Yesterday, I had an in-depth conversation via Substack+Live with Michael Podhorzer, one of the most experienced political analysts out there, about religion, which he called “the real third rail of politics.” Thank you Cathy Stein, "M", Jools, Don Buckter, Bob Fleischman, and many others for tuning into my live video with Michael Podhorzer! Going forward, I’ll be doing more Substack+Live conversations. Hope you’ll join me for my next live video. They’re probably easiest to watch in the app, which you can download below.
The Real Third Rail of Politics
Here’s the summary of my conversation with Michael Podhorzer, who writes over at Weekend Reading .
Robert P. Jones founded the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) because he knows that you can’t understand American politics without understanding religion. The influence of Christian nationalism, especially among white Evangelicals in the South, explains why Trump’s base has stayed with him through so much scandal — and why our politics in general is so polarized and dysfunctional. (For more on that point, read my 2023 post, “How White Christian Political Might Made the Republican Party Hard Right, in 8 Charts.”) We hear nonstop about the so-called diploma divide, but almost nothing about the much larger and more consequential religious divides.
So why do we almost never hear about religion in political reporting? As Robby and I discussed, it’s a third rail for reasons that are understandable, but not defensible. Nobody wants to risk offending or essentializing people’s most deeply held beliefs — but those beliefs, and the institutions behind them, are too important to ignore.
Other highlights of our conversation included:
Why Trump can’t take Catholic voters for granted. He’s never had a lock on Catholics the same way he has on Evangelicals — and that was before his war on Iran and his public attacks on Pope Leo XIV. (Also, Vance is the one who should be more “careful” about theology; the Pope has been so outspoken about the war in Iran because Catholic doctrine is very clear about the immorality of wars of choice.)
More at Robby’s Substack: “How Trump’s Fight with Pope Leo XIV May Hurt Republicans in the Midterms.”
How Pete Hegseth’s anti-DEI crusade is really about mainstreaming white Christian nationalism in the military.
Why reporters who refuse to use the term “Christian nationalism” are out of step with well-grounded social science research.
The enormous influence of Christian media on those within its bubble (which doesn’t include most political reporters).
How the Roberts Court has weaponized (individual) religious liberty to curtail other freedoms.
A Generous Endorsement of BACKSLIDE by Kristin Du Mez
I was also so grateful to Kristin Du Mez for posting a generous endorsement of my new book, BACKSLIDE: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy, over on her Substack Du Mez CONNECTIONS. She has more to say in the full post below, but I’m grateful for these words from her.
“With history as a guide, Robert P. Jones issues a clarion call to American Christians: choose either the way of Christ or complicity with a movement that preys on the vulnerable and privileges the few. Every American Christian should read this book and take its message to heart. This is our 1933.”
―Kristin Du Mez, New York Times best-selling author of Live, Laugh, Love and Jesus and John Wayne
You can pre-order BACKSLIDE at the links below (ordering using these links helps support this newsletter):
My Endorsement of Kristin’s New Book, LIVE LAUGH LOVE
Kristin and I first connected after the publication of her blockbuster book, Jesus and John Wayne. We’ve become friends, and I’m so excited to see her new book, LIVE LAUGH LOVE: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made, coming into the world the week after mine is published in early fall. Here’s my short take on her book, which I endorsed in a longer post below. I encourage you all to pre-order it. It will make a great companion read to BACKSLIDE.
For those like me who have been mesmerized by Kristin’s ability to distill the complexity of cultural history into a compelling narrative, you won’t be disappointed. LIVE LAUGH LOVE is a rigorous piece of historical scholarship—one destined to be an instant classic in the field—that reads like a political thriller. And it’s arriving right on time to help us find our way forward during these dark days in American history.
