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On Tuesday, Trump announced Fox News talking head Pete Hegseth as his new secretary of defense. The guy in the image above. It's not a parody; it's from the cover of his 2020 book, American Crusade. Hegseth’s first tattoo, he says, was of a cross with a blade to represent Matthew 10:34, a cherry-
#Trump #USpol #hegseth #petehegseth #ChristianNationalism
on Fri, 3PM
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When the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) annual Antisemitism Audit was released in April, its claim of a 140% rise in antisemitic incidents in 2023 seemed like old news. Following the October 7th Hamas attack that killed nearly 1,200 Israelis, news reports frequently mentioned escalating American ant
on Sat, 2AM
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When a church announces what’s called a Jericho March (or a Jericho Walk), you might picture congregants praying, walking around a building, trumpets blasting and an odd gospel song. You might forget, however, what comes next. From Joshua 6:20-21: When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted
on Nov 2
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Being of voting age in an American presidential election year is messy business. This has always been the case. A two-party system often means choosing the lesser of two evils—deciding which of one’s deeply-held beliefs are nonnegotiables and which can be set aside in favor of “good enough.” Suc
on Nov 1
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On the anniversary of October 7, the Heritage Foundation released Project Esther: A National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism. The 33-page document calls on the federal government to use counterterrorism, immigration, surveillance, intelligence gathering and other apparatuses to “disrupt and degrade”
on Oct 26
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On October 12th one of the most remarkable political statements of any religious leader in this or any election season was broadcast live from an all-day rally of tens of thousands of people on the Washington Mall. The event, called A Million Women, was staged by some of the leading apostles and pro
on Oct 19
'Have a Blessed Day' May Not Be a Sign of Christian Nationalism, But it's Not Innocuous Either
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Is it valid to be annoyed when, as your plane pulls up to the gate at your destination, a flight attendant tells you and your fellow passengers, just before deplaning, to “have a blessed day”? Perhaps this question wasn’t on your American controversies 2024 bingo card; it certainly wasn’t on mine
on Oct 3
Monstrous Futures: Dungeons & Dragons, Harbinger of the “None” Generation, Turns 40
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This year, 2014, is the 40th anniversary of the game Dungeons & Dragons, the pen-and-paper role-playing game that not only launched an industry but provoked a wide-ranging cultural shift. In celebration of the anniversary—incidentally, also the 10th anniversary of its videogame-changing scion, W
on Sep 25
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Since 2016, I have been arguing here at RD that former president Donald Trump’s politics, and his appeal to White evangelical Christians, are best explained through the lens of authoritarianism. Pundits initially scratched their heads for entirely too long over how evangelicals could purport to foll
on Sep 17
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The outlines of QAnon conspiracy theories are by now familiar to many. The battle of good-versus-evil personified by Donald Trump and the Deep State, which somehow also embroils bizarre and gruesome allegations of child trafficking, drinking adrenaline compounds to get high, the ever-imminent arrest
on Aug 30
Want to Know What Public Education Would Look Like Under Project 2025? Just Take a Look at Oklahoma
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UPDATE (12:03 pm ET on 8/20/24): This piece has been updated to include information on a recently released undercover video. - eds "Project 2025 is not some far off possibility for Oklahomans, it has been our reality for some time now," the Rev. Dr. Shannon Fleck, the Executive Director of the Ok
on Aug 30
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Cait West’s insights could not be more urgent. At a time when conservative lawmakers and influencers idealize “tradwives” and vilify “childless cat ladies,” West draws from her experience as a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement to expose the mythologies that sustain and reinforce it. In h
on Aug 16
Election Reporters: Here's Why Simply Descriptors Like 'Christians' Can Have Enormous Consequences
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Here at Religion Dispatches, we have an informal policy that "religion is as religion does." Which is to say, we don't try to adjudicate who is, for example, a "real Christian" and who's not. If you label your beliefs and practices as "Christian," and those beliefs are shared by a reasonable number
on Aug 9
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I had some finessing to do on Sunday. I filled in for a colleague the morning after the attempt on former president Donald Trump's life, you see. Just about everyone in the congregation had heard about it by that point, and they expected me to say something about it. But what? My denomination may
on Jul 26
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No friends on the “other side of the aisle”—only enemies In a morning panel of the second day of NatCon 2024, a group of Republican senators hammered home a confrontational message. Sen. Jim DeMint: “There is no reasonable consensus between what we believe, and the ideology of the progressive L
on Jul 12
'Pro-Life' Theater, Open White Nationalism, and Virility Fear — Day 3 of NatCon
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The closing day of NatCon 2024 (day 3) opened with a benediction by Reverend Uriesou Brito, the Senior Pastor of Providence Church in Pensacola, Florida, a Christian nationalist and staunch defender of Doug Wilson. Humanity versus unhuman and the Hot Gulag Summer Afterwards, Jack Posobiec, wh
on Jul 12
Persecution, Betrayal, and the Zero Sum Fight for Global Domination — Day 1 of NatCon 2024
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The opening day of 2024’s National Conservatism conference was shot through with familiar themes of far-right triumphalism, civilizational war, xenophobia and existential threat. The majority of conference attendees were White, though far from exclusively; majority male, though not entirely; and mul
on Jul 10
