This week, Ashley and Bailee engage in a discussion of the evangelical and religious right’s “Save the Children” narrative — exploring how fears around education, media, and social progress are often used to shape public perception and moral urgency. We reflect on how these stories are constructed, who they’re aimed at, and what they reveal about broader anxieties around influence, identity, and who gets to “indoctrinate” children. We also consider the real vulnerabilities of children, how concerns for their protection can be unevenly applied, and how harm is sometimes weaponized to reinforce longstanding patterns of scapegoating.

References:

• Office for Victims of Crime. (2024). Human trafficking. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. https://cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/04-2024/human_trafficking.html
• Oklahoma Voice. (2024, February 26). Ryan Walters’ war on pornography has gone too far by weaponizing Oklahoma school accreditation. https://oklahomavoice.com/2024/02/26/ryan-walters-war-on-pornography-has-gone-too-far-by-weaponizing-oklahoma-school-accreditation/
• Rolling Stone. (n.d.). Sound of Freedom: Child trafficking experts weigh in. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/sound-of-freedom-child-trafficking-experts-1234786352/

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This week, Ashley and Bailee continue their deep-dive into the myth of a “Christian nation,” shifting into the modern era and the forces that shaped evangelical political identity as we know it today.

We explore the cultural and political shifts surrounding the presidencies of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, and how the rise of the Moral Majority helped cement the alliance between evangelical Christianity and conservative power. From there, we trace how events like 9/11, the War on Terror, and the Obama era fueled fear, urgency, and a deepened sense of “us vs. them” within evangelical spaces.

As the timeline moves closer to the present, we look at how these narratives evolved through the Tea Party and into the Trump era—examining how the idea of America as a “Christian nation” became not just a belief, but a driving force in politics, culture, and identity.

References:

• National Public Radio. (2018, February 24). Billy Graham walked a line—and regretted crossing into politics. https://www.npr.org/2018/02/24/587809173/billy-graham-walked-a-line-and-regretted-crossing-over-it-when-it-came-to-politi
• Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d.). Reaganomics. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/minitext/ess_reaganomics.html
• Virginia Commonwealth University, Social Welfare History Project. (n.d.). The conservative transition in American social policy. https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/eras/1980s-beyond/the-conservative-transition-in-american-social-policy/

Add to Bailee’s summer floating playlist

Fact Check:

Billy Graham Quote:
"I told him [Falwell] to preach the Gospel. That's our calling. I want to preserve the purity of the Gospel and the freedom of religion in America. I don't want to see religious bigotry in any form. Liberals organized in the '60s, and conservatives certainly have a right to organize in the '80s, but it would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it." — Billy Graham

• Source: February 1, 1981, cover story of Parade magazine, titled "Billy Graham: America Is Not God's Only Kingdom".

Hijackers in the September 11 attacks hailed from four countries: 15 of them were citizens of Saudi Arabia, two were from the United Arab Emirates, one was from Egypt, and one from Lebanon.

• Source:
  • "A Review of the FBI's Handling of Intelligence Information Prior to the September 11 Attacks". Office of the Inspector General. Chapter Five: Two September 11 Hijackers: Khalid Al-Mihdhar and Nawaf Al-Hazmi. U.S. Department of Justice. June 2005.

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This week, Ashley and Bailee kick off Part 1 of a deep-dive into one of the most widely accepted beliefs in evangelical culture: that the United States was founded as a Christian nation.

From childhood teachings to political messaging, many of us were told that America’s identity is inherently tied to Christianity — but as we started asking questions, that narrative began to unravel.

In this episode, we trace the roots of that belief — from the Founding Fathers and the realities of America’s founding, to the Civil War, where both sides claimed God, to the rise of Reagan-era politics and the Moral Majority. Along the way, we explore how Christianity and nationalism became intertwined, and how the idea of a “Christian nation” was built over time.

Correction:

• Pat Robertson built CBN (not Jerry Fallwell), later creating CBN University (now Regent University) and the Christian Coalition.
• While Robertson and Falwell were both giants of the Religious Right, their primary organizations were separate.

Recommendations:

• “Jesus and John Wayne” (Kristin Kobes Du M ez) — Analyzes the development of a particularly masculine strain of evangelicalism that influenced Christian nationalist culture (commonly recommended alongside Stewart).
• “Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States” (Samuel Perry & Andrew Whitehead) — Sociological research on Christian nationalist beliefs and how they correlate with political identity.
• Episode 29: The Puritans: The Religion That Built & Broke America

References:

• Balmer, R. (2006). Thy kingdom come: How the religious right distorts the faith. Basic Books.
• Balmer, R. (2014). The real origins of the religious right. Politico Magazine.
• Biag, L. (2025). Race, religion, and reproductive rights: Understanding the conservative anti-abortion movement in America. Imagine: A Promise & McNair Scholars Undergraduate Journal. University of California, Santa Barbara. ucsb.edu
• Fea, J. (2016). Was America founded as a Christian nation? Westminster John Knox Press.
• Frazer, G. (2012). The religious beliefs of America’s founders. University Press of Kansas.
• Holmes, D. L. (2006). The faiths of the founding fathers. Oxford University Press.
• Jefferson, T. (1820). The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (The Jefferson Bible).
• Madison, J. (1785). Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments.
• McKeegan M. The politics of abortion: a historical perspective. Women's Health Issues. 1993 Fall;3(3):127-31. doi: 10.1016/s1049-3867(05)80245-2. PMID: 8274866.
• Noll, M. A. (2002). America’s God. Oxford University Press.
• Rakove, J. N. (2010). Revolutionaries: A new history of the invention of America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
• Wald, K. D., & Calhoun-Brown, A. (2018). Religion and politics in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield.

Connect with Us:
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