Faithful Politics

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This conversation takes a direct look at one of the most debated claims in American politics: whether the United States was founded as a Christian nation. John Fea, a historian of early America, walks through how historians approach that question and why it often gets misunderstood in modern debates.
He explains that history isn’t just about facts—it’s about context, causation, and change over time. Using examples from the founding era, Fea shows how different states handled religion in public life, including religious tests for office and established churches. At the same time, he highlights how those systems evolved as the country became more democratic and more religiously diverse.
The conversation also unpacks common talking points like the Treaty of Tripoli and why it gets misused in today’s arguments. Fea makes clear that both sides often cherry-pick history to support present-day political agendas.
The episode closes with a practical takeaway: you don’t need America to be a “Christian nation” to live out faith in public life. The real question is how individuals bring their values into a pluralistic democracy without distorting the past to justify it.
Notable Resources Mentioned
Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780664262495
Why Study History?: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780801039652
Guest Bio
John Fea is a historian of early America and Professor of American History at Messiah University. His work focuses on the relationship between religion and public life in the United States, particularly during the founding era. He is the author of Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? and Why Study History?, where he explores how historical thinking can bring clarity to modern political and cultural debates.
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faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore
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📩 Reach out to us:
Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: [email protected]
Political Host, Will Wright: [email protected]
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The middle class in America didn’t just happen—it was built through government policies after World War II. In this episode, law professor Mechele Dickerson explains how things like affordable housing, stable jobs, and access to education helped create a strong middle class—and why those same supports have weakened over time.
She breaks down why it’s harder today to afford basic things like housing, college, and healthcare, even for people who are working hard. The conversation shows how education, jobs, debt, and housing are all connected. When one becomes unaffordable, it affects everything else.

Dickerson also explains why common ideas like “just work harder” or “cut spending” don’t match the reality many people are facing today. Wages have stayed mostly flat while costs have gone up, and many jobs no longer offer the stability or benefits they used to.

The episode also looks at bigger economic ideas like trickle-down economics and why those policies haven’t helped most middle-class families. Instead, wealth has increasingly moved to the top while more people struggle to stay financially stable.

This conversation focuses on what’s actually happening to the middle class in America, why it matters, and what kinds of policy changes could help rebuild economic stability for everyday people.

Buy The Middle-Class New Deal: Restoring Upward Mobility and the American Dream:  https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780520423398

