{"podcast":{"title":"Premium Ad-Free: Straight White American Jesus","slug":"premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207","podcast_index_feed_id":4273207,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/BCEP7155105923","website_url":"Straightwhiteamericanjesus.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/82736edc-81d2-11eb-98ab-a78d50f5f8f3/image/Screen_Shot_2023-09-07_at_2.54.00_PM.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Axis Mundi Media: Bradley Onishi + Daniel Miller","episode_count":1072,"summary":"An in-depth examination of the culture and politics of Christian Nationalism and Evangelicalism by two ex-evangelical ministers-turned-religion professors. If you have ever wondered what social and historical forces led white evangelicals to usher Donald Trump into the White House this is the show for you. As former insiders and critical scholars of religion, Dan Miller and Bradley Onishi have a unique perspective on the Religious Right. Guests have included Chrissy Stroop, R. Marie Griffith, Janelle Wong, Randall Balmer, Katherine Stewart, and many others.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-25T20:21:19.696469+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207"},"episode":{"title":"The Sunday Interview: The Soundtrack of Christian Nationalism","slug":"the-sunday-interview-the-soundtrack-of-christian-nationalism","published_at":"2026-06-14T22:03:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/the-sunday-interview-the-soundtrack-of-christian-nationalism","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207","url":"https://clrtpod.com/m/traffic.megaphone.fm/SWAJ3181736128.mp3","audio_url":"https://clrtpod.com/m/traffic.megaphone.fm/SWAJ3181736128.mp3","summary":"What if one of the most important political symbols in American evangelicalism isn't a campaign slogan, a policy platform, or a charismatic preacher, but a worship song? In this episode of the Straight White American Jesus Sunday Interview, host Leah Payne speaks with Religion News Service journalist Bob Smietana about his reporting on the unexpected political life of Chris Tomlin's worship anthem \"How Great Is Our God.\" Over the past several years, the song has appeared everywhere from the Capitol Riots to ReAwaken America rallies and Sean Feucht events, to the memorial service for Charlie Kirk. Yet unlike overtly political songs such as \"God Bless the USA,\" \"How Great Is Our God\" contains no explicit political message at all. So why has it become such a powerful soundtrack for conservative Christian activism? Drawing on his reporting for NPR’s All Things Considered, and Payne’s God Gave Rock and Roll to You: a History of Contemporary Christian Music, Smietana and Payne discuss the rise of “Christian Nashville-ism,\" the fusion of the worship music industry, suburban evangelical culture, celebrity influence, and political identity. Nashville's Christian music machine has produced a soundtrack so ubiquitous that it now functions as a kind of sacred common language across American Christianity. In an era of political polarization, worship songs provide emotional resonance, spiritual legitimacy, and a sense of collective identity that can easily travel into political spaces. Together, Payne and Smietana explore how contemporary worship music became one of the most influential forms of religious formation in American life. They discuss the rise of Chris Tomlin and the Passion movement, the mainstreaming of charismatic worship practices, the growing overlap between worship…","meta_description":"What if one of the most important political symbols in American evangelicalism isn't a campaign slogan, a policy platform, or a charismatic preacher, but…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2787,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/episodes/the-sunday-interview-the-soundtrack-of-christian-nationalism/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/the-sunday-interview-the-soundtrack-of-christian-nationalism.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}