Faithful Politics: More Than a Podcast
How We’re Building a Community of Learners at the Intersection of Faith, Politics, and Public Life
When Faithful Politics launched five years ago, we had one simple goal: create a space where a progressive political voice and a conservative faith-based voice could sit down and have a civil, honest conversation. It started as a once-a-week experiment between two people who barely knew each other—and who definitely didn’t have a long list of guests lined up.
Fast forward to today—and for two guys nobody had heard of (arguably still true), we’ve somehow grown into a show that releases two episodes a week, launched a faith-focused spinoff called The Faith Roundtable, and hosted conversations with some of the smartest minds out there: scholars, theologians, policymakers, historians, activists—you name it.
And here’s the thing: they don’t always take the positions you’d expect. That’s by design. We’re not here to preach to the choir—we’re here to challenge assumptions, ask better questions, and make space for unexpected answers.
We believe it’s important to hear voices that challenge assumptions—ours and yours. And that’s what you’ll find in the resources we’ve built: honest conversations across lines of difference, rooted in curiosity, integrity, and a desire to understand—not just debate.
Built for the Curious: Learning Beyond the Episode
You’re probably a lot like us—curious about the world, especially when it comes to faith, politics, or that messy space where the two collide.
That curiosity is what drives everything we create—not just the podcast, but the deep-dive educational resources we’ve built on our website and YouTube channel. We’re not great at marketing (and yes, we do take donations—lol), but we’ve invested in content we’re genuinely proud of. It’s all free, because we believe access to thoughtful, informed conversations shouldn’t come with a paywall. (Nod to Crash Course.) But again… donations are cool too.
Here’s what we’ve put together so far:
🎧 Curated Episode Collections
We’ve pulled together some of our most powerful and thought-provoking conversations into themed collections—designed for people who want to go deeper than a single episode can take them. And just a heads-up: we’re constantly adding to these, so what you see today is only the beginning.
Religious Nationalism
This collection explores the rise of Religious Nationalism in America and how faith is used to shape political power and national identity. We unpack the theological and constitutional stakes of this movement with experts on Christian Nationalism, the Seven Mountain Mandate, and the people in Congress and civil society working to preserve the separation of church and state. We also include voices who argue that Christian Nationalism isn’t something to be feared—because hearing all sides matters.
Racial Reconciliation
We dive into the ongoing work of racial reconciliation in the Church and society. These episodes spotlight honest stories and lived experiences, while asking what it truly means for faith communities to lead the way toward justice, repair, and hope.
Critical Race Theory
What even is CRT, and why is it so misunderstood? This collection breaks it down. With help from scholars and pastors, we trace the roots of Critical Race Theory, address the controversy, and explore why it matters for Christians who care about truth, justice, and racial equity.
LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Faith Spaces
These conversations explore what it means to be LGBTQ+ and a person of faith. We talk with people navigating identity and belief, church acceptance and exclusion, and the long journey toward dignity and belonging in spiritual communities.
Life: As We Know It
Abortion. The death penalty. War. These are some of the most complex moral issues of our time. This collection doesn’t give you the “right” answer—but it offers thoughtful dialogue, respectful disagreement, and perspectives that might challenge how you think about what it means to value life.
🕰 The Story of Religion in America: A Living Timeline
One of the newest resources we’re excited to share is our interactive timeline:
“Shaping a Nation: The Influence of Christianity on America.”
This isn’t your high school history textbook recap. It’s a thoughtfully curated journey through the profound (and sometimes complicated) role Christianity has played in shaping American culture, politics, and public life—from the colonial era to today.
We trace how early settlers embedded faith into our nation’s foundation, how religious revivals like the Great Awakenings fueled major reform movements, and how Christian beliefs have influenced everything from abolition and women’s rights to civil rights, modern political ideologies, and today’s legal and moral debates.
What makes this timeline especially unique is that it doesn’t just show you dates and headlines—we’ve also interwoven interviews we've conducted with leading scholars, historians, theologians, and legal experts. Their insights help bring context and nuance to key events, offering depth and perspective you won’t find in a typical history summary.
While this timeline doesn’t claim to cover everything, it offers a compelling narrative about the deep and enduring connection between faith and public life in the American story.
We're continuously adding to it, so check back often.
And if you know of a key moment or resource we’ve missed, reach out and let us know—this is a community project, and we’d love to build it together.
🎙 Heavenly Homeland: Unpacking the Layers of Christian Nationalism
In addition to our timeline and curated episode collections, we’ve also created a narrative audio documentary series that takes a deeper, more personal dive into one of the most pressing and misunderstood issues in American public life: Christian Nationalism.
Heavenly Homeland is a five-part audio documentary from the Faithful Politics podcast that unpacks the complex relationship between Christianity and American identity. Hosted by Will Wright, and featuring interviews with over two dozen historians, theologians, legal scholars, journalists, and psychologists, the series doesn’t just critique—it tells a story.
Each episode explores a key theme:
The Myth of a Christian Nation – We trace the origins of the claim that America was founded as a Christian nation and examine how that narrative has been used—and misused—over time.
Church and State: A Fragile Balance – What does the separation of church and state really mean? And how has that principle evolved (or eroded) throughout U.S. history?
The Church’s Darkest Hours – From slavery and segregation to genocide and exclusion, we confront some of the worst stains in Christianity’s American story—and ask what repentance looks like.
Trump and the Theology of Power – We take a hard look at the complicated (and often surreal) alliance between Christian communities and Donald Trump, and what it reveals about political identity and spiritual formation.
The Stories You Haven’t Heard – We close with powerful, hopeful stories of Christians living out their faith in radical ways—through love, forgiveness, resistance, and grace.
This series is designed to challenge assumptions, broaden understanding, and foster reflection. It doesn’t aim to “cancel” anyone—it aims to invite everyone, across beliefs and backgrounds, into a deeper conversation about the intersection of faith, politics, and power.
👉 [Listen to Heavenly Homeland here]
Conversations With the People Shaping Our World
Over the years, we’ve hosted an incredible range of guests—from Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists and academic experts to bishops, activists, and elected officials. And we’re not talking about soundbites. These are hour-long, nuanced discussions that challenge the echo chamber and give voice to people from across the political, spiritual, and social spectrum.
Want to see who’s joined us? Check out our guest portfolio, where we spotlight the diversity of thought represented on the show.
We also keep growing our Bookshop.org affiliate collection, which includes titles from our guests and trusted sources to help our community continue learning off-mic.
It’s Not About Sides. It’s About Substance.
In a world that pushes everyone to pick a side and stay there, we’ve chosen a different lane—one where conviction doesn’t cancel out humility, and where disagreement isn’t the end of the conversation but the beginning of something meaningful.
This community was built for the curious, the skeptical, the hopeful, and the worn out. For anyone trying to understand how faith and politics shape our world—and how we might live with integrity in both.
So if you’ve only caught a few episodes, take a look around. There’s more here. Whether you’re a pastor shaping a sermon, a teacher prepping a civics lesson, or just someone scrolling through the chaos of today’s headlines looking for a foothold—Faithful Politics is here to help you learn without losing your soul.
As James Baldwin once said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
We hope you’ll face it with us.
