Belief

A Democratic congressman recently accused members of his own party of applying a double-standard to the issue of anti-Semitism — that is, condemning it when it comes from Republicans but turning a blind eye when it comes from Democrats.

“Consider the response to — really, the embrace of — Hasan Piker, a prominent left-wing commentator with millions of online followers,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) wrote in a New York Times editorial published on Sunday. Gottheimer had previously criticized the neo-Nazis who rioted in Charlottesville in 2017 and the popular alt right influencer Nick Fuentes.

“He referred to Orthodox Jews as ‘inbred’ and said ‘America deserved 9/11,’ both statements he halfheartedly walked back,” Gottheimer wrote. “He said that Hamas — a designated terrorist organization that has killed Americans and taken Americans hostage — is ‘a thousand times better’ than Israel, America’s ally, which he called a ‘fascist settler colonial apartheid state’ — a statement he stands by.”

Gottheimer continued, “None of this should be waved away as mere edgy commentary. Mr. Piker traffics in antisemitic and anti-American extremism that has been met by silence from many on the Democratic left.” He then pointed out that a number of prominent Democrats have appeared on Piker’s show and even campaigned with him, even though other Democrats admit to privately being “disgusted” by Piker’s statements (which they then, Gottheimer added, do not speak up to oppose out of fear of Piker’s fans).

Yet Gottheimer did not limit his criticism of supposed left-wing anti-Semitism to Piker.

“At their recent party convention, Michigan Democrats nominated a candidate to run for a seat on the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents who had shared a social media post praising the former leader of Hezbollah as a martyr and another post that invoked age-old antisemitic tropes by referring to Israelis as ‘demons’ who ‘lie, steal, cheat, murder and blackmail,’” Gottheimer said. The lawmaker then connected those statements to Senate Democrats voting to block sales to Israel based on its human rights record.

“If this is now the standard for supporting military aid and arms sales, then Democratic members of Congress should at least be consistent,” Gottheimer argued. “Do they also believe we should block weapon sales to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, given the history of human rights abuses in those countries?” He accused congressional Democrats of a similar double-standard in denouncing Israel’s allegedly “apartheid” policies against Palestinians but not denouncing Muslim Middle Eastern countries that discriminate against women and LGBTQ people in ways Israel does not.

“When Mr. Trump lashes out at Pope Leo XIV in ways that millions of Catholics rightly find deeply offensive, none of us should look the other way,” Gottheimer added. “When a Republican congressman tries to dehumanize Muslims, we should all speak up. When Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson use hateful rhetoric, they should be rebuked. The same should go for Hasan Piker. Everyone has a right to express his or her views, however repugnant those views may be. But Democratic leaders have the same right — and a duty — to challenge them.”

He concluded, “There should be one response to those who express hatred toward any American: condemnation. Hate is hate. It doesn’t get a pass because it comes from your side of the aisle.”

Speaking with AlterNet in March about the issue of American anti-Semitism, Brandeis University historian Jonathan Sarna stated that one can criticize Israeli government policy without being anti-Semitic. Valid concerns morph into bigotry, he argued, when those criticisms evolve into arguments about supposed Jewish world control or when they vilify all Israelis instead of solely the policymakers.

“If you go back to ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ — the great antisemitic forgery of the turn of the last century — that really began this sense that Jews are all-powerful, that they operate behind the scenes, and that whatever happens is ultimately their fault,” Sarna explained to AlterNet. “Before then, for centuries, the prevailing view was that Jews were persecuted and lowly because they had killed Christ, and that was what they deserved — they were powerless. That was their punishment. But ‘The Protocols’ flipped that.”

Sarna added that “especially as Jews in modernity have begun to succeed economically, it doesn't much matter what the issue is — whether it is 9/11, which some blame on the Jews, or the crash of 2008, or now the war with Iran. You can predict before it happens that people will blame Jews, because as The Protocols taught people, it's always the Jews. It's the great conspiracy theory. And even many people who have never read The Protocols believe many of the things in it — just as many people have never read Darwin, but they know the word ‘evolution.’ This is simply the latest iteration.”

Overall, Sarna told AlterNet that he reminds audiences “I can be critical of President Trump without being un-American. Most people who criticize President Trump or the Republicans would assure you how much they love America and hold a fundamentally positive view of it. It seems to me that it's deeply important for us to do the same with Israel — that is, to make clear that there is a huge difference between disliking the policies of the Prime Minister of Israel and hating Israel itself.”

He concluded, “If you wouldn't equate criticism of the President with hating America, there is no reason — and indeed it is wrong and wicked — to do so with regard to Israel.”

Speaking to this journalist for Salon in 2017, former Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) recalled experiencing no anti-Semitism when he ran for vice president on the Democratic ticket in the 2000 election. Even though the presidential nominee, Vice President Al Gore, had initially been concerned about anti-Semitism, he told Lieberman “I talked to a group of friends who are Jewish, among them there was high anxiety and uncertainty about whether the country was ready. Then I talked to my Christian friends, really trusted advisers, and every one of them said, ‘No problem.' ‘So obviously,” Al joked — he had a better sense of humor than some people gave him credit for — ‘since I know that there are so many millions more Christians than Jews in America, I was free to make the choice that I wanted to make!’”

