Exvangelical

Angela Denker, pastor and author of the book Red State Christians (which was re-released this year with updated material), joins the show to discuss the 2022 midterms and how the political landscape continues to change. In particular she draws on her role serving a rural parish while living in an urban/suburban area, and the ways local relationships are more complex than simple media coverage portrays.Pick up Red State Christians from my Bookshop.org affiliate link, or your local bookstore. Follow Angela Denker's Substack: https://angeladenker.substack.com/To learn more about Christian nationalism, register to attend the Straight White American Jesus live event: Christian Nationalism & The Future of Democracy. Use code SWAJ25 to get 25% off in-person or virtual tickets.Exvangelical is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. Support this show with a free or paid subscription. Learn more at postevangelicalpost.com/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

Powers & Principalities is a show about the systems and institutions of white evangelical influence in America and the world.Season 1, published in the fall of 2020, was all about white evangelicalism and Christian nationalism. Season 2 focuses on white evangelicalism & media. This is episode one.Dating all the way back to at least the 19th century, the various groups we now refer to as White evangelicals have always been early adopters of new media formats. Whether it’s books, radio, tv, film, or any of their digital equivalents like podcasting, youtube, livestreaming, or influencer culture—evangelicals are always at the forefront of using new technology to spread their so-called old time religion. Ultimately, that perennial evangelical impulse is expressed as a desire to tell the Good News, the same good news that, etymologically speaking, is the origin of the term “evangelical” as ‘messenger’ or ‘one who announces’ - and that Good News is found in the Bible.In order to share that news, it is necessary to share the Bible. And white evangelicals have built many institutions and businesses in order to do just that. The most recent and high-profile of these institutions is The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. And that’s where this season begins.My guests for this episode are Cavan Concannon and Jill Hicks-Keeton, authors of the new book Does Scripture Speak for Itself?: The Museum of the Bible and the Politics of Interpretation.Their book takes a critical look at the Museum of the Bible, and the story it is hoping to tell about the Bible. As you’ll hear, it is a very particular perspective on the Bible, and it trying to legitimate that perspective on the national scale. By placing the Museum of the Bible in the long lineage of other evangelical institutions established with similar ends, Concannon and Hicks-Keeton provide a necessary critique of this most recent attempt to prioritize and prefer the evangelical perspective, to the detriment of all others who lay similar claim to Scriptures. I can wait for you to hear this conversation. Help support my work via a subscription to The Post-Evangelical Post. Subscribe for free, upgrade to a paid tier, and find other ways to support my work at postevangelicalpost.com/support.Powers & Principalities is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. This episode was produced by Podcat Audio. Theme music by Jacob Lewis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

This week's guest is Jeanna Kadlec, author of the new book Heretic: A Memoir, out this week. Her book is a deeply intimate memoir of her life growing up in and leaving evangelicalism, discovering her queerness, and much more. We talk about the midwest, about developing spiritual practices after religion, and comics - it was a very laid back and meandering conversation that I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I did.You can find Heretic at your local bookstore, or you can support this show by purchasing it via these Bookshop or Amazon links.Find out about other ways to support my work at postevangelicalpost.com/support. You can subscribe for free, or at $4, $6, or $8 a month. 25% of net revenue is donated.Exvangelical is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. This episode was edited by Podcat Audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

My guest today is Becca Andrews. Becca is a journalist at Reckon News, and author of the new book No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right. She has been reporting on reproductive rights and justice, as well as related topics such as purity culture, for several years and her work has also appeared at Mother Jones, Jezebel, and Teen Vogue, among others.Content note: I want to note that this episode deals directly with abortion and other aspects of reproductive care. For people in my age cohort—Elder Millennials and younger who grew up in conservative white evangelicalism, abortion was absolutely vilified, as were the people who needed them. This conversation starts there, and then looks at the history of reproductive care in the United States from the 19th century through today. I mention this near the end of my conversation with Becca, but I also want to mention it at the top - her book tells the stories of people in need of reproductive health care—including abortion—with tenderness and compassion. They are told in their contexts within the book; we do not appropriate them for this conversation. I highly recommend that you go out and purchase this book to read them for yourself. Learn more about Becca's work at https://becca-andrews.com/Support my work by subscribing for free - or upgrade to paid at $4, $6, or $8 a month and get ad-free podcast feeds and more - at https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about/.-Exvangelical is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. This episode was produced by Podcat Audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

In this interview, I speak to Kristin Peterson, media studies professor at Boston College, about her book Unruly Souls: The Digital Activism of Muslim and Christian Feminists. We discuss the role social media has had in creating a counterpublic that challenges the dominant cultural narratives established by white evangelicalism and other religions. Her book covers aspects of #ChurchToo and other online movements that fall under the broad "deconstruction" umbrella, as well as how Muslims utilize media to critique their own traditions. It's a fascinating conversation and helps contextualize why these conversations that play out online matter--and why a media lens is helpful to understand them._Support my work via a subscription to The Post-Evangelical Post. You can subscribe for free, or at $4/6/8 per month; 25% of net revenue is donated. Learn more at https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about.You can also support the show by rating and reviewing it on Apple Podcasts & Spotify, and telling others about the show.Exvangelical is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. This episode was produced and edited by Podcat Audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

