New Commentary and Analysis From PRRI's Senior Democracy Fellows

From the media’s mainstreaming of Doug Wilson to “rigged-election” rhetoric

In the weeks following America’s 250th birthday, PRRI’s Senior Democracy Fellows continued to shape the national conversation. Here’s a look at their recent writing, interviews, and public events:

• Robert P. Jones, Ph.D., wrote in The Contrarian that at 250, it’s time to celebrate the pluralistic nation the U.S. has become instead of a mythical white Christian nation, and spoke to Axios about how America’s 250th birthday sparked a fierce debate over national identity. At his Redeeming Democracy Substack, Jones shared a preview of the audio recording of his forthcoming book, Backslide, and hosted an Author Salon with Greg Garrett about Garrett’s new book, White Lies.

• The Rev. Canon Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas told Episcopal News Service that America 250 exposes a “two-narrative problem”— a lofty vision of liberty and equality built atop the exploitation of enslaved people. Douglas also joined other scholars for a discussion in Celebration of Pauli Murray at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City on July 1.

• At The New Republic, Katherine Stewart dissected a White House–Hillsdale College video claiming the Founders never intended to separate church and state, tracing how it recycles debunked myths to serve a political agenda.

• At the Our Moral Moment Substack, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove shared a public dialogue with Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strom in Berlin on what the failures of the German church during the rise of National Socialism teach us about faithful witness today.

• At his Substack Footnotes, Jemar Tisby, PhD, made the case that the founders never intended a Christian nation, pushed back on what mainstream media keep getting wrong about Doug Wilson, and argued that ICE killings are the injustice that’s most “violent, visible, and visceral” today. He also joined The Resisters podcast and unpacked why Black Christians have historically voted so differently than white evangelicals.

• On Du Mez CONNECTIONS, Kristin Du Mez, Ph.D., responded to NPR’s recent interview with right-wing pastor Doug Jones, noting, “Wilson’s political theology is fundamentally incompatible with American democracy.” She was also quoted in the Salt Lake Tribune about Wilson’s influence on Republican leaders, observing that “His proximity to power is more impressive than it ever has been.”

• In an interview with New Ways Ministry, Fr. Bryan N. Massingale shared his personal journey as an openly gay Black Catholic priest and discussed Pope Leo XIV’s approach to LGBTQ Catholics.

• The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis reflected at her Substack Fierce Love on still dreaming America around the Fourth of July, and preached a sermon warning, “Do not be fooled that there’s not enough good life, prosperity, wholeness, wellness, healing, joy for everybody.”

• Obery Hendricks, Ph.D., joined Impact Nations’ Summer Series 2026 to discuss following Jesus beyond cultural Christianity, arguing that the “politics of Jesus” is about justice, not partisanship — and that American Christianity’s individualism is contrary to the Gospel’s collective, justice-oriented core.

• On The Convocation Unscripted, Jones, Du Mez, and Tisby convened an impromptu live watch party of President Donald Trump’s speech on “election security.” They also discussed the mainstreaming of Doug Wilson, a self-described Christian nationalist who holds extremist views about slavery, women, and theocracy.