Lieberman added that this anecdote demonstrated how, at the time, “the Christian reaction reveals a totally different reality than Jews have experienced in any place that they’ve been in the world except when Israel was a Jewish state.”

An anti-woke WSJ columnist is taking issue with President Donald Trump’s vice president, JD Vance's demeaning attacks on his own wife Usha Vance and roughly a billion other Hindus all over the world.

“Vice President JD Vance caused an uproar this past fall when he expressed his wish that his wife, Usha, a practicing Hindu, would one day follow his spiritual path,” Avatans Kumar, president and trustee of the nonprofit INDICA, wrote Thursday. “Many in the billion-strong global Hindu community were outraged at his declared hope that Mrs. Vance would convert to Catholicism.”

Kumar is still stinging months later, however, complaining that while the so-called religious freedom movement advocates for proselytizing religions like Catholicism and evangelical Christianity, it seems to deprioritize faiths that do not focus on converts.

“The root of this general dismissal of nonproselytizing religions is the dominance of Christianity and Islam,” Kumar explained. “The former is known for promoting evangelism, as seen in Jesus’ directive in Mark 16:15: ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ Islam emphasizes dawah, instructing Muslims to invite people to Islam. Muslims ruled large parts of India from the early 13th to the 19th century, and during this era Muslim preachers and Sufi mystics actively proselytized for Islam. The pattern of seeking converts is manifested in the missionary work of both Christianity and Islam.”

He added, “As these forms of faith came down to the present day, they tended to ignore the strain of religions that are mostly nonproselytizing—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto and tribal indigenous traditions. In these nonproselytizing religions, actively seeking new converts serves no theological purpose.”

From there Kumar asserted that Americans who wish to promote religious freedom should not zero in on the conversion-focused faiths to the neglect of others. Not only did this leave certain individuals feeling excluded, but it reeks of the West’s imperialist past.

“Colonialism is closely linked to religious conversion, as British missionaries sought to convert Hindus,” Kumar wrote. “Many British Christians believed their religion was more advanced and enlightened than those of the people they ruled, motivating their missionary activities.”

Kumar’s advocacy of Hindu representation arguably conflicts with his previous opposition to what he described in India Currents as “wokeism.” In his 2024 editorial, he argued that supposed “woke” culture contributed to President Donald Trump’s reelection that year.

“The Democrats, the U.S. legacy media, and wokeism have become synonymous with each other over the past few years,” Kumar wrote. “When the 2024 US election results came out, they all ended up on the losing side, individually and collectively. The thrashing was so comprehensive that it left the Democrats and their surrogates in US media, as well as the out-of-touch Hollywood celebrities, in a state of shock.”

Like Kumar, the Second Lady has publicly associated with right-leaning views. As The Verge’s Gaby Del Valle reported in April, Vance’s recent podcast “Storytime with the Second Lady” seemed to subtly reaffirm conservative gender roles.

“She’s … the latest conservative spouse to pivot to content creation,” Del Valle wrote. “It’s a new front of the ongoing culture wars: Instead of trying to win back supposedly liberal institutions, the right is hell-bent on creating its own. And if these institutions reinforce conservative gender norms, that’s all the better.”

Pope Leo XIV has publicly responded after President Donald Trump made baseless claims that the Chicago-born pontiff supports Iran's nuclear weapons program.

The tension between Trump and Pope Leo XIV, who is the first American-born pope, escalated when the pontiff criticized the administration's Iran war, calling the escalation of violence "unacceptable" and warning against the "delusion of omnipotence." Trump responded by calling Leo "weak on crime" and "terrible on foreign policy," drawing sharp criticism from Catholic leaders nationwide. The conflict intensified when Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ, which drew condemnation from Catholic bishops and evangelical leaders.

Vice President JD Vance further fueled tensions by suggesting the pope focus on morality rather than foreign policy, prompting Pope Leo to rebuke him directly. Despite the escalating rhetoric, Pope Leo has insisted he has "no interest at all" in debating the president, characterizing the controversy as a distraction from his pastoral duties.

Trump doubled down on his attacks on the pope on Monday, claiming that the pope believes Iran should have nuclear weapons.

Trump told Salem News Channel's Hugh Hewitt: "Well, the pope would rather talk about the fact that it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don't think that's very good. I think he's endangering a lot of Catholics, and a lot of people, but I guess if it's up to the pope, he thinks it's just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon."

Leo responded in remarks transcribed by Vatican correspondent Michael Haynes: "I have already spoken from the first moment 'Peace be with you.' The mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If anyone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully. The Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, so there is no doubt about that."

The pope's comments served as a clear rebuke of the president, issued just days before Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit the Vatican.

Rubio will travel to Rome on Wednesday and is set to meet with the pope on Thursday morning. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement: "Secretary Rubio will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere."

Trump has repeatedly claimed that the pope supports Iran's nuclear weapons program, pointing to the pontiff's calls for peace as proof.