This week, I'm joined by Sarah Heath & Justin Gentry from the REVcovery podcast to talk about burnout. This is a long conversation, and it starts by talking about religious burnout for pastors and other highly-involved volunteers. We later transition into talking about post-religious burnout. Like any conversation, it's just a single convo, and not representative of all perspectives.Listen to REVcovery wherever you find podcasts.Exvangelical is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. Support this show directly at postevangelicalpost.com. Subscribe for free, or at $4, $6, or $8/month to receive ad-free podcast feeds & more. I donate 25% of net proceeds to White Homework & The Religious Exemption Accountability Project. Free tiers are also available.This episode was produced and edited by Podcat Audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, author of the new book On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World. This show is not typically interfaith, but when the opportunity to read Rabbi Ruttenberg’s latest arose, I leapt at the chance. I’ve followed her on Twitter for years and admire her work immensely. On Repentance and Repair is an immensely helpful book that helps reframe what repentance, repair, and forgiveness mean.Those terms are loaded for people whose faith was formed in white evangelicalism. They have often been used and abused by people in positions of authority to manipulate those they’ve wronged into “forgiving” them as a way of absolving themselves and maintaining their positions of influence. Rabbi Ruttenberg explores the value and other meanings of these words in a way that can benefit all people, regardless of their faith or lack thereof. If you do not have a local bookstore or are in the Amazon ebook ecosystem, use this link to buy the book and to support the show.How to support the show: You can rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can tell people about the show. You can also support the show by subscribing to my Substack publication, The Post-Evangelical Post, for free, or upgrade to paid at $4, $6, or $8 per month and get access to: ad-free podcast feeds, Discord, and more. I donate 25% of my net revenue to The Religious Exemption Accountability Project and White Homework. Post-Ev Post is where you’ll find all my writing and podcasting. Learn more at postevangelicalpost.comExvangelical is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. This interview was edited by Podcat Audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

Another archival episode, in light of the news from The Village Church. Matt Chandler went on indefinite leave from TVC this weekend after inappropriate messaging on Instagram, just a couple weeks after they settled with an abuse victim while acknowledging no wrongdoing. These are longstanding issues in evangelicalism going back decades. There's nothing pithy to say about churches that protect their shepherds instead of their flocks.Here is my 2021 interview with Emily Joy Allison. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

While I continue to work on my manuscript, here is another archival episode for you. This is from my series, Powers & Principalities. Season 1 was published in 2020 and focused on Christian nationalism, which remains painfully relevant. This episode features a conversation with Sam Perry and Andrew Whitehead, co-authors of the book Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States [affiliate link]. While I personally think Christian nationalism is very hard to fully extricate from the traditions it inhabits and expresses itself in, I also think the terminology Perry & Whitehead use in their book, Ambassadors, Accommodators, Resisters, and Rejectors is very useful.Of course, this conversation took place before the Jan 6 insurrection, where Christian nationalism was on full display, and before the slate of legislative decisions this summer, most notably the downfall of Roe, that are considered victories for by Christian nationalists. Meanwhile, the term “Christian nationalist” itself has since entered into the lexicon of conservative politicians and pundits as a point of pride. I wrote about this recently for RNS.Perry & Whitehead have been busy since this book was published, as people across the country try . Perry co-authored another book, The Flag & The Cross [affiliate link], with Phillip Gorski, and Whitehead was recently a part of Jemar Tisby’s series “Those Meddling Kids: Unmasking the Anti-CRT Crusade in Christian Nationalism.”I’ll be recording new episodes in the coming weeks, so hang tight. As always, you can support the show via a subscription to my newsletter, The Post-Evangelical Post. Visit postevangelicalpost.com to subscribe at $4, $6, or $8 per month. You’ll get ad-free podcast feeds, Discord access, and more. I donate 25% of net revenue to The Religious Exemption Accountability Project and White Homework.You can also rate and review this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Exvangelical is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

It's been a minute. While I'm working on my manuscript, please enjoy this 2017 interview I recorded with David Bazan from Pedro the Lion.We recorded this interview in Bazan's car, between Living Room shows. It was incredible. The original introduction of this conversation was kept for nostalgia, context, and ease. Original show notes here. To get to the interview, skip about 8 minutes forward (dynamic ads may add 1 more minute).Thanks for listening. New episodes coming soon.Read the 6 Years of Exvangelical post---at Post-Ev Post.Support this show via The Post-Evangelical Post at $4, 6, or $8/month. 25% of net revenue is donated to The Religious Exemption Accountability Project and White Homework.Exvangelical is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about