Donald Trump’s victorious presidential campaign rode a wave of nationalism and religious hatred as old as humankind itself, said Todd Stiefel, executive producer of the documentary Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy. The 2024 film shows how Trump…
How Christian extremists are co-opting the book of Esther
I first became aware of far-right Christians co-opting the Book of Esther for political ends when I heard the extremist group Moms for Liberty use Esther 4:14 as its slogan. Since then, the phrase “for such a time as this”…
False prophets have hijacked the evangelical movement
A group of false prophets, most of them independent Pentecostals, have hijacked the evangelical movement. Historian David Fea identifies this loosely affiliated group of prophets as Independent Network Charismatics. The false prophets have a theological mix foreign to most evangelicals….
The sacrilegious singing of ‘How Great Thou Art’
Around 3 a.m. Eastern time on Nov. 6, a crowd gathered in the lobby of the West Palm Beach, Fla., convention center where Donald Trump had just delivered his victory speech. The crowd, which included Christian singer Sean Feucht, began…
Two young leaders exemplify the alarm over Trump
Donald Trump’s return to the White House is “the absolute worst case scenario,” according to religion scholar Matthew Taylor. “We’re in an epochal shift in American history of the worst sort, and while it does not spell the absolute end…
Now some evangelicals see Trump as biblical King Jehu
Last time around, some evangelicals compared Donald Trump to the biblical king Cyrus as an imperfect instrument of God’s work. This time around, some of those same evangelicals have shifted biblical metaphors. Now, Trump is a modern-day Jehu. In case…
Thousands pray, worship and talk politics at ‘Million Women’ event
“The Lord is summoning A Million Women, Esthers, young and old with their husbands and children to gather to the Washington, D.C., Mall October 12, the Day of Atonement, in a LAST STAND moment for America,” said Lou Engle’s announcement…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Matthew D. Taylor
Matthew D. Taylor is author of The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement that Is Threatening Our Democracy, a brilliant and deep dive into the world of charismatic American Christians who planted the seeds for January 6 and…
Matthew Taylor’s new book explores how ‘the fringe became the carpet’
Matthew Taylor’s timely and disturbing new book, The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy, explores the politicization of America’s independent charismatics and neo-Pentecostals and the resulting “charismaticization of right-wing politics.” Taylor bids farewell to…