Leo has specifically called for a world "free from the nuclear threat" and encouraged world leaders to take the "path of dialogue and diplomacy." At St. Peter's Basilica on April 12, he stated: "It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned, and deadly actions are decided."

Trump wrote on Truth Social: "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."

During Tuesday's press briefing, Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Trump's remarks about the pope. When a CNN reporter asked about the president's statement that the pope is endangering Catholics through his rhetoric around the Iran war, Rubio responded: "Well, I don't think that's an accurate description of what he said. I think what the president basically said is that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon because they would use it against places that have a lot of Catholics and Christians and others, for that matter."

Rubio added: "He went on to accuse Iran of 'holding the whole world hostage' with its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, adding that neither he nor the president can 'understand why anyone would think that it's a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon.' What do you think they would do if they had a nuclear weapon? They would hold the world hostage with that nuclear weapon. That's what they would do."

Far-right Christian nationalists, from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to The Heritage Foundation's Kevin Roberts to Pastor Doug Wilson, are claiming that the United States was designed to be a "Christian nation." This isn't a new argument: the late Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., founder of Liberty University and the Moral Majority, claimed, during the 1980s, that the "separation of church and state" argument was designed by Satan to keep Christians from running their country.

Hegseth, Roberts and Wilson are claiming that the United States' Founding Fathers envisioned a government run by strict Christian fundamentalism. But the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution never mentions Christianity and specifically states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Liberal opponents of Christian nationalism, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and People for the American Way, argue that while the First Amendment's Establishment Clause is protective of one's right to practice Christianity, it is equally protective of other religions — or, for that matter, atheists and agnostics.

Historian/religious scholar Gregg Frazer, according to the Independent's Peter Smith, now finds himself "at the center of" the debate on Christian nationalism. And Smith, in an article published on May 3, notes that this debate is taking place ahead of the United States' 250th anniversary.

Smith quotes Frazer as saying, "Neither side really wants to hear what I say." Frazer believes that the Christian nationalist view of U.S. history is inaccurate, as the Founders didn't envision a fundamentalist theocracy but weren't anti-religion either.

"He emphasizes that most Founders were religious in some capacity," Smith explains. "This longstanding debate over the Founders' religious intentions has gained renewed intensity with the approaching 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. Amid the 'America 250' celebrations, some Christian activists and authors are intensifying their claims that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation. This narrative finds support from the current administration, with President Donald Trump promoting 'America Prays,' culminating in a May 17 gathering on the National Mall in Washington."

Smith adds, "Cabinet officials have also issued Christian messages in their official capacities, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth proclaiming that 'America was founded as a Christian nation.… in our DNA.'"

Smith cites Americans United for Separation of Church and State as an example of a group that is pushing back against Christian nationalism, saying, "Most — nearly all — serious historians agree that America was not founded as a Christian nation in any meaningful legal, philosophical or constitutional sense."

In 2026, right-wing media have been full of reporting on an alleged Christian fundamentalist revival among young Generation Z men — who, they claim, are going to evangelical churches in big numbers. Many of these reports also claim that Gen-Z men are searching for "tradwives" who reject feminism, wear old-fashioned attire (including prairie dresses) and are determined to be stay-at-home moms.

But Salon's Amanda Marcotte, in article published on May 4, argues that this "Christian revival" among Gen-Z men is a myth.

"Are young men rushing back to church in record numbers?" Marcotte writes. "To hear many in the media, especially conservative media, tell it, the answer is a big fat yes. According to these reports, there's not only a stampede back to the churches by the young, but it's being led by a surprising cohort: Gen-Z men…. 'Churches Are PACKED Again' was the title of Riley Gaines' April 3 podcast, which she hosts for Fox News. 'There is a real deep-set commitment,' she said, assuring her audience that statistics show 'young men are out-attending young women' and it's 'the widest gender gap in 25 years.' Except — they aren't."

Marcotte cites a Gallup poll from April, which, she notes, shows some increase in church attendance by young men but not to the degree that right-wing media are claiming.

"In 2024-2025, 42 percent of men between the ages of 18 to 29 said religion is 'very important' to them, which is up from 28 percent in 2022-2023," Marcotte explains, noting Gallup data. "The figure also dramatically surpassed young women, who held steady at 30 percent. But a deeper look shows that young men are not actually going to church more than young women. When it comes to self-reported rates of church attendance, the two are basically the same: 39 percent of young women and 40 percent of young men say they go to church once a month or more. Even then, we should be skeptical."

Marcotte adds that the "surge of self-proclaimed religiosity among young men likely has less to do with faith and more to do with politics — specifically, gender politics." Many Gen-Z men embracing the MAGA movement, according to Marcotte, are drawn to "bro" culture rather than motivated by hardcore religiosity.

"There is also plenty of crossover to the secular side, with these Christian influencers doing stints on shows like Joe Rogan's, which allows them to further normalize their rancid interpretation of scripture," the Salon journalist explains. "These men aren't preaching Jesus Christ's gospel of self-sacrifice and humility. Their appeal largely comes from putting a youthful spin on reactionary views about gender…. There's even a subset of Manosphere influencers who are doing this tap dance with Islam. Andrew Tate, a popular influencer is facing rape and trafficking charges in the United Kingdom and Romania, claims to have converted to Islam in 2022."

