Just Liberty

The Bewitching of the American Mind (Replay) - with Molly Worthen

It's far more than simply charm, or rhetorical skill, or political savvy. Charisma is a powerful force that has shaped American public and religious life--for both good and ill--for more than four centuries. Could an undertanding of this phenomenon help us make better sense of our national story? And why does it seem that Americans of faith are particularly vulnerable to its allure?
Interview with Molly Worthen, author of Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Purtians to Donald Trump.
Note: This is a replay of our July 15, 2025 interview with Molly Worthen. The video version of this episode can be found on Youtube:
Show Notes
Book | Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump, by Molly Worthen - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746737/spellbound-by-molly-worthen/
Article | "Charisma Rules the World" by Molly Worthen, New York Times (June 16, 2025) -  https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/opinion/charisma-history-trump.html

Replay: Power worshipping and Christian nationalism - with Katherine Stewart

Replay: An investigative journalist spent years exploring the politicization of American Christianity. Her work resulted in not just two best-selling books, but also a documentary, God & Country, which was produced by Hollywood actor and producer Rob Reiner.
What first sparked her interest in this topic, and what lessons has she learned about the dangers of Christian nationalism?
Interview originally recorded Feb 12, 2024, and released in Episode 13: Power Worshipping and Christian Nationalism on May 28, 2024.
Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/RQSPE4QfAD4
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Guest: Katherine Stewart, investigative journalist and author of The Power Worshippers and Money, Lies and God
X: @kathsstewart
Katherine Stewart's website: https://katherinestewart.me/
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Show Notes
Book | The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, by Katherine Stewart - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-power-worshippers-inside-the-dangerous-rise-of-religious-nationalism-katherine-stewart/f312e6c8c600777e?ean=9781635577877&next=t
Book | Money, Lies and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy by Katherine Stewart - https://bookshop.org/p/books/money-lies-and-god-inside-the-movement-to-destroy-american-democracy-katherine-stewart/af9fba08518c5c37?ean=9781635578546&next=t
Documentary Film | God and Country, based on The Power Worshippers by Katherine Stewart - https://godandcountrythemovie.com

Replay: Tracing the Historical Record of Church-State Separation - with Steven K. Green

How can we make sense of competing visions for the role of religion in American governance? We can start by following the paper trail left by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
Interview originally recorded March 27, 2025, and released in Episode 46: Skeptics of church-state separation versus the historical record" on April 29, 2025.
Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/2DWjEjg5vrg
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Guest: Steven K. Green, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Religion, Law & Democracy, Willamette University
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Show Notes
Book | The Grand Collaboration: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Invention of American Religious Freedom by Steven K. Green https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/10018/ 
 

Replay: American propaganda and the making of a civil religion - with Andrew Polk

Replay: No--"In God We Trust" wasn't inscribed on our currency during the founding era. And the motto "One Nation Under God" has a more recent origin than many might suspect. 
We take a fascinating journey into a little-known era of American history; a time when the government was in the business of creating an "American religion."
Guest: Andrew R. Polk, Associate Professor and Director of History Education, Middle Tennessee State University.
Originally recorded on Nov 13, 2023 and released on May 23, 2024 in Episode 10: American propaganda and the making of a civil religion.
Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/8VpDfMgQtqA
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Show Notes
Book: Faith in Freedom: Propaganda, Presidential Politics, and the Making of an American Religion by Andrew Polk - https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501759222/faith-in-freedom/
Liberty magazine article by Andrew Polk - https://www.libertymagazine.org/article/religious-propaganda-and-the-making-of-an-american-religion;

70. Neither Left nor Right: Interview with Justin Giboney

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

69. Severed Lifelines: Interview with Matthew Soerens

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/

68. Ancient Faith, Fragile Future: Iraq's Vanishing Christians - with Sean NelsonInterview with Sean Nelson

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

67: From Footnote to Flashpoint: Evolution of Religious Freedom in America w Chris Beneke

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

66: Divine Endorsements? Churches & the Johnson Amendment - w Todd McFarland & Orlan Johnson

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.
Explore More
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

65: Burning Down the House: Interview with Katherine Stewart.

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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Explore More
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