a…
Alumni of ‘old’ Southern Seminary gather for reunion
Alumni and faculty of pre-1993 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky, gathered Aug. 15-16 for a reunion hosted by Wake Forest University School of Divinity in Winston Salem, N.C. That pivotal year was when the “conservative resurgence” took full…
Viral CNN Segment Highlights Disturbing Christian Movement. Bible Scholars Have Thoughts.
A recent CNN segment about controversial pastor Doug Wilson has prompted pushback from religious scholars and advocates who believe that his brand of patriarchal Christian nationalism does not align with the teachings of Jesus ― yet is increasingly shaping political and cultural life in…