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Why are nearly half of Gen Z unaffiliated with organized religion—and what does that mean for campuses wrestling with conscience and rights?

Kevin Bolling, Executive Director of the Secular Student Alliance, joins Will and Josh to unpack the lived reality behind the headlines: church–state separation, “10 Commandments in classrooms,” chaplains replacing counselors, school vouchers, and the legal fights around drag shows and student speech.

From Texas organizing to LGBTQ student protections, Kevin shares how secular and religious students often work together to protect religious liberty for all, even as white Christian nationalism reshapes public policy. We also explore the family side of belief change—how parents and students can navigate identity, community, and care without coercion.

Learn more: https://secularstudents.org

Guest Bio
Kevin Bolling is Executive Director of the Secular Student Alliance (SSA), serving since 2017. He’s a veteran nonprofit leader with two decades of experience in student organizing, higher-ed programs, and civil society advocacy, focused on church–state separation, LGBTQ inclusion, and student leadership. Under his leadership, SSA supports chapters nationwide across high schools, colleges, and virtual communities.

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What explains the persistence and appeal of Christian patriarchy in contemporary America?

In this episode, journalist and author Sarah Stankorb (Disobedient Women) examines the theological and institutional architecture surrounding **Doug Wilson, Christ Church, Canon Press, and the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC)*. Drawing on years of investigative reporting, Stankorb situates Moscow, Idaho, as both a local case study and a national model for the diffusion of patriarchal theology through publishing, education, and digital media.

The conversation explores how discourses of submission and hierarchy provide not only a template for family and congregational life but also a framework for civic and political engagement. We analyze the implications of head-of-household voting, institutional cover-ups of abuse, and the theological rationales that normalize gendered power disparities. Stankorb highlights survivor narratives as essential sources of data, underscoring how authority structures can perpetuate cycles of harm under the guise of religious fidelity.

By situating Wilson’s project within broader debates over Christian nationalism, religious liberty, and political theology, this episode raises critical questions about the entanglement of faith and authoritarianism in the American public square.

Disobedient Women:How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful Pastors, and Ignited an Evangelical Reckoning
https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781546003816

Articles by Sarah:

• https://www.vice.com/en/article/inside-the-church-that-preaches-wives-need-to-be-led-with-a-firm-hand/
• https://www.elle.com/life-love/opinions-features/a64637668/tradwives-escaping-patriarchy-social-media-interview-2025/

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What happens when the Bible that was meant to bring life becomes a source of harm? Pastor Zach W. Lambert, founder of Restore Austin and co-founder of the Post-Evangelical Collective, joins the Faithful Politics Podcast to talk about his new book, Better Ways to Read the Bible. Drawing from his own journey out of Southern Baptist fundamentalism, Lambert explores how scripture was weaponized in his youth and how he rediscovered a Jesus who brought hope, not fear.

We unpack his framework of “lenses” for reading scripture—why harmful approaches like moralism and literalism distort God’s heart, and how healthier lenses like fruitfulness, context, and Christ-centeredness can transform the way we engage the Bible. Lambert shares pastoral stories of people hurt by misused verses, insights from his time at Dallas Theological Seminary and Duke Divinity, and his church’s inclusive ministry in Austin.

The conversation doesn’t shy away from tough issues: hell, patriarchy, LGBTQ inclusion, and the grief of leaving behind certainty. Lambert reminds us that the answer to bad Bible reading isn’t no Bible reading—it’s better Bible reading. If you’ve wrestled with faith, struggled with scripture, or wondered if there’s a more life-giving way forward, this episode will encourage, challenge, and equip you.

Buy the book Better Ways to Read the Bible: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781587436680

Guest Bio

Zach W. Lambert is the lead pastor and founder of Restore Austin, a thriving church in Texas committed to radical inclusivity and justice. A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and current doctoral student at Duke Divinity School, Lambert brings a unique blend of evangelical roots and academic depth. He co-founded the Post-Evangelical Collective and serves on the boards of the Austin Church Planting Network and Multi-Faith Neighbors Network. His debut book, Better Ways to Read the Bible (Brazos Press, 2024), equips Christians to move beyond harmful interpretations toward healthier, Christ-centered engagement with scripture

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What do Americans really believe about LGBTQ rights, same-sex marriage, and religious liberty? In this episode of the Faithful Politics Podcast, we’re joined by Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), one of the nation’s most trusted voices on the intersection of faith, culture, and politics. Deckman unpacks PRRI’s groundbreaking American Values Atlas, a massive data project that tracks shifts in public opinion across all 50 states, and shares insights from new research on the growing number of exvangelicals leaving the church.

Together, we explore why support for non-discrimination protections remains strong—even among many faith communities—how attitudes toward same-sex marriage have evolved since the Obergefell decision, and why religious refusals continue to spark debate in the courts and in everyday life. Deckman also explains how generational divides, mistrust of institutions, and regional differences complicate the story of religion and democracy in America.

If you want to understand how religion is shaping political debates on LGBTQ rights, abortion, immigration, and the future of American democracy, this conversation provides clarity, context, and the data to back it up.

• American Values Atlas: https://ava.prri.org
• Exvangelicals: Who They Are, Why They Left, and What They Believe: https://prri.org/spotlight/exvangelicals-who-they-are-why-they-left-and-what-they-believe/

Guest Bio

Melissa Deckman, Ph.D. is the CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), a nonpartisan research organization at the forefront of studying the intersection of religion, culture, and American politics. A political scientist and widely published scholar, Deckman has written extensively on gender, religion, and public opinion. Under her leadership, PRRI has produced landmark studies like the American Values Atlas and recent reports on the rise of exvangelicals. Her expertise makes her one of the leading voices on how faith communities influence—and are influenced by—the shifting tides of American democracy

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What does it mean to live out brave faith in the world’s most violent neighborhoods? In this episode of Faithful Politics, we sit down with Dr. Kurt Alan Ver Beek, a sociologist, missionary, and co-founder of the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ) in Honduras. Dr. Ver Beek’s decades of work tackling systemic corruption, homicide reduction, and police reform are the focus of Ross Halperin’s book Bear Witness: The Pursuit of Justice in a Violent Land.

