Faith And Politics: 5 Key Religion Storylines In The 2022 Midterm Elections

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Weekend Plug-in 🔌

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Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

COZUMEL, Mexico — I spent much of the past week on a Caribbean cruise, enjoying a vacation with my family.

Upon my return to the U.S., I discovered that — surprise! — a major election is fast approaching. Who knew?

Seriously, the 2022 midterms are next week, and once again, religion has emerged as a major factor.

Ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, here are five key faith-and-politics storylines:

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Georgia on my mind: A closely watched U.S. Senate race pits Republican Herschel Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner urged to run by former President Donald Trump, against Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock, who balances time in Washington with his role as a senior pastor in Atlanta.

Related headlines:

• Amid scandals, Herschel Walker hopes voters ‘believe in redemption’ (by Mary Jordan, Washington Post)

• The senator-pastor from Georgia mixes politics and preaching on the trail (by Maya King, New York Times)

• 6 midterm election races where religion could play a major factor (by Deborah Laker, ReligionUnplugged.com)

• Black church tradition survives Georgia’s voting changes (by Sudhin Thanawala and Gary Fields, Associated Press)

• Georgia pastor slams GOP nominee Herschel Walker in fiery sermon: 'We don't need a walker' (by Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today)

Amid scandals, Herschel Walker hopes voters ‘believe in redemption’ — ⁦@marycjordan⁩ reports from Pooler, Georgia https://t.co/fUxsnIT0Te

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) November 3, 2022

2. ‘We need to make America Godly again’: CNN’s Nicole Chavez reports on “the growing political influence of Latino evangelicals.”

At Religion News Service, Alejandra Molina explores the central role of faith in Republican efforts to win Latino votes.

And here at ReligionUnplugged.com, Laura E. Alexander and Cristian Doña-Reveco caution that there’s no one “Latino vote” as religion and geography add to voter diversity.

“We don’t need to make America great again, we need to make America Godly again," says Pastor Luis Cabrerahttps://t.co/sx29R6H3zx

— CNN (@CNN) October 30, 2022

3. Unchecked partisanship by houses of worship: Churches are breaking the law by making endorsements in elections, and the IRS is looking the other way, Jeremy Schwartz and Jessica Priest report for ProPublica and the Texas Tribune.

Meanwhile, more Americans want their church to share their politics, and over half say they believe their congregation is politically unified already, according to Lifeway Research’s Aaron Earls.

By the way, did you know that 20% of the nation’s polling places are in churches? Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman figured that out by going through a list of 60,000 polling places by hand. Really.

For nearly 70 years, federal law has barred churches from directly involving themselves in political campaigns, but the IRS has largely abdicated its enforcement responsibilities as churches have become more brazen about publicly backing candidates. https://t.co/wkOMT7KVN3 pic.twitter.com/J4XRW9BD20

— ProPublica (@propublica) October 31, 2022

4. The United States of Christianity?: The Tennessean’s Liam Adams delves into what Tennessee’s politics say about the rise of Christian nationalism in the U.S.

Related headlines:

• Right-wing roadshow promotes Christian nationalism before midterms (by Annie Gowen, Washington Post)

• A conservative scholar looks to define — and defeat — 'Christian nationalism' (by Jon Ward, Yahoo! News)

• Columnist Rod Dreher talks Orthodox Christianity and nationalism (by Jovan Tripkovic, ReligionUnplugged.com)

• Major Christian leaders asked Jan. 6 committee to investigate Christian nationalism (by Jack Jenkins and Emily McFarlan Miller, Religion News Service)

• Talk of ‘Christian nationalism’ is getting a lot louder — but what does the term really mean? (by Eric McDaniel, The Conversation)

A new Pew Research Center survey found 45% of Americans believe the U.S. should be a “Christian nation." Among those respondents, 28% want the federal government to formally recognize that idea.

Some politicians are jumping on the bandwagon.
https://t.co/ybLIewCjft

— Tennessean (@Tennessean) October 30, 2022

5. The impact, or not, of abortion: How might the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade influence voting in the 2022 midterms?

Religion News Service’s Jack Jenkins checks in with faith leaders.

More faith-and-politics news:

• Some American Protestants aren’t letting go of revolution (by Emily Belz, Christianity Today)

• How the Hasidic Jewish community became a political force in New York (by Emma G. Fitzsimmons, New York Times)

• The Christian home-schooling world that shaped Maryland gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox (by Peter Jamison, Washington Post)

So I tried to figure out what impact abortion was going to have on the midterms, especially among religious voters.