President Donald Trump and his supporters frequently cite Christianity as a basis for their policies — but the leader of America’s largest Methodist church is running for the Senate in Kansas as a Democrat and against Trump’s agenda.

“In a world that feels more and more divided, I’ve had the privilege of being a pastor for 36 years of a church that’s roughly equally divided between Republicans, Democrats and independents,” the Rev. Adam Hamilton, who leads America’s largest Methodist charge after starting it with just a few members at a funeral home chapel, recently told a press conference. “Our people love each other precisely because of their differences.”

Describing himself as an “independent Democrat” who focuses on economic and social justice issues important to his constituents, Hamilton runs a church called Resurrection with over 24,000 members and nine locations in the Kansas City area. He has authored more than 30 books and has a reputation for a “big tent” approach, including his controversial support of full equality for LGBTQ+ members.

“For me, this feels like a calling,” Hamilton told Religion News Service on Friday morning. “It feels like a calling I’m willing to take great risks for, make great sacrifices for, because I care about our country, and I care about the people in my community, and I care about the people in Kansas.”

Hamilton said he will focus on the issues of affordability, health care, tariffs and immigration, all of which he argued put Trump’s agenda at odds with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

“I think a lot of moderates, a lot of centrist Republicans and Democrats, are saying, ‘This is not right,'” Hamilton told Religion News Service. “Whether it’s how we treat immigrants and making people afraid in our own borders, or the rhetoric that comes out of Washington, or cutting programs like SNAP and other programs that affect low-income children and families in America, I think there’s a lot of pastors and a lot of Christians who have just said, ‘This is not us.'”

Hamilton’s campaign for the Senate is part of a larger Democratic trend of leaning toward members of the clergy. In 2020, Democrats successfully ran the Rev. Raphael Warnock for the Senate in Georgia. Similarly earlier this year Democrats nominated James Talarico, a seminarian and youth pastor who similarly frames his political progressivism as being fueled by his Christian faith.

“Christ is the immigrant deported without due process,” Talarico said in a recent speech heavily criticized by Republicans. “Christ is the senior deprived of their Social Security benefits. Christ is the protestor kidnapped in an unmarked vehicle by plain clothes officers.” When Republicans reposted his comments to express alarm about them. Talarico replied by saying “I approve this message.”

In the past, the Rev. Rob Schenck was a prominent figure on the Religious Right, tirelessly railing against abortion and lobbying the federal courts to embrace Christian nationalist positions. But along the way, Schenck, an evangelical Protestant, grew disenchanted with the Religious Right and Christian nationalism as well as the anti-abortion movement. And organizations like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council no longer considered him a champion of their cause — especially in light of his vehement criticism of President Donald Trump.

In a lengthy article published by Mother Jones on April 29, Schenck takes a look at evangelicals who are now rethinking their support of the president.

"If Donald Trump is remembered for anything," Schenck observes, "it may be as a war president: His enemies so far have included migrants, trade, Venezuela, Iran, maybe Cuba — and now religion. His latest full-on assault was against Pope Leo XIV, whom he called 'weak on crime' and a 'very liberal person' who caters to 'the radical left,' accusing the pontiff of wanting Iran to have a nuclear bomb. Trump's verbal attack on the Holy See followed a series of posts that were equally offensive not just to Catholics, but to the full spectrum of Christians. Those posts included a profane Easter-morning missive about Iranian leadership; a day later, a threat to perpetrate genocide against the Iranian people; and, perhaps most offensive of all, an AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like figure performing a miracle."

Schenck continues, "Added to this affront to Christians, as well as believers of other faiths, was Vice President JD Vance's brazen attempt to justify Trump's lambasting of the Pope with a lecture on how the pontiff should speak about moral and spiritual issues."

Trump enjoyed strong support from far-right white evangelicals in 2016, 2020 and 2024, much to the chagrin of his Mainline Protestant and Catholic critics. And Trump still has plenty of white evangelical supporters.

But according to Rev. Schenck, he is going too far even for some of the white evangelicals who have supported him.

Schenck explains, "This escalation in Trump's conflict with religious constituencies comes as a slow but tectonic stress is occurring in his normally unified conservative Christian base…. It remains to be seen whether Trump's latest offenses to conservative Christian sensibilities, not to mention Catholic sentiments when it comes to respect for the Holy Father…. will change right-wing religious voting habits. But the revulsion over Trump's boorishness, the respective anger over Iran and immigration enforcement practices, the charges of blasphemy from several quarters, and the growing number of influential anti-Trump voices may be just enough to deny Trump's political toadies and his eventual MAGA successor the same overwhelming level of evangelical support they've enjoyed to date."

Schenck adds, "After all, the Jesus at the center of all versions of the Christian faith admonished that 'every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.' And that, we can take as gospel."

One thing that the ongoing spat between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV did was expose the hollow core of the Christian nationalism in his administration, one columnist argued on Thursday.

The New York Times' David French wrote that the spat between Trump and Pope Leo "may be the most important theological debate of my lifetime" for revealing how the administration's faith serves as a political prop but crumbles when confronted with actual Christian doctrine on war and morality.

