Just Liberty
Just Liberty: Where Justice and Liberty Meet The whole idea of religious freedom in America has taken a PR hit. For some, it’s a cover for bigotry or tool for Christian nationalists; for others it’s the last line of defense in a society that’s becoming hostile to traditional faith. Is there a better way to think and talk about religious freedom in America that doesn’t buy into political extremes? Join hosts Alan Reinach, executive director of the Church-State Council, who has been litigating religious liberty cases for nearly 40 years, and Bettina Krause, editor of Liberty Magazine, which has been at the forefront of religious liberty conversations since 1906. Together, they interview experts in law, politics, and faith, and tackle tough religious freedom questions, not just from the courts but also from culture. Listen to Just Liberty for a fresh, balanced take on religious liberty and church-state issues. Coming Spring 2024. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode.
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Episodes
Tuesday Feb 24, 2026
Tuesday Feb 24, 2026
Many Christians are exhausted by politics—caught between culture wars, partisan pressure, and a sense that something vital has been lost. This episode explores a healthier vision of public faith, drawing on the Black church’s tradition to ask how moral clarity, spiritual depth, and faithful witness can take us beyond "politics as usual."
This episode was recorded on January 14, 2026.
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Guest: Justin Giboney, Founder and President, AND Campaign
Social media: @JustinEGiboney
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Book | Justin E. Giboney, Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around: How the Black Church's Public Witness Leads Us out of the Culture War, Intervarsity Press, 2025). https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Nobody-Turn-Around/dp/1514008424
Website | The AND Campaign https://www.andcampaign.org/about-us
Tuesday Feb 17, 2026
Tuesday Feb 17, 2026
Foreign aid and refugee policy rarely stay in the headlines—but their consequences can be life-or-death. This episode looks at the quiet dismantling of U.S. humanitarian aid, sweeping changes to refugee policy, and how decisions made in Washington are reshaping care for the world’s most vulnerable, with profound moral and religious implications.
This episode was recorded on January 14, 2026.
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Website | https://worldrelief.org
Book | Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang, Welcoming the Stranger (Intervarsity Press, 2018). https://worldrelief.org/welcoming-the-stranger/
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Guest: Matthew Soerens, Vice President of Advocacy & Policy, World Relief
X: @MatthewSoerens
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewsoerens/
Tuesday Feb 10, 2026
Tuesday Feb 10, 2026
When ISIS left northern Iraq eight years ago, the headlines moved on. But for some of Christianity’s oldest communities the trauma and danger remain. In this episode we discuss the fight to defend religious freedom and rebuild destroyed churches in a region where Christians face immense economic and legal challenges. Can these ancient Christian communities survive?
This interview was recorded on January 14, 2026.
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Article | "Iraq's Vanishing Christians," by Sean Nelson, Liberty magazine (January-February 2026) https://www.libertymagazine.org/article/iraqs-vanishing-christians
Website | Alliance Defending Freedom International - https://adfinternational.org
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Guest:
Sean Nelson, Senior Counsel, ADF International
@adfinternational
Tuesday Feb 03, 2026
Tuesday Feb 03, 2026
The religion clauses of the First Amendment didn’t arrive with fireworks or fanfare. In this episode, we explore the surprising evolution of the American idea of religious freedom from constitutional afterthought to culture war battleground. What exactly did America's founders mean when they talked about "religious free exercise"?
This episode was recorded on January 14, 2026.
Show NotesArticle | "James Madison and the Moderate Origins of the Religious Clauses," Liberty magazine (January-February 2026) https://www.libertymagazine.org/article/james-madison-and-the-moderate-origins-of-the-religion-clausesBook | "Free Exercise: Religion, the First Amendment, and the Making of America" by Chris Beneke (Oxford University Press, 2024). https://www.amazon.com/Free-Exercise-Religion-Amendment-America/dp/0197767028
Tuesday Jan 20, 2026
Tuesday Jan 20, 2026
The saga continues over the fate of the so-called Johnson Amendment—a provision in the U.S. tax code that prohibits tax-exempt houses of worship from endorsing political candidates. What would greater political involvement mean for American churches, and what are the potential benefits and risks? And why has the Seventh-day Adventist Church historically taken a somewhat different approach than many other Protestant denominations in the United States?
This episode was recorded Nov 25, 2025.
