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Send us Fan Mail Introducing The Sacred Slope Highlights! 🎙️We're launching our new Highlights series with the most popular episode in The Sacred Slope's history! Our conversation with historian and New York Times bestselling author Kristin Kobes Du Mez (@kkdumez) is resonating with more of you than any other episode. And now, here is the snackable edition. Some of you love an hour-plus deep dive. Others want 20 minutes for your commute, your run, or while cooking dinner. Now you can have both! What if the Christianity you were taught wasn't simply inherited, but deliberately constructed? Who decided what Christians should believe, which books they should read, what music they could listen to, and what roles women were allowed to play? And what happens when the people who faithfully upheld those rules begin questioning the system itself? In this Highlights edition, Kristin, author of Jesus and John Wayne and Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made, joins Alexis Rice to explore the history behind the evangelical world so many of us grew up in. In this Highlights edition, we explore: The system: How American evangelicalism developed a self-contained culture of approved books, music, beliefs, and authoritiesThe women: Why well-intentioned Christian women became defenders of systems that could also harm themThe forgotten history: Christian feminists who fought for women's rights and interpreted Scripture as a message of liberationPurity culture: The promises of marriage, happiness, and blessing that left so many women carrying shameBeth Moore (@bethmoorelpm): What happened when one of evangelicalism's most influential women challenged abuse, misogyny, and Christian nationalismThe bigger question: Why leaving or challenging a religious system can feel like abandoning Christianity itselfKristin reminds us that evangelical Christianity has never been one uniform tradition. There have always been women who questioned authority, challenged injustice, and imagined another way. "Real women's lives just do not fit in the neat boxes that fundamentalists draw." And perhaps the most liberating realization of all? The Christianity you inherited is not the only Christianity available to you. 🎧 Check out The Sacred Slope Highlights on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and Spotify! Want the entire conversation? Listen to Episode 56: Kristin Kobes Du Mez | Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made. https://youtu.be/mb5j_wGpMbY?si=kCWjH-IqNz_AQJDt We'd love to hear from you: What resonated most about this conversation? Why do you think it connected with so many people? And which episode should we highlight next? ⏱️ Highlights Chapters 00:05 The Closed System of Evangelical Culture 01:19 Personal Reflections on Faith and Regret 03:31 Understanding Power Dynamics in Evangelicalism 04:18 The Role of Women in Shaping Evangelical History 06:07 Concluding Thoughts on the Future of Christianity 07:12 The Totalizing System of Evangelicalism 10:08 Purity Culture and Its Impact 14:43 Beth Moore: A Voice of Change 21:51 Nomination Process for Clergy Members ✨ Guest + Books Kristin Kobes Du Mez | @kkdumezLive Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They MadeJesus and John WayneA New Gospel for WomenPublisher: Liveright Publishing, an imprint of W. W. Norton & Company📚 People & Resources Mentioned Beth Moore | @bethmoorelpmSarah Bessey | @sarahbessey#KristinKobesDuMez #LiveLaughLove #Christianity #Evangelicalism #Deconstruction #ChristianNationalism #PurityCulture #WomenInChurch Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 68. Robert P. Jones, PhD (PRRI) | Backslide: Christian Nationalism, Trump & America's Moral Reckoning What happens when Christians are taught that one political party speaks for God? What happens to democracy when faith becomes a tool for political power? And how do we reclaim our moral conscience? Just before the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, Dr. Robert P. Jones (Robby), founder and president of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), joins Alexis Rice to discuss his book Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation after the Christian Turn Against Democracy. I believe Backslide is one of the most important books of our time. Whether you're in America or elsewhere, it offers a way to understand the history, research, and choices shaping this moment. Tim Whitaker of The New Evangelicals has a cameo joins the episode to reflect on some findings from PRRI's new American Values Survey. Alexis and Robby discuss Christian nationalism, white evangelical support for Trump, biblical authority, religious formation, and what happens when Christians hand their moral conscience to a party or pastor. They explore the stakes of the midterms, democratic checks and balances, protest, civic engagement, and why American Christian nationalism affects people far beyond U.S. borders. Amid the troubling data, where can we find hope? WHO IS THIS EPISODE FOR? Christians, exvangelicals, pastors, scholars, voters, and anyone concerned about faith, democracy, religious nationalism, and human rights worldwide. GUEST + FOLLOW Dr. Robert P. Jones | @robertpjonesdc PRRI | @prripoll | prri.org Cameo Tim Whitaker | @thenewevangelicals @timwhitakerspeaks The Convocation Unscripted | convocation.substack.com MENTIONED + RESOURCES Backslide; White Too Long; The End of White Christian America | Robert P. Jones Get it on The Sacred Slope Guest Reccos Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/thesacredslope PRRI American Values Survey | PRRI & Brookings Diana Butler Bass | @dianabutlerbass Kristin Kobes Du Mez | @kkdumez Jemar Tisby | @jemartisby EXPLORE AFFIRMING CHRISTIANITY Hear from guests around the world TheSacredSlope.com | Episodes, guests & resources EPISODE CHAPTERS 02:18 | Christianity's Global Impact 07:24 | Robert P. Jones & Backslide 10:01 | Religion, Media & Politics 14:39 | Why Backslide Matters 16:59 | When Data Breaks Your Heart 19:47 | The Welcome Table 21:38 | What Americans Are Feeling 24:19 | Stakes of the Midterms 29:23 | Reclaiming Moral Conscience 40:48 | Scripture & Religious Formation 43:12 | Christian Nationalism 46:51 | Protest & Civic Engagement 49:32 | Finding Common Ground 56:43 | A Moment of Reckoning 59:55 | Moral Responsibility 01:05:06 | Humanity & Hope #ChristianNationalism #Backslide #RobertPJones #Democracy #Deconstruction #christianity Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 67. Tracy E. Gilchrist | Holding Space in Hollywood: Queer Media, Advocacy & the Power of Human Connection What does it take to make some of Hollywood's biggest stars feel truly seen? For Tracy E. Gilchrist, it starts with a simple question, genuine curiosity, and the willingness to hold space for another human