Straight White American Jesus

Latest Episodes:

Pentecostalism is Taking Over the World Jun 06, 2022

Show notes

Brad speaks with journalist Elle Hardy about her new book, Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity is Taking Over the World. How has a Christian movement, founded at the turn of the twentieth century by the son of freed slaves, become the fastest-growing religion on Earth? Pentecostalism has 600 million followers; by 2050, they’ll be one in ten people worldwide. This is the religion of the Holy Spirit, with believers directly experiencing God and His blessings: success for the mind, body, spirit and wallet.

Pentecostalism is a social movement. It serves impoverished people in Africa and Latin America, and inspires anti-establishment leaders from Trump to Bolsonaro. In Australia, Europe and Korea, it throws itself into culture wars and social media, offering meaning and community to the rootless and marginalized in a fragmenting world.

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/

Find Elle Hardy's book here: https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/beyond-belief/

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Weekly Roundup: Schools, Grocery Stores, Hospitals, Funerals, Churches Jun 03, 2022

Show notes

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the mass shootings that took place this week at a funeral, a hospital, and more. They ask what can be done about gun violence in a country where one party has chosen to worship handheld killing machines (and the money it brings their leaders). Should laws be passed that allow for civil suits against gun owners responsible for violence and/or manufacturers?

They then turn their attention to an op-ed at the New York Times that tries to downplay the GOP's Christian nationalism and present the party as the "nonreligious right." Brad and Dan dissect the analysis, showing how it rests on faulty metrics and erroneous assumptions.

At the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/01/opinion/republicans-religion-conservatism.html

They end with a report about the "army" of GOP trained poll workers who plan to saturate voting places across the country in this year's midterms. At Politico: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/01/gop-contest-elections-tapes-00035758

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/

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It's In the Code, Ep. 6: Open and Affirming Jun 01, 2022

Show notes

What does it mean when a church declares itself to be “open and affirming?” How does this relate to churches that claim that “no matter where you are on your spiritual journey, you’re welcome here”? In this episode, Dan decodes these phrases to highlight their very different meanings, and suggests that they represent a significant resource for charting the terrain of American Christianity.

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/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's book:https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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The Illusion of Religious Equality in the USA May 30, 2022

Show notes

Brad speaks with Dr. Khyati Joshi, author of White Christian Privilege: The Illusion of Religious Equality in America (NYU 2020).

https://nyupress.org/9781479840236/white-christian-privilege/

The United States is recognized as the most religiously diverse country in the world, and yet its laws and customs, which many have come to see as normal features of American life, actually keep the Constitutional ideal of “religious freedom for all” from becoming a reality. Christian beliefs, norms, and practices infuse our society; they are embedded in our institutions, creating the structures and expectations that define the idea of “Americanness.” Religious minorities still struggle for recognition and for the opportunity to be treated as fully and equally legitimate members of American society. From the courtroom to the classroom, their scriptures and practices are viewed with suspicion, and bias embedded in centuries of Supreme Court rulings create structural disadvantages that endure today.

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/

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Weekly Roundup: Guns Over People (GOP) May 27, 2022

Show notes

On an emotional weekly roundup, Brad and Dan discuss the timeline, law enforcement failures, and nihilism of the Uvalde Massacre. From the handcuffing of parents trying to rescue their kids, to the myth of the good guy with a gun, to the hypocritical theologies of Christian nationalists . . .

Brad points out that this took place in a town near the Southern Border--but that instead of an outsider other, who the GOP always tries to demonize, it was a monster created in this country, abiding by its gun laws, and acting in a way that only happens here--not in Mexico or anywhere else.

Dan responds to the Uncle Rons of the world who would claim this is a result of a loss of Christian values, the nuclear family, or patriotism.