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In late June, national news outlets reported that former President Trump had received the largest donation of the 2024 election. Billionaire Tim Mellon’s $50 million contribution, arriving just a day after the former president’s hush-money trial, in which he was convicted on 34 charges of falsifying
on Jul 8
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On December 31, 2023, President Vladimir Putin wished Russia a “Happy New Year” from the safety of the Kremlin, the traditional site of the presidential New Year’s Eve address since the 2000s.[1] The familiar picture presented a stark contrast to the military spectacle of the previous year’s address
on Jun 29
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When the news broke that the recently elected Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (R-La), used a Christian technology service called Covenant Eyes to monitor his online habits for porn, reactions varied. The fact that his then-17-year-old son Jack served as his “accountability partner,” receiving upd
on Jun 25
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Last week’s historic verdict is worth rehearsing. On May 30, Donald J. Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a crime. Twelve ordinary citizens unanimously found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an attempt to conceal hush money he paid to a porn
on Jun 9
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He named our country the “United States of America.” The failed corset maker sailed to the nation he would name at nearly 40 years old, with nothing but an introduction from Benjamin Franklin. He went on to write the sensational bestseller of the day, Common Sense, though he remained the poorest of
on May 30
Alarming New Report Shows Attacks on Public Education Are Coordinated by Right-Wing Think Tanks
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Religion Dispatches recently sat down with Isaac Kamola, associate professor of political science at Trinity College, Hartford, and the director of the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom at the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) to discuss how the backlash to CRT and DEI in
on May 29
A Reporter’s Guide to the New Apostolic Reformation
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The story of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) lives at the epicenter of the intersection of politics and religion in the US—and reporting about it is as essential as it is challenging. The story of NAR is happening in the context of tectonic changes in global Christianity. It’s seldom reporte
on May 25
The 'Unified Reich' Scandal is a Feature Not a Bug of Trump's Brand of American Fascism
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Donald Trump has shown the public many times who he is and in whose political tradition he's planted himself. With the debate about the accuracy of using the “f-word” (i.e. fascism) in regard to Trumpism ever raging, the former president chose on Monday evening to once again show whose imagery and p
on May 23
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Trads (or traditionalist Catholics) are having a moment. In the last four weeks alone, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker delivered a controversial commencement speech at a conservative Catholic college, right-wing media personality Candace Owens announced her conversion to Catholicism, and W
on May 21
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Just as they prophesied Trump's victory and collaborated in the 2020 attempted coup, the Trump wing of the New Apostolic Reformation is on the offensive once again, waging a campaign in counties they think will swing the 2024 presidential election. The campaign has two main elements. One is led
on May 11
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The good news about the Vatican’s recent document, "Dignitas Infinita: on Human Dignity" is that most people will not read it. This shoddily written, self-referential, unresearched paper wouldn’t get most first-year graduate students in theology a passing grade. The document, much of which could hav
on May 3
For White Christians 'Anti-Christian Bias' Reflects 'Anti-White Bias' According to New Research
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When social psychologists Marah Al-Kire and Michael Pasek primed White members of a research panel with an article about anti-Christian bias in America, those participants were more likely to perceive such bias in society. Hardly a surprising result. But follow-up questions revealed a more startling
on Apr 9
Virginians may Vote in Elections, But in Counties with Militias Democracy Hangs in the Balance
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If democracy is a ground-up experience in the United States, then county government is the bedrock upon which it stands. Counties and municipalities are where most people interface with democratic government. It’s where they vote in elections, attend schools, visit the library, and call 911 for help
on Apr 5
Trump's 'God Bless the USA Bible' is No Joke
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As he makes another bid for the White House, Donald Trump is well aware of who his base is and what they believe. Indeed, the campaign has increasingly adopted more overtly Christian nationalist themes, particularly those that attach special importance to the role of Trump in the Christian god’s pla
on Apr 2
Prophecy and Prosperity are Keys to Republican Christian Nationalism According to New Poll
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This morning, PRRI released a new study on religious change in the US with implications for understanding support for White Christian nationalism and its avatar, Donald Trump. Those implications fall into two broad categories: religious change and the faith identity of Trump's followers. To set t
on Mar 30
Step Right Up And Get Your Low-Priced 'Pro-God Content'! Donald Trump Enters the Bible Business
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Nearly four years ago on June 1, 2020, Federal officers violently cleared peaceful protestors from Washington DC’s Lafayette Square in order to make way for Trump to stand in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church and hold a Bible (upside down). He had just given a speech at the Rose Garden, vowing to
on Mar 29
In Speech to White Evangelical Broadcasters, Trump Lays Out his White Christian Nationalist Vision
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I know, it’s easy to dismiss Trump’s extremist rhetoric as just another occasion of “Trump being Trump.” Because the deluge is unrelenting, paying attention is emotionally and morally exhausting. But especially now that he has essentially secured the nomination as the next GOP presidential candidate
