National Reporter for Religion News Service. "Workaday writer." — The New Yorker. Author of "American Prophets," a book on the religious left. Tips? Try me on Signal: jackmjenkins.60 Website: jackjenkins.me
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Random: Calvin Robinson — the former Anglican priest who was defrocked after making a Nazi-like salute in an homage to Elon Musk, briefly re-frocked, and then defrocked *again* — is here. A panelist referred to him as “Fr. Robinson,” and he still wears a collar. religionnews.com/2025/05/15/c...
Finally ran into some National Guard members in D.C. The thing is: it was only two, and you saw uniformed folks from time to time in D.C. before any of this, so it took a moment to even grok their existence. It's decidedly different w/federal officers: folks notice when they're out, and quickly.
The former. It's a whole thing: by NatCon's own admission (i.e., its own leaders in opening talks), it's a gathering that was pretty recently considered right-wing fringe, but is now understood to occupy a powerful position on the right.
My general synopsis so far: there's a lot going on here.
FYI: I'm at the National Conservatism conference this week. The religious references are, of course, a constant. But worth noting that one of the opening talks was a leader from the Edmund Burke society pleading with attendees not to fight with each other — and not to fall prey to antisemitism.
Listen to RNS national reporter @jackjenkins.me on @npr.org's All Things Considered, where he reports on some of the measures under consideration after a shooting at a church in Minneapolis on Aug. 27. www.npr.org/2025/09/01/n...
"…after years of inaction on Capitol Hill, Masters and Spencer say religious communities are turning to security experts for help — even as those experts themselves join with faith leaders in calling for more action to halt the growing death toll." religionnews.com/2025/09/02/a...
“The Dome of the U.S. Capitol Building stands visible as protesters dressed as handmaids from The Handmaid's Tale march on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.” @gettyimages.com
There's speculation at the Pentagon and elsewhere that President Trump this afternoon will announce that the Department of Defense is going to revert back to being the Department of War (created in 1789 and dissolved in 1947).
The weird thing about being an Elder Millennial these days is watching Gen Z embrace 90s nostalgia to the point of openly wishing things were still like that and thinking “I mean, same?”
You know you’re in DC when you spot a couple of folks dressed in Handmaid’s Tale attire clearly gearing up for a protest, but they’re currently just chilling outside a coffee shop without their bonnets sipping lattes, and none of that even registers as unusual.
“I’ll show ‘em, I’ll finish their dumb book!” doesn’t make much sense but it’s also how I finished most of my readings in grad school so here we are.
Currently stuck in one of those cruel literary cages where I’ve come to almost loathe the book I’m reading because I cannot stand the way it’s written, but have already come this far and feel obligated to finish it anyway out of a completely irrational sense of spite.
Interestingly, this is currently the *only* thing listed on Trump’s public schedule tomorrow. That’s hardly unprecedented stuff for this WH (the lack of other events or just the vague “announcement” listing) but, you know…it doesn’t exactly tamp down the speculation.
2. You’ll often get similar answers from academics when you ask what feel like pretty simple questions. To them, the questions are so fragmented by decades of study that it’s way harder to extrapolate out into broader concrete answers. FWIW, I think that’s simultaneously a strength *and* a problem
1. Folks are dunking on this response (which doesn’t answer the Q), but it *may* be some journalistic exhaustion. I.e., Smith may be saying: “I’m in too deep, man. I’ve been staring at this U.S.A. project from the inside for so long, I’m not sure I know what ‘democracy’ means to people anymore.”
For the first time, [Nadler] said that when Congress returns later this month, he plans to join a growing number of Democratic lawmakers trying to use congressional authority to block the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel. “ www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/n...
100% guaranteed that a discourse elemental saying the phrase "blueskyism" on X meant a full day of debate here
Honestly? Yeah.
We political reporters will cover all the aspects of politics because, again, they all absolutely matter. But a candidate that has “it?” It feels inexact, but it’s true: That can change the whole game.
And being a good candidate isn’t just about likability. There are very likable candidates people don’t vote for because they don’t take them seriously, and, conversely, very serious candidates that nobody votes for because they don’t like them. Being a good candidate is contextual, and hard to ID.
My hottest take about politics is that while basically everything matters in an election — message, policy, outreach to various groups, campaign organization, etc. — what matters more than anything isn’t whether a political ideology is “appealing” but whether a *candidate* is good.
(My general take is that any time Trump, who is famous for his ability/desire to stay in front of cameras, avoids direct contact with the media, that’s enough to raise eyebrows.)
Reminder: this dude isn’t a doctor. Trump keeping his distance from cameras is absolutely worth looking into *in general*, even more so after weeks of questions about his health. But Random Dude on Twitter Sounding Off With A Medical Diagnosis likely isn’t the most reliable source.
Side note: The lawmaker in question was the author of a bill to to censure the Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, for preaching a sermon to Trump on his first day in office that asked the president to “have mercy” on immigrants and trans people. (It never left committee.)
Pope Leo XIV met with one of the most prominent advocates for greater LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church. The Rev. James Martin said Leo told him that he intended to continue Pope Francis’ policy of LGBTQ+ acceptance in the church and encouraged him to keep up his advocacy.
