Faithful Politics

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comIn this episode of Faithful Politics, Will and Josh talk with China expert William Nee about the major October 2025 crackdown on Beijing’s Zion Church, one of the largest underground Christian networks in China. William explains what actually happened during the coordinated raids, why Pastor Ezra Jin (Jin Mingri) and nearly 30 church leaders were charged with “illegally using information networks,” and how all of this connects to Xi Jinping’s tightened national-security agenda.The conversation steps back to look at the broader picture: how “Sinicization” works, why the Chinese Communist Party fears independent faith communities, and what life is like for ordinary Christians when church gatherings, youth religious education, and online ministry can all trigger state action.William also describes how the U.S. government and human-rights groups are responding, why international attention matters, and what this moment means for Christians, Uyghur Muslims, Tibetans, and others facing religious restrictions in China. If you want clear, grounded insight into what’s really happening inside China’s religious-freedom landscape, this episode gives you the context you need.Guest bio:William Nee is the Senior Manager for East Asia at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), where he focuses on China’s human-rights landscape, civil society, and religious freedom. Before NED, he served as a China researcher at Amnesty International and worked with Chinese Human Rights Defenders. His work often covers the CCP’s efforts to control faith communities, including the recent crackdown on Zion Church and its founder, Pastor Ezra Jin.RELEVANT LINKSZion Church background:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Zion_ChurchPastor Ezra Jin biography:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_MingriReuters report on the 2025 arrests:https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-underground-church-pastors-arrested-face-up-three-years-jail-2025-10-11/William Nee on X (Twitter):httSupport the show🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:https://www.patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPolitics📩 Reach out to us:Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comPolitical Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com📱 Follow & connect with us:Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitikInstagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcastLinkedIn: faithfulpolitics📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:faithfulpolitics.substack.com

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comIn this return visit to Faithful Politics, political scientist Dr. Ethan J. Hollander helps us take a hard, honest look at the health of American democracy—and why so many people around the world are tempted by strongman rule. Drawing on his Great Courses series Democracy and Its Alternatives, Ethan walks through a clear, working definition of democracy, why “constitutional republic vs. democracy” is mostly a semantic dodge, and how all political systems are constantly trading freedom for order.Will and Josh press into the mechanics of democratic backsliding: court-packing, weaponizing the bureaucracy, gerrymandering, hollowing out norms, and the “they did it first” spiral that turns politics into a race to the bottom. Along the way, Ethan explains why ranked-choice voting can reward bridge-building candidates, why demonizing the “deep state” is so dangerous, and why, even in failing democracies, the public is still the final check on authoritarian power. This is a hopeful but unsentimental tour through the dictator’s playbook—and what it will take for ordinary citizens to keep the republic.Guest Bio Dr. Ethan J. Hollander is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Wabash College, specializing in comparative politics, authoritarianism and democratization, ethnic conflict, and the politics of the Holocaust. He is the author of Hegemony and the Holocaust: State Power and Jewish Survival in Occupied Europe, and the creator of the Great Courses series Democracy and Its Alternatives, which explores how democracies thrive, why they fail, and the lessons their authoritarian competitors offer. His scholarship also includes work on democratic transitions in Eastern Europe and the Arab Spring, and he is a frequent commentator on the future of democracy around the world.Support the show🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:https://www.patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPolitics📩 Reach out to us:Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comPolitical Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com📱 Follow & connect with us:Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitikInstagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcastLinkedIn: faithfulpolitics📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:faithfulpolitics.substack.com

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comCan you stay in hard conversations without trying to “win” or walk away? In this episode, Harvard Law School Senior Fellow and USA Today bestselling author Bob Bordone joins us to unpack conflict resilience—the ability to stay grounded, curious, and compassionate when everything in you wants to shut down or strike back. Bob helps us understand how to build this muscle in our homes, workplaces, and even in our faith communities. He explains why persuasion mode often backfires, how identity threat hijacks our nervous system, and what neuroscience reveals about giving our brains a “bigger, better offer” than defensiveness. Together we explore the cost of avoidance, the limits of performative civility, and how faith can model a braver kind of engagement that doesn’t sacrifice truth or relationship. By the end, Bob leaves us with tools to disagree well—without giving up or giving in—and reminds us that healing our political divides begins in the small, sacred act of really listening.Learn more and buy his book: https://www.bobbordone.comGuest bio:Bob Bordone is a USA Today bestselling author, Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School, and one of the nation’s leading experts on negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution. For more than two decades, he has helped organizations, governments, universities, and faith communities navigate their toughest conversations. His latest book is Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In.Support the show🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:https://www.patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPolitics📩 Reach out to us:Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comPolitical Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com📱 Follow & connect with us:Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitikInstagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcastLinkedIn: faithfulpolitics📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:faithfulpolitics.substack.com

