

Straight White American Jesus
Bradley Onishi + Daniel Miller
An in-depth examination of the culture and politics of Christian Nationalism and Evangelicalism by two ex-evangelical ministers-turned-religion professors. If you have ever wondered what social and historical forces led white evangelicals to usher Donald Trump into the White House this is the show for you. As former insiders and critical scholars of religion, Dan Miller and Bradley Onishi have a unique perspective on the Religious Right. Guests have included Chrissy Stroop, R. Marie Griffith, Janelle Wong, Randall Balmer, Katherine Stewart, and many others.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 3, 2023 • 37min
303 Creative and the Phantom Gay Wedding
Brad analyzes the recent SCOTUS decision ruling that a website designer has the right to refuse to create websites for gay couples. It's the latest attack on equality from the Alliance Defending Freedom. Brad discusses two major components of the case:
The lawful expectations of businesses that are open to the public
The ways that this opens the door for discrimination against numerous vulnerable groups on the basis of the freedom of speech.
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/Piece by Andrew Seidel: https://religiondispatches.org/dont-be-fooled-todays-supreme-court-decision-gutting-civil-rights-laws-isnt-about-an-individual-who-opposes-same-sex-marriage-as-a-tenet-of-faith/Piece by Elizabeth Sepper: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-06-30/supreme-court-303-creative-gay-rights-first-amendment-lorie-smith-neil-gorsuch-sonia-sotomayorPiece by David French: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/30/opinion/christians-and-drag-queens.html
To Donate: venmo - @straightwhitejc
Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 1, 2023 • 59min
Weekly Roundup: Affirmative Reactions
What does the SCOTUS decision on affirmative action have to do with the Don't Say Gay bills, book bans, and attacks on school curricula all over the country? How is is part and parcel of a certain White supremacist libertarianism? What are the ramifications for how we think of education and the ways our professional and legal domains are organized?Brad and Dan answer these questions and more in the Weekly Roundup.Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/
To Donate: venmo - @straightwhitejc
Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 29, 2023 • 28min
It's In the Code Ep. 56: Religious Freedom Part 1
The language of “religious freedom,” “religious freedom restoration” laws, and so forth makes many of us uncomfortable. What does this language mean? Who deploys it? For what reasons? Where did it come from? In this first of a two-part episode, Dan explores these issues, looking at the emergence of the idea of religious freedom and how those who deploy it on today’s political and religious right have departed from its historical meaning.Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/To donate:venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishiLinktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 26, 2023 • 41min
Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation
Jon Ward's life is divided in half: two decades inside the evangelical Christian bubble and two decades outside of it.In Testimony, Ward tells the engaging story of his upbringing in, and eventual break from, an influential evangelical church in the 1980s and 1990s. Ward sheds light on the evangelical movement's troubling political and cultural dimensions, tracing the ways in which the Jesus People movement was seduced by materialism and other factors to become politically captive rather than prophetic.Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/To Donate: venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishiLinktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 24, 2023 • 54min
Weekly Roundup: Abortion is a Religious Right
Brad and Dan dedicate this episode to discussing the state of reproductive rights, activism, and law one year since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Brad begins by going through the numbers on support for abortion in the country, policy and campaign surprises since Roe's fall, and the ways Democrats and Republicans have responded.In the second segment Dan outlines the American religious groups who are suing to have abortion bans overturned in their states on the basis of religious freedom. The argument: abortion is a religious right that is part of their religious practice.This leads to a broader discussion of how law and religion work in the USA and why using religion as a means of policy change is so effective.Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/To Donate: venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishiLinktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 21, 2023 • 25min
It's In the Code Ep. 55: Dedicated Babies
In this week’s episode, Dan explores and explains the practice of infant “dedications,” in contrast with the more familiar practice of infant baptism. Why do some churches reject infant baptism, but practice infant “dedication” instead? And what does this tell us about cultural “duplication” and its role within American evangelical subculture? Check out this week’s episode to find out.Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/To donate:venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishiLinktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 19, 2023 • 41min
Andrew Seidel, Katherine Stewart, Rob Boston on Hope and Fear in 2024 - And Beyond
Brad shares the recording of a roundtable he hosted at Americans United's Summit for Religious Freedom. He asked Andrew Seidel, Katherine Stewart, and Rob Boston what they are worried about in the year ahead - and what gives them surprising amounts of hope as we careen toward 2024. They expound on SCOTUS, public schools, LGBTQ+ rights, and more.Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/To donate:venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishiLinktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 17, 2023 • 1h 3min
Weekly Roundup: Trump Arraignment, SBC Misogyny, and Resources to be a Trans Ally
Brad and Dan begin by discussing the reactions to Trump's arraignment in Miami - from congresspeople calling for war, to Kari Lake talking about 75 million Americans with guns, to megachurch pastors exhorting their congregations to emulate religious terrorists. Brad points out that the anger over Trump's arraignment coincides with the rise of anti-trans rhetoric - from Trump himself to the KKK.In the second segment, Dan provides a long list of ways to learn about trans issues and how to become a trans ally. A list of the resources can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14jp1y8Kj0bxeeY2NHWY3yRhORKx6M_3-/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=115399197961662580538&rtpof=true&sd=trueIn the third segment the hosts discuss the vote in the SBC to exclude any congregations with women serving in the role of pastor. Dan links this to the sinister ways that purity is used as a virtue. Brad provides a history of women in pastoral roles in the SBC and shows why this is not a new issue. More here: https://theconversation.com/how-women-in-the-southern-baptist-convention-have-fought-for-decades-to-be-ordained-161061Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/To donate:venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishiLinktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 14, 2023 • 22min
It's In the Code Ep. 54: Suffering and Persecution
Why do conservative American Christians and Christian nationalists use the rhetoric of being “attacked” and “persecuted”? Why do they perceive themselves to be “suffering” in the contemporary United States, when they experience pronounced social, cultural, and legal privilege? And how do these ideas link up with the broader valorization of “suffering” within some forms of Christian identity? Dan takes on these issues in this week’s episode.Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/To Donate:venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishiLinktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 12, 2023 • 44min
Dispatches from TPUSA's Pastor's Conference
Brad speaks with Tim Whitaker of the New Evangelicals about what he saw and heard at the TPUSA Pastor's Conference in Nashville - a gathering of 1100 pastors from across the country. They discuss three main themes:
COVID denial and the way it created momentum for an anti-government, anti-"woke" church movement
Trans hatred and the dehumanizing rhetoric that TPUSA encourages pastors to use
Christian nationalism - the various factions and debates manifest at the conference and why they should scare us all.
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/To Donate:venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishiLinktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