Writing as the Pope finished up his packed 10-day trip across Africa, French explained that the one thing the new pontiff has exposed is that there is no real Christianity in Christian Nationalism.

His back and forth with Trump made it clear where he stands on war and peace, and his speeches across Africa on "global moral responsibility," aid for the poor, mentally ill, prisoners and others hammered the message home. He urged unity among all people, not just Catholics, calling on Christians in Algeria to strengthen ties with Muslims.

The result of Trump treating the pope "the way he would a freshman Republican congressman — trying to bully and bluster him into silence—" was outright failure, French said.

Trump brought the pope to the center of a national conversation about the war. A trip across Africa wouldn't normally have garnered much attention outside of religious publications and those who already follow it. But thanks to Trump, every word the pope said on the trip was reported, broke into the mainstream, and laid bare the "profound contrast between the two men."

"In this contest between a pope and a president, the president looks weak and erratic. He looks small. Between Trump and Pope Leo, there is only one man who is demonstrating strength and moral consistency on the world stage," French said.

The debate also made it clear that, despite its memes and public prayers, when the Christian part of "Christian nationalism" comes into conflict with the nationalist part, the latter prevails.

French cited Jesus’ words in Matthew 15: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

Further, the columnist said, Pope Leo raised the level of debate about war beyond Catholics, with a public debate about philosophy and religion regarding the nuances of "just war theory."

French pointed to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, making the theory clear: “The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy.”

He then compared it to the Department of Defense's Law of War Manual, which describes the "just war doctrine" as part of a “philosophical foundation” of the law of war.

“The just war tradition remains relevant for decisions to employ U.S. military forces and in warfighting," the manual says.

French cited Edward Feser, a Catholic philosophy professor, who penned a piece not long after the war began, to explain how Trump's decision failed the just war test. Even if there was a "just" reason for the war as a preemptive strike to protect future people, the administration hasn't made that case.

"If you’re going to argue that you intend to liberate the Iranian people, you have to show how your intervention — no matter how well intentioned — won’t actually increase their suffering," said French.

While it might focus on Iran now, it goes beyond just war doctrine and international law because it can bind nations in a moral alliance if they agree to follow only that doctrine.

"It helps bind together alliances. It enhances the effectiveness of the armed forces. American history demonstrates that national unity in a conflict is almost directionally proportionate to the justice of the cause. Contrast, for example, the unambiguous virtue of defending ourselves from Imperial Japanese and Nazi aggression with the far hazier justifications for our extended war in Vietnam," wrote French.

He noted that if a just war can bring allies together, then an unjust war can certainly tear them apart. A good example is NATO's response to Trump's Iran war compared to NATO's willingness to help the U.S. after Sept. 11, 2001.

All of this draws a clear line between the rhetoric that the Trump administration uses about Christianity to justify "corrupt and lawless actions" and the realities of Christian theology.

"The administration wants all the benefits of religion and none of the burdens. It wants to be seen as godly while acting godlessly," French closed.

President Donald Trump and his administration talk a big game about their devotion to and support for religion, but in practice, their "high-octane condescension" exposes their "contempt toward Christianity," according to a new analysis from The Bulwark.

Mona Charen is a veteran writer and journalist who previously worked as a staffer for former President Ronald Reagan and as a speechwriter for First Lady Nancy Reagan. She is now an outspoken critic of Trump and his political agenda, writing for The Bulwark on Wednesday about the ways in which he has "revealed MAGA's anti-Christian nature."

"The past few days have featured the vice president of the United States lecturing the pope on morality and church doctrine; Sean Hannity making it official that he worships at the Church of Trump; Pete Hegseth quoting made-up verses from Pulp Fiction as if they were actual scripture; and Trump styling himself as Jesus Christ," Charen wrote. "A few years ago, one might have wondered how these acts of contempt toward Christianity would go down with the religious right, but after 10 years of cultishness, it would be foolish to expect many defections."

Speaking from her own background in the conservative movement, Charen called it "dizzying" to see "people who used to venerate religious leaders of all stripes" morph under Trump's influence into people who now "smack-talk the pope and commit what some have characterized as blasphemy." She took particular exception to Vance's "swipes at the vicar of Christ," in which he urged Pope Leo XIV "to stick to matters of morality," and "let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy," a set of assertions especially galling considering Vance's much publicized late-in-life conversion to Catholicism.

"You do Mass and baptisms and such and let us handle war and peace. That’s some high-octane condescension, but if he had stopped there, it would only have registered as normal MAGA insolence," Charen continued. "But no, Vance wasn’t finished. Speaking the next day at a Turning Point USA event, Vance rebuked the spiritual leader of 1.4 billion Christians (including himself: Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019) for his theology!"

While she herself is Jewish, Charen explained that she had always had an admiration for "serious Christians" and their commitment to doing good. In the face of Trump's contamination of right-wing religiosity, she called it "One of the sad revelations of our time" how MAGA has exposed "the shallowness of many Christians’ professed faith," becoming another in a long line of historical examples of faith being "perverted to enable cruelty and even atrocities."