being. The longtime LGBTQ+ entertainment journalist and former editor-in-chief of The Advocate became a viral sensation after her unforgettable "holding space" interview with Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. But there's so much more to Tracy than one viral moment. After decades of interviewing Hollywood's biggest names and amplifying LGBTQ+ voices, Tracy is bringing her distinctive warmth, empathy, and love of storytelling to Holding Space with Tracy E. Gilchrist. In this episode of The Sacred Slope, Tracy joins Alexis Rice for a heartfelt conversation about Hollywood, queer representation, the importance of independent LGBTQ+ journalism, and what it means to create genuine human connection in a world that too often divides us. Tracy shares her coming-out journey, reflects on the importance of The Advocate and the It Gets Better Project, and explores why visibility and authentic storytelling matter - especially when LGBTQ+ communities face growing hostility. They also discuss Christianity, the impact of Christian Nationalism on queer lives, meaningful allyship, and where Tracy finds joy, courage, and hope. Beyond the viral moments and celebrity interviews is a woman who has spent her career helping people feel seen, heard, and valued. This is her story. In this episode The viral Wicked interview and the meaning of "holding space"Hollywood, celebrity interviews, and the art of human connectionTracy's new show, Holding Space with Tracy E. GilchristHer journey through LGBTQ+ entertainment journalismThe Advocate and the importance of queer mediaThe It Gets Better Project and uplifting LGBTQ+ youthTracy's personal coming-out storyQueer identity, Christianity, and Christian nationalismThreats to LGBTQ+ representation in entertainmentFinding hope, joy, and community in challenging timesExplore more The Sacred Slope: https://thesacredslope.com Explore searchable conversations with pastors, scholars, artists, and cultural voices about faith, identity, belonging, and the world we're creating together. Chapters 00:19 Introduction to Tracy E. Gilchrist 01:33 The Art of Holding Space 03:26 Getting to Know Tracy E. Gilchrist 09:53 The Impact of "Defying Gravity" 12:30 Tracy's Journey in Queer Media 19:53 It Gets Better: Uplifting Queer Youth 22:19 Holding Space as a Personal Ethos 23:43 Tracy's Coming-Out Story 26:09 The Advocate: A Lifeline for the Community 35:49 Why Queer Media Matters 39:41 Navigating Queer Identity and Christianity 39:52 Christian Nationalism and Its Impact on Queer Lives 41:55 What Meaningful Allyship Looks Like 43:56 Threats to Queer Representation in Media 46:12 Hope and Resilience in Queer Communities 47:04 The Role of Money in Church Dynamics 47:18 Finding Joy and Hope in Public Figures 52:26 Community Support and Personal Resilience 56:04 The Sacred Slope and Clergy Nominations Media Credits: Photos courtesy of Tracy E. Gilchrist’s press kit. Additional video and images sourced from Tracy E. Gilchrist’s Instagram and original media publishers. All rights belong to their respective owners. #LGBTQ #QueerMedia #deconstruction Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 66. Meghan Tschanz (Exvangelical) | How Purity Culture Fuels **pe Culture & Silences Women What happens when Christianity teaches girls that their bodies are dangerous—and men's behavior is their responsibility? What if purity culture doesn't protect women, but helps create the conditions for abuse? And what happens when Christian women trust their own voices? Meghan Tschanz, author of Women Rising and host of Faith and Feminism, joins Alexis Rice to explore purity culture, rape culture, patriarchy, sexual violence, consent, and Christian feminism. Raised evangelical, Meghan learned that a good Christian girl should be modest, submissive, obedient, and responsible for men's desires.  Together, Alexis and Meghan examine how purity culture can normalize victim-blaming, protect male power, and teach women to distrust their intuition. They challenge biblical patriarchy, the manosphere, tradwife ideology, and the claim that male dominance defines Christianity. They also discuss feminist theology, seminary, diverse Christian traditions, and replacing purity culture with consent culture. What if questioning harmful teachings isn't abandoning Jesus—but following him more faithfully? And what if girls never had to shrink themselves to please God? The slippery slope doesn't have to lead to hell. Sometimes it leads to sacred ground. WHO IS THIS EPISODE FOR? Women healing from purity culture, sexual shame, or religious trauma; evangelicals and exvangelicals questioning patriarchy; survivors; and parents, pastors, and men seeking healthier conversations about consent, equality, and power. ✨ GUEST + FOLLOW Meghan Tschanz | IG: @meghantschanz Faith and Feminism | meghantschanz.com 📚 MENTIONED + RESOURCES Women Rising | Meghan Tschanz Jesus and John Wayne | Kristin Kobes Du Mez John Fugelsang | Jesus and Women Mattie Mae Motl | Feminist Theology Amy Moses | Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Mark Driscoll | Biblical Patriarchy Discussion Matthew 5 | Jesus on Lust and Responsibility Sacred Slope Book Reccos: https://bookshop.org/shop/thesacredslope ⛪ EXPLORE AFFIRMING CHRISTIANITY Church Clarity | @churchclarity The Episcopal Church | @theepiscopalchurch United Church of Christ | @unitedchurchofchrist ELCA | @elca PC(USA) | @pcusa ⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS 02:45 | A Difficult Conversation for Christian Women 04:41 | Growing Up in Purity Culture 18:33 | Are These Really Christian Values? 25:01 | Leaving Evangelical Patriarchy 35:10 | Purity Culture vs. Consent Culture 37:19 | How Church Culture Harms Women 39:12 | The Myth of Biblical Womanhood 42:23 | Seminary and Questioning Authority 47:35 | Discovering Diverse Christian Theology 52:46 | Finding Healthier Christian Communities 56:24 | Reclaiming Your God-Given Voice 1:03:01 | Spirituality, Nature and Healing #PurityCulture #RapeCulture #ChristianFeminism #ReligiousTrauma #Exvangelical Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 65. Rev. Darrell Hamilton II (Baptist) | Healing Religious Trauma: Tending to Open Wounds What happens when the Christianity that was supposed to heal you is what wounded you? What if questioning your faith isn't a slippery slope to hell, but the beginning of liberation? And what if the image of God you inherited shapes how you see women, LGBTQ+ people, race, and power? Rev. Darrell R. Hamilton II is an ordained Baptist minister, preacher, writer, and advocate for faith-rooted justice. A graduate of Wake Forest University School of Divinity, he has served at Middle Collegiate Church and worked with Repairers of the Breach and the Poor People's Campaign. Rev. Darrell joins Alexis Rice for a powerful conversation about religious trauma, deconstruction, Black