Journalist and author Katherine Stewart discusses the rise of Christian Nationalism in the US with Dahlia Lithwick and Rachel Laser. They explore extremist ideologies in the highest court, legal shifts enabling right-wing agenda, and the impact of religious beliefs on laws like Project 2025.
Rising Christian Nationalism influences US legal system, blending religion and politics.
Transition of Trump supporters viewing him as a messianic figure with Christ-like attributes.
Project 2025 outlines conservative policies to restrict rights and reshape education system.
Deep dives
Highlights of the Tribeca Slow Burn Live Event
To celebrate the new season of Slow Burn and Pride Month, a special live taping at the Tribeca Film Festival featured notable guests like DeRay McKesson and discussions on the lasting impact of the Briggs Initiative.
Exploring the Influence of Religion on American Legal Discourse
Religion plays a significant role in American legal discourse, with extreme religionists comfortable discussing religious fundamentalism; movements like Dominionism and the New Apostolic Reformation are highlighted, pointing towards efforts to blend religion and politics.
Significant Shifts in Views Towards Donald Trump
The discussion reveals the transition of views towards Donald Trump, from being an imperfect messenger to being perceived as a messianic figure, drawing parallels with Christ-like attributes among certain supporters.
Challenges Posed by Christian Nationalism in Public Education
The influence of Christian nationalism extends into public education, leading to threats against public schools and shifts towards funding religious and ideologically right-wing schools, reflecting a broader agenda to alter the education landscape in favor of religious ideals.
Project 2025 and its Radical Agenda
Project 2025 serves as a blueprint for conservative and religious extremist policies, aiming to roll back LGBTQ rights, limit reproductive freedoms, redirect public funds to religious schools, and redefine religious freedom, signaling a targeted and challenging agenda for America's future.
Over the past 15 years, the journalist and author Katherine Stewart has been charting the rise of Christian Nationalism in the United States. On this week’s Amicus, Stewart joins Dahlia Lithwick and Rachel Laser of Americans United for Separation of Church and State to discuss the worrying signs of the growing power of extremist christian ideologies at the highest court in the land. Together, they trace shifts in jurisprudence that have emboldened and empowered some of the most extreme fringes of the extreme Christian right, and explain how the changing legal landscape is enabling right wing religious fever dreams to become explicit policy in a document like Project 2025. They all agree on this one thing: This is an episode about much more than flags.