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Blake Chastain
@brchastain.social
4.5K followers 570 following 1.4K posts
Author, Exvangelical & Beyond: How American Christianity Went Radical and the Movement That's Fighting Back. Host: Exvangelical. Words: RNS, Religion Dispatches. Yes I have a newsletter. https://postevangelicalpost.com/about
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brchastain.social
Blake Chastain @brchastain.social · Nov 11
intro post for the Xiles - i'm the author of the book Exvangelical & Beyond; i'm the writer of The Post-Evangelical Post newsletter; i'm the host of the Exvangelical podcast. here's the link to my book: bookshop.org/a/11130/9780...
Exvangelical and Beyond: How American Christianity Went Radical and the Movement That's Fighting Back a book by Blake Chastain
A pioneer of the "exvangelical" movement examines how toxic right-wing beliefs took over American Christianity--and why people are leaving the church and speaking out against it With the rise of Trump...
bookshop.org
brchastain.social
lots of interesting data here (h/t @gerardomarti.bsky.social): www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/how-big-is.... Looking at *why* doesn't factor into this, but it would surprise no one that I think the reach of conservative media (incl. evangelical media) is a factor.
How Big is the Political Divide Between Mainline Clergy and Laity?
I finally get to answer a frequently asked question
www.graphsaboutreligion.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
gerardomarti.bsky.social
Political Gap Between Pastors & Pews

“Political partisanship of the average mainline pastor diverges significantly from the politics of the folks sitting in their pews.”

Ryan Burge analyzes recent PRRI data to highlight pervasive pattern in Mainline Christianity 👉 open.substack.com/pub/ryanburg...
The Partisanship of Clergy and Laity in Mainline Traditions This horizontal stacked bar chart displays partisan identification among clergy and laity (non-clergy members) across seven mainline Protestant denominations. Each denomination has two rows (one for clergy, one for laity) and the responses are divided into four categories: Democrat (blue), Independent (gray), Republican (red), and Other (green). The denominations included are United Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran, Presbyterian Church USA, American Baptist, Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ, and Disciples of Christ. Each bar is annotated with the percentage value for each group and party identification. For example, in the United Methodist tradition, 38% of clergy identify as Democrat, 34% as Independent, 19% as Republican, and 9% as Other; laity are 37% Democrat, 9% Independent, 52% Republican, and 1% Other. Percentages are shown inside their corresponding bar segments. The data source is listed as PRRI 2023 Clergy Survey + Cooperative Election Study, 2024, and “@ryanburge” is credited as the creator. Share of Clergy and Laity Identifying as Republican This bar chart provides a visual comparison of the share of clergy and laity identifying as Republican in the same seven mainline Protestant denominations. Each denomination is represented by two adjacent bars: the left bar is for clergy and the right bar is for laity. The percentages are indicated inside each bar, and the bars are colored in shades of red. Error bars are present atop each bar, suggesting a margin of error is included. For example, in the Presbyterian Church USA, 7% of clergy and 53% of laity identify as Republican. In the United Methodist tradition, the figures are 19% clergy and 52% laity. The denominations shown are United Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran, Presbyterian Church USA, American Baptist, Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ, and Disciples of Christ. The data sources and credit are the same as the first graph.
November 17, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
johnbrooks.bsky.social
Really excited for the upcoming announcement of my two new Ai startups Project Frankenstein and Project Literally The Titanic
November 17, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
gerardomarti.bsky.social
I knew it 😝
The cartoon shows a classroom or lecture hall with students facing a lecturer at the front. The lecturer is pointing with a stick at a large projection labeled "History of the Universe." The projected graphic depicts a timeline of the universe's expansion, beginning on the left with an image of a coffee cup and progressing to the right through several stages that include representations of cosmic elements and galaxies, arranged in expanding, funnel-shaped segments. The lecturer stands beside a desk with an open laptop and a coffee cup. Underneath the scene is a caption: “Scientists can trace the universe back to its first cup of coffee but, beyond that, things get foggy.”
November 17, 2025 at 2:58 PM
brchastain.social
3 years to launch encrypted DMs, real loser energy over there at X
November 17, 2025 at 3:28 PM
brchastain.social
sorry but you can't say you 'flamed out and faded away' if you can arrange multiple glossy op-eds and profiles in prestige publications at the drop of a hat, please have an ounce of perspective
November 17, 2025 at 2:51 PM
brchastain.social
the folks who somehow make it into a very small slice of the media/political elite sure do just live in a different reality
November 14, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
hcexvangelical.bsky.social
We didn't know it at the time, but this was his answer to a question on the job application for VP of the United States.
toddalcott.bsky.social Todd Alcott @toddalcott.bsky.social · 4d
Well, he's certainly stayed consistent on that point!
November 13, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
briankaylor.bsky.social
This is inexcusable. Allegations of abuse inside ICE Broadview facility but ICE destroyed the video evidence. Time to let everyone go -- and then lock up those who destroyed the evidence.
juliedicaro.bsky.social Julie DiCaro @juliedicaro.bsky.social · 3d
An interesting tidbit in the joint status report filed in the Broadview ICE facility case today:

ICE says video from inside the facility "between October 19, 2025, and October 31, 2025, has been irretrievably destroyed" and can't be produced in discovery.

www.courtlistener.com/docket/71832...
Defendants have indicated that some video between October 19, 2025, and October 31, 2025, has been irretrievably destroyed and therefore cannot be produced on an expedited basis or at all. Plaintiffs are in the process of hiring an IT contractor. Plaintiffs’ contractor will meet with the government’s ESI Liaison (with attorneys on the phone) to attempt to work through issues concerning the missing video, including whether any content is able to be retrieved. While Plaintiffs intend to explore the issue of missing footage,
November 13, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
conradhackett.bsky.social
More US adults identify with no religion (29%) than with the Catholic Church (19%) or evangelical Protestant denominations (23%).
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
Chart shows the religious distribution of US adults.
November 13, 2025 at 6:52 PM
brchastain.social
I provided comment for this piece:
November 13, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
adamserwer.bsky.social
They thought they were going to get pretext to throw a bunch of liberals in prison bsky.app/profile/maya...
mayasen.bsky.social Maya Sen @mayasen.bsky.social · 5d
Will always be puzzled as to why Republicans hammered so hard on the Epstein stuff given that it was obvious that it would be a huge risk for their own guy

Trump and Epstein were buddies throughout the height of his trafficking -- what did they think would happen?

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Epstein Alleged in Emails That Trump Knew of His Conduct
www.nytimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:54 PM
brchastain.social
yeah we couldn’t crack real-world immortality, but would you like to generate an NPC facsimile of your self?

techcrunch.com/2025/11/1…
Immortality startup Eternos nabs $10.3M, pivots to personal AI that sounds like you | TechCrunch
Uare.ai raised $10.3 million in seed funding led by Mayfield and Boldstart Ventures.
techcrunch.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:39 PM
brchastain.social
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
a cartoon character is sitting on a bed holding a remote control and a lamp .
ALT: a cartoon character is sitting on a bed holding a remote control and a lamp .
media.tenor.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
jeffsharlet.bsky.social
“I assure you I will — steal your lunch money again! Har-de-har-har!”
burgessev.bsky.social Burgess Everett @burgessev.bsky.social · 7d
Whoa -- Sen. Durbin went to up Leader Thune during the vote last night to tell him that on the shutdown vote and ACA promise that "8 of us are sticking our neck out that you're going to keep your word. I hope you will. He said 'I assure you I will,'" Durbin says just now
November 10, 2025 at 8:48 PM
brchastain.social
the entire universe is fed up with Senate Democrats (just thought I'd do the most American thing I could and make this all about 'Merica!) gizmodo.com/our-universe...
Our Universe Is Getting 'Colder, Deader,' Astronomers Say
New evidence suggests our universe has long
gizmodo.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
newsjennifer.bsky.social
Read every word & share with everyone you know. This is real life here in Chicago. Americans need to know this grotesque reality & stand with us.
bgrueskin.bsky.social Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 7d
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.