liberation theology, decolonizing Christianity, Christian nationalism, and what it really takes to heal from harmful Christianity. Raised in Oklahoma, Rev. Darrell grew up believing that questioning certain Christian teachings could threaten his salvation. Then he met a gay Christian whose church wouldn't allow him to sing in the choir. How could a church silence someone's praise to God? That question changed everything. At Wake Forest University School of Divinity, Rev. Darrell discovered an enormous Christian theological world he had never been introduced to. Black liberation theology. Queer theology. Feminine images of God. Perspectives that challenged everything he had been taught about who God is and who belongs. Together, Alexis and Rev. Darrell explore why so many Christians never encounter these perspectives, how white-centered theology became normalized, and what happens when Christians imagine God exclusively as a white man. They discuss James Cone, the power of Black preaching and worship, and why liberation theology invites us to understand Christianity through the experiences of people who have been oppressed. If the way we imagine God shapes how we treat one another, what happens when we change our understanding of God? And then there's the question of healing. Some people have scars from harmful Christianity. Others are still carrying open wounds. Not everyone is ready to reconstruct their faith, return to church, or even talk about God. How can pastors, churches, and those who understand multiple Christian traditions help people heal without causing more harm? Rev. Darrell also shares his hope for his daughter and the next generation: a Christianity rooted in love, justice, dignity, belonging, and the beloved community rather than fear and domination. The slippery slope doesn't have to lead to hell. Sometimes it leads to sacred ground. WHO IS THIS EPISODE FOR? Evangelicals in distress, exvangelicals, and anyone navigating religious trauma, deconstruction, or disillusionment. Christians who still love Jesus but are questioning the theology, politics, and power structures they inherited. LGBTQ+ Christians, women in ministry, and people who have been told they don't belong. White Christians seeking to learn from Black liberation theology, decolonization, and Christian traditions beyond their own. Cradle mainliners and progressive Christians who want to better understand the experiences of those leaving fundamentalist Christianity. People of any faith or none seeking healing, justice, and hope. Pastors, seminarians, scholars, bishops, and church leaders who want to create communities where people can question, heal, and belong. ✨ GUEST + FOLLOW Rev. Darrell R. Hamilton II (Baptist) | IG: @blackandeducatedpreacher Wake Forest University School of Divinity | IG: @wakedivinity Middle Collegiate Church | IG: @middlechurch 📚 MENTIONED + RESOURCES Rev. Dr. James H. Cone | Black Liberation Theology A Black Theology of Liberation | James H. Cone The Cross and the Lynching Tree | James H. Cone Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas | Womanist Theology Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God | Kelly Brown Douglas Gustavo Gutiérrez | Liberation Theology Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis | IG: @revjacquilewis Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III | Trinity United Church of Christ Bishop William J. Barber II | Repairers of the Breach Repairers of the Breach | breachrepairers.org Poor People's Campaign | poorpeoplescampaign.org Rev. Dr. Bill Leonard | Wake Forest University John Mark Comer | IG: @johnmarkcomer Practicing the Way | John Mark Comer Diana Butler Bass | IG: @dianabutlerbass Find these books and more on The Sacred Slope Book Reccos List: https://bookshop.org/shop/thesacredslope ⛪ EXPLORE AFFIRMING CHRISTIANITY Church Clarity | @churchclarity | churchclarity.org The Episcopal Church | @theepiscopalchurch United Methodist Church | @theumc United Church of Christ | @unitedchurchofchrist ELCA Lutheran | @elca Presbyterian Church (USA) | @pcusa Disciples of Christ | @disciplesofchrist ⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00 | When Christianity Causes Harm 12:45 | Meet Rev. Darrell Hamilton II 14:58 | The Future of Progressive Churches 23:04 | The Slippery Slope to Hell 29:30 | Deconstruction in Seminary 37:28 | Finding an Open-Minded Seminary 42:00 | What Christian Bookstores Didn't Teach Us 44:48 | Questioning Traditional Theology 47:41 | Discovering Feminine Images of God 51:11 | Is God a Man? 55:42 | How Theology Shapes Society 1:00:17 | What Is Liberation Theology? 1:06:36 | Understanding God and Jesus 1:07:22 | Theology Through the Eyes of the Oppressed 1:08:11 | Deconstructing White-Centered Christianity 1:09:10 | Seeing God in Others 1:09:55 | Confronting Whiteness in Christianity 1:11:43 | Why Black Preaching Matters 1:13:10 | Divesting from Whiteness 1:14:39 | Entering Sacred Spaces 1:15:11 | The Beauty of Black Worship 1:16:32 | An Invitation into Black Churches 1:18:39 | Reclaiming Identity Through Diversity 1:20:33 | The Path to Transformation 1:21:35 | Building the Beloved Community 1:23:11 | Hearing God Through Diversity 1:26:04 | The Sacred Slope Community & Clergy Nominations #ReligiousTrauma #Deconstruction #LiberationTheology #BlackLiberationTheology #DecolonizingChristianity Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 64. Healing After Evangelicalism & Finding a Beautiful Faith | Diana Butler Bass (Methodist → Evangelical → Episcopal) What if the Christianity you were taught was never the only Christianity that existed? What if leaving evangelicalism didn't mean leaving Jesus? And what if the people best positioned to help heal Christianity are those who understand more than one Christian world? Dr. Diana Butler Bass, historian, theologian, and bestselling author, joins Alexis Rice for a conversation about religious trauma, deconstruction, Christian nationalism, and finding beauty and belonging beyond evangelical fundamentalism. Diana shares her journey from a Methodist childhood through evangelicalism and into the Episcopal Church. Together, they explore the theological diversity many Christians never knew existed and why mainline churches can offer an alternative to the faith systems people are leaving. At the heart of this conversation is the urgent need for TRANSLATORS. People who understand evangelical culture AND mainline Christianity. People who can explain evangelical beliefs, fears, and wounds to progressive Christians, pastors, and scholars, while helping those leaving high-control religion discover other ways of following Jesus. WHO IS THIS EPISODE FOR? For evangelicals in distress and exvangelicals seeking healing. For cradle mainliners and progressive Christians who want to understand the evangelical world. For people of any