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Article | "Divine Endorsements," Liberty magazine (September-October 2025) https://www.libertymagazine.org//article/divine-endorsements Article | "Preaching Politics," Liberty magazine (January-February 2025) https://www.libertymagazine.org//article/preaching-politics
Article | "The Johnson Amendment and the First Amendment--A No-Nonsense Protection" (January-February 2018) https://www.libertymagazine.org//article/the-johnson-amendment-and-the-first-amendment-a-no-nonsense-protection
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Guests:
Todd McFarland, General Counsel, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Orlan Johnson, Director, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, Seventh-day Adventistst Church in North America
Tuesday Jan 13, 2026
Tuesday Jan 13, 2026
Christian nationalism is often dismissed as a loose ideology—but what if it’s something far more organized? We talk with a journalist who has spent more than a decade investigating individuals and groups working to reshape the relationship between faith and power in American politics.
This episode was recorded on Nov 25, 2025.
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Book | Katherine Stewart, Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy (Bloomsbury, 2025). https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/money-lies-and-god-9781635578546/
Article | Jennifer Woods, "Book Review: Burning Down the House," Liberty, March/April 2025. https://www.libertymagazine.org/article/burning-down-the-house
Website | Katherine Stewart https://katherinestewart.me
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Katherine Stewart, journalist and author
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/katherinestewart.bsky.social
Substack: https://substack.com/@katherinestewartbooks
Tuesday Jan 06, 2026
Tuesday Jan 06, 2026
What happens when the Supreme Court expands religious free exercise but sidelines the establishment clause? We talk with a veteran First Amendment advocate about rulings that have tilted the balance between the First Amendment religion clauses—and why that shift threatens genuine religious liberty.
This episode was recorded on Nov 24, 2025.
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Article | "Disrupted Symmetry," by Steven K. Green Liberty, Nov/Dec 2023. https://www.libertymagazine.org/article/disrupted-symmetry
Article | "A Step Too Far" by Nicholas Miller and Alan Reinach, Liberty, Jan/Feb 2023. https://www.libertymagazine.org/article/a-step-too-far
Book | Why the Religious Right Is Wrong About Separation of Church and State by Rob Boston (Prometheus, 2003). https://www.amazon.com/Religious-Right-Wrong-Separation-Church/dp/1591021146
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Guest: Rob Boston, Senior Advisor, Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Tuesday Dec 16, 2025
Tuesday Dec 16, 2025
Based in the small town of Moscow, Idaho, the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches is quietly reshaping national debates about faith and power. In this episode, we trace the CREC’s origins, its ties to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and how a relatively small network of churches is influencing evangelical views on masculinity, education, and America’s founding.
This episode was recorded on Nov 24, 2025.
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Article | "What is CREC?" The Conversation, June 20, 2025. https://theconversation.com/what-is-crec-the-christian-nationalist-group-has-a-vision-for-america-and-defense-secretary-pete-hegseths-support-258273
Article | "Doug Wilson: The New Right's Favorite Pastor," by Ian Ward, Politico, April 23, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/05/23/doug-wilson-new-right-pastor-hegseth-trump-officials-00355376
Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
The Seven Mountains Mandate calls for Christians to “take back” culture by capturing the pillars of power—government, media, education, and more. But when faith becomes a strategy for control, what happens to freedom, pluralism, and democracy itself?
Show Notes
Book | The Seven Mountains Mandate, by Matthew Boedy. https://www.wjkbooks.com/bookproduct/0664269214-the-seven-mountains-mandate/Website | Matthew Boedy https://www.matthewboedy.com
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Guest:
Matthew Boedy, Author and Professor of Rhetoric, University of North Georgia
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ProfessorBoedy
Tuesday Dec 02, 2025
Tuesday Dec 02, 2025
As artificial intelligence becomes more personal—and more powerful—it’s reshaping not just how we live, but how we understand what it means to be human. With the growing influence of algorithms on our moral and spiritual perceptions, how can faith communities respond, resist, and reimagine their place in an AI-shaped world?
Show Notes
Article | "Being Human," Liberty magazine (November-December 2025) https://www.libertymagazine.org
Website | Future of Life Institute https://futureoflife.org
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Guest:
William Jones, Associate, Future of Life Institute
Twitter/X: @FutureOfLife
YouTube: @futureoflifeinstitute