Faithful Politics

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What if the abortion debate is missing the most important framework entirely?
In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram sit down with Angela Weszely, founder of ProGrace and author of Becoming ProGrace. Drawing from her experience in both ministry and pregnancy support work, Angela explains why the traditional “pro-life vs pro-choice” divide breaks down—and how a different, Jesus-centered approach could reshape the conversation.
They explore how political language fuels division, why many Christians feel tension with both sides, and what it would look like to prioritize grace, dignity, and shared responsibility for both women and children. This conversation moves beyond policy debates and focuses on how the church can better reflect the character of Jesus in one of the most contentious issues in society.
Learn more: https://prograce.org/
Book: Becoming ProGrace: Expanding the Abortion Conversation Beyond Life Versus Choice: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781514011683
Guest Bio 
Angela Weszely is the founder and CEO of ProGrace, an organization that equips Christians to engage conversations about abortion in ways rooted in the example of Jesus rather than political reflexes. She previously spent nearly a decade leading development for a pregnancy support organization in Chicago, where her experiences exposed the tension between messaging and practice in the abortion space.
Her work now focuses on reframing the conversation around grace, dignity, and shared responsibility. She is the author of Becoming ProGrace, where she outlines a new approach aimed at helping Christians move beyond the traditional pro-life vs pro-choice divide.
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🎧 Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, get in touch with the hosts, or suggest a future guest?
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📩 Reach out to us:
Faithful Host, Josh Burtram: [email protected]
Political Host, Will Wright: [email protected]
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Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: [email protected]
What happens when your faith tradition and your political reality collide? In this episode, we sit down with Peter Beinartto unpack the moral and theological tensions shaping the war in Gaza and the broader debate around Zionism. Beinart walks through his personal evolution from liberal Zionist to a critic of the current Israeli framework, grounded in both lived experience and Jewish theological reflection.
The conversation moves beyond surface-level talking points. Beinart explains how Zionism developed historically, how it became tied to Jewish safety, and why he now believes that framework creates moral contradictions—especially when it requires unequal treatment of Palestinians. He makes a case that systems built on political supremacy tend to generate instability and violence, drawing comparisons to apartheid South Africa and Jim Crow America.
We also dig into something your audience will recognize: the role of religious narratives in shaping political behavior. Beinart draws a clear parallel between Jewish nationalism and Christian nationalism, arguing that when a state becomes central to religious identity, it can displace core theological commitments like human dignity. He points to how scripture—both Jewish and Christian—can be interpreted either to justify violence or to challenge it, depending on the framework applied.
The episode closes with a practical takeaway: if people want a more grounded and humane understanding of the conflict, they need to listen directly to Palestinian voices. Without that, the conversation stays abstract—and disconnected from the human cost.
Book: Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780593803899
Guest Bio:
Peter Beinart is a professor of journalism and political science at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. He is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and editor-at-large of Jewish Currents. Beinart previously served as editor of The New Republic (1999–2006) and has written extensively on U.S. foreign policy, Zionism, and Jewish identity. His latest book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, examines the moral and theological challenges facing Jewish communities in
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, Pastor Josh Burtram sits down with Old Testament scholar and author L. Daniel Hawk to unpack the theological roots and lasting impact of Manifest Destiny. What many Americans were taught as a story of courage and expansion is reexamined through a harder lens—one that reveals how Christian language and scripture were used to justify colonization, displacement, and violence against Indigenous peoples.
Hawk explains how ideas like the Doctrine of Discovery and interpretations of Genesis were used to frame land expansion as part of God’s will. He walks through how these beliefs became embedded in American identity, shaping both policy and culture, and why those narratives still matter today. The conversation also explores how violence was often initiated by settlers, how historical memory has been shaped to obscure that reality, and how Christian institutions were complicit in reinforcing these systems.
The episode closes with a forward-looking discussion on what it means to confront this history honestly. Hawk offers practical steps for listeners—learning local history, engaging Indigenous voices, and rethinking how faith can be expressed without repeating colonial patterns. This is a grounded, historically informed conversation about faith, responsibility, and what it takes to build a more honest public witness.
Buy Undoing Manifest Destiny: Settler America, Christian Colonism, and the Pursuit of Justice:  https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781514008645
Guest Bio
L. Daniel Hawk is a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Ashland Theological Seminary and an ordained United Methodist minister. His work focuses on biblical narrative, especially conquest texts like Joshua, and how scripture has been interpreted in ways that shape moral imagination and public life.
He is the author of Undoing Manifest Destiny: Settler America, Christian Colonism, and the Pursuit of Justice, where he examines how theological ideas were used to justify colonization and how those narratives continue to influence American culture and Christianity today.
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 speak with Rachel Laser, President and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, about the growing legal and political battles over religion in American public life. Laser argues the country is in a “code red” moment for church-state separation as court rulings and policy efforts increasingly blur the lines between religious belief and government authority.
The conversation explores recent controversies including efforts to post the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, parental rights claims affecting school curriculum, and religious freedom challenges to abortion laws. Laser explains how these cases reflect deeper tensions in a religiously diverse country where different faith traditions often interpret moral and legal questions very differently.
Throughout the discussion, the hosts examine how these conflicts are shaping debates over religious liberty, public education, and constitutional protections, while asking whether church-state separation remains the best framework for protecting both faith and pluralism in American democracy.
Guest Bio
Rachel Laser is the President and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to defending religious freedom and ensuring that religion and government remain separate. She has spent her career working in civil rights advocacy and public policy, including leadership roles at the Open Society Foundations and other national organizations focused on democracy and human rights.
Resources and Links
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
https://www.au.org

Summit for Religious Freedom
https://www.thesrf.org

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]
What if the basic way we talk about politics is fundamentally flawed?
In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram sit down with Verlan Lewis, professor of constitutional studies at Utah Valley University and co-author of The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America. Lewis argues that the familiar political spectrum dividing society into “left” and “right” oversimplifies political reality and distorts how Americans understand issues, parties, and even each other.
Lewis explains how the left-right framework emerged historically, why it became dominant in modern political discourse, and how it encourages ideological tribalism. Instead of seeing politics as a complex set of issues where people may agree on some topics and disagree on others, the spectrum pushes citizens to sort themselves into rigid teams. According to Lewis, this mindset can reduce intellectual humility, weaken meaningful dialogue, and contribute to the rising hostility in American politics.
The conversation explores how media ecosystems reinforce ideological identities, why political beliefs often cluster together even when they have little logical connection, and how faith communities can offer a different approach to civic engagement. Lewis suggests moving beyond ideological labels and focusing on individual issues, allowing for more thoughtful discussion and collaboration across differences.
For listeners interested in understanding polarization, political identity, and how faith might shape a healthier civic culture, this episode offers a thoughtful examination of the assumptions that structure modern political debate.
The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780197680629
Guest Bio
Verlan Lewis is an associate professor of political science and constitutional studies at Utah Valley University and a fellow at the university’s Center for Constitutional Studies. He is co-author of the book The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America, which challenges the idea that modern politics can be accurately understood through a simple left-right ide
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