faith or none who are carrying religious wounds and longing for hope. And especially for seminarians, scholars, pastors, bishops, and church leaders who want to welcome people shaped by religious trauma and learn from those who can translate between Christian traditions. Diana reminds us: "Mainline theology is not a Jenga Tower. Mainline theology is a mosaic." We also explore her new book, A Beautiful Year: 52 Meditations on Faith, Wisdom, and Perseverance, the Christian calendar, and the beauty of quiet faith. There are other ways to follow Jesus. There is still beauty to be found. ✨ GUEST + BOOKS Diana Butler Bass | @dianabutlerbass A Beautiful Year bookshop.org/shop/thesacredslope The Cottage | dianabutlerbass.substack.com ⛪ EXPLORE MAINLINE CHRISTIANITY Episcopal Church | @theepiscopalchurch United Methodist Church | @theumc United Church of Christ | @unitedchurchofchrist ELCA Lutheran | @elca Presbyterian Church (USA) | @pcusa Disciples of Christ | @disciplesofchrist 🎙️ PEOPLE + COMMUNITIES Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde | @mariannbudde Kristin Kobes Du Mez | @kkdumez Jemar Tisby | @jemartisby Robert P. Jones | @robertpjonesdc Theology Beer Camp | @theologybeercamp Tripp Fuller | @trippfuller Dr Jennifer Garcia Bashaw | @jgbashaw Homebrewed Christianity | @theologynerd Bible for Normal People | @biblefornormalpeople Pete Enns | @peteenns Jared Byas | @jaredbyas Brian McLaren | @brian_mclaren Sarah Bessey | @sarahbessey Jen Hatmaker | @jenhatmaker Nadia Bolz-Weber | @sarcasticlutheran Barbara Brown Taylor | @barbarabrowntaylor Rachel Held Evans (1981-2019) | @rachelheldevans ⏱️ CHAPTERS 03:51 | Meet Diana Butler Bass 11:48 | Methodist to Evangelical 14:46 | Taking Jesus With You 23:21 | Why Christianity Needs Translators 28:54 | Evangelical vs. Mainline 33:43 | Finding a New Church Home 39:48 | Translating Religious Trauma 45:59 | Why Young Adults Leave 52:13 | Jesus, Politics & No Kings 58:02 | Jenga Towers vs. Mosaics 01:03:53 | Deception & Responsibility 01:06:19 | Healing After Evangelicalism 01:10:01 | The Beauty of Quiet Faith 01:14:20 | Empathy & Shared Grief 01:17:36 | A Beautiful Year 01:22:48 | Opening Our Minds 01:36:48 | The Sacred Slope Community #DianaButlerBass #ABeautifulYear #Deconstruction #ReligiousTrauma #MainlineChristianity Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 63. The Vote is Sacred: Faith, Christian Nationalism & the Fight for Democracy | Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush What happens when a form of Christianity is used to decide who belongs in America? Christian nationalism. Religious freedom. A democracy under extraordinary strain. And Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus, people of many faiths and people of no faith choosing to stand together. What could interfaith solidarity teach us about protecting democracy? Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is an ordained American Baptist minister, President and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, host of State of Belief, and former founding executive editor of HuffPost Religion. And right now, he’s taking that work on the road with Vote Is Sacred, a nonpartisan, multi-faith campaign traveling across America ahead of the midterm elections. Paul joins Alexis for an urgent but hopeful conversation about the state of American democracy, the rise of Christian nationalism, separation of church and state, and why no political movement gets to “own” Jesus or religion. They explore what Jimmy Carter understood about faith and government, why some Christians feel politically homeless, what some politicians can learn about trying to engage with faith communities, and what Jesus actually taught about feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger and loving our neighbors. Rev. Paul also shares what decades of interfaith work have taught him about something increasingly difficult: How do we deeply disagree with someone and still show up for them? From Jewish-Muslim dialogue to solidarity across religious traditions, Rev. Paul makes the case that protecting our neighbors does not require agreeing with them. Our futures are intertwined. And for anyone wondering whether one vote really matters, Rev. Paul has a message: “We are democracy.” 🗳️ THE VOTE IS SACRED Go to VoteIsSacred.org to learn about the Vote Is Sacred bus tour, trainings and resources. If you’re eligible to vote in the United States, make sure you’re registered to vote and know your state’s voting requirements at Vote.gov. ✨ GUEST + FOLLOW Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush @raushenbush President & CEO, Interfaith Alliance Ordained American Baptist minister Host, State of Belief Interfaith Alliance | IG: @interfaithalliance 📚 MENTIONED + RESOURCES Vote Is Sacred | VoteIsSacred.org Interfaith Alliance | IG: @interfaithalliance | InterfaithAlliance.org State of Belief | InterfaithAlliance.org/state-of-belief U.S. voter registration | Vote.gov ⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS 03:16 | The Global Impact of U.S. Politics 05:28 | Interfaith Solidarity & the Midterm Elections 06:44 | The Sacred Vote: A Call to Action 11:16 | Faith, Democracy & the Role of Religion 16:14 | Challenging Christian Nationalism 23:53 | Bridging the Divide: Democrats & Faith 27:20 | The Intersection of Politics & Faith 30:38 | Navigating Political Outreach to Christian Communities 33:22 | The Power of Interfaith Collaboration 37:22 | Understanding the Importance of Voting 42:34 | The Stakes of the Midterm Elections 46:15 | A Prayer for Listeners #InterfaithAlliance #VoteIsSacred #ChristianNationalism #ReligiousFreedom #Interfaith #Democracy #MidtermElections #TheSacredSlope Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 62. Kathy Baldock (Evangelical) | The 1946 Bible Mistranslation Behind Anti-Gay Theology What if one of Christianity’s most consequential teachings about LGBTQ people was built on a translation mistake? Plant sex. A bizarre U.S. Navy sting operation. Nazis burning decades of sexuality research. And a Bible translation decision in 1946 that would reverberate for generations. What could those things possibly have in common? Kathy Baldock is an evangelical Christian, author, researcher, LGBTQ advocate, founder of CanyonWalker Connections, and one of the researchers featured in the documentary 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture. Her new book, Forging a Sacred Weapon, traces 5,000 years of history to ask a deceptively simple question: How did the word “homosexual” end up in the Bible? Kathy takes us from ancient sexual ethics and the medieval Church to emerging sexuality research, the U.S. military, McCarthyism, Bible publishing and the archives at Yale—where researchers uncovered correspondence showing that the head of the Revised Standard Version translation team acknowledged a problem with the translation. The RSV eventually changed it. But by then, the language had spread. We explore how American ideas about homosexuality traveled into Bible translations around the world, why Kathy believes both conservative and progressive Christians sometimes get the 1946 story wrong, and what pastors, parents and LGBTQ Christians need to understand now. And Kathy has a message for queer people who have been told they must choose between their faith and who they are: The door to God is open. ⚠️ CONTENT NOTE: This episode includes discussion of suicide, sex and sexuality. Not for littles.  