From moving his family into one of Honduras’s toughest neighborhoods to helping lead a national police purge that cut homicide rates by nearly 70%, Dr. Ver Beek shares the risks, faith, and persistence behind real change. This conversation dives into Christian courage, the challenges of confronting drug trafficking and corrupt systems, and how ordinary people can build trust where institutions have failed.

Guest Bio

Dr. Kurt Alan Ver Beek is a sociologist, missionary, and co-founder of the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ), a faith-based nonprofit dedicated to fighting corruption and defending the vulnerable in Honduras. For more than 30 years, he and his wife Joanne have lived in one of Tegucigalpa’s most dangerous neighborhoods, working alongside local leaders to reduce homicide, reform policing, and advocate for systemic justice. Ver Beek’s leadership helped drive Honduras’s historic police purge, which dismissed thousands of corrupt officers and introduced new accountability structures. His work is profiled in Ross Halperin’s book Bear Witness: The Pursuit of Justice in a Violent Land (available on Amazon).

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Why do claims of “persecution” surge whenever Christians lose cultural power? PRRI’s 2024–25 state-by-state analysis shows three in ten Americans qualify as Christian nationalism Adherents or Sympathizers—a durable share shaping law, policy, and public life.

Sociologist Andrew L. Whitehead—author of American Idolatry and coauthor of Taking America Back for God—joins Will and Josh to unpack why power, fear, and violence function like modern “idols,” and how that maps onto fights over schools, parental rights, religious liberty, and the 2024–26 political landscape.

Moving from gut-level intuition (Haidt’s “elephant”) to reasoned analysis (the “rider”), we explore how Christian nationalism frames “liberty” as domination, why persecution narratives persist, and what the latest PRRI data reveals across all 50 states. Keywords: Christian nationalism, religious liberty, school choice, persecution narratives, 2024 election, SCOTUS, political theology. If you’re wrestling with faith, power, and democracy—and what a faithful public witness might look like—this conversation brings clarity without the culture-war fog.

Andrew L. Whitehead is a professor of sociology at Indiana University Indianapolis and executive director of the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA). He is the author of American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church and coauthor (with Samuel L. Perry) of Taking America Back for God. His research and commentary appear in outlets like The New York Times, NPR, and Time.

🔗 Resource Links
American Idolatry — Andrew L. Whitehead (Brazos Press): https://www.amazon.com/American-Idolatry-Christian-Nationalism-Threatens/dp/1587435764
Amazon
Taking America Back for God — Andrew L. Whitehead & Samuel L. Perry (OUP): https://global.oup.com/academic/product/taking-america-back-for-god-9780197652572

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More than 60 years after MLK's “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” 11 a.m. on Sunday remains one of the most segregated hours in America. Why? And can the church finally become a catalyst for real racial healing?

In this compelling conversation, Dr. David McFadden joins hosts Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to discuss Kingdom Racial Change, a new book co-authored with Pastor Michael A. Evans and sociologist Michael Emerson. Drawing from lived experience and decades of ministry, medicine, and research, McFadden unpacks why systemic racism remains embedded in our institutions—and how the church must become a diverse force for justice rather than a segregated echo chamber.

The episode explores micro, meso, and macro levels of racial inequality, interracial church collaboration, and the emotional and spiritual cost of pushing for unity in a divided time. For anyone committed to building a kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven,” this conversation offers both conviction and hope.

➡️ Subscribe, share, and join the conversation.

👤 Guest Bio
Dr. David L. McFadden is a medical doctor, community leader, and co-author of Kingdom Racial Change. He co-founded a multiracial men’s ministry that brings together Black, white, Hispanic, and Asian Christians to model unity and reconciliation. His work bridges faith, healthcare, and social justice.

🔗 Resource Links
Kingdom Racial Change (Eerdmans): https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Racial-Change-Michael-Emerson/dp/0802879152

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Why doesn’t the U.S. Constitution mention God—and what does that silence mean?

Steven Smith, one of the nation’s foremost legal scholars on law and religion, joins Will and Josh to unpack the complex—and often misunderstood—relationship between the Constitution, religious liberty, and American identity. His new book, The Godless Constitution and the Providential Republic, argues that while the Constitution omits references to God, the nation’s political life has long been shaped by a providential worldview.

Together, they explore landmark court cases like Engel v. Vitale and Kennedy v. Bremerton, the shift toward secular governance in the 1960s, and the ongoing culture war over Christian nationalism. Smith challenges both theocracy and militant secularism, offering a third path: a framework rooted in institutional church-state separation that preserves space for pluralism and public faith expression.

If you’ve ever wondered whether America is—or was ever meant to be—a “Christian nation,” this conversation offers clarity, nuance, and constitutional insight.

Subscribe, share, and join the conversation.

👤 Guest Bio:
Steven D. Smith is a retired law professor from the University of San Diego and one of the country’s leading scholars on law and religion. Over a career spanning more than four decades, he has written extensively on the First Amendment, church-state relations, and constitutional interpretation. His latest book is The Godless Constitution and the Providential Republic.

🔗 Resource Links:
The Godless Constitution and the Providential Republic: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780802885227

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