All Episodes

April 9, 2025 57 mins

This episode is about propaganda: the mechanisms by which evangelicals and conservative Christians are formed. Evangelicals are suckers for conspiracy (Ep. 3) and are easily swayed by propaganda. The propaganda machine has done masterful job inoculating conservatives from developing worldviews beyond their own enrichment.

In the first half, I invite Scott Coley to help unpack the how and why conservatives tend to accept damaging beliefs and theologies that harm vulnerable people and themselves. Connecting the dots between conservative political aspirations that seek power to preserve white supremacy and patriarchy, and the supprting belief systems in evangelicalism, opens a pathway for folks still in, leaving, or who have already left, to begin making sense of all the weird in the pursuit of freedom and liberation.

“Evangelicals favor morally problematic social arrangements and political policies because they just aren’t thinking about the moral salience of institutions. They tend to focus on individual piety. They tend to not think about institutional injustice. I’ve come to recognize that is an incomplete picture. It’s true, bad belief leads to bad practices, but it’s also true that bad practices lead to bad beliefs. This ‘feedback loop’ is called ideology.” Scott Coley

Later, DL Mayfield joins to discuss one of the most effective propaganda arms in evangelicalism: Focus on the Family. It, along with many others, are key reasons why evangelicals are harbingers of harm to the nation (and the world).

“If you grew up with Dr. Dobson or Focus on the Family parenting methods, then you are a child of a positive eugenics movement. The continuation of the white supremacist patriarchy was the entire goal and they used religion to spread their ideology.” D.L. Mayfield

Episode 4 – Show Notes

(00:00) – Introduction (03:00) – Scott Coley on The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (05:40) –  Why do conservative evangelicals appear to inhabit an alternate reality? (08:40) – Ideology and legitimizing narratives that provide moral justification. (11:47) – Propaganda as mechanism to bring folks into sub-culutre.. (14:30) – On fundamentalism and creation science example. (15:30) – Motivated reasoning and hermeneutics of legitimizing narratives. (21:30) – The pull of ideology, how do you know you’re on the ‘right’ side. (26:30) – Introducing DL Mayfield and Focus on the Family. (29:26) – The Strongwilled Child phenomenom. (31:00) – Focus on the Family is propaganada. (36:00) – Are folks leaving the church over the abuse they experienced as children? (40:38) – James ‘Fucking’ Dobson and white patriarchy. (47:30) – Speaking about estrangement.

Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com).

Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his most recent publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins.

Special guests in Episode 4:

Scholar/Author – Scott Coley Scott Coley Scott M. Coley holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Purdue University, a Master’s degree in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame, and a B.A. in philosophy and English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests include philosophy of religion, moral epistemology and political philosophy. His book is entitled, Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.