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comIs the real crisis in American politics actually a crisis of biblical authority and interpretation? In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram sit down with former U.S. Senator Jim DeMint to talk about his new book, What the Bible Really Says: About Creation, End Times, Politics, and You. Drawing on more than two decades in business, Congress, and the conservative movement, DeMint argues that Western civilization—and especially the United States—was built on biblical, Judeo-Christian assumptions about morality, family, and public life, and that those foundations are now being systematically discredited. Will presses DeMint on what it actually means to say America was founded on Christian values, especially in light of the violent treatment of Indigenous peoples, while Josh reflects on his own journey from “America as a Christian nation” to a more complicated, historically informed view. Together, they explore DeMint’s big claim that the Bible itself is true, but many of our long-held interpretations—about creation, science, and the end times—may not be. The conversation ranges from Galileo and the church’s resistance to science, to how Christians should think about nation-states, markets, and political power without confusing America with the kingdom of God. If you’re wrestling with faith, Scripture, and the future of American democracy, this is a thoughtful, challenging listen.Buy the book: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781956454901Guest Bio:Jim DeMint is a conservative leader, author, and former U.S. Senator from South Carolina. After a career in marketing and business, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005 and in the U.S. Senate from 2005 to 2013. He later became president of The Heritage Foundation and now serves as chairman of the Conservative Partnership Institute, an organization focused on training and supporting conservative lawmakers and staff in Washington, D.C.Support the show🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:https://www.patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPolitics📩 Reach out to us:Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comPolitical Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com📱 Follow & connect with us:Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitikInstagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcastLinkedIn: faithfulpolitics📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:faithfulpolitics.substack.com

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat does it really mean to say Christianity is “rooted in Judaism”? In this conversation, Dr. Gavin D’Costa—Emeritus Professor of Catholic Theology at the University of Bristol and visiting professor at Rome’s Angelicum—unpacks the argument of his new book From Sinai to Rome: Jewish Identity in the Catholic Church. We explore how early Christian faith grew from Jewish soil, where continuity ends and discontinuity begins, and why terms like “Judeo-Christian” both clarify and confuse. We also dive into Hebrew Catholicism, Messianic movements, Passover and the Eucharist, interfaith empathy, immigration anxieties, and what a Christ-honoring “rubric” looks like when discerning which practices to carry forward.Dr. D’Costa challenges modern Christians to rediscover the richness of their Jewish roots without collapsing distinctions or erasing theological difference. He argues that recovering this lineage isn’t simply an academic exercise—it’s a spiritual one that can help the Church understand itself, its liturgy, and its moral imagination in a fragmented age. For listeners wrestling with how faith and identity intersect in pluralistic societies, this conversation offers both historical grounding and a compelling call toward deeper empathy and continuity within the Christian story.Buy the book From Sinai to Rome: Jewish Identity in the Catholic Church https://ignatius.com/from-sinai-to-rome-fstrp/Guest bio:Born in Kenya to Indian parents, Gavin D’Costa has shaped contemporary conversations on how Christians theologically relate to Jews and Muslims. He is Emeritus Professor of Catholic Theology at the University of Bristol and serves as a visiting professor at the Angelicum in Rome. His books include Vatican II: Catholic Doctrines on Jews and Muslims (OUP, 2014), Catholic Doctrines on the Jewish People after Vatican II (OUP, 2019), and (as co-editor) From Sinai to Rome: Jewish Identity in the Catholic Church (Ignatius Press, 2025).Support the show🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:https://www.patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPolitics📩 Reach out to us:Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comPolitical Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com📱 Follow & connect with us:Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitikInstagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcastLinkedIn: faithfulpolitics📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:faithfulpolitics.substack.com

