Reflections on Trump’s First 100 Days and the Racial and Religious Divides in America
PLUS: Give us your feedback about the future of The Convocation Unscripted.
Dear Convocation Unscripted readers,
We so enjoyed connected with the nearly 300 of you who joined us live yesterday afternoon for our capstone episode of The Convocation Unscripted, marking Trump’s first 100 days in office. Thank you for joining. If you missed it, or want to share it with a friend, we’ve posted the video below.
We’re also celebrating another milestone. Thanks to all of you, we’ve surpassed 10,000 subscribers here on our Substack newsletter. If you’ve valued the insights and community we’re building here, could you take a moment to share it with 2-3 friends?
Those of you who have been with us from the beginning will remember that the Convocation Unscripted team—three historians and a sociologist who study religion in America—began this newsletter and podcast nearly a year ago on May 30, 2024. After Trump’s election, we stepped up the frequency, with a commitment to providing weekly research, analysis, and insights through Trump’s first 100 days.
After 61 Substack newsletters and 32 video and audio podcasts episodes on YouTube and Apple podcasts, we’re now at that milestone. We’ve been overwhelmed by the response and the community that has gathered here.
But we’re also wanting to be intentional about where we go from here. So here’s our plan:
We’ll continue to record the podcast and share insights from our writing for the next two weeks (posting May 9 and May 16).
The four of us (Jemar, Diana, Krisin, and Robby) are gathering for a weekend retreat on May 17-18 for a time of discernment about the future direction, rhythm, and content of The Convocation Unscripted.
We’ll have more to share after that time together. In the meantime, please do feel free to give us some feedback in the comments of this post.
In solidarity,
Jemar, Kristin, Diana, and Robby
Reflections on Trump’s First 100 Days and the Racial and Religious Divides in America
In this capstone episode, we reflect on the results of a new PRRI poll, which illuminates the yawning racial and religious divides in America that Trump has exploited during his rise to power, with a focus on the white Christians (principally white evangelical Protestants but also majorities of white non-evangelical Protestants and white Catholics) who put Trump into the White House and who continue to provide support and moral cover for even his most unlawful, cruel, and racist policies. But we also note some hopeful signs. At 100 days, Trump’s approval rating is underwater and lower than any other president not named Trump at this stage in his term since World War II. Most Americans oppose his harsh plans like militarized internment camps for undocumented immigrants, tariffs, and most see through the farce of his so-called “Anti-Christian Bias Task Force.” And a slim majority also now believe Trump is a dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy. We also reflect on the ways particularly white Christians who see the dangers Trump represents to our faith and nation can speak out in our churches and local communities.
First, thank you all so much!
Your faith-filled approach to analyzing our religious and political landscape is invaluable to my sanity, my faith, and the community writ large.
I know you all have more than full time work but if there is any way to keep this going, even in a reduced fashion, I/we will be eternally grateful and we promise to advocate for big fat jewels in your respective crowns of glory❤️
Thank you all for what you do. Having a historical and sociological framework for what is going on is great. Having it come from grace filled Christians is even more important. We live in a time where many people see all Christians as authoritarians (cannot blame them). Just read Substack threads and your heart sinks. What you do is a clear witness that many of us will not accept what is going on because we follow Christ. Truth matters. Faith matters. We need more spokespeople like the four of you. God bless your shared discernment.