"But the particular sacrilege that late stage Trumpism has adopted must be tearing at some hearts," Charen concluded. "From Trump’s declaration that unlike Erika Kirk, he doesn’t forgive his enemies, to his crude attacks on the pope as 'weak on crime,' to his insane AI rendering of himself as Jesus, he seems to be deliberately testing Christians’ forbearance. Above all, his threat to commit war crimes by deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in Iran (bridges, power plants) and culminating in the maniacal vow to destroy Iranian civilization in one night ought to have produced a recoil in any nation with a conscience. Time to consider that he might be a false prophet—if people can distinguish truth from falsehood anymore."

President Donald Trump this week read passages from the Bible at a public event, and according to the Religious News Service, the choice of verses revealed a secret message, providing "red meat" to his "Christian nationalist" followers.

Despite the fact that Trump, as the outlet noted, "personally avoids church" and has questionable religious bona fides, he continues to try and sell himself as a leader for evangelical Christians. On Tuesday, he took part in the launch of the weeklong "America Reads the Bible" project at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., reading through "a few verses on... from 2 Chronicles 7."

The selection of this portion from the Bible, Baptist minister Brian Kaylor argued in his piece for RNS, was "not a coincidence," as it contains a verse, number 14, that has long been "a favorite among those pushing to codify Christianity into public life and government."

"If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land," the verse reads, as it appears in the "Easy Reading" edition of the King James version of the Bible, which Trump used at the event.

"So, why 2 Chronicles 7:14 for Trump?" Kaylor asked. "There’s a long tradition of presidents and preachers invoking the verse for 'God and country' vibes."

He continued: "Stripped of its context of a covenantal promise God made to King Solomon and his descendants at the dedication of the Temple, the verse has been applied to the United States by preachers and politicians for decades. In this retelling, the United States became the new Israel, Americans the new chosen people. Yet, that’s not a faithful application of the text. With apologies to Carly Simon, we’re so vain we think this verse is about us. After all, 2 Chronicles was written centuries after Solomon to people returning home from exile after being defeated and enslaved by a foreign power. The verse is a reminder to those on the bottom that God is still with them, and therefore not a wave-the-flag-pep-rally chant for the powerful who control the global empire."

The verse has maintained popularity among those pushing for the U.S. to be designated as a fully Christian nation, as, "If the verse can be applied to this nation, then it justifies efforts to force governmental declarations of the Christian faith." This is also not its first appearance at an event connected to the second Trump administration, as it was also read by House Chaplain Margaret Kibben "in her prayer to open the House on the day of Trump’s second inauguration," to which she added, "God Bless America."

"Framing Trump’s return to the White House as a sign of a coming national revival, this verse for MAGA preachers serves to endorse not just a generic American Christian nationalism but one that centers Trump as the new King Solomon," Kaylor continued. "That’s why Bunni Pounds, the lead organizer of the 'America Reads the Bible' effort, saved this verse for Trump. She told Fox News Digital that she realized 'this is such a critical passage for the body of Christ,' so she wanted the president to read it as a way of highlighting this verse above all others."

“I think he’s sending a message that faith matters in this country, and that it’s important not only personally, but for our nation overall,” Pounds said during her Fox appearance. “I believe the president’s saying that by reading this Scripture specifically.”

"How can 'we the people' be God’s chosen people humbling ourselves and turning from our wicked ways simply by Trump reading a verse?" Kaylor asked. "It’s the logical fallacy of Christian nationalists, especially when centered on a profane politician they view as, in the words of Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, 'almost the second coming' of Jesus. While Trump reads 2 Chronicles 7:14 after starting his feud with the pope and sharing that image of himself as AI Doctor Jesus, I’ll instead recall the words of the old proverb that Jesus even quoted: 'Physician, heal thyself.'"

President Donald Trump's escalating spat with Pope Leo XIV risks alienating Catholic voters without delivering any meaningful political gains for Republicans of faith. At the same time, the Pope's progressive stances on climate, inequality and immigrants are already dividing the faithful along partisan lines.

Reporting on Monday, Puck News explained that while the rhetoric might fire up Trump's evangelical base, it could further erode GOP support, particularly among working-class and suburban Catholics in key swing districts. That will ultimately make downballot prospects more of a challenge at a time when they don't need any more problems.

"Democrats are happy to help twist the knife," said Puck on X about the report.

The feud began after Trump announced he was willing to commit genocide in Iran. Pope Leo began pushing peace, as many popes have before him. Trump took it as a personal slight, and the digital war of words was on. Trump even called the Pope "weak on crime."

Vice President JD Vance, a convert to Catholicism, blamed the media, saying they were the ones who made up the feud between the two leaders.

Then Trump posted an AI image of himself as Jesus Christ.

GOP political strategists are scrambling.

“Is there a big coalition that’s been itching for a fight with the Vatican?” asked one Democratic consultant who worked in races in Pennsylvania in the past. “I don’t think that’s the case.”

Meanwhile, a GOP pollster told Puck, "Polling on religion is rare, but... it’s now time to start looking."