on Mar 20
Project 2025: How Trump Loyalists and Right-Wing Leaders Are Paving a Fast Road to Fascism
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Former President Donald Trump, nursing personal grievances against “deep state” officials and White House staff who thwarted his plans to stay in power after his 2020 defeat, has made it clear that his second term would be far more dangerous to American democracy than his first. The presumpti
on Mar 15
Katie Britt Wants You to Be Afraid — It's the Fuel That Feeds Conservative Power
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Last week, Katie Britt, one of Alabama's two Christian nationalist senators, provided a now-notorious rebuttal to Joe Biden's State of the Union address. If nothing else it was compelling television (and it even inspired a widely shared Saturday Night Live parody featuring Scarlett Johansson). S
on Mar 13
New Research Suggests That Belief in Demons May Help Explain Christian Support of Trump
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In a strange way, I envy the people who were raised as evangelical Christians in the 1980s and 1990s, because many of them got to experience This Present Darkness in a way I never could. For the uninitiated, This Present Darkness is a horror novel by Frank Peretti published in 1986, at the height of
on Mar 13
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Is there anything interesting in the latest report from PRRI on Christian nationalism in the US? Only the best description of the American political landscape in quite some time. But let's understand why. PRRI asked respondents in their American Values Atlas survey to what extent they agreed with
on Mar 7
Taking Aim at Religion Itself, Apostles Prime Networks For Real-World Violence
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It is more than paradoxical that an ostensibly Christian university leader would say, “We are here to put a knife to the throat of religion.” But that’s what Apostle Greg Hood, the founder of Kingdom University in Franklin, Tennessee believes so heartily he emblazoned it on a KU t-shirt. This is
on Mar 2
Does the Right Even Know Why it's so Threatened by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce?
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Stop the presses! If you’ve been living in a neighboring cave, you too will know nothing about the latest scandal to shock the masses. According to Google and iconic director Martin Scorsese, American songwriter/singer Taylor Swift is dating NFL tight end Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. If I
on Feb 15
Meet the 'Bronze Age Zionists' — Far-Right Jews Embracing Fascism in the Wake of October 7
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The US online hard-right isn’t exactly known as the friendliest place for Jews. It’s the place where antisemitic conspiracies thrive and cries of ‘Jews will not replace us’ resound. It’s where the Pittsburgh and Poway synagogue shooters (and many more besides) not only got their start and inspiratio
on Feb 14
Why Antisemitism is an Insufficient (and Risky) Explanation for Hamas's October 7 Attack on Israel
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Find all of RD's coverage of Israel's war on Gaza, here. -- eds Amidst a recent layover, my phone pinged to indicate I’d been “mentioned” on Twitter, which is never a good sign. Right-wing provocateur Andy Ngo had tweeted a photo from my 2018 book event suggesting it was an “antifa training” sess
on Feb 13
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This month, a $100 million advertising campaign and website have been launched nationwide to help a particular figure rebrand. In the current climate, just who, do you think, might warrant such a massive PR blitz? My own answer would be “no one,” because this kind of spending to prop up the reput
on Feb 12
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Almost four years have passed since George Floyd was killed outside of a convenience store by then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Video footage of the killing spread like wildfire, showing Floyd lying handcuffed, unmoving while Chauvin’s knee pressed into his neck for over nine minutes. I
on Feb 10
Speaker Mike Johnson to Allow Privately Run National Prayer Breakfast into the Heart of the Capitol
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Thursday’s National Prayer Breakfast will take place in the U.S. Capitol Building’s National Statuary Hall for the first time, congressional sources tell me. Use of the hall is controlled by the House, meaning the move had to be approved by the office of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), widely seen a
on Feb 2
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“This is what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!” Despite the bitter cold, the solidly frozen ground and black ice, between 100,000 and 350,000 people had assembled on Sunday, the 21st of January, in front of the famous Reichstag building in Berlin, which houses the German parl
on Feb 2
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I wanted to like God & Country: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, the new Rob Reiner-produced documentary on “the dangerous implications” of Christian nationalism. I wanted to like it in spite of the trailer’s focus on the ostensible “threat” of Christian nationalism to Christianity itself, a f
on Jan 27
Oklahoma Bill Would Violate Basic Freedoms, Rewrite the Ten Commandments
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In the waning days of 2023, a banner year for Christian nationalism, Oklahoma State Representative Jim Olsen introduced a bill that would force every public school to display his version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. Olsen, a Sunday school teacher and graduate of the Free Gospel Bi
on Jan 22
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In a recent essay for The Atlantic, David Wolpe, a rabbi and visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School, sizes up former president and insurrectionist Donald Trump as follows: “the lavishness of his homes, the buildings emblazoned with his name and adorned with gold accoutrements, his insistent ego
on Jan 21
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“As far as I’m concerned, I’m done with this,” investigative reporter David Neiwert told us, followed by a tremendous sigh, as if setting down an enormous weight that someone else would be obliged to pick up. “Next, I’m writing a book about whales.” We were at the International Conference on Ha
on Jan 20