In most cults, having an independent opinion is discouraged and even punished. Group leaders often suppress critical thinking and skepticism, viewing them as a threat to the movement’s unity and control. Members who express doubts or disagree are often viewed…
A faith-based call to prepare for what comes next
The recent tensions in Los Angeles — sparked by ICE raids, the arrest of SEIU California President David Huerta, and the unilateral deployment of federal troops by President Trump — were not an isolated event. They were a warning shot….
‘Great white Christian freakout’ shifted America, Jones says
The U.S. was just beginning to come to terms with the effects of racial injustice when the “great white Christian freakout” ushered in the era of Donald Trump and empowered religious nationalism, said Robert P. Jones, president of Public Religion…
When lies pass for truth, the light dims for all of us
When lies pass for the truth, something in democracy disappears. Since conservatives insist liberals are lying and liberals insist conservatives are lying, somebody in the house of democracy is not telling the truth. The standard theme of anti-Trumpers long has…
Evangelical Trump Hypocrisy Syndrome strikes again
Imagine former President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, posting a social media meme riffing off The Blues Brothers movie and declaring he’s “on a mission from God.” Conservatives would have lost their ever-loving minds. This would have been further evidence…
Catholics see a familiar political divide in Pope Leo XIV and his eldest brother
Just hours after Pope Leo XIV was announced from the loggia, his two brothers began making headlines. John Prevost, the middle brother, took an agonizingly long time to answer Leo’s first papal call, as documented by The Associated Press. Then…
As Biden faces cancer diagnosis, Trump family and MAGA hurl insults
It didn’t take MAGA world long to hurl insults and conspiracy theories after learning former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. While progressive and conservative politicians and pundits alike were quick to offer…
Pope Leo’s ‘MAGA-Type’ Brother Goes To Confession About His Trolling For Trump
Louis Prevost, the older brother of Pope Leo XIV, said in an interview with Piers Morgan on Tuesday that he’ll likely tone down the right-wing, pro-Donald Trump posts on social media now that his older sibling is the head of the Catholic Church.
From Jesus Revolution to the White House
On Wednesday before Easter, Greg Laurie walked in the darkness outside the White House after enjoying a dinner with President Donald Trump and a few dozen prominent evangelical leaders.
Who’s suspicious of the new pope? MAGA
And lo, it came to pass that non-Catholic Americans with little or no theological training have absurd opinions about Pope Leo XIV. Yea, verily, these are the times in which we live. In the beginning, U.S. President Donald Trump offered a…
Pope Leo XIV is likely to continue the Francis agenda
Pope Leo XIV will be known for many things, including being the first American pope and the first Augustinian pope, but he most likely will not be known for turning the Catholic Church in a more conservative direction. Cardinal Robert…
Mr. Trump goes to Rome
Most of the time, when people say, “Just joking,” they’re not joking at all. Often, we use “just joking” as a cover when we’ve trotted out ideas we know will be controversial or hurtful but we want to say them…