Democrats are gearing up: "It is not hard to target likely voters who are... Catholic with ads online," said one Illinois strategist.

Last week, Trump escalated the battle, slashing funding for a Catholic organization, including canceling an $11 million long-standing contract with Miami Catholic Charities, which helps unaccompanied minors and migrant children.

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski wrote an op-ed for The Miami Herald saying, "For more than 60 years, the Archdiocese of Miami’s services for unaccompanied minors have been recognized for their excellence and have served as a model for other agencies throughout the country."

Without the funding, the group won't last the rest of 2026.

The escalation hits Latino Catholics and white working-class Reagan Democrats the hardest. GOP strategist Mike Madrid, who has spent decades studying Latino voters, told Puck, "Everything [Trump's] doing violates the sensibility of these voters... There’s going to be a reckoning."

It's been a little over a year since Hispanic Catholics fled from the Democratic Party, but watching Trump target all Latinos, even citizens, has eroded the relationship.

The Democratic consultant from Illinois noted that problems are already popping up in races.

"It’s really bad for Republicans in Catholic areas like the upper Midwest, Long Island, [and] the border," said the strategist.

Pope Leo, the first American Pope, grew up in Chicago's working-class South Side. In many ways, he represents the voters that Democrats lost to MAGA in 2024.

Even Trump diehards can't do anything but shrug.

One former GOP officeholder from a red state said that their neighbors are opposed to Trump's feud with the Pope.

"Nobody likes what he said... but they’re used to him attacking everybody," the Republican said.

The coalition built for 2024 didn't have huge swaths of a population supporting Trump; it was small pieces of traditionally Democratic groups. Losing those is becoming a huge problem for the GOP because they aren't pivoting to Democrats, they're simply dropping out of politics altogether, a new study cited by Jacobin said.

The Catholic bishop from President Donald Trump's own backyard has issued a strong rebuke, according to a report from Metro, decrying his ongoing, one-sided spat with Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war.

Trump and the MAGA movement have taken issue with the American Pope Leo since his ascent to the papacy last spring, fuming over his call for followers to treat immigrants with humanity and compassion, and his opposition to armed conflicts. This disconnect reached new heights after Leo continued to speak out during the onset of the Iran war, with Trump going on lengthy social media tirades attacking the pontiff as "weak." Recent reports also revealed that Trump officials once threatened the Vatican with military action over Leo's comments.

Trump's attacks have drawn widespread condemnation from Catholic leaders and followers alike. This week, the backlash got much closer to home for the president following a new outcry from Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, the sixth bishop of Palm Beach, where Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence is located. Rodríguez has served in the role since December, after he was appointed by Leo himself.

The bishop's comments came during the most recent Sunday mass at churches in his diocese, where a video message was shown to attendees, in which he called Trump's comments an assault on the Constitution's freedom of religion and American Catholics overall.

"The Diocese of Palm Beach stands firm with our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, and strongly rejects the disrespectful and violent attacks that Donald J. Trump has directed against the Holy Father," Rodríguez said in the video. "These attacks also constitute a grave violation of the religious freedom enshrined in the Constitution of the United States and, as such, harm the rights of the American Catholic faithful. Please pray for the safety of the Holy Father."

On the same day, Leo said that it "wasn’t in his interest" to directly debate Trump, and claimed that his comments from earlier in the week lamenting a world "ravaged by a handful of tyrants" were not directed at him specifically. He claimed that those remarks had been prepared two weeks prior to when he first delivered them publicly.

"There’s been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects, but because of the political situation created when, on the first day of the trip, the president of the United States made some comments about me," the pope explained.

Trump has repeatedly tried to claim, with little evidence, that his own international influence led to the appointment of the first American pope, following the passing of Pope Francis last year. Experts have countered that, to the degree his presidency had any impact on the decision to elect Leo, it would have been to counteract the damage he had done.

Editor’s note: The following remarks were delivered during an emergency press conference in New Haven, Connecticut on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 in response to recent comments and actions by President Donald J. Trump.

“You shall have no other gods before me.” —Exodus 20:3

“All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless.” —Isaiah 44:9

“Therefore, since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.” —Acts 17:29

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship him in Spirit and in truth.” —John 4:24

There are times that compel people of faith to speak, servants of Jesus to speak, proclaimers of the gospel to speak and engage in truth-telling and forms public exorcism rooted in deep radical love with the hope of repentance and a commitment to faithful witness—without fear of what any man or woman administration can do to us.

Two weeks ago the Moral Monday movement held Moral Monday gatherings in Washington, DC, 16 states, and Canada to denounce this war and the President’s declaration that if another country didn’t do what he said, he would “reign” down Hell on them and wipe out their entire civilization.

Why has he been talking about “reigning” down hell? Why does he write “reign,” not “rain”? What authority is he claiming to serve?

Why was he so threatened by Easter that he had to try to make it about him?

Why is the Pope teaching what Jesus and the church have always taught getting under his skin? The religious nationalist movement for so long has been saying he is an imperfect instrument being “used by God.” But he’s not satisfied with that. He wants to be God.

The AI image of him as Jesus is so bad that some of his own people have called it blasphemy. So now he’s trying to walk it back and say he thought it was a portrayal of him as a doctor.

