"We're fighting for the life of democracy right now... Religion is at the core of the threat." - @kkdumez.bsky.social On the importance of naming & confronting the problem of Christian Nationalism. So much that's so good here. Have a listen. ⬇️ convocation.substack.com/p/trumps-dru...

This one's for Dr. @kkdumez.bsky.social. I'm in Montana, and this afternoon I pulled up behind this truck and my jaw actually dropped. If you haven't read her book with both of these personages on the two bumper stickers in the title, you must! (The blurred vehicle tag is not Montana.)

Zohran flip your hair again we need healthcare get him to give us healthcare.

Just dropped @convocation.bsky.social —Trump’s Drumbeat of Violence and Christian Nationalism. Our latest episode w/ @jemartisby.bsky.social @kkdumez.bsky.social @robertpjones.bsky.social @dianabutlerbass.bsky.social convocation.substack.com/p/trumps-dru...

1. Since I get asked about this: I think this is both a reasonable position and one I deeply disagree with — bc it's not a standard we apply to other political terms. E.g., you'll get different answers if you ask folks to define "liberal" too — but we still use it. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/u...

TONIGHT: Hear from PRRI Senior Democracy Fellows @wilsonhartgrove.bsky.social, @kkdumez.bsky.social, and @jemartisby.bsky.social at 7:00 PM at “A Revolution of Values: Confronting the Triple Evils of Our Time,” presented by the King Center Tune in: www.youtube.com/live/1p24SbP...

“Epstein is at the heart of the MAGA movement.” Writes @kkdumez.bsky.social That one sentence alone just absolutely explains why all of us with “TDS” had such a visceral reaction the moment the man rode that escalator. I think something in us knew how deep and dark this all was.

authors you have the chance to do the funniest thing right now

Never forget that just a week ago, Ross Douthat and the NYTimes were asking if women ruined the workplace.

Come for the myriad Bluesky references, stay for the #hotpriest(s)

Chicago really sending only its most handsome faith leaders for these gigs huh

Oh wow @reuters.com got the photo here:

Latest podcast episode just posted! Our take on the meaning of the 2025 election results: the surprising, the practical, and the big picture. @jemartisby.bsky.social @dianabutlerbass.bsky.social @robertpjones.bsky.social @kkdumez.bsky.social convocation.substack.com/p/the-most-i...

John Cleary, who was shot in the chest by Ohio National Guard troops during an antiwar protest at Kent State University in 1970, a moment captured in a Life magazine cover photo, died last month. He was 74.

Cover of my next book just dropped.

I can’t remember when a book has made me laugh this hard. Maybe never.

Faith leaders — as well as faith-based food banks — have long argued they absolutely cannot independently handle the raw number of people currently served by government food assistance programs. They argued it again last week in Congress, calling the idea a "lie". religionnews.com/2025/10/30/f...

Sharing a special sneak peek of the audiobook of "A Beautiful Year." The reflection explores the spirituality of All Souls Day. Friendly warning: You may get teary. "A Beautiful Year" releases on 11/4. dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/sunday-mus...

A conversation from the Convocation Unscripted: Finding Beauty in the Liturgical Year You'll be surprised by the relevance of this discussion to these hard days. open.substack.com/pub/convocat...

NEW from me: Speaker Mike Johnson dismisses religious freedom concerns of clergy who have been shot by DHS/ICE with pepper balls, pepper rounds, or rubber bullets, insisting he hasn't heard about such incidents despite being asked about one earlier this month. religionnews.com/2025/10/29/s...

In all fairness, depicting ICE as Mel Gibson makes a lot of sense.

Spokane friends, im coming your way! Tomorrow, at Whitworth : favs.news/whitworth-20...

This should be fun.

I've been asking for at least the last 5 years: "If I were in 1933 Germany, what could I have been doing to be a faithful Jesus-follower?" This book is exactly the guide I've been wishing someone would write. It's _On Tyranny_ for Christians. Read it. @kkdumez.bsky.social @hannareichel.bsky.social

Many thanks to @kkdumez.bsky.social for this wonderful insightful review of "Rooted" by Christy Berghoef. #bookreview #Rooted #Homecoming #Nature #Memoir kristindumez.substack.com/p/rooted?utm...