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comCan Christians hold fast to biblical convictions about marriage and still radically love their LGBTQ+ neighbors? In this deeply honest and thought-provoking conversation, Dr. Preston Sprinkle, president of the Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender, joins Will Wright and Josh Burtram to explore one of the most polarizing conversations in the church today.Drawing from his books People to Be Loved and Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage?, Dr. Sprinkle unpacks how to hold theological clarity with pastoral compassion—and why kindness isn’t weakness but a biblical command. The discussion ranges from Jonathan Haidt’s moral psychology to the difficulty of having civil discourse in today’s polarized climate, and even touches on the civic versus theological tension around marriage and religious freedom.If you’ve ever wondered how faith, love, and truth can coexist in modern America, this episode will stretch your mind and soften your heart.👤 Guest BioDr. Preston Sprinkle is a biblical scholar, New York Times bestselling author, and president of the Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender. He holds a PhD in New Testament from the University of Aberdeen and has taught at universities in the U.S. and the U.K. A gifted communicator and bridge-builder, Dr. Sprinkle hosts the Theology in the Raw podcast and writes widely about the intersection of Scripture, theology, and culture. His works include Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church, and What the Bible Has to Say and Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage?, both of which aim to pair truth with grace and theological depth with relational empathy.Learn more at theologyintheraw.com.Support the show🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:https://www.patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPolitics📩 Reach out to us:Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comPolitical Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com📱 Follow & connect with us:Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitikInstagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcastLinkedIn: faithfulpolitics📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:faithfulpolitics.substack.com

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comWhat does it actually take to cool down American politics without compromising your convictions? In this episode, former Florida state representatives Jennifer Webb (D) and Kurt Kelly (R) join Faithful Politics to share how their unlikely partnership is helping Floridians rebuild trust and truth through Sunshine 100—a cross-partisan network supported by The Carter Center.They unpack what “truth in politics” really means, why facts alone aren’t enough, and how small acts of proximity—like serving at a food pantry or walking a neighbor to an immigration hearing—can do more to prevent political violence than any debate ever will. This conversation isn’t about kumbaya civility; it’s about hard, disciplined empathy and courage in the public square.Whether you’re a pastor, teacher, or just someone tired of shouting matches, this episode gives you a practical blueprint for reclaiming democracy from the ground up.Guests Bio:Jennifer WebbJennifer Webb is a former Florida state representative who made history as the first out lesbian elected to the Florida legislature. Trained as a cultural anthropologist, she has spent her career bridging divides between faith, politics, and community life. Webb now co-leads Sunshine 100, a Carter Center–supported, cross-partisan network that helps Floridians strengthen truth in politics and prevent political violence. Her work focuses on fostering dialogue, civic education, and practical collaboration across ideological lines.Kurt KellyKurt Kelly is a former Florida state representative and CEO of the Florida Coalition for Children. A lifelong Republican and ordained minister, Kelly has dedicated decades to public service, education, and child advocacy. As co-leader of Sunshine 100, he partners with Democrats, independents, and faith leaders to lower the temperature of political discourse and promote evidence-based, nonviolent engagement. His approach combines conviction, compassion, and a deep belief in the redemptive power of community service.Support the show🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:https://www.patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPolitics📩 Reach out to us:Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comPolitical Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com📱 Follow & connect with us:Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitikInstagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcastLinkedIn: faithfulpolitics📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:faithfulpolitics.substack.com

