

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

Feb 4, 2023 • 48min
Weekly Roundup: Transcontinental Spy Buffoons
Brad and Dan break down three issues:
The GOP attack on trans people and drag queens - why the obsession?
The removal of Ilhan Omar from House committees and the blatant hypocrisy behind it
The Neo-Nazi homeschool network and how it is related to Christian nationalist organizing efforts
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/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163
To Donate:
Venmo: @straightwhitejc
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Feb 1, 2023 • 20min
It's In the Code Ep. 37: Purity
The language of “purity” looms large within certain Christian discourses in the US. But what is “purity”? What are the religious, cultural, and religious implications of employing the metaphor of purity? Why might be a considered a problematic, or even dangerous, metaphor? Dan explores these and other 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/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163
To Donate:
Venmo: @straightwhitejc
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Jan 30, 2023 • 39min
Trad Catholics and the Liturgy Wars
Brad speaks with Zac Dayvis and Ashley McKinless, co-hosts of Jesuitical and editors at America Magazine, about why young Catholics are drawn to the Latin mass, the contours of traditional Catholicism, and the ways that right-wing politics and culture attach themselves to older forms of the liturgy.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/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163
To Donate:
Venmo: @straightwhitejc
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi
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Jan 27, 2023 • 59min
Weekly Roundup: 2016 Has Been a Long Year
Brad and Dan begin by discussing the arrest of the FBI agent who was in charge of the NY bureau in the lead up to the 2016 election. He was arrested for working for Oleg Deripaska, a man who was at the center of the Trump-Russia scandal.In the second segment they transition to the book banning policy in place under Ron DeSantis in Florida. They then compare the respective agendas of the Dems and the GOP by looking at how Red States in the Midwest are about to benefit from a renewed manufacturing sector as a result of the CHIPS Act.In the final segment they discuss Kevin McCarthy's approach in the House and the way Michigan might be a model moving forward.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/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163
To Donate:
Venmo: @straightwhitejc
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi
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Jan 25, 2023 • 25min
It's In the Code Ep. 36: A God-Shaped Hole in My Heart
Many have had someone tell them, or grew up hearing, that we all have a “God-shaped hole” in our souls or hearts, and that only faith in (or a “personal relationship with”) Jesus can fill it. What do they mean by this? Where does this idea come from? And what are the consequences, intentional or not, of this way of understanding the human person and the Christian faith? Dan tackles these questions in this week’s episodeSubscribe 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/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163
To Donate:
Venmo: @straightwhitejc
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi
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Jan 23, 2023 • 45min
Astrotopia: The Religion of Space Exploration
As environmental, political, and public health crises multiply on Earth, we are also at the dawn of a new space race in which governments team up with celebrity billionaires to exploit the cosmos for human gain. The best-known of these pioneers are selling different visions of the future: while Elon Musk and SpaceX seek to establish a human presence on Mars, Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin work toward moving millions of earthlings into rotating near-Earth habitats. Despite these distinctions, these two billionaires share a core utopian project: the salvation of humanity through the exploitation of space. In Astrotopia, philosopher of science and religion Mary-Jane Rubenstein pulls back the curtain on the not-so-new myths these space barons are peddling, like growth without limit, energy without guilt, and salvation in a brand-new world. As Rubenstein reveals, we have already seen the destructive effects of this frontier zealotry in the centuries-long history of European colonialism. Much like the imperial project on Earth, this renewed effort to conquer space is presented as a religious calling: in the face of a coming apocalypse, some very wealthy messiahs are offering an other-worldly escape to a chosen few.Mary-Jane Rubenstein is professor of religion and science in society at Wesleyan University. She is coauthor of Image: Three Inquiries in Imagination and Technology, also published by the University of Chicago Press, and the author of Pantheologies: Gods, Worlds, Monsters; Worlds Without End: The Many Lives of the Multiverse; and Strange Wonder: The Closure of Metaphysics and the Opening of Awe.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/Astrotopia: https://bookshop.org/p/books/astrotopia-the-dangerous-religion-of-the-corporate-space-race-mary-jane-rubenstein/18335420Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163
To Donate:
Venmo: @straightwhitejc
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi
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Jan 20, 2023 • 53min
Weekly Roundup: God, Guns, Gas Stoves
Brad and Dan begin by discussing the recent news that Ron DeSantis and his administration rejected the AP course in African American studies course in Florida high schools, because in their estimation it holds no "educational value" and does not align with the historical record. This leads to a longer examination of the history of MLK Jr.'s holiday and the White Christian nationalists who have always opposed it.In the second segment Dan lays out the newly opened rift between evangelicals and Trump. Both hosts wonder if this could spell a decisive blow to Trump's political viability - and what it means for the GOP moving forward.In the final segment, Brad goes through the gas stove culture war discussion and explains why culture was are often both silly and incredibly important.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/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163
To Donate:
Venmo: @straightwhitejc
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi
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Jan 18, 2023 • 26min
It's In the Code Ep. 35: It Gives Me Purpose
Many conservative Christians describe their “faith” as giving “purpose” or “meaning” to their life. What do they mean by this? And why does it does it feel to many that there’s more than a confession or description about their own spiritual life here? Why does it seem that this testimonial is aimed at others in a way the operates just below the surface? In this episode, Dan looks at these issues to crack the code of the “testimony” that one’s faith gives meaning and purpose to their life.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/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163
To Donate:
Venmo: @straightwhitejc
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi
SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron
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Jan 16, 2023 • 45min
Purity Culture is a National Health Risk
Brad speaks with journalist Anna Beahm from Reckon South. Anna shares her harrowing stories from living through (and surviving) purity culture. Over the last few years she has become one of the few journalists whose beat is purity culture, abstinence only sex ed programs, and related issues. She shares her perspectives on the negative effects that these phenomena have on physical health, mental health, and public health, not to mention relationships and self-development.Anna Beahm: https://www.reckon.news/author/abeahm/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/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163
To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi
SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron
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Jan 13, 2023 • 58min
Weekly Roundup: J8 in Brazil to Biden's Classified Corvette
Brad and Dan begin by breaking down how the attempted coup in Brazil is a Christian nationalist copycat of J6, and what this means for how the world views the USA.
Annika Brockschmidt at Religion Dispatches: https://religiondispatches.org/coups-of-a-feather-the-striking-similarities-between-brazils-insurrection-and-jan-6-may-be-due-to-authoritarian-learning/
Brian Klass on Substack: https://brianklaas.substack.com/p/bolsonaro-trump-and-authoritarian
Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood at Word and Way: https://publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/christian-nationalism-invades-brazil
They then discuss the revelations about classified docs found in President Biden's garage and other locations. What does it mean for him going forward? How does it compare to the Trump case? What is the reaction from Republicans and Democrats?They finish by going over the new committee formed in the House by the GOP majority - a committee to investigate the weaponization of the government to be headed by Jim Jordan. Brad breaks down the significance of the committee and what it portends going forward, while Dan brings in the case of Rep. George Santos and what it means for the short-term.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/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJCOrder Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163
To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi
SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron
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