Wisconsin friends, I’d love to see you this Sunday at Bethel Lutheran Church in Madison, 5:30pm!

Question for writer/editor friends: I have an almost-finished manuscript—is it really safe to delete all places of publication in notes? This is really a thing now?

Cantwell: "Do you think that the women on the steps of the Capitol were a 'hoax' yesterday?" RFK: "I don't know about any women." Cantwell: "The women who were talking about Epstein. Do you think they were perpetuating a hoax?" RFK: "This is the first I'm hearing about it."

Donald Trump's message to Epstein survivors: "Enough." On Wednesday, survivors spoke about their experiences at Capitol Hill to support a bipartisan bill that would release their files. When asked about it in the Oval Office, Trump decried it as a "Democrat hoax" and said "I think it's enough."

Grateful to be a part of this new cohort of Senior Democracy Fellows at PRRI:

“I was r*ped sometimes 3 times a day on that island… and I was not the only girl on that island… Ghislaine must die in prison, because I’ve been in hell and back for the last 17 years.” Listen to the survivors.

Virginia Giuffre’s family denounces “DAG Todd Blanche’s bizarre interview” of Ghislaine Maxwell in a statement. www.allrisenews.com/p/maxwell-tr...

I spoke with Scott Tong on NPR’s Here & Now today on James Dobson: www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

Actually I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States with my hand on @bpl.boston.gov’s 1782 edition Aitken Bible—also known as the Bible of the Revolution.

“While many will mourn Dobson as a good Christian man, who lived by biblical values, he left a lot of broken people in his wake, including those he made believe God wants them to hit their kids.” @antheabutler.bsky.social loaded this one with line after line 🔥🔥🔥 www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Video of my event with @kkdumez.bsky.social youtu.be/8QqdSxAxAU4?...

James Dobson at a migrant detention center in Texas, 2019: “illegal immigrants will continue flooding into this great land from around the world. Many of them have no marketable skills. They are illiterate & unhealthy. Some are violent criminals. Their numbers will soon overwhelm the culture…”

The NY Times says this administration considers diversity "taboo." A healthy democracy includes a robust appreciation f/ diversity & widespread civic participation. Research from the last 10+ years shows Christian nationalism threatens democracy in at least 3 ways: kettering.org/how-christia...

I,for one, am a big fan of elderly white hippy protestors. Years ago already I noticed the older demographic seemed more politically engaged than younger ones. Maybe they have less to lose, maybe they’re just old enough to know what they’re looking at.

Incredible book launch at @schulerbooks.bsky.social in Grand Rapids! Over 100 people came out, including friends who drove or flew in from elsewhere. Can't thank @kkdumez.bsky.social enough for hosting! Video will eventually be on my Substack.

“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. ... History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” ―Orwell, 1984

A “no comment” bookstore display side-by-side.

"When white evangelicals chose to endanger American democracy, they made their faith all of our business." - @hollybfletcher.bsky.social via @kkdumez.bsky.social kristindumez.substack.com/p/missionary...

Michigan friends, I’ll be with @hollybfletcher.bsky.social tomorrow at @schulerbooks.bsky.social in Grand Rapids to talk about her brand new book! open.substack.com/pub/kristind...

There’s no longer any pretense this has anything to do with crime (there are cities or parts of cities in SC and Ohio that have higher crime rates than DC — send the troops there!). This is about establishing a precedent for Trump seizing control of the nation’s capital when he wants to.

Conservatives who know better have stayed silent. They have been negligent. Some have been cowardly. Many have been complicit. open.substack.com/pub/kristind...

Dolly Parton has sent my daughter a new book every month for years as she does for thousands of children. She help fund the development of the Covid vaccine. She’s not a billionaire. I think as non wealthy people it’s hard to even imagine how much billionaires *could* be doing with their money.

Writing the last chapter of my next book and I underestimated the mental and emotional toll narrating the last 10 years would take in light of where this has brought us.

The point was never really to save money. The point was to speed run the 60-year old GOP dream of dismantling of the New Deal administrative state using Musk as the tip of the spear, his unearned reputation for being a “non-ideological, former Democrat, techno-whiz, problem solver” as a shield.