Sam talks with scholar Matthew D. Taylor about House Speaker Mike Johnson and the significance and danger exemplified in Johnson's ascent to power. Taylor documents Johnson's links to leading voices in the Christian Charismatic movement (which were early adopters of the Trump cult, and unlike mainstream Evangelical leaders, have never split in their support for Trump). This movement also played a key role in mobilizing for the Jan 6 coup and continue to support Trump's quest for power in 2024. We explore what this tells us about the role and influence of Christian Nationalism, the New Apostolic Reformation movement, and the threat of theocracy in the United States.
Dr. Matthew D. Taylor is a Senior Scholar and the Protestant Scholar at the Institute for Islamic. Christian, Jewish Studies where he specializes in Muslim-Christian dialogue, Evangelical and Pentecostal movements, religious politics in the U.S., and American Islam. His forthcoming book The Violent Take It By Force: The Christian Movement that Is Sabotaging Our Democracy will be released in September 2024. On a podcast series “Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation” Taylor takes on the history of the New Apostolic Reformation the leaders and ideologies that fueled the siege of the capitol. Follow him on Twitter @TaylorMatthewD. He is also on Substack.
Mentioned in this episode:
Mike Johnson, Polite Extremist, by Matthew D. Taylor (The Bulwark)
The Key to Mike Johnson’s Christian Extremism Hangs Outside His Office by Bradley Onishi, Matthew D. Taylor (Rolling Stone)
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Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Related episodes:
The Nightmare That Is House Speaker Mike Johnson
Jeff Sharlet-The Undertow: Scenes From a Slow Civil War
Christian Dominison and Fascist Momentum
The Flag and the Cross and the Little Blue Bird
Bradley Onishi: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism–and What Comes Next
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