Unreasonable – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Just when you thought you had a handle on all of the Christian Nationalist efforts to reshape America into their biblical paradise (think New Apostolic Reformation, Seven Mountains Dominionism, Jericho Marches, The Federalist Society, The Heritage Foundation, TurningPointUSA, Project 2025), along comes Ziklag, a secret society of mega millionaires created to help sway our elections toward a Christian Nationalist agenda that's also, (get this!) a tax-exempt 501(c)3!

With a name right out of the Marvel Universe, you'd think it comical if it weren't for real. ProPublica reporter Andy Kroll (along with his collaborator Nick Surgey of Documented) engaged in good old fashioned investigative journalism to draw back the curtain on this nefarious group and the ultra-wealthy families (whose fortunes you likely contribute to) behind it. 

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After a long long week of activity in Chicago, our friends Sarah Levin (Secular Strategies) and Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist), graciously agreed to connect for an exclusive conversation for Unreasonable listeners, recapping what they saw and heard at the Democratic National Convention, especially from a secular perspective, since over 30 percent of the Democratic party is non-religious.

There was a lot of god talk coming from the podium. And we get it: Democrats have the opportunity to draw in people of faith who’ve finally had it with their anti-Christ candidate. How many of those people actually exist? Who knows, but in this game of inches it behooves us to invite them to the party and feel welcome. As they should: honest people of faith do, for the most part, share the social and moral values of secular voters.

And though there’s still work to be done, tremendous strides have been taken by the party to acknowledge their reliable None voters. 

Sarah and Hemant walk us through them on this special DNC episode of Unreasonable.

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Erica Coray and Zach Pekelis are attorneys working to limit the deleterious impacts from religious accommodations. Their SRF panel “Past, Present and Upcoming Battles Over Health Mandates and Religious Accommodations” examined the law governing religious exemptions from public health requirements and the impact these cases have on the future of religious exceptionalism in law and society.

They talked to Unreasonable about the real-life threats posed by religious accommodations, the cynical use of the term “deeply held religious beliefs” and how courts are meant to assess a plaintiff’s standing, as well as the sincerity, of their religious-based objections. (Think gay wedding cakes, hypothetical websites, postal workers demanding Sunday off and football coaches making 50-yard line public spectacles of their personally held religious beliefs.)

Most timely, we get into the current Supreme Court battle argued by Erin Hawley (a former clerk for Justice Roberts who now works for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a powerful conservative Christian legal group, and the wife of insurrectionist Sen. Josh Hawley ) regarding access of the abortion pill Mifepristone.

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Erin Reed is a transgender woman, public speaker, journalist and activist who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world, tirelessly reporting on issues concerning the trans community. Her immensely influential TikTok account has over 445,000 followers and her daily Substack, Erin In The Morning, has more than 54,000 subscribers. 

On twitter alone, her works has been viewed over 250 million times. That’s reach.

All told, her content has been viewed hundreds of millions of times with one goal: “to achieve gender justice for queer and marginalized people through education and understanding.”

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On June 12, 2016, life changed for Brandon Wolf. He crouched in a bathroom while a gunman opened fire at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub, killing his best friends, Drew Leinonen & Juan Guerrero, and 47 others.

Rather than be swallowed by the anger and fear of tragedy, Brandon set out to honor the victims’ legacies with action.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Brandon co-founded The Dru Project, a nonprofit organization that works to empower youth and provide future leaders in the LGBTQ community funding for higher education. To date, the organization has given over $150,000 in college scholarships to rising leaders.

He also became an outspoken activist in the gun violence prevention movement, partnering with March For Our Lives, Everytown, Giffords, and others to demand legislative solutions to the epidemic. In 2019, he became the first survivor of the tragedy at Pulse Nightclub to testify before Congress.

Today, Brandon is a nationally-recognized gun safety and LGBTQ civil rights advocate and dynamic public speaker. He currently serves as National Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization.

He is the author of the memoir, "A Place for Us."

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By his own definition, Todd Stiefel is weathly. He just is. That’s not a judgment, just a fact. When his family business was sold and the non-compete clause kicked in, he was left financially secure and without a career. His years of preparation to lead the company were rendered unnecessary. One day he was Chief Strategy Officer of Stiefel Laboratories. Next, he’s searching for ways to protect, and make the best use of, his windfall.

He created the Stiefel Freethought Foundation, whose mission is to “secure humanity’s future by ensuring public policy decisions are based on love and reason rather than bias and dogma.” He has gifted over $8.7 million to charitable causes, including $7.7 million dollars to nonprofit organizations in the secular movement. 

We met Stiefel at the Summit for Religous Freedom in April. This interview follows up on a screening of the new documentary, "Bad Faith," (Stiefel is an executive producer) that closed out the event.

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Tim Whitaker is a true believer. The creator and facilitator of The New Evangelicals podcast, Tim advocates for the marginalized within the church, exploring the full depth and breadth of Christian faith traditions, and seeks to hold toxic churches and their leaders accountable.

So if you’re appalled by watching the America you thought you knew violently shapeshift into an authoritarian theocracy, imagine what it’s like for those who have a completely different understanding of religion — a progressive one — witness the debasing of their country at the hands of those cravenly reinterpreting the sacred tenets of their  faith.

In an age of Christian cosplay, The New Evangelicals seek to reclaim the evangelical tradition by embracing Christ-like values like inclusivity, diversity, and respectfulness.

The New Evangelicals “advocate for a restored church that recognizes the imago dei in others, and does not dehumanize anyone in their journey.”

Imagine that. 

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Dr. Anthea Butler is Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought, and chair of the department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

A historian of African American and American religion, her research and writing spans African American religion and history, Nationalism, race, politics, Evangelicalism, gender and sexuality, media, and popular culture.

She is an opinion writer for MSNBC, and her articles have been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and The Guardian.

Dr. Butler is also the author of “White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America.”

So with that portfolio, you might find be suprised to learn that she has some thoughts on our current religio-political moment.

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We're going to assume that if you're listening to this, Jamie Raskin needs no introduction.

He's an icon among progressives and the secular movement. He co-chairs the Congressional Freethought Caucus with Rep. Jared Huffman from California.

Even if you're not especially politically engaged, you couldn't have missed him as a forceful and learned voice for justice during the criminal investigation into J6.

Prior to his political career, he was a professor of constitutional law at American University. He's the author of several books, including the must-read "Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy," which tracks the simultaneity of his own personal tragedy with the political convulsions surrounding the 2020 presidential election.

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Ani Zonneveld is a writer, singer/songwriter, and founder and president of Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV), an international human rights organization that advocates for social justice and equality for all, and supports freedom of expression and of conscience, women’s rights and, as an ally, LGBTQ rights. 

She spoke with Unreasonable about the false narratives around Islam, the religion's view on abortion, America's equivalent to the Taliban, and her message of social justice and peace from a progressive Muslim woman’s perspective.

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