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/

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Special Episode: The Southern Baptist Convention's Apocalypse with Robert Downen May 26, 2022

Show notes

This past week a 400-page report outlining the culture of coverup and the widespread abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention was released. The SBC is the country’s largest Protestant denomination with roughly 14 million members. Together Its 45k churches bring in roughly 11 billion dollars annually. The bombshell report provides details of an abuse and cover up scandal in the SBC that goes both to the very top of the organization but also spreads to every corner of its vast network of churches.

Robert Downen has been covering the SBC and its various scandals since 2018. After having written dozens of articles on the abuse, the silencing of survivors, the threats against whistleblowers, and the resignation of executive leaders accused of rape and cover-ups, he sits down with Brad to discuss the newly released report.

Link to Jonathan Krohn's reporting for SWAJ on the 2021 SBC Convention : https://open.spotify.com/episode/3VVuBFO7xM48S4lmCNxZNn?si=2s4nfIJzTFyIiJvpjWpGDA&dl_branch=1&nd=1
Link to Jonathan Krohn's report from the floor of the SBC Convention in 2021: https://player.fm/series/straight-white-american-jesus-2916173/a-house-divided-dispatches-from-sbc-2021

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/

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It's In the Code, Ep. 5: Wherever You Are on Your Spiritual Journey May 25, 2022

Show notes

“No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, you’re welcome here.” This is a slogan we might read on church flyers, websites, or signs. We might here it in the welcome given by the pastor of a church. But what does it mean? In this episode Dan decodes this phrase to find out if it delivers on the promise of acceptance and inclusion it communicates. He explores what kinds of churches make this affirmation and what the limits of acceptance might be on “wherever you are.”

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/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's book:https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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A Sex Educator and Abortion Care Provider on Organizing and Fighting Back May 23, 2022

Show notes

Brad speaks with sex educator Erica Smith about her experiences working in abortion care and what the overturning of Roe looks like on the ground for ordinary Americans. They discuss how and why abortion is healthcare and the health risks involved for pregnant people if abortions are not accessible. They also discuss how the misguided approaches to sex education in this country lead to reductive conversations about pregnancy, abortion, and reproductive rights. They finish by discussing ways to get involved in the fight for reproductive rights at a time when organizing and activism are as important as ever.

National Network of Abortion Funds: https://abortionfunds.org/

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/

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Weekly Roundup: The Deadliness of Caucasian Replacement Theory (CRT) May 20, 2022

Show notes

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the various dimensions of the Buffalo massacre and the shooter's understanding of Caucasian Replacement Theory (CRT). Dan demonstrates that this ideology is farm from fringe in today's American Right. Instead, it is a mainstream position touted by the likes of senators, congresspeople, and Fox News talking heads.

Brad dives into the Christian nationalist elements of the shooter's identity, pointing to how he equates Whiteness with Christianity and uses both as the grounds for his violence against those who don't share both those characteristics.

Talia Lavin at Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/buffalo-shooter-white-supremacist-great-replacement-donald-trump-1353509/

Greg Sargent at WaPo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/18/doug-mastriano-insurrectionist/

They both argue that it is not enough to be neutral on these matters. Anti-racism and anti-Christian supremacy stances demand active engagement to thwart and prevent both from cultivating in one's community.

To get involved: startguide.org

In the final segment, they analyze the results of various primary elections across the country. The main thesis is that these elections in PA, NC, and KY highlight the stark contrast in the visions the two parties have for the USA. Across the board, the GOP elected election-deniers and Christian nationalists.

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: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi

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It's In the Code, Ep. 4: Cool Kid Church May 18, 2022

Show notes

What is “cool kid church?” It’s the gleaming church-that-doesn’t-look-like-a-church in suburbia. It’s the church with the pastor who’s just a “cool guy” talking with the congregation. It’s the church of modern consumer capitalist America. It’s the church of American suburbia and the upper middle class, preaching a Christian message that provides meaning without producing undue comfort. It’s the church that emphasizes a “relevant” Christianity that will speak to you “no matter where you are on your spiritual journey.” But what do we find as we decode cool kid church? That’s the topic of this 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/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's book:https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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