This is exposing the madness that we’ve seen in policy. He wants to be some kind of God like messianic figure—to decide who lives and who dies; who gets citizenship and who doesn’t; which parts of the Constitution still matter and whose rights have to be respected.

Just 10 days ago, on the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King, Trump told Russell Vought, the director of the federal Office of Management and Budget, “Don’t send any money for day care, because the United States can’t take care of day care. That has to be up to a state. We can’t take care of day care. We’re a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people. We’re fighting wars.”

And then during Holy Week, he went to the Supreme Court to seemingly intimidate them to support undoing birthright citizenship for babies.

Not only is war unholy, but when any human or president acts in word and deed as though they can determine who lives and who dies—who has citizenship and who can “reign” down hell and wipe out an entire civilization—assuming God-like authority, represents a war on divinity.

We live in a nation that has declared some things are inalienable, endowed by our Creator. And for people of faith, even if the nation didn’t say it, we believe and know that some things are only God’s authority, and to violate them is sin because the gospel of Jesus says so.

This AI pic represents idolatry—a false image offered for us to bow down to, and it is blasphemy and heresy and an affront to Jesus Christ. To do it represents a kind of demonic madness, no matter who would do it—Democrat or Republican. To equate Jesus with a person, a flag, bombs and war planes—and to say that’s what heals us and saves us: this is sin and attempts to exalt a person above God. It is a dangerous war on divinity that is a turn from the God of the gospels, the truths of the gospel.

This is why Pope Leo said: “I have no fear, neither of the Trump administration nor of speaking out loudly about the message of the gospel.”

And he said this even after the reports of the Trump administration calling the ambassador of the Vatican to the Pentagon earlier this year.

I’m not Catholic, but as a bishop in the Lord’s church, in this moment, Pope Leo is my pope.

As much as Pope Francis was, as I had the opportunity to respond to his encyclical on the environment and address the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences as addressed the moral issue of poverty and people’s movements around the world.

But we must be careful in this moment to act as though this is the first moral and spiritual violation by Trump and religious nationalism. His embrace of a Messianic-type role has been pushed by the delusion of Franklin Graham and others.

When he allows people in his administration to say empathy is the cause of the decline of Western civilization.

These are deep, sinful contradictions of the gospel which says a nation will be judged by how it treats the least of these.

His constant demeaning of other nations and cultures and his constant claim that no one ever did anything as great and wonderful as him before him—the constant self-congratulation and adoration—is idolatry that, when unchecked, has led to where we are now.

Some of the church must repent of far too much silence in the public square confronting these thing public sins and idolatries and other policies with the truths of the gospel and our response to this image and his ridiculous attacks on the Pope cannot be one off.

This must be a moment of entering the public square with the truths of the gospel, with love, the truth of the prophets, and the courage to say we are not afraid of this administration or any, and we won’t be silent any more. We must lift a clear call that this nation and any nation in its words, deeds, and policies must work to have good news for the poor, healing of the broken hearted, deliverance to the captive, recovery of sight to the blind, and a declaration of acceptance to all who have been marginalized if we even hope to be pleasing to God.

“The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism,” Reinhold Niebuhr wrote. This is why when we as people of faith enter into the public space, we do so not with partisan facts and focus, but with the truths of the gospel.

This is why we have been here in New Haven. More than 400 public theologians are returning to their communities later today with a renewed sense that we have a responsibility to help the nation make this choice and build a movement that can take back our government and insist that it serve all the people.

President Donald Trump's recent social media posts, including an AI-generated image depicting him as Jesus Christ, have ignited debate within evangelical Christian circles about his relationship with religious values and his base.

The controversial posts — which included a profanity-laced Easter message and mocking references to Islam — prompted conservative author Rod Dreher to suggest Trump is "radiating the spirit of Antichrist," though he stopped short of calling Trump the Antichrist himself.

Speculation about the Antichrist's identity has long been a feature of Christian thought. Historical candidates have included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and more recently, Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, according to an analysis featured at Religion News Service.

What distinguishes Trump's posts is the division they've caused within his own evangelical support base, notes RNS. Calvin University professor Kristin Kobes Du Mez noted that the image "caused some real division within his religious base," marking a rare moment when Trump's supporters rejected rather than embraced his social media content.

Matthew Sutton, a religious history scholar at Washington State University, traced modern evangelical Antichrist speculation to early 20th-century fundamentalism and end-times theology. While some theological elements of Trump align with evangelical Antichrist expectations — such as his charismatic communication through Truth Social — traditional interpretations suggest the Antichrist will oppose Israel, a position Trump does not hold.

Rev. Franklin Graham defended the image, arguing Trump had no intention of depicting himself as Jesus. Trump later claimed it was meant to show him as a doctor with the Red Cross.

Religious technology scholar Heidi Campbell emphasized how AI-generated images reflect and shape contemporary religious consciousness, particularly on social media platforms.

Sutton suggested this moment may represent a turning point in Trump's relationship with his evangelical base, noting that while previous controversial acts seemed to carry no consequences, this image has struck a different chord.