Faith, Freedom, and
The Common Good
A nationwide, collaborative effort by state ecumenical organizations to respond to Christian Nationalism
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Arizona Faith Network: Rehumanization & Democratic Resilience: A Faith Leader Formation Initiative
Colorado Council of Churches: Youth, Justice, and Social Media
Florida Council of Churches: Religious Commons Project
Louisiana Interchurch Conference: Who is My Neighbor?
Minnesota Council of Churches: Reckoning to Reconcile
North Carolina Council of Churches: Awareness, Inspiration, and A Lent of Action
New Hampshire Council of Churches: Video Theology
New York State Council of Churches: Religious Nationalisms in Context
Ohio Council of Churches: Biblical Models of Human Diversity, and the Beloved Community
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon: Common Table Curriculum & Content Development
Wisconsin Council of Churches: Juicy Questions
West Virginia Faith Collective & Justice and Jubilee: Networks of Artistic Resistance
Arizona Faith Network
Rehumanization & Democratic Resilience:
A Faith Leader Formation Initiative
In order to prepare Arizona clergy and congregations to recognize and respond to the rise of White Christian Nationalism, we will do the following:
Host a rehumanization retreat for clergy and lay leaders on spiritual grounding, trauma-informed pastoral care, and embodied practices to build compassion and moral clarity in polarized settings
Hold bi-monthly online trainings with experts on de-escalation, narrative framing, community safety, and pastoral responses to extremist rhetoric
Develop a simple and accessible rehumanization curriculum that can be used nationwide by those with limited capacity
Colorado Council of Churches
Youth, Justice, and Social Media
Our initiative is focused on youth, justice, and social media. We will host youth listening sessions around Colorado and engage youth voices for justice in two social media campaigns in order to create content around our common values. Our platform will amplify these voices at our annual Red Rocks Easter Sunrise Service.
Youth, Justice, and Social Media focuses on laypersons’ perspectives on Christian Nationalism. We give a platform for youth to share their thoughts on Christian Nationalism and how it affects them. Hearing from youth about the ideology that has shaped their world will be eye-opening for many. We also provide a platform for our advocacy volunteers to voice their concerns about Christian Nationalism and how they counter it by providing examples of how progressive Christians use their faith values to promote the common good for everyone.
Florida Council of Churches
Religious Commons Project
The Religious Commons Projects will create a series of events online and in-person that will engage local religious adherents and people of goodwill to explore those features of healthy religious belonging that transcend any particular religion. These conversations and dialogues by their very nature will promote religious pluralism and counteract narratives of religious nationalism. They will help the public discover things that they share in common with their neighbors who come from a different religious tradition by shifting the focus from the diverse teachings of religions to the benefits of healthy religious belonging.
Louisiana Interchurch Conference
Who is My Neighbor?
Who is My Neighbor? is a twelve-episode season of a new podcast grounded in Galatians 5:13, highlighting real stories of faithful, hopeful, common-good work being carried out by people of faith. Each episode will feature one interview with a guest selected from diverse backgrounds. The themes, stories, and resources will be designed for broad national use.
The conversations will implicitly lift up courageous, humane expressions of Christian freedom. Every episode will generate short-form clips, quote graphics, and a discussion guide. This effort makes space for those who need an implicit rather than explicit approach to the dilemmas this project seeks to address.
Minnesota Council of Churches
Reckoning to Reconcile
Reckoning to Reconcile uses structured learning, honest storytelling, and Spirit-led dialogue. Digital workshops will offer educational grounding in the historical and theological roots of WCN, testimony and teachings from those confronting WCN in context, guided discussion, and spiritual practices of lament, confession and discernment.
These workshops will include downloadable materials for congregational use, including study guides, sermon prompts, and resource lists. They should be open to broad participation from nationwide peers.
To complement the online effort, Reckoning to Reconcile will facilitate regional gatherings for reconciliation circles and storytelling sessions, with a specific effort to bridge differences between the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota constructively. The project will be documented and amplified with social media.
North Carolina Council of Churches
Awareness, Inspiration, and A Lent of Action
Awareness, Inspiration, and A Lent of Action has three aims: to offer accurate information to raise awareness, juxtapose the goals of Christian Nationalism against faith as an anchor for justice, and offer a buffet of actionable items for engagement. The project will inform people about the agenda driving the legislation bracketing the lives of North Carolina residents, which is driven by a regressive and punitive theology, not in line with the prophetic witness and Gospel imperative.