Guest Bio 
Mechele Dickerson is a law professor at the University of Texas whose work focuses on housing, consumer finance, and economic justice. Her research examines how financial systems shape everyday life, especially for families navigating homeownership, debt, and economic instability. She is the author of The Middle Class New Deal, which explores how policy decisions built—and are now reshaping—the American middle class.
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: [email protected]
Political Host, Will Wright: [email protected]
📱 Follow & connect with us:
Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitik
Instagram: faithful_politics
Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast
LinkedIn: 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: [email protected]
In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram sit down with Bunni Pounds to unpack America Reads the Bible, a national initiative tied to the 250th anniversary of the United States. The project brings together leaders from government, ministry, and culture to publicly read Scripture with the goal of addressing what Pounds calls a growing problem: biblical illiteracy.
The conversation explores how Scripture has shaped American political thought, why this moment matters in today’s cultural and technological landscape, and what it looks like to engage faith without political prescription. They also examine tensions around representation, unity across denominations, and how Christians can approach civic engagement in a polarized environment.
Relevant Links
America Reads the Bible: https://americareadsthebible.com
Christians Engaged: https://christiansengaged.org
Great American Pure Flix (livestream platform mentioned): https://www.pureflix.com
Guest Bio
Bunni Pounds is the founder and president of Christians Engaged, a nonprofit organization that equips Christians to participate in civic life through prayer, voting, and community involvement. She spent over a decade working with members of Congress, gaining firsthand experience in how policy and leadership decisions are shaped. Today, her work focuses on connecting biblical understanding with civic responsibility, helping individuals engage political issues through the lens of faith. She is also the author of Stepping Up to Lead: Rebuilding a Nation in the Footsteps of Nehemiah, which explores leadership and national renewal from a biblical perspective.
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: [email protected]
Political Host, Will Wright: [email protected]
📱 Follow & connect with us:
Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitik
Instagram: faithful_politics
Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast
LinkedIn: 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: [email protected]
In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram sit down with sociologists Michael Emerson and Glenn Bracey to unpack the core ideas behind their book The Religion of Whiteness.
The conversation explores a challenging but important question: how cultural identity—specifically whiteness—can operate as a system of belief that competes with or even overrides Christian teaching. Emerson and Bracey define the “religion of whiteness” as a set of beliefs, practices, and symbols that elevate white identity as sacred while marginalizing what falls outside of it.
They walk through the data behind their research, including survey findings showing how white Christians often respond differently to biblical teachings when those teachings challenge racial hierarchies. The discussion also examines how symbols like a white Jesus, the merging of the cross and the American flag, and even attitudes toward political violence can reinforce this framework.
The episode doesn’t stay abstract. It connects these ideas to real-world dynamics inside churches—why conversations about race are often resisted, how “stay out of politics” can function as a boundary, and why awareness itself can feel threatening.
This is a direct, data-driven conversation about faith, identity, and the tension between cultural loyalty and religious conviction.
Guest Bio
Michael Emerson is a sociologist specializing in race, religion, and inequality in the United States. He is currently a professor at Rice University and is widely known for his research on how religious communities shape racial attitudes and structures. He is the co-author of Divided by Faith and The Religion of Whiteness. 
Glenn E. Bracey II is a sociologist at Villanova University whose work focuses on race, religion, and social inequality. His research examines how systems of belief and power interact within American institutions, particularly in the context of race and Christianity. He is the co-author of The Religion of Whiteness.
Relevant Links
The Religion of Whiteness by Michael Emerson and Glenn Bracey: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780197746288
Divided by Faith by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith: https://boo
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: [email protected]
Political Host, Will Wright: [email protected]
📱 Follow & connect with us:
Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitik
Instagram: faithful_politics
Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast
LinkedIn: 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: [email protected]
In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram sit down with political theorist and historian Hyrum Lewis to challenge one of the most basic assumptions in American political thinking: the left-right spectrum.
Drawing from his work on The Myth of the Left and Right, Lewis explains why reducing politics to a single line fails to capture how people actually think and act. Instead of treating political identity as one fixed position, he argues for a more granular approach—one that looks at individual issues on their own terms.
The conversation moves beyond political labels into deeper questions about truth, history, and how we interpret the American founding. Lewis breaks down why both conservatives and progressives engage in preserving and changing society, and why those labels often obscure more than they clarify.
They also explore how history is used in modern political debates—especially around the claim that America was founded as a Christian nation. Lewis offers a nuanced framework for understanding the founders, arguing that while Christian ideas shaped the culture, the founding itself reflects a broader and more complex intellectual tradition.
The episode closes with a practical takeaway: how to think more clearly about politics, avoid false binaries, and engage issues with more precision and humility.
Guest Bio
Hyrum Lewis is a professor of history and political theory at Brigham Young University–Idaho, where he leads the American Foundations program. His work focuses on the history of ideology and how political ideas shape culture and society. He is the co-author of The Myth of the Left and Right and the author of There Is a God: How to Respond to Atheism in the Last Days. His research challenges common assumptions about political identity and encourages a more nuanced understanding of how beliefs are formed. 
Relevant Links
The Myth of the Left and Right by Hyrum Lewis and Verlan Lewis: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780197680629
There Is a God: How to Respond to Atheism in the Last Days by Hyrum Lewis: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781462120413
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: [email protected]
Political Host, Will Wright: [email protected]
📱 Follow & connect with us:
Twitter/X: @FaithfulPolitik
Instagram: faithful_politics
Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast
LinkedIn: faithfulpolitics
📰 Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes content:
faithfulpolitics.substack.com