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?
Massachusetts Council of Churches: Addressing Christian Nationalism
Minnesota Council of Churches: Reckoning to Reconcile
New Hampshire Council of Churches: Video Theology
New York State Council of Churches: Religious Nationalisms in Context
North Carolina Council of Churches: Awareness, Inspiration, and A Lent of Action
Ohio Council of Churches: Biblical Models of Human Diversity, and the Beloved Community
Oklahoma Faith Network: Values in Action
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon: Common Table Curriculum & Content Development
Wisconsin Council of Churches: Juicy Questions
West Virginia Council of Churches: American Christian or Christian American?
West Virginia Faith Collective & Justice and Jubilee: Networks of Artistic Resistance
Arizona Faith Network
From Conflict to Community
The Arizona Faith Network has four main initiatives under this grant:
Building a statewide faith-based public witness network of interfaith leaders to respond to Christian Nationalist organizing and messaging
Developing public theology resources for clergy and congregations to confront Christian Nationalism
Hosting community conversations on how faith communities can confront harmful narratives
Amplifying local faith voices through short videos with a downloadable discussion guide.
This builds upon the work they began in 2026 when they equipped clergy and faith communities to confront Christian Nationalism, resist dehumanization, respond to rising authoritarianism, and provide courageous public witness grounded in religious freedom, justice, and human dignity through their Prophetic Witness Campaign, among many other expansive initiatives.
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.
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.
We created several YouTube videos highlighting the common good work that Christians in Denver are doing to address homelessness and hunger. These are now organized into playlists that will be made available to churches to engage in multi-week study of these issues for adult education forums.
Florida Council of Churches
Religious Commons Project
The Religious Commons Projects desires to 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.
The Florida Council of Churches intends to facilitate over 30 screenings of “Bad Faith,” produce a video curriculum on Christian Nationalism in conjunction with the Lay Ministry School of the Florida-Bahamas Synod ELCA, and develop a sermon series for faith leaders with the intent of providing aids for the Lenten season and the Markan Lectionary cycle.
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. View podcast trailer here.
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.
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Addressing Christian Nationalism
The Massachusetts Council of Churches is working alongside the New Hampshire and Rhode Island Councils of Churches to provide a cohort experience to member churches. Through this cohort experience, participants will attend in-person workshops to learn about Christian Nationalism and then will be placed in mutually supportive working groups to generate content that can be shared with other clergy and congregations to help identify, name, and respond to Christian Nationalism in different contexts.
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.
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 created a series of short-form videos with help from the New Hampshire Council of Churches network.
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.
After producing short-form videos for a year, the New Hampshire Council of Churches will now be producing the “Beloved” podcast featuring two episodes a month, launching November 2026. The “Beloved” podcast will highlight ways listeners can join the good work already happening in New Hampshire. This podcast will build a bridge for the people who want to be doing more and the people who already have good work they can join.
New York State Council of Churches
Religious Nationalisms in Context
The New York State Council of Churches will coordinate a Summer 2027 Ecumenical Institute on White Christian Nationalism as well as hold 5 regional in-person conversations on the realities of White Christian Nationalism in New York. The Institute will address Christian identity, the history and methods of White Christian Nationalism, its impact on marginalized communities, and skills for leading constructive conversations. They will produce and facilitate a curriculum as well as produce short videos, testimony-based stories, graphics, one-page explainers, and conversation cards.
North Carolina Council of Churches
Reclaiming Faithful Public Witness
In 2026, the North Carolina Council of Churches created a project entitled Awareness, Inspiration, and A Lent of Action. This project had 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. It informed people about the agenda driving the legislation bracketing the lives of North Carolina residents, which was driven by a regressive and punitive theology, not in line with the prophetic witness and Gospel imperative.
They created a Lent of Action resource which you can view here. This initiative foregrounded the Good News as a foil for deconstructing the supposed Christian Nationalist mandate. It offered emphasis areas each week of Lent countering the “seven mountains mandate,” and a Justice Stations of the Cross during Holy Week.
In 2027, The North Carolina Council of Churches will organize screenings and facilitate conversations of the film “God & Country” targeting audiences composed of: HBCUs, seminaries and young adults, rural congregations and ecumenical faith communities. These screenings are meant to integrate food, fellowship, and substantive theological discussion. NCC will also develop the following resources: Faithful Voters Guide, Courageous Conversations Toolkit, Digital Reflections and Social Media Content, Participant Reflections and Lessons Learned
Ohio Council of Churches
Foster, Connect, Proclaim
In 2026, the Ohio Council of Churches hosted two large in-person events to address urgent issues of Christian nationalism, chaos in communities, and pathways toward Dr. King’s Beloved Community.
In 2027, the Ohio Council of Churches has three initiatives: equipping a short panel of judicatory leaders to become a panel of experts they can turn to when drafting statements related to Christian Nationalism, hosting a day-long symposium which will seek to move beyond the question of “why Christian Nationalism is harmful to our community” into “how are we as church called to engage in a pluralistic and secular world with the full authenticity of our faith,” and developing a ministry messaging plan on Christian Nationalism that will be a shareable resource for judicatory partners and the wider faith community.
Oklahoma Faith Network
Values in Action
Through this grant, the Oklahoma Faith Network The Oklahoma Faith Network will provide several screenings of “Bad Faith”, create a “vote your values” guide, partner with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty on truly advocating for religious freedoms, and provide online resources on these topics, including a panel series that discusses “What does Christianity mean to you?” with average citizens as well as leaders of different denominations.
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
Encountering Christian Nationalism
In 2026, the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s initiative had three main components: develop a collaborative curriculum on Christian Nationalism, build a cohort for this work through their existing network of faith leaders and laity, and create a variety of short- and long-form content on Christian Nationalism and counter-examples to religious nationalism to share on different platforms.
In 2027, they intend to develop an asynchronous version of the 2026 curriculum exploring one of the Seven Mountain Mandates each month, build a cohort through their existing network of faith leaders and laity with monthly meetings and conversations using online community conversation space and discussion boards, and create short- and long-form content on Christian nationalism and counterexamples to religious nationalism with more support and guidance in the previous grant cycle.
Wisconsin Council of Churches
Juicy Questions
Juicy Questions was a storytelling project in which the Wisconsin Council of Churches spurred conversation and storytelling around the lifegiving work of the church in the world to continue burrowing into the messiness and beauty of Faith, Freedom, and the Common Good.
We have produced videos on the following questions:
Why Church? with Megan Westra (@heymstheologyteacher)
What is Evil? with Rev. Charlie Berthoud
Who is My Neighbor? with Rev. Ellen Rassmussen
How Can Advocacy be Pastoral Care?” with Rev. Tim Schaefer
Why is Church Unity Important with Rev. Jon Anderson
You can view these “juicy questions” here.
West Virginia Council of Churches
American Christian or Christian American?
The West Virginia Council of Churches will develop a six-session curriculum to provide information about Christian Nationalism and to create spaces in which Christians can wrestle together with questions of faith, freedom, belonging, civic responsibility, and our connection to one another. Each session will include Scripture and prayer, theological and historical reflection, an Appalachian or local story, guided discussion, and a spiritual practice or reflection exercise.
This curriculum will be both printed and downloadable and made available for use among clergy and in congregations.
West Virginia Faith Collective, Justice & 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.
Click here to see more about this project’s efforts, including a curriculum on disarming the Bible.
Click here to see Justice & Jubilee’s TikTok channel which houses clips of Christian Nationalist rhetoric by West Virginia lawmakers.