He is a computer safety researcher.

And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.

In under 1600 words.

aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
I Want You to Understand Chicago Politics Chicago 2025-11-08 I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time. Every day my phone buzzes. It is a neighborhood group: four people were kidnapped at the corner drugstore. A friend a mile away sends a Slack message: she was at the scene when masked men assaulted and abducted two people on the street. A plumber working on my pipes is distraught, and I find out that two of his employees were kidnapped that morning. A week later it happens again. An email arrives. Agents with guns have chased a teacher into the school where she works. They did not have a warrant. They dragged her away, ignoring her and her colleagues’ pleas to show proof of her documentation. That evening I stand a few feet from the parents of Rayito de Sol and listen to them describe, with anguish, how good Ms. Diana was to their children. What it is like to have strangers with guns traumatize your kids. For a teacher to hide a three-year-old child for fear they might be killed. How their relatives will no longer leave the house. I hear the pain and fury in their voices, and I wonder who will be next. Understand what it is to pray in Chicago. On September 19th, Reverend David Black, lead pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, was praying outside the ICE detention center in Broadview when a DHS agent shot him in the head with pepper balls. Pepper balls are never supposed to be fired at the head because they can seriously injure, or even kill. “We could hear them laughing as they were shooting us from the roof,” Black recalled. He is not the only member of the clergy ICE has assaulted. Methodist pastor Hannah Kardon was violently arrested on October 17th, and Baptist pastor Michael Woolf was shot with pepper balls on November 1st. Understand what it is to sleep in Chicago. On the night of September 30th, federal agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter to execute a raid on an apartment building on the South Sho…
November 10, 2025 at 12:15 PM
brchastain.social
If the logic for these Senate Dems is that they’ll “get credit” for ending the shutdown, they aren’t even acknowledged in a *headline*
November 10, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
theonion.com
Chuck Schumer Helps Pull Democrats Back From Brink Of Courage
Chuck Schumer Helps Pull Democrats Back From Brink Of Courage
November 10, 2025 at 5:02 AM
brchastain.social
If I could tell my 20 year old self that I’d be at home reading Tillich’s Courage to Be at 7:30 on a Friday night, well, he’d probably be ok with it. That kid was a fucking nerd
November 8, 2025 at 1:35 AM
brchastain.social
Big Loser Energy: fake traffic from a guy who’s supposed to get a real trillion dollars for making fake promises about his fake robot strategy
www.theverge.com/news/8164…
X appears to be sending fake traffic across the web
Substack and Bluesky saw a jump in “traffic” following the update.
www.theverge.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:29 PM
brchastain.social
this is the guy so many people want to rule as a king.
November 6, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
karlbode.com
well resourced paper Op/Ed sections should could be an amazing space to platform strange, wonderful, and intelligent ideas by artists, activists, scientists, and scholars you've never heard of

instead the dull, conservative extraction class converted the whole segment into a contrarian troll farm
kevinmkruse.bsky.social Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 11d
Did Knee-Jerk Contrarianism Ruin the New York Times?
Did Liberal Feminism Ruin the Workplace?
November 6, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
heathercherone.bsky.social
Greetings from the Dirksen federal courthouse, where U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis has just taken the bench to rule on federal agents actions' during a series of increasingly aggressive raids across Chicago and the suburbs.
Background, for @wttw.bsky.social from @bymattmasterson.bsky.social
Judge Set to Rule Thursday in Case Centering on Federal Immigration Agents’ Use of Force: ‘I Could See Inside the Barrel’
Protesters, clergy members and others who say they’ve been directly impacted by a series of increasingly aggressive raids across Chicago and the suburbs will testify before a federal judge weighing wh...
news.wttw.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Blake Chastain
thetnholler.bsky.social
Devastating— “I’m afraid for my parents to leave the house. They treat us like dogs because of the color of our skin. I shouldn’t be scared, I should be focusing on school.”

A 16yo American living in fear of the Trump regime’s ICE goons terrorizing brown people pleads for help.
November 6, 2025 at 2:58 PM