Comic John Fugelsang introduced some sober fact to individuals within the 2026 Summit for Spiritual Freedom sponsored by Individuals United for Separation of Church and State.
Whereas cracking joke after joke, he highlighted the risks of Christian nationalism and provided concepts on methods to transfer past Undertaking 2025 and the destruction of democracy. He spoke April 26 on the convention held in suburban Washington, D.C.
Fugelsang is the creator of a brand new e-book, Taking Again the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists and Flock-fleecing Frauds.
He referred to as the AU gathering the “sensible ethical particular person conference” and the “anti-Turning Level rally.”
And he quipped: “It’s all the time nice to be in a room with so many atheists doing the Lord’s work. So thanks, atheists. A number of the finest Christians I do know are atheists and a few of the most godless heathens I do know are believers.”
Fugelsang stated he’s “come to view Jesus the way in which I’ve come to view Elvis. I really like the man, however loads of his fan membership terrifies me.”
Christian nationalists, he warned, are “making an attempt to eradicate the wall between church and state to understand their dream of turning America right into a second-rate theocracy like Iran, however with Child Rock music. And the Ten Commandments are being required in lecture rooms by Christians who’re blindly obedient to a person who’s damaged all 10. The speaker of the Home, Mike Johnson, America’s creepiest youth pastor, says, ‘We had been based to be a Christian nation.’”
“The one manner you’ll be able to comply with each Donald Trump and Jesus, pals, is in case you’ve by no means learn both of their books.”
He lamented that “authorities officers tried to get folks fired for quoting Charlie Kirk’s actual phrases. All in service of this man, this actuality present, racist clown, sex-abusing pest. The one manner you’ll be able to comply with each Donald Trump and Jesus, pals, is in case you’ve by no means learn both of their books. As a result of the one factor Donald Trump has in widespread with Jesus is that they each spent loads of time round prostitutes they usually each use ghost writers and that’s it.”
Fugelsang joked that “each time Donald Trump talks about God, an angel coughs up blood.”
And Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth is “overtly, petulantly pontificating on authorities property to a spiritually various volunteer military about his fervent devotion to this gun-toting alpha bro Christ who doesn’t exist within the precise Jesus components of the Bible. And whereas these pious posers hold forth, as everyone knows, they’re blowing up colleges full of youngsters in Iran. They’re blowing up folks in Venezuelan fishing boats and mendacity that it’s about fentanyl, I imply cocaine. They’re reducing providers for the poorest of the poor. They’re defending rich abusers of youngsters. They’re reducing taxes and rules for the rich, and masked cowards with badges are chasing brown youngsters round church picnics.”
This may occasionally appear new but it surely’s not, he stated. “We have now to recollect one thing: The fixed play of authoritarian Christianity for 1,700 years ever since Rome co-opted the startup, which is the 1st step, they used Jesus, his title, his motion, to achieve energy.
“Step two, as soon as they’ve that energy, they do the alternative of all the pieces the character of Jesus says within the e-book. And step three, when somebody factors this out, scream that they’re persecuted. That’s been the play and it’s labored for 1,700 years.”
“None of those teams combat for the teachings of Jesus, and that’s vital.”
He quipped that “non secular fundamentalism and Christian nationalism are usually not the identical, however they’re shut sufficient to be illegally married cousins. None of those teams combat for the teachings of Jesus, and that’s vital. None of them combat for the teachings of the star of that e-book they wave over their head so bombastically. They don’t combat for the Lord. They don’t combat for the gospel. They’re not combating Devil. They don’t care about non secular liberty. They care about conservative Christian energy and conservative Christian management over society. That’s their solely true faith.”
And that is fueling an exodus from the church, Fugelsang stated. “Younger folks aren’t leaving church due to Jesus or God or Santa Claus. They’re leaving due to the cruelty and hypocrisy of a lot of organized faith.”
Statistically, whereas the share of Individuals who’re non secular retains shrinking, “the proportion of Christians who imagine we had been based to be a Christian nation is rising. In different phrases, because the non secular inhabitants shrinks, the perimeter is rising. And generally the perimeter is armed and loopy and thinks Jesus actually likes wrath.”
The irony, he continued, is that “mixing excessive conservative faith with authoritarian energy is actually what killed Jesus.”
Within the Bible, Jesus opposed public prayer, he famous. He was “by no means as soon as anti-gay. By no means as soon as talked about abortion. By no means as soon as stated authorities ought to drive residents to be pregnant towards their will. By no means as soon as stated males ought to drive teenage rape victims to remain pregnant towards their will.”
“We dwell in a time when persons are groomed to imagine a speaking snake is literal reality, however love your enemies was simply Jesus being all metaphor.”
In the present day, “we dwell in a time when politicians and preachers received tens of millions of white Christians to vote towards all the pieces Jesus ever talked about by speaking about abortion, which Jesus by no means talked about. We dwell in a time when persons are groomed to imagine a speaking snake is literal reality, however love your enemies was simply Jesus being all metaphor.”
Simply as Christian nationalists ignore the clear teachings of Jesus, in addition they contort the clear needs of America’s Founders, Fugelsang stated. “These guys wrote it down greater than as soon as. And like Jesus, they left very agency directions for once they had been away. Separation of church and state isn’t only a single rule. It’s a framework that connects all the pieces. It’s baked into our system like caffeine is baked into espresso beans.”
That’s why it’s time to vary the language away from talking of Christian nationalists and fundamentalists, he prompt. “Begin calling them pretend Christians.”
He doesn’t imply “strange people who’ve been hoodwinked, bamboozled and led astray,” he stated. “I’m not speaking about your racist cousin who thinks vaccines flip you homosexual. However we have now to begin specializing in the politicians and non secular leaders who manipulate them and all the time have all through historical past. Identify it, name it out. If we don’t name out the pretend Christians, then we’re permitting them to border all faith as authoritarianism. … If we don’t label the pretend Christians, then we’re letting them put MLK in the identical basket because the KKK. … If Christianity is outlined by the teachings and instance of Jesus, then these two issues can’t be morally equal expressions of the identical factor.”
The way in which to cease “pretend Christians” is for actual Christians to talk up in alliance with folks of different faiths and no religion, he suggested.
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