The Future of the Freethought Caucus (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence reports about a high school softball team in Missouri that had religion pushed on it, and how FFRF was able to put a stop to this. Then, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman reviews this year’s National Prayer Breakfast in D.C. and provides some insight into future plans for the Congressional Freethought Caucus.

Interview: 

https://ffrf.org/news/freethought-radio/freethought-today-february-12-2026/

New Religion-biased Guidance by the Department of Education

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7aigUfWtS0g

 

The shady org behind the National Prayer Breakfast

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7iFheiN_UVA

 

Weekly Roundup: National Prayer Breakfast & ICE Theology (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

In this Weekly Roundup, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller unpack the National Prayer Breakfast and what it revealed about the collapsing boundary between religion and state power in the Trump era. They analyze Paula White's over-the-top praise of Trump, Trump's own religious illiteracy, and his threats to weaponize tax-exempt status against critics, all while positioning Democrats as incapable of genuine faith. The conversation highlights how these moments reflect a broader push toward state-controlled religion and the dangers that poses to democratic pluralism.

The episode also examines the racial and cultural flashpoints shaping the current moment, from Trump's reposting of a racist video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama, to Speaker Mike Johnson's theological defense of ICE and mass deportation. Brad and Dan break down how scripture is distorted to justify ethnonationalism, what they call "ICE-egesis," and how figures like Stephen Wolfe are reshaping Christian nationalism. The episode closes with a look at Super Bowl culture wars, contrasting evangelical counter-programming with Bad Bunny's public resistance, and exploring how Christian parallel culture has shifted from evangelism to exclusion.
Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/weekly-roundup-national-prayer-breakfast-ice-theology?hsLang=en

Telling Jefferson Lies: Still Searching for Christian America, Part Two (Warren Throckmorton)

In this episode, I describe the National Prayer Breakfast movement, right-wing Christian nationalists, Reconstructionists, and non-denominational charismatic Christian nationalists.

My guests for this episode are:

Julie Ingersoll, Professor of religion at the University of North Florida and author of Building God's Kingdom: Inside the World of Christian Reconstruction

Jonathan Larsen: Journalist, https://jonathanlarsen.substack.com/

Joel McDurmon: Attorney, theologian, and author of several books including The Problem of Slavery in Christian America.

Katherine Stewart: Journalist, author of Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. The documentary God and Country, produced by Rob Reiner is based on this book.

Matthew Taylor: Senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies and author of the book due out on September 24, The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy.
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-6y8w2-1defa5aa

Telling Jefferson Lies: Still Searching for Christian America, Part One (Warren Throckmorton)

In 1983, Mark Noll, Nathan Hatch, and George Marsden published a book titled The Search for Christian America. They concluded that there was nothing uniquely Christian in the founding of the United States and there is no Christian America to which to return.

In this episode, both Drs. Noll and Marsden join me to say they believe today they were right in 1983 and the same conclusions are correct today. In between comments from these illustrious historians, I interview experts regarding the various conceptions of Christian nationalism, including "secular" leaning nationalism, white nationalism, and Catholic varieties, including integralism. I also provide a brief look at the research approach to describing Christian nationalism.

This is part one of two parts. Next week, I examine Reconstructionism, Seven Mountains dominionism, the old guard moral majority Christian nationalism, and the National Prayer Breakfast movement.

Guests in today's episode: Joel Bowman, Scott Coley, Michael Coulter, Greg Forster, Goerge Marsden, Paul Matzko, Mark Noll, Matthew Taylor, Jemar Tisby.
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-b8kg9-1dd53e57

The Family and the National Prayer Breakfast

The Washington establishment, with President Trump leading the way, once again flouted constitutional principles at a gala prayer event in the nation’s capital.....
https://youtu.be/u8VUb_0_i7U

‘I am ready to let God use me': Behind the mysterious Christian organization embedded at the roots of American political life - Raw Story

In July 2018, the Justice Department unsealed a criminal complaint that detailed how a woman from Russia, Maria Butina, was accused of "acting as an agent of a foreign government" by attempting "to establish a back channel of communication" with powerful politicians, most notably at the 2016 and 2017 National Prayer Breakfasts. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/08/i-am-ready-to-let-god-use-me-behind-the-mysterious-christian-organization-embedded-at-the-roots-of-american-political-life/

In revering Trump, the religious right has laid bare its hypocrisy | Samuel G Freedman | Opinion | The Guardian

The evangelical fortress around the president can look like a problem, but progressives can use that heresy to fight opponents...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/10/in-revering-trump-the-religious-right-has-laid-bare-its-hypocrisy