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comIn this episode of Faithful Politics, Josh and I sit down with Dr. Kevin Burke from the University of Georgia, co-author of the National Education Policy Center report Christian Nationalism and Educational Policy in the United States. We explore how Christian nationalism is reshaping public education—from classroom prayer and Ten Commandments laws to school choice and state-funded religious schools.Dr. Burke explains how recent Supreme Court decisions like Kennedy v. Bremerton and Carson v. Makin opened the door for religion to play a larger role in public life and what that means for the future of church-state separation. We also talk about whether this movement reflects a moral revival or a coordinated political project.It’s a candid, challenging look at how faith, politics, and education collide in today’s culture wars—and what’s really at stake for America’s classrooms.Watch or listen on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.Read the report: https://nepc.colorado.edu/sites/default/files/publications/PB%20Burke-Hadley_0.pdfGuest Bio: Dr. Kevin J. Burke is an Associate Professor at the University of Georgia, specializing in curriculum theory, educational policy, and the cultural intersections of faith, politics, and schooling. His research examines how belief systems—particularly Christian nationalism—inform classroom practices, legislative agendas, and the broader purpose of public education in a democracy.He is the co-author of Christian Nationalism and Educational Policy in the United States, a policy brief published by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), and has written extensively on religion’s influence in American schooling. Dr. Burke’s work challenges educators and policymakers to engage ethical dialogue across ideological divides and to safeguard pluralism in public education.Support the show🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:https://www.patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPolitics📩 Reach out to us:Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comPolitical Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com📱 Follow & connect with us:Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitikInstagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcastLinkedIn: faithfulpolitics📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:faithfulpolitics.substack.com

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comIn this episode of Faithful Politics, hosts Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram speak with Dr. Brandon Bloch, historian and assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, about his groundbreaking book Reinventing Protestant Germany: The Religious Nationalists and the Contest for Post-Nazi Democracy (Harvard University Press).Dr. Bloch explores how German Protestants grappled with complicity, guilt, and renewal after World War II, tracing how theology, nationalism, and moral reconstruction intertwined in the decades following Hitler’s rise. The discussion connects these historical lessons to modern America—especially the resurgence of Christian nationalism and the uneasy dance between faith and political identity.Listeners will come away with a deeper understanding of how religion can both sustain democracy and undermine it, depending on how believers interpret power, patriotism, and divine authority.Guest Bio – Dr. Brandon BlochDr. Brandon Bloch is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, specializing in modern European history, political theology, and human rights. His research focuses on how religion, nationalism, and democracy intersected in 20th-century Germany. His book, Reinventing Protestant Germany: The Religious Nationalists and the Contest for Post-Nazi Democracy (Harvard University Press), examines how German Protestants rebuilt faith and moral authority in the wake of Nazism.Dr. Bloch’s work has been featured in academic and public forums for its insight into how religious identity can both challenge and reinforce authoritarian power.Support the show🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:https://www.patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPolitics📩 Reach out to us:Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comPolitical Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com📱 Follow & connect with us:Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitikInstagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcastLinkedIn: faithfulpolitics📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:faithfulpolitics.substack.com

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comIn this episode of Faithful Politics, hosts Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram speak with Ilana Trachtman, an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, about her newest documentary, Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round. The film uncovers the little-known story of the 1960 civil rights protest at Glen Echo Amusement Park in Maryland—a powerful moment when Howard University students and white Jewish neighbors joined forces to integrate a local amusement park, facing down segregationists and even the American Nazi Party.Trachtman shares how her childhood visits to the park inspired the film, what it means to tell history through intimate personal storytelling, and the unexpected intersections of faith, justice, and memory that emerge when ordinary citizens act on conviction. The conversation explores the emotional layers behind forgotten movements, the role of Jewish allies in early civil rights activism, and how filmmakers like Trachtman use art to preserve moral clarity in divided times.Website: aintnoback.comGuest Bio: Ilana Trachtman is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker with over 30 years of experience producing documentaries for PBS, HBO, Showtime, ABC, and A&E. Her acclaimed works—Praying with Lior, Black and Latin America, and The Pursuit: 50 Years in the Fight for LGBT Rights—explore identity, belonging, and justice through deeply personal stories. Her latest film, Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round, chronicles the interracial protests that desegregated Glen Echo Amusement Park in 1960, blending historical footage with intimate interviews to illuminate how ordinary people shaped the civil rights movement.Support the show🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?👉 Visit our website: faithfulpoliticspodcast.com📚 Check out our Bookstore – Featuring titles from our amazing guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore❤️ Support the show – Help us keep the conversation going:https://www.patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPolitics📩 Reach out to us:Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comPolitical Host, Will Wright: Will@faithfulpolitics.com📱 Follow & connect with us:Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitikInstagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcastLinkedIn: faithfulpolitics📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:faithfulpolitics.substack.com