What the Christian supremacists in power actually believe

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eucflYb7OhE 

‘Christian supremacy’: WH blurs church and state with 9 hour prayer rally

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvxQ2vycz7I

America (Almost Never) Reads the Bible (Dan McClellan and Dan Beecher; Data Over Dogma podcast on YouTube)

Brace yourself, because your favorite Bible scholarship show is going to talk politics. It's not that we're veering out of our lane, though. Unfortunately, the politics have come careening out of their lane, and smashed headlong into us. It's not our fault!

So yes, we're going to talk about the recent giant Christian nationalist piety performance that was "America Reads the Bible". This was an event where dozens of prominent members of the Christian right took turns reading bits of the Bible until they had gotten through the whole thing. A week worth of saying words, but was there any comprehension?
Interview: 

https://youtu.be/wb5uteFBfMk?si=J_YOpcbiF28Yi15Y

This Present Moment - Interview with Todd Allen (The Christian Past That Wasn’t: Formerly Telling Jefferson Lies podcast)

Today I interview Todd Allen, Founder of the Common Ground Project and administrator at Messiah University (PA). 

Todd and I talk about his work in civil rights education and history. We also discuss my forthcoming book, The Christian Past That Wasn't. Todd is an enthusiastic endorser of the book and makes a good case for why it is needed as the administration is manipulating history of the founding era.

Interview: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-past-that-wasnt-formerly-telling/id1720424853?i=1000764113947

"Jesus Isn't An Alpha" (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast) It's in the Code ep 189

Despite his promises, Josh Hawley's vision of masculinity and masculine virtue is not "Christian" in any definable way. 

But while this may be surprising, given his Christian nationalist credentials, it actually serves the interests of his ideology not to be distinctly Christian? 

In what senses? 

What can be gained by ensuring that claims to "Christian masculinity" aren't actually Christian? Join Dan for this week's episode as he explains.

Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/its-in-the-code-ep-189-jesus-isnt-an-alpha?hsLang=en

Trump's "anti-Christian bias” report is full of lies!

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HHAst0x4_zU

The Edited Commandments (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott tells us about the disappointing 5th-Circuit appeals decision allowing Ten Commandments in Texas public schools. Then, author and columnist Kate Cohen tells us “Why Exodus Needs a Rewrite.”

Interview:

https://ffrf.org/news/freethought-radio/freethought-today-april-23-2026/

NBA Player Waived After Anti-LGBTQ Rant (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #630 on YouTube)

All the relevant links to each story can be found here:

https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2026/04/08/nba-player-waived-after-anti-lgbtq-rant/

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast

0:00 Intro
0:54 Florida attorney general says state can ignore its own constitution to fund religion.
9:25 Bulls cut Jaden Ivey after anti-Pride rant (but not because he’s Christian).
22:30 School district cuts ties with group that secretly targeted kids for conversion to Christianity.
33:45 UK-based Bible Society admits claim of "Quiet Revival" of faith was based on bad data.
53:25 Federal judge orders removal of Ten Commandments display outside Arkansas Capitol.
1:02:35 Trump-appointed FEMA leader says he teleported to Waffle House.

Interview: 

https://youtu.be/9oH2yqqpbz8?si=lTVQTMK4t2EVu7VI

Weekly Roundup: Pete Hegseth's Military Vision, Violent Prayer & GOP Tax Dogma (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Brad Onishi and Dan Miller unpack a series of troubling developments surrounding Pete Hegseth's vision for the military chaplaincy, where chaplains may soon wear only religious insignia instead of rank and operate within a drastically reduced set of approved faith codes. 

The hosts explore how Hegseth's language—framing the role as a mission to "preach the truth," "shepherd the flock," and fulfill a "sacred calling"—signals a distinctly Christian nationalist framing of military service, reinforced by his claim that the armed forces have been "infected by political correctness and secular humanism." They place this in historical context, noting how Japanese American Buddhist soldiers in World War II were denied adequate chaplain support despite serving in one of the most decorated units in U.S. history. 

The conversation also touches on reporting about Hegseth's crusader imagery, including tattoos and a Bible stamped with "Deus Vult" and the Jerusalem Cross, raising deeper concerns about the ideological direction of military leadership. 

The episode then shifts to a controversial Pentagon prayer calling for "overwhelming violence" and the damnation of "wicked souls," which the hosts connect to a broader pattern of rhetoric that glorifies brutality and frames military action in theological terms. From there, Brad and Dan examine the near-religious devotion to tax cuts within the GOP, highlighting reporting that red states are facing massive budget shortfalls as a result of Trump-backed policies—yet lawmakers continue to support them as a matter of ideological commitment rather than evidence. They close by discussing Trump's absence from CPAC, the unease among attendees regarding Iran, and the irony of Trump mailing in his ballot despite his long-standing opposition to mail-in voting, underscoring what they describe as a deeply transactional and contradictory approach to politics.

Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/weekly-roundup-pete-hegseths-military-vision-violent-prayer-gop-tax-dogma?hsLang=en

Why Christianity Hates Indigenous People (Drew McCoy/Genetically Modified Skeptic on YouTube)

No Piraha has ever been converted to Christianity, despite 242 years of missions. 

Join FFRF to protect separation of church and state: https://ffrf.org/misc-for-landing-pages/join-ffrf-today/ 

The indigenous critique of Christianity was one of the most influential factors in the development of the European Enlightenment.

Interview: 

https://youtu.be/innTGsOCuJw?si=Q5caI9iMWxRvGm6D

They Said What? (Freethought Today, April 2026) 3

"I want to create a future where the leftist parents are scared that their kids are going to be a teenager, because that is when their Club America chapter is going to tell them about Jesus. That’s when their Club America chapter is going to tell them about the founding of the country." 

Josh Thifault, senior director at Turning Point USA, speaking at the Tennessee Capitol. Since Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated, its school chapters have more than doubled to over 3,000.

New York Times, 1-10-26

https://www.freethoughttoday.com/free/they-said-what-april-2026/

They Said What? (Freethought Today, April 2026) 2

"Gone is godless and divisive DEI, gone is gender-bending equity and quotas, gone is climate change worship to a false god. We are one military, one fighting force, one nation under God. We are not in woke we trust, we are in God we trust."

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in a speech at the National Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention in Nashville, Tenn. Hegseth was named FFRF Action Fund’s “Theocrat of the Week” on Feb. 26.

CNN, 2-20-26
https://www.freethoughttoday.com/free/they-said-what-april-2026/

  

Christian Candidate Too Extreme for Australia (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #627)

— Federal judge blocks Arkansas law forcing Ten Commandments displays in public schools. (0:37)

— South Australia political party dumps Christian candidate over anti-gay, anti-feminist rants. (14:47)

— Nebraska “prophet” says God needs him to have access to a private jet. (26:28)

— Indiana judge says state’s abortion ban violates religious freedom of those seeking abortions. (40:08)

— A Utah lawmaker didn’t try to codify the Mormon “Word of Wisdom.” He was just making a point. (51:30)

— Extremist pastor plots comeback campaign in deep-red Oklahoma district. (1:06:55)

— Alabama House passes bill forcing public schools to begin day with student-led prayer. (1:17:50)
Interview: 

https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2026/03/19/christian-candidate-too-extreme-for-australia/

SCOTUS Turns US Teachers Into Religious Police (Andrew Seidel; One Nation, Indivisible podcast Episode #054)

Noem is out; Markwayne Mullin is in. There are reasons to criticize him, but January 6th is not one. 

The Supreme Court issues another shadow docket decision that targets LGBTQ kids and grants absurd power to religious parents. Schools may not be the same. 

Did commanders really tell soldiers we were going to war with Iran to bring on Armageddon? There’s really good reasons to be skeptical. 

Plus, Talarico wins and says God is nonbinary, WaPo thinks we need evangelicals on the Supreme Court, and those evangelicals lay hands on and pray over Trump in the Oval Office. Ick.  

• Mirabelli v. Bonta decision 
• Ian Milhiser for Vox on the Mirabelli decision  
• “Before you share that story about how troops were told the Iran War is for ‘Armageddon,’ read this” AND YOU NEED TO READ IT.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-yixy3-2bd35eed

Overheard (Freethought Today, Jan/Feb 2026)

Religion is one of the most dangerous forces on Earth. If you’ve ever encountered true fundamentalists, you know why. When you combine eternal stakes with absolute certainty, it produces the kind of people who are happy to be cruel in the name of God...

https://www.freethoughttoday.com/free/overheard-jan-feb-2026/

Weekly Roundup: Pentagon Pulpit, Silenced Christians: Doug Wilson, James Talarico & the Battle for the American Soul (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Doug Wilson's appearance at a Pentagon prayer service hosted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is more than a symbolic moment—it's a window into the kind of Christianity being elevated at the highest levels of American power. Wilson, a self-identified Christian nationalist and longtime pastor in Moscow, Idaho, has built an influential religious and media network rooted in a theology that centers male authority, rejects pluralism in the public square, and frames "Christ is King" as a political claim over the nation itself. His record—documented by journalists like Brian Kaylor and Sarah Stankorb—includes defending rigid patriarchal structures, opposing women's suffrage, limiting public religious freedom to conservative Protestantism, and mishandling abuse cases within his orbit. That this theology is now platformed inside the Pentagon, amid ongoing fallout from the Epstein scandal and broader debates about power, sexuality, and accountability, raises urgent questions about what kind of moral vision is being fused with state authority—and who it protects.