Help is available Speak with someone today 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Languages: English, Spanish Hours: 24/7 ✨ GUEST + FOLLOW Kathy Baldock — IG: @kathyvbaldock Founder, CanyonWalker Connections 📚 MENTIONED + RESOURCES Forging a Sacred Weapon: The 1946 Bible Mistranslation Behind Anti-Gay Theology — Kathy Baldock - get it on The Sacred Slope Book Reccos List: https://bookshop.org/shop/thesacredslope Walking the Bridgeless Canyon — Kathy Baldock 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture — IG: @1946themovie Sharon “Rocky” Roggio — Director of 1946 — IG: @1946themovie Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez IG: @timothysrodriguez book Conversion Therapy Dropout https://bookshop.org/shop/thesacredslope 🎬 Watch 1946: 1946themovie.com 📚 Kathy + CanyonWalker: canyonwalkerconnections.com ⛪ THE SACRED SLOPE LABS Three virtual labs, 2 options per lab, open to everyone, everywhere. LAB 1: I Thought This Was Christianity 📅 October 22 & 23 LAB 2: Who Formed Us? 📅 November 5 & 6 LAB 3: Speaking Across the Faith Divide 📅 November 12 & 13 🎟️ Register: thesacredslope.com ⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00 — Can You Be Queer & Christian? 05:07 — Plant Sex, Nazis & a 1946 Bible 09:56 — Meet Kathy Baldock 17:37 — 5,000 Years of Sexuality & Christianity 26:17 — What Really Happened With the RSV? 37:16 — When the Translators Realized the Problem 45:21 — The Dutch & German Bibles 52:47 — Kathy’s Message to LGBTQ Christians 57:16 — Sex, Pleasure & the Medieval Church 59:03 — The Wild History of Masturbation 1:05:11 — The U.S. Navy Sex Sting 1:11:18 — Why Churches Struggle to Change 1:17:14 — Where Kathy Finds Hope #KathyBaldock #1946TheMovie #LGBTQChristian #BibleTranslation #QueerChristian #Deconstruction Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 61. Lisa Sharon Harper (Episcopal) | White Supremacy, Evangelicalism & Decolonizing Christianity What if the Christianity many Americans are deconstructing isn’t Christianity itself-but a version shaped by whiteness, empire, and power? Lisa Sharon Harper is a public theologian, author, activist, playwright, founder and president of FreedomRoad, and is currently discerning ordination in the Episcopal Church. Lisa traces the complicated history of American evangelicalism—from the Black church and abolitionist movements to fundamentalism, the Southern Baptist Convention, segregation, and the modern political power of white evangelicalism. Then she challenges one of the central ideas of modern faith deconstruction: Christianity was never a white faith. Jesus and the earliest Christians emerged from colonized people in the ancient Near East. Lisa argues that abandoning Christianity because of white Christian racism can leave the supremacy of Western Christianity itself uninterrogated. She doesn’t call us to deconstruct Christianity. She calls us to decolonize it. We explore Acts 2, implicit bias, the Black church, fundamentalism, Christian nationalism, religious certainty-and what happens when we rediscover Jesus outside the version of Christianity we inherited. Lisa leaves us with three words: “Seek brown Jesus.” ✨ GUEST + FOLLOW Lisa Sharon Harper (Episcopal)  IG: @lisasharper Founder & President, FreedomRoad @freedomroad.us 📚 MENTIONED + RESOURCES Christena Cleveland (PhD) — IG: @christenacleveland Rev. Dr. David P. Gushee — IG: @d_pgushee Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas — IG: @revdrkbd Sojourners — Independent Christian magazine exploring faith, culture, politics & social justice. 📖 Lisa’s 2015 essay that opens this episode: “Four Easy Ways to Be a White Supremacist” https://sojo.net/magazine/septemberoctober-2015/four-easy-ways-be-white-supremacist 📰 Explore Sojourners: @sojogram https://sojo.net ⛪ THE SACRED SLOPE LABS Three virtual labs, 2 options per lab, open to everyone, everywhere. Attend one, two, or all three. LAB 1: I Thought This Was Christianity 📅 October 22 & 23 LAB 2: Who Formed Us? 📅 November 5 & 6 LAB 3: Speaking Across the Faith Divide 📅 November 12 & 13 🎟️ Register: thesacredslope.com 🥚 Listen all the way through for an Easter egg revealing our first guest speaker for Lab 1. ⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS 02:42 — White Supremacy: Explicit vs. Implicit Bias 09:56 — Meet Lisa Sharon Harper 12:23 — PhD in Womanist Ethics 18:56 — Evangelical ≠ Republican or Democrat 21:48 — What Does “Evangelical” Mean? 28:00 — The Black Church & Second Great Awakening 32:43 — Slaveholder Faith & American Christianity 36:38 — What’s Behind “Non-Denominational”? 41:36 — Should We Save Evangelicalism? 44:00 — Fundamentalism & Certainty 45:23 — What Happens After Deconstruction? 47:06 — Christianity Was Never a White Faith 52:51 — Decolonizing Acts 2 55:47 — “I’m Not for Deconstructing. I’m for Decolonizing.” 57:13 — “Seek Brown Jesus” 57:20 — Sacred Slope Labs + Easter Egg #LisaSharonHarper #DecolonizingChristianity #Deconstruction #Evangelicalism #ChristianNationalism  Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 60. Raised Pentecostal vs. United Methodist | Deconstruction, Doubt & Finding God Again with Colten Barnaby & Rev. Dr. S.C. Williams What happens when two Christians grow up in almost completely different versions of Christianity? Colten Barnaby grew up in a strict Oneness Holiness Pentecostal world, speaking in tongues at five years old and believing other Christians still needed to be saved. Rev. Dr. S.C. Williams grew up United Methodist, where he was encouraged to question, evolution wasn’t controversial, hell was rarely discussed, and faith was rooted more in grace than fear. Same Christianity? That question opens a fascinating conversation about Pentecostalism, United Methodism, deconstruction, religious trauma, progressive Christianity, evolution, scripture, doubt, Christian nationalism—and whether questioning your faith can actually bring you closer to God. Colten shares how studying theology and church history at Oral Roberts University complicated the certainty he grew up with. Instead of atheist professors destroying his faith, he encountered serious Christians who accepted evolution, disagreed theologically, and still respected one another. Today, Colten sometimes describes himself with a sentence that would have terrified his younger self: “I’m a Christian who doesn’t believe in God.” What does that even mean? Together, Colten and S.C. explore what remains when certainty disappears—and why seeking truth may matter more than protecting the theological system you inherited. They also discuss religious trauma, LGBTQ+ inclusion, harmful theology, the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, Christian nationalism, debating Doug Wilson, progressive Christianity, and one of the hardest questions for people rebuilding faith: How do you know who to trust again? And for anyone afraid deconstruction will lead them away from God: Maybe God is on the other side of your questions too. ✨ GUESTS + FOLLOW Colten Barnaby — Christian thinker and creator exploring theology, politics, philosophy, and faith after certainty. Rev. Dr. S.C. Williams — United Methodist pastor and creator exploring scripture, theology, church history, and harmful Christian teachings. 