Election Day Special Issue with CNN’s Kirsten Powers

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Today may not be a presidential or mid-term election, but that doesn’t mean this first Tuesday in November isn’t important. 

American politics continues to divide family, friends, and churches, even pitting Christianity against itself.

For those of us whose political leanings are shaped by faith, we no longer worry about whether the Bible calls us to direct political action, but rather ask what kind of political affinity best represents the Gospel. Are we called to bend culture to our will, or serve society through a politics of compassion? Christians since Constantine have struggled to know how to live out their personal beliefs in public. Ethicist Stanley Hauerwas warns, “Christians should get involved in politics the way porcupines make love, very carefully.”

But involve ourselves we must. 

As foolish as it is to attempt to reconcile the politics of Jesus with the Republican or Democratic Party, most Christians believe it is imperative to express their private beliefs through public action. But according to theologian Christian Smith, “The good news of the evangelical Mennonite is very, very different from the good news of the conservative, Republican evangelical.” In other words, the Gospel according to Crackle Barrel Christians looks radically different than “good news” for the poor, the marginalized, the immigrant, and the decidedly non-white. 

If we’ve learned anything over the last five years it’s that fear and anger toward immigrants of color and American citizens of color have been the greatest mobilizing factor for political involvement among white evangelical voters. A growing sense of paranoia toward outsiders, as well as an Oedipal persecution complex, continues to drive “the 81%” toward authoritarianism, Christian Nationalism, and conspiracy theories.

But there is another way forward. 

CNN's Sr. Political Analyst Kirsten Powers joined us on the Holy Heretics Podcast this week, and we're honored to release her conversation on Election Day. As we talked, Kirsten offered a path toward navigating the toxic division in our churches and culture without compromising our deeply-held beliefs and emotional well-being. I invite you to listen to the interview today as you seek to live out your faith in the public square.

Listen to Kirsten’s Interview on Holy Heretics Podcast!

Kirsten Powers is a New York Times bestselling author, USA Today columnist, and senior political analyst for CNN, where she appears regularly on Anderson Cooper 360, CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, and The Lead with Jake Tapper. She joins us today to discuss politics after evangelicalism. How grace led her from the toxicity of FoxNews to a political posture of compassion. I think you will enjoy this candid conversation about loving your political enemies instead of demonizing them. Listen here!