The scholar and pastor Ryan Burge says that, not all that long ago, it was normal for right- and left-leaning evangelical Christians to share the same pews with each other. Then came the culture wars, and many churches leaned hard into conservative politics, in turn prompting liberal and moderate churchgoers to leave in droves. And Burge says this is a problem because, as he sees it, churches still have a lot to offer the country. He’s joining us to talk about why he wants to see more people come back to church and why that’s a good thing for democracy.
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Ryan P. Burge | He’s a professor of practice at the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University. His book is called “The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us.”
Airdate: May 20, 2026