📚 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Brian Recker — IG: @berecker Tim Whitaker / The New Evangelicals — IG: @thenewevangelicals @timwhitakerspeaks Tripp Fuller — IG: @trippfuller Homebrewed Christianity — IG: @theologynerd Theology Beer Camp — IG: @theologybeercamp April Ajoy — IG: @aprilajoy 🍺 THEOLOGY BEER CAMP Alexis, Colten, Tripp Fuller, and other Sacred Slope friends are headed to Theology Beer Camp in Kansas City, Missouri, October 8–10, 2026—a gathering for people willing to ask big questions about God, Christianity, theology, culture, and the world without pretending they already have all the answers. In-person tickets are sold out, but virtual tickets are still available at theologybeer.camp. ⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS 07:29 — Meet Colten Barnaby & Rev. Dr. S.C. Williams 08:24 — Growing Up Oneness Pentecostal 11:45 — When Education Complicates Your Faith 14:20 — Pentecostal vs. United Methodist Christianity 17:15 — Religious Trauma & What the Church Owes People 19:02 — “I’m a Christian Who Doesn’t Believe in God” 23:48 — What Is God? 25:20 — Progressive Christianity & Questions 29:30 — Debating Doug Wilson 33:54 — Why S.C. Williams Does Theology Online 35:34 — Recognizing Harmful Theology 36:42 — Apostasy, Fear & Religious Trauma 43:00 — LGBTQ+ Inclusion & Reading the Bible Differently 44:35 — Reinterpreting Scripture 47:07 — Why Church Tradition Matters 51:34 — Doubt, Truth & Seeking God 01:02:40 — What Deconstruction Actually Looks Like 01:03:24 — Historical Context Changes Theology 01:06:04 — The Wesleyan Quadrilateral 01:09:49 — Reading Scripture Through Jesus 01:16:26 — Who Can You Trust After Religious Trauma? 01:21:40 — Can Doubt Bring You Closer to God? #Deconstruction #ProgressiveChristianity #Pentecostal #UnitedMethodist #ReligiousTrauma #FaithAndDoubt #Exvangelical #Christianity #TheSacredSlope Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 59. Theology Beer Camp Preview (Ilia Delio, Tripp Fuller, Sarah Heath & Josh Patterson) | We Shocked a Theologian With What We Were Taught About Christianity What happens when you tell a theologian what millions of American evangelicals were taught they had to believe in order to be Christian? Ilia Delio was shocked. She's not the only one. I have done this exercise with several pastors, theologians, scholars around the world outside of conservative fundamentalism and they are almost all shocked. And those in fundamentalism are shocked at the responses outside of conservative evangelicalism. So what's going on here?  In this special Theology Beer Camp preview, Ilia Delio, Tripp Fuller, Sarah Heath, and Josh Patterson join Alexis Rice for a conversation about evangelical fundamentalism, deconstruction, Christian nationalism, science, evolution, curiosity, AI, and what happens when faith becomes bigger than the beliefs we inherited. The conversation begins with a simple experiment: Put your finger down if you were taught… That the snake in Genesis was a literal talking snake. That you needed to pray the sinner’s prayer to escape eternal conscious torment in hell. That the rapture could happen at any moment. That you cannot be gay and Christian. That women cannot be pastors. That evolution contradicts the Bible. That questioning any of this meant questioning God. Alexis and Josh put every finger down. Ilia, Tripp, and Sarah largely don’t. Ilia’s reaction? “My God… I can’t believe you guys really followed that stuff.” And then comes the question underneath this entire episode: “Is this stuff still going on?” Yes. And that disconnect matters. Together, they explore how Christians from different traditions can inherit radically different understandings of the same faith—and why people leaving conservative evangelicalism may have no idea that other faithful expressions of Christianity have been here all along. Tripp reflects on how 9/11, Islamophobia, war, and militaristic nationalism changed his relationship with the Christian world around him. Sarah shares what happened when she moved from a questioning Christian home in Canada into conservative evangelical culture in the American South—and why curiosity may be one of the most important things Christians can offer one another. Josh talks about letting go of theological finality and embracing the idea that being human means always becoming. And Ilia explores evolution, science, inner freedom, AI, and a God she understands not as a power over us, but as a presence and embrace within us. By the end, everyone has all ten fingers back up. They still don’t believe exactly the same things. They don’t need to. Because maybe changing your theology doesn’t mean losing your faith. Maybe asking questions isn’t something Christianity needs to fear. And maybe people who thought they had to choose between the Christianity they inherited and no Christianity at all need to hear something much simpler: Christianity is bigger than what you were taught. ✨ GUESTS + FOLLOW Ilia Delio Franciscan sister, theologian, scientist, and founder of the Center for Christogenesis IG: @centerforchristogenesis Tripp Fuller Theologian, author, host of Homebrewed Christianity, and founder of Theology Beer Camp IG: @trippfuller Homebrewed Christianity: @theologynerd Theology Beer Camp: @theologybeercamp Sarah Heath United Methodist pastor, author, speaker, creator, and professional asker of good questions IG: @revsarahheath Josh Patterson Theologian, podcaster, and host of (Re)thinking Faith Podcast IG: @rethinking_faith 🍺 THEOLOGY BEER CAMP Alexis, Ilia, Tripp, Sarah, and Josh are headed to Theology Beer Camp in Kansas City, Missouri, October 8–10, 2026—a gathering for people willing to ask big questions about God, Christianity, culture, science, and the world without pretending they already have all the answers. In-person tickets are sold out, but virtual tickets are still available at theologybeer.camp. 