The Most Important 2025 Election Result: A Reminder that an Authoritarian Future is Not Inevitable
After a month of heavy travel, the Convocation team was all back together for our live show, which we do the first Thursday of every month. This week—for two weeks in a row—we brought mostly good news to the conversation. We talked about the most important lesson from the blue wave 2025 election results: that an authoritarian future is not inevitable. Just one year into the Trump presidency, there are signs that everyday Americans are stepping up to say that Trump’s lawlessness, chaos, cruelty, and corruption are not in fact what they want in a president. In Virginia, for example, while 80% of white evangelicals continued to vote Republican, 7% of 2024 Trump voters flipped and supported the democratic candidate for governor, Abigail Spanberger. The exit poll breaks by race and gender showed that majorities of every subgroup voted for Spanberger except white men. Latinos in Virginia and New Jersey, who moved toward Trump in 2024 largely over economic concerns, moved strongly back into the democratic column because of both continued economic stress and objections to ICE and harsh immigration enforcement. And importantly, people participated in the democratic process. Turnout was high for an off-year election, which was conducted freely and fairly. We spent the last half of the call taking questions from the live audience.
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"A Beautiful Year" with The Convocation Unscripted
The group discussed Robert's manuscript feedback from his editor and Diana's experience promoting her book "A Beautiful Year" at events, leading to a decision to focus the podcast segment on exploring Robert's book themes rather than PRI studies. The panel shared holiday traditions and decorations, particularly focusing on interfaith celebrations and the liturgical calendar. The main discussion centered on Diana's new book "A Beautiful Year," which examines alternative narratives to Christian nationalism through the lens of the liturgical calendar, with participants exploring its themes of hope, harmony, and peace while discussing its academic and theological foundations.Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jemartisby.b...https://bsky.app/profile/kkdumez.bsky...https://bsky.app/profile/dianabutlerb...https://bsky.app/profile/robertpjones...Follow on Substack: The Convocation- convocation.substack.comRobert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.netDiana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.comKristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.comJemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com
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The Good News Episode: Defenders of Democracy are Finding Their Footing
This week, we spent most of the show talking about some important signs that the resistance to Trump’s authoritarianism is finding its feet. This week MIT and eight other universities stood together and refused to sign agreements to allow the Trump administration control over their admissions, research, and teaching in exchange for preferential treatment in disbursement of government research funding. Over at the Department of Defense, all five major broadcast news organizations—including Pete Hegseth’s previous home Fox News (must have been awkward!)—refused to sign a document that would give the government control over stories they wrote about the military and DOD. While their reporters were required to turn in their security badges, they vowed to continued their critical reporting from outside the building. There continues, of course, to be some disturbing news, such as the chilling racist, homophobic, sexually violent, and antisemitic language uncovered among a large, ongoing Young Republicans’ private group chat. We wrapped by talking about the importance of the upcoming No Kings rallies scheduled all over the country.Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jemartisby.b...https://bsky.app/profile/kkdumez.bsky...https://bsky.app/profile/dianabutlerb...https://bsky.app/profile/robertpjones...Follow on Substack: The Convocation- convocation.substack.comRobert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.netDiana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.comKristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.comJemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com
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Calling Out Christian Glee Over ICE Brutality, Answering Your Questions
This week, we discuss the shameful Christian celebration of ICE brutality and violence in the wake of ICE agents shooting Rev. David Black, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Chicago, in the head with pepper balls—while he was praying and inviting ICE officers to repent of their complicity in violence. We noted that the Department of Homeland Security has explicitly been combining Bible verses and Christian imagery with violent imagery and memes, part of a dangerous broader trend within evangelical circles to turn Christianity away from love and empathy and toward violence. We also spent 30 minutes responding to a wide range of questions from those of you who attended the live webinar.Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jemartisby.b...https://bsky.app/profile/kkdumez.bsky...https://bsky.app/profile/dianabutlerb...https://bsky.app/profile/robertpjones...Follow on Substack: The Convocation- convocation.substack.comRobert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.netDiana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.comKristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.comJemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com
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Hegseth's "Warrior Ethos" and White Evangelical Toxic Masculinity
Secretary of Defense (not calling it "War" unless Congress changes it) called a meeting of the U.S. military's top generals from around the world. In it, he spoke of what he called the "warrior ethos." Far from building on the military's vaunted traditions of honor and service, Hegseth harped on how the military became "woke" and how he didn't want any more "beardos" (men with beards) in the military. He had a lot to say about the size of people's waists and physical fitness. As usual, the hosts--Diana, Kristin, and Jemar--find historical and religious connections. We talk about the creation of the white evangelical vision of masculinity, the reversal of the mythology of Robert E. Lee as the "reluctant warrior," and Christian masculinity in pop culture. We also talk about the latest mass shooting at a Church of Latter-Day Saints congregation in Michigan. Lot's of bad news, but also some reasons to celebrate that we talk about to round out the show.
Welcome to "The Convocation Unscripted," a free-wheeling conversation between Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, Robert P. Jones, and Jemar Tisby. We are each scholars (three historians and one sociologist) who write about religion and its intersection with culture, history, and politics in America. We also each take our own Christian faith seriously and are deeply concerned about the future of both democracy and Christianity in the U.S. Most importantly, over the years, we’ve found ourselves to be not just fellow travelers but friends. This is the video/podcast component of our unique Substack magazine "The Convocation," which you can subscribe to here: https://convocation.substack.com/
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