Turns out, there are a variety of factors at play — as well as differing theories about how it'll all shake out come Election Day. https://t.co/YLWisLmySt

— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) October 25, 2022

More Top Reads

• Climate migration: Alaska village resists despite threats (by Luis Andres Henao, Associated Press)

For Shishmaref residents, their Alaska island is critical to their way of life, and the island is slowly vanishing. @AP religion team's @LuisAndresHenao & @JKayWardarski w/ @jaethephotog traveled to the village and found a story of loss and resilience.https://t.co/YbB6zjupuV

— Holly Meyer (@HollyAMeyer) October 28, 2022

• St. Louis archdiocese floats bigger-than-expected church cuts. Some Catholics plan to fight back (by Blythe Bernhard, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

• In Bahrain, Pope Francis pleads for greater commitment to human rights (by Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter)

• Bahrain’s Shiites hope pope raises human rights during visit (by Bassem Mroue, Jon Gambrell and Mariam Fam, AP)

• The Chosen’ to debut much-anticipated third season on the big screen (by Kathryn Post, Religion News Service)

"The Chosen" (@thechosentv), the wildly popular TV show about Jesus' life, is set to debut in over 2,000 theaters on Nov. 18. Check out my Q&A with creator Dallas Jenkins @RNS: https://t.co/J6UIsUiVm4

— Kathryn Post (@kathrynmaepost) November 3, 2022

• How a church's response to abuse allegations could be a model for the Southern Baptist Convention (by Liam Adams, The Tennessean)

• Billy Graham gets state-of-the-art archive (by Daniel Silliman, Christianity Today)

• In Mexico, Day of the Dead is actually a celebration of life (by María Teresa Hernández, AP)

• How the sports world is tackling antisemitism (by Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)

• 'History is complicated as hell': Cherokee will ask to restore native name for Clingmans Dome (by Tyler Whetstone, Knoxville News Sentinel)

In the Great Smoky Mountains, the mountain originally named Kuwohi was a holy place for Cherokee people. Now, it bears the name of a Confederate Army brigadier general.
A look from @tyler_whetstone at what it will take to restore the original name. https://t.co/IT9wWwUQkD

— Liam Adams (@liamsadams) November 2, 2022

• In Memphis area, a Hindu cow sanctuary provides spiritual gains (by Katherine Burgess, Commercial Appeal)

• New Saddleback pastor sees women clergy in church’s future (by Deepa Bharath, AP)

• Think piece: How the right became the left and the left became the right (by Ross Douthat, New York Times)

Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines

ReligionUnplugged.com won five first-place honors and five runner-up recognitions in Editor & Publisher’s 2022 Eppy Awards.

Congrats to executive editor Paul Glader, managing editor Meagan Clark Saliashvili and the entire team!

Congratualations to @ReligionMag for five 1st place wins in 2022 (and another five runner up awards) in the annual #EPPY awards from @EditorPublisher including Best Podcast, Best Community Service Reporting (with @newsreel_asia), Best Homepage and more!https://t.co/jjoVbj3hgK

— The King's College (@TheKingsCollege) November 3, 2022

Speaking of the team, senior editor/contributor Clemente Lisi is celebrating the release of his new book “The FIFA World Cup.” Congrats, too, to him on that terrific accomplishment!

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from ReligionUnplugged.com.

• LGBTQ voices emerging in Vatican’s Synod on Synodality (by Terry Mattingly)

• Hong Kong’s national security law is curtailing the right to a fair trial (by Ewelina U. Ochab)

• Could secular feminism and some kind of religion converge in a sexual revolution rethink? (by Richard Ostling)

• Gloo mines big data to help churches reach hurting people (by Steve Rabey)

• New podcast aims to educate listeners on the teachings of the Catholic Church (by Clemente Lisi)

• Americans who aren’t sure about God are a fast-growing force in politics (by Ryan Burge)

(ANALYSIS/@ryanburge) Turnout will likely play an outsized role in the 2022 midterms as voters determine control of the U.S. House and Senate. But there are two key communities political analysts often overlook: atheists and agnostics.https://t.co/kOalovJM8X #MidtermElections

— Religion Unplugged (@ReligionMag) November 3, 2022

• Bishops-Biden battle heats up around abortion debate ahead of midterms (by Clemente Lisi)

• What are Putin’s ‘filtration camps’ and why are they concerning? (by Ewelina U. Ochab)

• Doctrine and fashion: As Iran protests persist, what women's clothing does Islam require? (by Richard Ostling)

• Who are the Jews? Kanye West’s rhetoric echoes Black Hebrew Israelites’ antisemitism (by Princess Jones)

• The magic of Halloween in a post-Christian age (by Michael Metzger)

The Final Plug

Did I mention my cruise? 😀

I enjoyed my first experience on a ship.

My favorite part? Standing on the deck each morning and watching the sunrise with my wife, Tamie.

Cruise 🚢 sunrises are awesome. #Mexico pic.twitter.com/maoEHIi08d

— Bobby Ross Jr. (@bobbyross) October 31, 2022

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for ReligionUnplugged.com and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.