Faithful Politics

Congressman Jared Huffman joins Faithful Politics to discuss his new book, No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism, and the growing influence of Christian nationalism in American politics and government.

We talk about Donald Trump, January 6, the New Apostolic Reformation, prophetic politics, Christian Zionism, church-state separation, Christian founding myths, and the religious movements Huffman believes are gaining influence at the highest levels of government. We also discuss why a humanist member of Congress decided to write a book about Christianity and what he believes Christians, secular Americans, and political leaders should understand about this movement.

Get No Prophets on Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781324130482

Guest bio
Rep. Jared Huffman represents California's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He publicly identifies as a humanist and in 2018 helped establish the Congressional Freethought Caucus, which focuses on church-state separation and public policy grounded in reason, science and constitutional principles.
He is the author of No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism, which examines the religious movements, political networks and theological ideas influencing the rise of Christian nationalism in American government.

Chelsea Kim Long grew up deeply embedded in conservative evangelical Christianity. She knew what she believed, what Christian womanhood was supposed to look like, and the life she expected to have.

Then life got complicated.

Motherhood, a traumatic birth, miscarriage, infertility, a complicated pregnancy, and questions about women's place within Christianity forced Chelsea to reconsider much of the theology she inherited.

But she never wanted to leave Christianity.

Chelsea joins Faithful Politics to discuss her new book, Faithfully Dissident Daughters: Reclaiming Christian Womanhood beyond Patriarchy, and why deconstruction doesn't always end with walking away from faith.

We discuss patriarchy, male headship, women's spiritual authority, abortion, feminine images of God in Scripture, and the tension of being told by some Christians that you've gone too far while being asked by former Christians why you're still holding on.

At the center of the conversation is a simple question: Can you question the Christianity you inherited and still remain Christian?

Bookshop.org - Faithful Politics affiliate link:
https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780664269456

Chelsea Kim Long:
https://www.chelseakimlong.com

Guest Bio:
Chelsea Kim Long is a writer, lay theologian, meditation teacher, and neighborhood pastor whose work explores Christianity through women’s embodied experiences and contemplative spirituality. She co-leads an intentional neighborhood faith community in San Diego, where she lives with her husband and three children.

Her debut book, Faithfully Dissident Daughters: Reclaiming Christian Womanhood Beyond Patriarchy, combines personal narrative, theology, and Christian history to explore women’s spiritual authority, faith reconstruction, and feminine expressions of the Divine within the Christian tradition. The book features a foreword by Dr. Christena Cleveland and releases September 8, 2026, from Westminster John Knox Press.

Why does American patriotism sometimes feel almost religious?

Church historian Wes Crawford joins Faithful Politics to discuss his forthcoming book, One Nation over God, and the complicated relationship between Christian faith, patriotism, and American civil religion.

Crawford explains how the United States developed a kind of civil religion built around sacred texts, symbols, rituals, holidays, and national stories. We talk about why the Constitution can be treated almost like scripture, why the national anthem can carry such emotional weight, and what happens when love of country begins competing with allegiance to God.

The conversation also gets practical. We discuss patriotic church services, Veterans Day, the flag, Christian nationalism, political polarization, cognitive dissonance, and the difficulty Christians face when their political identity becomes intertwined with their faith. Crawford argues that patriotism itself can have a legitimate place, but Christians need to recognize when national devotion takes on the characteristics of worship or begins overriding their religious convictions.

One Nation over God: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780802885470

Guest Bio
Wes Crawford is vice provost and associate professor of church history at Abilene Christian University. His research focuses on American religion, race, and the history of Churches of Christ. He previously served for twenty years as a senior pastor and continues to preach and teach in churches. He is the author of Shattering the Illusion and Courage in the Sheer Silence. His newest book, One Nation over God, examines the relationship between Christian faith, American patriotism, and civil religion.

Technology entrepreneur Patrick Gruhn joins Faithful Politics to discuss how artificial intelligence is being used to explore the writings and theology of Pope Benedict XVI.

Gruhn explains how the Pope Benedict XVI AI works as a research tool, how it uses verified sources to reduce hallucinations and bias, and why the project is designed to help users investigate Benedict’s thought rather than simulate a conversation with him.

The conversation also explores Magisterium AI, efforts to digitize historic Vatican documents, the risks of treating AI-generated answers as authoritative, and Gruhn’s broader view that AI can increase productivity and human flourishing while still requiring careful moral judgment.

Patrick also discusses Benedict’s emphasis on faith and reason, why he believes AI should preserve human dignity, and how Catholics and researchers can use these tools to better understand church teaching.

The website for the Benedict XVI Society and the Pope Benedict XVI AI project is:
https://benedictxvisociety.org/

Bio
Patrick Gruhn is a German-born technology entrepreneur, lawyer, and software developer working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, finance, and faith. He is co-CEO of Perpetuals, vice president of the Pope Benedict XVI Foundation, and an investor in Catholic media and technology projects. His recent work includes developing AI tools that help users explore the writings of Pope Benedict XVI and Catholic teaching through verified church sources.

Josh and Will sit down with Dr. Syed A.H. Zaidi, a scholar of Islamic philosophy, theology, and intellectual history, for a wide-ranging conversation about his personal journey from New York political operative to academic, and what that journey reveals about faith, identity, and politics in America today. Dr. Zaidi traces his path from a politically connected Pakistani-American family in New York, through years working for prominent (and often controversial) Democratic politicians, to a late-in-life pivot toward the study of Islamic philosophy and Sufism.

From there, the conversation opens into a broader discussion of what Islam actually teaches, how Sunni and Shia traditions differ, the history of Islamophobia in the U.S., the influence of Saudi-funded Wahhabism on global Islam, and how Muslim Americans navigate hot-button political issues like same-sex marriage ballot measures. The episode closes with a sober reflection on the state of American political life — and a shared hope that today's polarization is a passing phase rather than a permanent condition.

Guest Bio
Dr. Syed A.H. Zaidi is a core lecturer in Islamic Studies at Butler University, where his research focuses on Islamic Neoplatonism, Shia thought, Sufism, and the relationship between philosophy and religious revelation. He earned his PhD in Islamic Civilizations from Emory University and is currently working on books examining the Brethren of Purity and the development of Hermetic thought from late antiquity through the medieval Islamic world. He also directs the Muslim Studies Endowment at Butler University.