📚 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Andrew Whitehead — @andrewwhitehead Sociologist and author whose work examines Christian nationalism in the United States. ⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS 06:05 — The Experiment: Were We Even Taught the Same Christianity? 09:58 — Ilia’s Reaction: “You Really Followed That Stuff?” 11:50 — Growing Up Christian in Very Different Worlds 14:33 — When Evangelicalism Becomes the Only Christianity You Know 15:20 — Can Christians Believe Differently and Still Belong? 17:55 — Is God Bigger Than Our Beliefs? 19:59 — Evolution, Genesis & Faith 22:28 — What Happens to Faith After Deconstruction? 24:38 — Curiosity, Freedom & Making Room for Each Other 27:27 — AI, Christianity & What It Means to Be Human 30:02 — Can Science and Religion Learn to Talk to Each Other? 31:21 — After Deconstruction: What Do We Believe Now? #TheologyBeerCamp #IliaDelio #TrippFuller #SarahHeath #JoshPatterson #Deconstruction #ProgressiveChristianity #FaithAndDoubt #ChristianNationalism #ScienceAndReligion #TheSacredSlope Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 58. Interfaith Comedy (Yasmin Elhady, Carmiya Weinraub & PT Bratton) | A Muslim, a Jew, and Two Christians Walk Into a Podcast Comedians Yasmin Elhady, Carmiya Weinraub, and P. T. Bratton join Alexis Rice for an interfaith conversation about faith, comedy, stereotypes, friendship, and the questions people are often too nervous to ask out loud. Together, they are part of Interfaith Comedy, a nationally touring project that brings performers of different faith traditions together to laugh, challenge assumptions, and build real human connection. Carmiya, an observant Jewish comedian and founder of Interfaith Comedy, shares why she wanted Muslim performers in Jewish spaces - and herself in spaces beyond the Jewish community. Yasmin, an Egyptian American Muslim comedian and attorney, reflects on being welcomed to the United States as an asylum seeker by Catholic charities and on why faith, humility, pain, and comedy belong together. P. T., a Christian comedian, former pastor, and military veteran, brings humor and insight about Christian culture, church guilt, and the many ways people interpret the same sacred text. This conversation is not about convincing everyone to believe the same thing. It is about what happens when we stop talking about one another and start talking with one another. People become much harder to fear - and harder to hate - up close. ✨ Guests + Upcoming Shows Yasmin Elhady @yasminelhahahady  Egyptian American comedian, attorney, speaker, and storyteller  Known for Hulu’s Muslim Matchmaker and NBC’s True Story with Ed Helms and Randall Park Performed at the Kennedy Center Upcoming: Not Exactly a Nun at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., beginning September 25 Website + tickets | Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Carmiya Weinraub @carmiya.w Observant Jewish comedian, producer, mother of five, and founder of Interfaith Comedy @interfaith.comedy. Creator of a nationally touring comedy project connecting audiences across faith traditions Interfaith Comedy PT Bratton @ptbrattoncomedy Comedian, storyteller, military veteran, and former pastor Has performed nationally, from comedy clubs to the Kennedy Center and the White House Website + upcoming shows #InterfaithComedy #YasminElhady #CarmiyaWeinraub #PTBratton #Interfaith #FaithAndComedy #TheSacredSlope Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 57. Matthew Boedy (Baptist) | The Seven Mountains Mandate: Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy What if something many Christians dismiss as fringe is actually an organized framework for changing American culture? Religion. Family. Education. Government and military. Media. Arts and entertainment. Business. These are the Seven Mountains. Dr. Matthew Boedy, Baptist, professor, scholar of religious rhetoric and Christian nationalism, and author of The Seven Mountains Mandate, joins Alexis Rice to explain the history of the Seven Mountains Mandate and why he believes this movement matters far beyond conservative evangelicalism. Alexis grew up in evangelical Christianity. She knew about Christian schools, Christian media, Christian politics, Campus Crusade, apologetics and the culture wars. But she had never heard anyone explain that there were seven specific areas of culture Christians were supposed to influence or “take.” Matthew traces the framework back to Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ and Lauren Cunningham of Youth With A Mission, and explains the later influence of Lance Wallnau. They talk about Turning Point USA, Project 2025, public schools, the Ten Commandments, spiritual warfare, pastors and politics, “marketplace apostles,” conspiracy thinking, social media, Christian media, and the difference between sharing your faith and seeking political or cultural power. But this conversation is also about Christianity itself. Matthew is Christian. Alexis is Christian. And the Christianity being discussed here is not all Christianity. What happens when one expression of Christianity becomes so visible that people begin confusing it with Christianity itself? And what responsibility do pastors, scholars, professors and other Christians have to make the larger Christian tradition visible? CHAPTERS 02:56 Introduction 04:12 What Is the Seven Mountains Mandate? 08:37 Understanding Christian Nationalism 17:39 How Large Is This Movement? 23:10 The Global Movement 27:10 Spiritual Warfare & Strategy 30:06 Which Christianity? 32:36 Media & Counterpoints 35:18 Mountain 1: Education 41:41 Ten Commandments in Schools 44:54 The California Narrative 47:21 Mountain 2: Government 49:58 Mountain 3: Religion 53:36 Mountain 4: Family 01:01:51 Mountain 5: Business 01:05:15 Mountain 6: Media 01:09:40 Mountain 7: Arts & Entertainment 01:13:11 Hope & What Comes Next ✨ Guest + Book Matthew Boedy The Seven Mountains Mandate: Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy  https://bookshop.org/shop/thesacredslope Professor, University of North Georgia Westminster John Knox Press Thanks to @aprilajoy, author of Star-Spangled Jesus , who makes a cameo in this episode, for alerting me through your book of the Seven Mountains Mandate #MatthewBoedy #SevenMountainsMandate #ChristianNationalism #Christianity  Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 56. Kristin Kobes Du Mez (Christian) | Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made What if the Christianity you were taught was never the only way to be Christian? For millions of women raised in American evangelicalism, the rules felt inseparable from the faith itself. Be pure. Submit. Don’t question authority. Stay inside the lines. Follow the right leaders. Read the right books. Believe the right