When "Listening to the Holy Spirit" Becomes a Trump Card || Dr. Keri Ladner on Christian Dominionism

The theology quietly staffing Trump's cabinet, and why it doesn't need to make sense to work.

Dr. Keri Ladner studies the radicalization of the American religious right, from the Moral Majority to the New Apostolic Reformation. She joins Corey to unpack Christian dominionism, the Seven Mountain Mandate, and how movements with contradictory theologies ended up governing together.

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Key Takeaways:

Contradictory theologies, same movement. NAR, Christian Reconstructionism, and neo-Confederacy don't agree on doctrine, but they've united around Trump and the belief that Christians are called to take dominion over government.

The Seven Mountain Mandate isn't about church. It reframes government, education, and business as spheres apostles are called to control, well beyond the pulpit.

A neo-Confederate is advising the Pentagon. Doug Wilson calls himself "paleo-Confederate." Ladner traces his influence in American Dominion, including his role leading prayer at the Pentagon.

Dr. Ladner's advice is deliberately unglamorous. Vote in the midterms. Turn abstract political fights into stories about real people you already know.

About Our Guest:

Dr. Keri Ladner is the author of Endtime Politics: From the Moral Majority to QAnon (2024) and American Dominion: The Rise and Radicalization of a New Christendom (Bloomsbury). Her work has appeared in Christian Century, Religion Dispatches, and Good Faith Media.

Links and Resources:

• American Dominion, published by Bloomsbury (also on Amazon, or ask your local library to carry it)
• Substack: "The Boogaloo," by Keri Ladner - keriladner.substack.com

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