This initiative plans to foreground the Good News as a foil for deconstructing the supposed Christian Nationalist mandate. It will offer emphasis areas each week of Lent countering the “seven mountains mandate,” and a Justice Stations of the Cross during Holy Week.
New Hampshire Council of Churches
Video Theology
Christian Nationalism in New Hampshire is not abstract. It asserts dominance in education, policy, family definitions, media, arts and cultural institutions, and more. To provide a clear, accessible counter-witness to these demands for conformity, the Video Theology initiative will create a series of short-form videos with help from the New Hampshire Council of Churches network. It will build on resilience, strengthen moral imagination, and equip everyday Granite Staters to recognize and reject harmful ideologies.
These videos, featuring fresh voices from clergy across NHCC’s seven denominations, lay leaders from diverse communities, people directly targeted by Christian Nationalism’s rhetoric and policies, young adults, and faith leaders newer to public engagement, can be viewed on the Council’s Youtube Channel.
New York State Council of Churches
Religious Nationalisms in Context
The New York State Council of Churches is using its location at the epicenter of the intellectual/academic freedom movement to address the abusive practices of Christian Nationalists, framing an intellectually substantive, positive Christian public theology that can be lived out in the public square. They plan three virtual and five in-person seminars.
Online seminars include broad definitions, historical and theological contexts (including relationships to the early church, Constantinian church, Orthodox church, and Confessing Church), and reflections on fascism and authoritarianism.
In-person events will address particular contextual questions of replacement theory, the use of humor and satire, reparations, interfaith contexts, and free speech.
Ohio Council of Churches
Biblical Models of Human Diversity, and the Beloved Community
The Ohio Council of Churches will host a six-week online study with biblical scholars, panelists, and interactive discussions, addressing biblical passages on diversity and justice. Each session will conclude with key learnings and action steps for participants to implement in their communities.
The culminating in-person event will address urgent issues of Christian nationalism, chaos in communities, and pathways toward Dr. King’s Beloved Community, featuring keynote speakers and solution-oriented forums. Social media will amplify discussions, share highlights, and invite broader participation statewide.
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
Common Table Curriculum & Content Development
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s initiative has three main components: developing a collaborative curriculum on Christian Nationalism, building a cohort for this work through their existing network of faith leaders and laity, and creating a variety of short- and long-form content on Christian Nationalism and counter-examples to religious nationalism to share on different platforms.
They will work through their existing Common Table conversations to develop the initial materials, engaging in a pilot during a six-week virtual workshop series. This will equip local leaders with the tools to identify Christian Nationalism rhetoric, understand historical context, and track activities/initiatives. Participants will be asked to create content for education on Christian Nationalism and for the positive vision of the common good.
Wisconsin Council of Churches
Juicy Questions
Juicy Questions will create a portable story booth to gather 60-90 second video clips from participants addressing themes that counter Christian Nationalism and are relevant to what is happening in our world. Sample easy-entry questions include “Who is my neighbor?” and “How is your church caring for the common good?”
The goal is not only for Wisconsin Council staff to create content, but to spur conversation and storytelling around the lifegiving work of the church in the world for those who might submit videos or use them as part of an education program or sermon. The project is designed to offer a simple entry point for voices that have not been active in the response to Christian Nationalism because it is deemed political or too controversial.
West Virginia Faith Collective & Justice and Jubilee
Networks of Artistic Resistance
Networks of Artistic Resistance will bring together artists, people with religious trauma, LGBTQ+ West Virginians, people of color, and people of faith to create and distribute print and digital content. They will organize older volunteers who are free during the day to attend legislative meetings and note talking points, with younger volunteers more familiar with short-form media, and with clergy to break down the talking points and include brief theological perspectives in short videos. They will create public art based on resistance to Christian Nationalism and offer a robust list of educational resources.
One focus of this effort is to address the scattered population and inconsistent internet access of the West Virginia context. They aim to create strong connections and networks of social support for those who will continue resisting Christian Nationalism well after the project’s conclusion.