On January 18, I launched the hashtag #ExposeChristianSchools on Twitter as a response to Vice President Mike Pence and conservative commentators like David French lambasting liberals over legitimate criticism of Second Lady Karen Pence for choosing to teach art at Immanuel Christian School in Springfield, Virginia—a K-8 school that explicitly discriminates against members of the … Continue reading Setting the Record Straight on #ExposeChristianSchools: Why the Media Must not Cede Coverage of Ex-Evangelicals to the Right
Update and Exvangelical Miscellany: Academia, Exvies, the Evangelical Reckoning, the Columbia International University Scandal, and Jerusalem
T.S. Eliot surely did not have academia in mind when he wrote "April is the cruelest month," but his assertion does apply well enough to academia. It's a "wasteland" for the vast majority of Ph.D.s minted in the last 10 years or so, after all, and, for those of us holding on to academic employment, … Continue reading Update and Exvangelical Miscellany: Academia, Exvies, the Evangelical Reckoning, the Columbia International University Scandal, and Jerusalem
The Fundamentally Free Blog Launches an #EmptyThePews Series
Coming on the scene only in January of this year, Fundamentally Free is a new ex-Evangelical blog that has already published a good deal of valuable and impressive content by a diverse array of authors. On March 20, 2018, Fundamentally Free's Twitter account put out a call for #EmptyThePews stories--stories of why and how individuals left … Continue reading The Fundamentally Free Blog Launches an #EmptyThePews Series
The Last Temptation of American Journalism, or, Michael Gerson is Not a Hero
If there's one temptation America's major newspapers and magazines seem unable to resist, it's the temptation to normalize America's white Christian extremists--including traditionalist Catholics, yes, but especially Evangelicals. On the whole, this 81% Trump-voting population represents a clear and present danger to American democracy and the future of human rights, but time and again The … Continue reading The Last Temptation of American Journalism, or, Michael Gerson is Not a Hero
Let’s Make the Most of the #MercerCulpa
Thanks to a deluge of important commentary about the fate of DACA and Dreamers amid the failure of an immigration deal, news about the horrific Parkland, FL school shooting, and news about special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling and Trump team collusion, Rebekah Mercer's godawful gaslighting op-ed has not generated as much … Continue reading Let’s Make the Most of the #MercerCulpa
Forget the Media Caricature. Allow Me to Caricature Myself
Disclaimer: The following op-ed was penned by guest blogger B. Mercenarius III (well, by his ghost writer, and in accordance with the conclusions of several focus groups regarding the talking points likely to be most effective in eliciting the sympathy of his fellow Americans). Any resemblance to Rebekah Mercer's op-ed in The Wall Street Journal … Continue reading Forget the Media Caricature. Allow Me to Caricature Myself
Ex-Evangelicals in 2017: A Not Your Mission Field Year in Review
2017 has been a devastating year for America, and a disheartening year for those of us who care about human rights and democracy, and who have been resisting the rise of American authoritarianism under our current, illegitimate, president. This group includes the ex-Evangelical community, many members of which have shown dedication to exposing the authoritarian, … Continue reading Ex-Evangelicals in 2017: A Not Your Mission Field Year in Review
Ex-Evangelical Means Much More than Dropping a Label: A Response to Josiah Hesse
This morning, journalist, novelist, and ex-Evangelical Josiah Hesse published an important article in The Guardian. The original (and, as of 5:06 p.m. Eastern, current) headline of the article is "'Exvangelicals': Why More Religious People are Rejecting the Evangelical Label." Hesse's article focuses primarily on a new wave of Christians dissociating themselves from the term "Evangelical" due to … Continue reading Ex-Evangelical Means Much More than Dropping a Label: A Response to Josiah Hesse
Not Your Mission Field 