Episode 2328: A gay Jewish atheist rides to the rescue of American Christianity

Trust a gay Jewish atheist to defend the value of American Christianity. In his new book Cross-Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy, the Brookings scholar and gay marriage activist Jonathan Rauch argues that Christianity plays a vital role in sustaining American democracy. He points to the Mormon Church (LDS) as a model for balancing religious beliefs with democratic pluralism, contrasting their approach with white evangelical churches that have become increasingly intolerant of democracy. Rauch suggests that Christianity's core teachings of fearlessness, egalitarianism, and forgiveness align more with James Madison's democratic vision than with MAGA politics, and argues that secular liberals should work to make civic spaces more welcoming to people of faith.

Here are the 5 KEEN ON takeaways from our conversation with Rauch:

* As a gay Jewish atheist, Rauch makes the counterintuitive argument that Christianity is essential for American democracy, suggesting that as religious participation declines, society loses important communal bonds and values that help sustain democratic institutions.

* Rauch points to the Mormon Church (LDS) as a model for how religious institutions can balance conservative theological beliefs with democratic pluralism - opposing same-sex marriage internally while supporting legal protections for it in civil society.

* He identifies three core Christian teachings that he believes align with democratic values: "don't be afraid," egalitarianism (treating people as ends in themselves), and forgiveness - arguing these are more consistent with James Madison than with the MAGA movement.

* Rauch contends that the decline of mainstream Christianity has led people to seek substitute religions in ideologies like "wokeness," MAGA, and QAnon, which he argues don't provide the same social or political benefits as traditional religious institutions.

* While remaining personally atheist, Rauch advocates for secular liberals to be more accommodating of religion in public life, suggesting that the "culture wars" approach of both evangelical Christians and militant secularists threatens democratic stability.

* JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, published in 2021 by the Brookings Press, is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, a spirited and deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. In 2018, he published The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, a lauded account of the surprising relationship between aging and happiness. Other books include Denial: My 25 Years Without a Soul, a memoir of his struggle with his sexuality, and Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America, published in 2004 by Times Books (Henry Holt). His most recent ebook is Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy (Brookings, 2015). Although much of his writing has been on public policy, he has also written on topics as widely varied as adultery, agriculture, economics, gay marriage, height discrimination, biological rhyth