Good God Project

How Dissent Can Save Us: Nancy Kasten on Faith and Resistance

What does it take to turn ordinary people into dissenters?

In this conversation, George Mason sits down with his Faith Commons co-founder Rabbi Nancy Kasten to kick off Faithful Dissent, a new series featuring people who never expected to find themselves at a vigil or a protest but have been activated by this political moment. Nancy argues that nonviolent movements against authoritarian rule have always depended on average citizens refusing to comply, and she and George trace how their own religious traditions moved away from that legacy once they became custodians of the status quo rather than critics of it.

They talk about what happens when injustice gets close enough to touch, when a neighbor's housekeeper or longtime lawn crew member is suddenly gone, and why that proximity does more to move people than any headline can. The episode closes with George invoking Martin Niemöller's famous warning about the cost of silence, setting the tone for a series built around the conviction that faith should form people for resistance, not conformity.

Rabbi Nancy Kasten co-leads Faith Commons with Rev. Dr. George Mason, working at the intersection of interfaith relationships, immigration advocacy, and civic engagement in Dallas-Fort Worth.

advocacy, Immigration, politics, Social justiceGood God ProjectSeptember 3, 2026Democracy, Immigration

How to End Christian Nationalism: A Conversation with Amanda Tyler

In this episode of Good God, George Mason sits down with Amanda Tyler, Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and lead organizer for Christians Against Christian Nationalism. Amanda shares insights from her new book, How to End Christian Nationalism, exploring the steps needed to dismantle this dangerous ideology while promoting religious freedom for all. From defining Christian nationalism to addressing its impact on public schools and political power, Amanda calls us to engage deeply in protecting democracy and fostering pluralism.

Amanda Tyler is a lawyer, religious liberty advocate, and leader in the fight against Christian nationalism, working to ensure the separation of church and state and to promote justice for all.

Faith, Christianity, politics, advocacyGood God ProjectJanuary 14, 2025Faith, Democracy, Advocacy, Christian Nationalism

Courageous Conversations: Jeff Sharlet on American Failures and American Possibility

Meet Dr. Jeff Sharlet, Professor in the Art of Writing at Dartmouth College and author of the recently released The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War. In it, he journeys into the corners of our national psyche in an attempt to understand how, over the last decade, reaction has morphed into delusion, social division into distrust, distrust into paranoia, and hatred into fantasies—sometimes realities—of violence.

In this conversation, George and Jeff discuss the religious dimensions of American politics, and the role of grief and uncertainty in the midst of plague and rising fascism. Sharlet offers insight into both the human condition and into our country today, bringing to light a decade of American failures as well as a vision for American possibility,

Jeff Sharlet is the New York Times bestselling author or editor of eight books. His latest is The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War (2023), a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist for Nonfiction, one of The New York Times 100 Books of the Year, and a New Republic book of the year.

America, Faith, Christianity, politicsGood God ProjectMarch 21, 2024Democracy

Courageous Conversations: Chris Walsh and William McKenzie on Pluralism

George is joined by Chris Walsh and William McKenzie, both of the George W. Bush Institute where they engage in the advancement of freedom and democracy in the world.

In this second episode of the Courageous Conversations series, they discuss what they call "the pluralism challenge," the role of pluralism in strengthening our democracy, the importance of a vibrant religious pluralism, and what American democracy means—even when it falls short of its own ideals.

Chris Walsh serves as Director, Global Policy at the George W. Bush Institute. In this role, Mr. Walsh manages communications, evaluation, and public policy research projects that advance freedom and democracy in the world.

William McKenzie is senior editorial advisor at the George W. Bush Institute, where he is working on editorial projects on democracy and freedom and education reform.

America, Faith, multifaithGood God ProjectFebruary 21, 2024Democracy, Pluralism, Freedom