At the same time, CBS's decision not to air Stephen Colbert's interview with Texas State Representative James Talarico—an outspoken Christian critic of Christian nationalism—reveals the other side of the equation. Talarico, a seminary student and public school teacher, argues that separating church and state protects both democracy and the integrity of Christian faith. His warning that Christian nationalism is "a cancer on my religion" stands in sharp contrast to Wilson's vision of public Christianity. The juxtaposition is stark: a hardline theocrat welcomed at the Pentagon, and a soft-spoken Christian democrat sidelined from broadcast television. Together, these events underscore a growing dynamic in American public life—where the state appears increasingly willing to privilege one brand of religion while marginalizing dissenting voices, even within Christianity itself.
Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/weekly-roundup-pentagon-pulpit-silenced-christians-doug-wilson-james-talarico-the-battle-for-the-american-soul?hsLang=en

Texas Conservatives Are Scared of James Talarico (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #621)

— The “Greater Than” campaign claims loving gay parents are the real threat to kids. (2:18)

— Republicans are panicking because James Talarico wants people to act more like Jesus. (31:25)

— New Hampshire Republicans want to change their constitution so it favors Christianity. (48:50)

— The Texas Board of Education plans to force kids to read the Bible in public schools. (1:00:40)

— Church/state groups file motion to help block proposed Christian charter school in Tennessee. (1:13:20)
Interview: 

https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2026/02/05/texas-conservatives-are-scared-of-james-talarico/

An Arizona Push for School Board Prayers (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #620)

— The scandal rocking Bethel Church and the world of charismatic Christians. (1:07)

— Arizona GOP pushes bill to allow school board prayers, despite obvious constitutional violations. (18:54)

— After Bible-thumping backfires, Maryland county won’t open meetings with the Lord’s Prayer. (32:50)

— In Oregon, a local official’s “State of the County” address turned into a Christian revival. (40:16)

— A pastor who rejects “established science” decided polio & measles vaccines should be optional. (50:15)

— An Oklahoma lawmaker wants Creationism taught in science classes. His bill is doomed. (1:03:26)
Interview: 

https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2026/01/29/an-arizona-push-for-school-board-prayers/

Weekly Roundup: Wine Moms, ICE, and American Fascism (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Brad and Dan examine the escalating ICE presence in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of Renee Good, situating the operation within a broader pattern of authoritarian governance under the Trump administration. They unpack how federal immigration enforcement has begun to resemble occupation style tactics, including minimal vetting of ICE agents, sweeping immunity claims for officers, and the use of overwhelming force in civilian spaces. Drawing on historical parallels to fascist regimes and social psychology experiments like the Stanford Prison Experiment, the conversation explores how power, dehumanization, and impunity reinforce one another when federal agencies are weaponized against dissent.

The episode also interrogates the gendered and racial dynamics at play, particularly the demonization of white women protesters framed by right wing media as dangerous or hysterical. Brad and Dan discuss how white femininity functions within white Christian supremacy, why Renee Good's identity as a queer woman posed a threat to patriarchal power, and how Fox News and Christian nationalist figures have celebrated or justified state violence. The conversation widens to include federal overreach beyond immigration, including pressure on the Department of Justice to investigate Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, threats to institutional independence, and the administration's seizure of Venezuelan oil revenue. Throughout, the hosts connect these developments to a coherent ideological project rooted in Christian nationalism, racial hierarchy, and authoritarian control, warning that the expansion of state power rarely stops with its initial targets.
Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/weekly-roundup-wine-moms-ice-and-american-fascism?hsLang=en

Weekly Roundup: American Authoritarian Empire: From Minneapolis to Venezuela to Greenland (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Brad returns from a two week break to examine three disturbing stories that reveal how authoritarian power is expanding in the United States and how empathy is being systematically stripped from public life. He begins with the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, a white American poet and mother shot by an ICE officer during an operation. The administration's response was marked by complete indifference, with officials offering no compassion for Good or her family and JD Vance asserting that the officer should have absolute immunity. Brad argues this case represents a dangerous shift. The logic of impunity long applied to marginalized communities is now being extended outward, signaling that anyone can become a target once state violence is normalized.

The episode then turns to the U.S. operation in Venezuela and Trump's escalating threats toward Greenland. In Venezuela, Trump openly framed the military action around oil interests rather than democracy, reviving a Monroe Doctrine style vision of hemispheric control rooted in Christian and Western supremacist ideology. Threats toward Greenland further signal an imperial mindset that would shatter NATO alliances and dismantle the post World War II international order. Across all three stories, Brad traces a consistent theme. Empathy is treated as an obstacle to power, impunity is expanding, and figures like JD Vance are refining a more polished authoritarian message for the future. The result is a political project that no longer seeks separation or retreat, but expansion, domination, and the erosion of democratic restraint.
Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/weekly-roundup-american-authoritarian-empire-from-minneapolis-to-venezuela-to-greenland?hsLang=en