things. Shop at the right stores. And if you do it all faithfully enough, you’ll be safe, happy, and blessed. But who made those rules? Where did they come from? And what happens when you discover that some of what you were taught as timeless biblical truth has a history? Kristin Kobes Du Mez, historian, scholar, and New York Times bestselling author of Jesus and John Wayne, joins Alexis Rice to uncover that history in her new book, Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made. For women formed by evangelical Christianity, this one may feel deeply personal. Purity culture. Biblical womanhood. Submission. Christian bookstores. Megachurches. Beth Moore Bible studies. Political power. Christian nationalism. And the promise underneath so much of it: follow the rules and you will be safe, prosperous, and happy. But Kristin’s history reveals something many women were never taught. Christian women have also challenged patriarchy, fought for women’s rights, preached, led, questioned authority, and imagined faithful Christianity differently. Together they explore: • How evangelicalism became a self-contained cultural ecosystem • The surprising history of Christian feminism • Purity culture, shame & the “sexual prosperity gospel” • Christian consumer culture, belonging & control • Why questioning the system felt like questioning Christianity • Beth Moore, abuse, Trump & the cost of speaking out • Gender, politics, power & Christian nationalism • Rachel Held Evans, Sarah Bessey & women imagining another way • Why seeing the system clearly is the first step toward changing it Kristin is careful to distinguish this history from all Christianity or even all evangelicalism. There have always been dissenters. “There were always people inside the system who began to see the system for what it was.” What becomes possible when you realize the Christianity you inherited is not the only Christianity available to you? ✨ Guest + Books • Kristin Kobes Du Mez, @kkdumez • Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made • Jesus and John Wayne • A New Gospel for Women • Publisher: Liveright Publishing, an imprint of W. W. Norton & Company 📚 People, Books & Resources Mentioned • Beth Moore, @bethmoorelpm • Rachel Held Evans (1981–2019) @rachelheldevans, Evolving in Monkey Town; A Year of Biblical Womanhood • Sarah Bessey, @sarahbessey, Jesus Feminist • Jen Hatmaker, @jenhatmaker • Amy Grant, @amygrantofficial • LifeWay Christian Resources, @lifeway 05:05 Introduction to the Sacred Slope 06:54 Expanding the Christian Faith 08:44 Understanding Christian Nationalism 09:11 The Movement of Women in Christianity 10:00 Introduction to Kristen Kobes Du Mez and Her Work 11:52 The Impact of 'Jesus and John Wayne' and Cultural Phenomenon 14:53 Exploring White Evangelical Womanhood and Purity Culture 17:46 The Complexity of Evangelicalism and Dissenting Voices 20:35 Historical Context of Christian Women's Involvement in Feminism 23:33 The Closed System of Evangelical Culture 25:59 Personal Reflections on Faith and Regret 28:25 Understanding Power Dynamics in Evangelicalism 31:26 The Role of Women in Shaping Evangelical History 33:51 Concluding Thoughts on the Future of Christianity 41:03 The Totalizing System of Evangelicalism 44:49 Purity Culture and Its Impact 53:13 Beth Moore: A Voice of Change 01:04:01 Hope and Courage in the Face of Adversity 01:15:17 Introduction to The Sacred Slope 01:15:17 Nomination Process for Clergy Members #KristinKobesDuMez #LiveLaughLove #Christianity #Evangelicalism #Deconstruction #ChristianNationalism #PurityCulture #WomenInChurch Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

Send us Fan Mail 55. Birdy Mae (Southern Baptist) — When Evangelical Christianity Stops Feeling Like Home Birdy Mae knew how to be a good Southern Baptist woman. Know the Bible. Serve constantly. Believe the right things. Raise your kids the right way. And be certain. “I was desperate to be like her. Because I thought she knew Jesus.” Eventually, Birdy became her. Then the certainty started cracking. Women. LGBTQ+ Christians. Church abuse. Race. Political power. Christian nationalism. And finally, January 6. For women raised inside conservative evangelical Christianity who still love Jesus but increasingly wonder, How did the faith that formed me become something I barely recognize?—this conversation will feel familiar. Birdy joins Alexis Rice for a funny, vulnerable conversation about what happens when changing your mind costs you relationships, certainty, and belonging—but not Jesus. Together they explore: • Becoming the “good Christian woman” she thought she had to be • Hell houses, purity culture & fear-based Christianity • Beth Moore, women preaching & cracks in Southern Baptist certainty • Church abuse scandals & institutional power • Realizing she had been wrong about LGBTQ+ Christians • Travel & discovering Christianity beyond an American lens • January 6 and Birdy’s breaking point • Christian nationalism & political identity • Women, gender roles & what younger women are inheriting • Losing relationships after publicly changing her mind • Why questioning your faith doesn’t have to mean losing Jesus • Why Birdy still attends a Southern Baptist church Birdy calls her journey “untangling”—pulling the threads of Jesus away from the rules of religion. Can you grieve what your Christian world has become without giving up the Jesus you found there? “You have the right to question everything.” ✨ Guest • Birdy Mae (Mary) — Southern Baptist storyteller & creator — @birdymaesays • Substack: The Back Row 📚 Books, People & Resources Mentioned • Kristin Kobes Du Mez — @kkdumez — Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made; Jesus and John Wayne • Pete Enns — @peteenns — The Sin of Certainty; The Bible Tells Me So • Beth Allison Barr — @bethallisonbarr — The Making of Biblical Womanhood • Rachel Held Evans — @rachelheldevans — A Year of Biblical Womanhood • Sarah Bessey — @sarahbessey — Field Notes for the Wilderness / Braving the Wilderness of Faith • Beth Moore — @bethmoorelpm • Andrew Whitehead — @ndrewwhitehead — American Idolatry • April Ajoy — @aprilajoy — Star-Spangled Jesus • Cody Deese — @codydeese My Internal Universe • Kathy Baldock — @forgingasacredweapon1946 Forging a Sacred Weapon • 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture — @1946themovie • Oprah Winfrey — @oprah 📺 Movies, TV & Culture Mentioned • The Handmaid’s Tale — @handmaidsonhulu • The Righteous Gemstones — @HBO @therighteousgemstones  • Mrs. America — FX @ mrsamericafx #Christianity #Deconstruction #Evangelicalism #SouthernBaptist #ChristianNationalism #ChurchHurt #WomenInChurch #LGBTQChristians #Faith Support the show About The Sacred Slope  thesacredslope.com Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected] 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control