Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com

In 1954, white Southern churches declared that school integration “defied God’s design.” Seven decades later, many of those congregations champion “color-blindness” instead. What changed—and what hasn’t? Historian Rusty Hawkins (Indiana Wesleyan University), co-editor of The Bible Told Them So: How Southern Evangelicals Fought to Preserve White Supremacy, joins Faithful Politics to trace the theological through-line from Jim Crow sermons to modern debates over CRT and DEI. Hawkins explains how pastors and laypeople alike used Scripture to sanctify segregation, then re-branded the same resistance as a fight for “quality education” and “parental choice.” He also argues that today’s church can still become a force for racial reconciliation—if it learns from the prophetic witness of the Black church and rejects power for service. Whether you’re a pastor, activist, or history buff, this conversation equips you with the receipts—and the hope—to confront racism’s religious roots.

Guest Bio
Rusty Hawkins is Associate Professor of History at Indiana Wesleyan University, specializing in American religion and race. He co-edited the award-winning The Bible Told Them So and is currently writing a religious biography of Alabama Governor George Wallace. Hawkins’s scholarship appears in Christianity Today, the Journal of Southern Religion, and other outlets, making him a leading voice on how evangelical theology has shaped—and been shaped by—America’s color line.

Support the show

🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?
👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com

📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:
faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore

❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:
donorbox.org/faithful-politics-podcast

📩 Reach out to us:

• Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.com
• Political Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com

📱 Follow & connect with us:

• Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitik
• Instagram: faithful_politics
• Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast
• LinkedIn: faithfulpolitics

📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:
faithfulpolitics.substack.com

📅 RSVP for upcoming live events:
Chec...

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com

In June 2024, Louisiana passed a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom—reviving old debates about church-state separation and moral authority. But what if we’ve misunderstood the Ten Commandments all along?

Dr. Mark Glanville, Old Testament scholar, jazz pianist, and director of the Centre for Missional Leadership at UBC, joins the podcast to reframe how we read scripture in public life. Drawing on his essay “Ten Commandments, Zero Context,” Glanville explains how these ancient laws were never about symbolic domination or individual morality, but about shaping a just, compassionate community freed from oppression.

From biblical law’s roots in slave emancipation to today’s debates over Christian nationalism, immigration, and public theology, this episode asks: What kind of society are we really trying to build? And whose law are we following—Pharaoh’s or God’s?

🎧 Listen in, then share this episode with a friend or pastor.
📬 Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of faith and politics.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Mark Glanville is an Old Testament scholar and the Director of the Centre for Missional Leadership at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. A professional jazz pianist and theologian, Glanville is the author of Improvising Church and Preaching in a New Key. He also hosts the Blue Note Theology podcast—“the only theology podcast hosted from a grand piano.”

🔗 Resource Links

• Improvising Church: Scripture as the Source of Harmony, Rhythm, and Soul: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781514007457
• Mark Glanville’s Website: https://www.markglanville.org/

Support the show

🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?
👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com

📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:
faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore

❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:
donorbox.org/faithful-politics-podcast

📩 Reach out to us:

• Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.com
• Political Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com

📱 Follow & connect with us:

• Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitik
• Instagram: faithful_politics
• Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast
• LinkedIn: faithfulpolitics

📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:
faithfulpolitics.substack.com

📅 RSVP for upcoming live events:
Chec...

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com

88% of Americans believe our political system isn’t working—and they’re not wrong. In this episode, Will sits down with Meredith Sumpter, CEO of FairVote, to unpack one of the most promising reforms in American democracy: ranked choice voting (RCV). With over 800 elections already conducted using RCV and growing bipartisan support in states like Maine and Alaska, this episode explores how RCV reduces negative campaigning, empowers majority rule, and encourages candidates to actually engage with all voters—not just their base.

Meredith explains how RCV works, where it’s spreading, and why local communities are leading the charge. Can a voting method really make elections more civil? What would it take to implement RCV nationwide? And why are some politicians resisting it, even if their constituents support it?
This isn’t just a conversation about ballots—it’s about restoring faith in the democratic process.

👤 Guest Bio
Meredith Sumpter is the CEO of FairVote, a nonpartisan organization working to make American democracy more representative and functional. With a background in diplomacy, global strategy, and policy, she leads efforts to expand ranked choice voting and other election reforms nationwide.

Support the show

🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?
👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com

📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:
faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore

❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:
donorbox.org/faithful-politics-podcast

📩 Reach out to us:

• Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.com
• Political Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com

📱 Follow & connect with us:

• Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitik
• Instagram: faithful_politics
• Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast
• LinkedIn: faithfulpolitics

📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:
faithfulpolitics.substack.com

📅 RSVP for upcoming live events:
Chec...