:: blinks :: Um…huh.
Okay, I’ll admit: LAX does mark it hard to love.
Washington Nationals fans head to the game with the National Guard in the background:
I, for one, am shocked. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/b...
What are you reading this weekend?
In sum: the church/school were chosen because of an obsession with hurting and killing children (this was extremely disturbing to read in the diary), and it being a soft target compared to a Trump rally or a political assassination (Trump/Musk/Nazis/"execs of greedy megacorps" are mentioned).
“His hand bruising was described as the result of aspirin therapy and hand shaking which is not a plausible explanation. (Particularly if he also has bruises on his left hand),” Reiner said. Sure enough, recent images show Trump with bruises on his left hand as well. www.status.news/p/trump-heal...
Paradoxically, my favorite transportation *experience* is airports. I love airports. Like, love ‘em. But actually flying? Whole ‘nother story (other than takeoff, which is always epic).
Trains have long been, and very much remain, my favorite way to travel — and it’s not close. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/t...
Children's books in 2015: The world is a wonderful place, and you can be anything you want to be! Children's books in 2025: It's important to have reasonable expectations!
Was reading my kid a new children's book recently, and while the title felt modern, it also felt like it was rooted in more optimistic, more whimsical era. So I checked: it was published in 2015. Which is to say: I was right.
Relatedly, if you ever meet me in person, the single worst thing you can do for your own sanity is ask me about my work. Because I. Will. Tell. You. *Everything.*
Religion aside: I have zero to add to the tariff news, but will note Scott Bessent may be the first active French Huguenot to serve in a presidential cabinet in centuries — maybe ever. That isn't relevant at all, but it's info I carry around, and now you do too. religionnews.com/2024/12/16/t...
:: rubs eyes tiredly ::
Art depicting “Sandwich Guy” now at the scene of the alleged misdemeanor.
I was recently confronted with opportunities to hand over my info/work to AI, and had to articulate the grim point that I don't want to do that and, also, am painfully aware AI companies will likely get it anyway. They already have my book, which I did not consent to: www.wired.com/story/new-do...
That's kind of you, but at this point in my career, I'm genuinely shocked when there *isn't* an obvious faith angle to a major story. It's just, like…always there.
Like, these faith leaders haven't been subtle! They have, in fact, been very loud on this point for some time!
I should note my befuddlement about this is rooted in a concrete journalistic observation: As someone who has covered faith-based advocacy around gun control for more than a decade, it's wild to see how *normal* religious criticism of "thoughts and prayers" rhetoric is, yet how *ignored* it also is.
Scrawled in pencil on here, referring to Bondi: "My cross is a lie."
Again, if Psaki "attacked religion" and "diminished the faith" of millions of Americans, so too did all the faith leaders who have also criticized "thoughts and prayers" rhetoric. As a factual matter, Johnson's framing here — which, again, shows up roughly annually — doesn't match reality.
Black faith leaders march on Wall Street to denounce anti-DEI campaign religionnews.com/2025/08/28/b...
Note: This is a Fox News poll.
One more thing on this: Longtime followers (all, like, four of you) will know that this debate comes up virtually every year. The "critics of thoughts and prayers vs. people of faith" framing/debate hasn't reflected reality for a long time (if ever), but it just keeps happening.
Israel’s military said it is suspending mid-day pauses to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza City. The suspension of the pause comes a week after the world’s leading food security authority declared Gaza City was being gripped by famine.
*leaders in
Again: Faith leaders *themselves* have long also criticized "thoughts and prayers" rhetoric — including leader's Leavitt's own Catholic tradition. Here are some examples from the past 24 hours, including a statement from Sisters of Mercy of the Americas (Catholic nuns) on the shooting.
Hard to tell for certain, but the agent’s “send me” patch may be a reference to Isaiah 6:8 — in which God/an angel asks “whom shall I send?” and Isaiah replies “here am I, send me.” DHS has used the verse in its own hype videos in recent months. religionnews.com/2025/08/19/h...
Protesters recently gathered near the home of Johnnie Moore, the evangelical PR expert and Trump adviser who surprised many when he took over the embattled Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in June. Protesters wrote "genocider" on the sidewalk. But…who IS Johnnie Moore? religionnews.com/2025/08/27/h...
Here's Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, in his response to the shooting.
VP Vance frames this as a left-wing argument opposed to faith, but that's not how it's worked. Faith leaders *themselves* regularly made similar arguments — including in his own tradition, Catholicism. E.g., this is a statement from Sisters of Mercy of the Americas (Catholic nuns) on the shooting.
Protesters recently gathered near the home of Johnnie Moore, the evangelical PR expert and Trump adviser who surprised many when he took over the embattled Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in June. Protesters wrote "genocider" on the sidewalk. But…who IS Johnnie Moore? religionnews.com/2025/08/27/h...
NEW: In June, Johnnie Moore, an evangelical PR expert and Trump adviser, surprised many when he took over the widely criticized Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Folks outside the religion world were left wondering: how did he end up there? So @rns.org investigated: religionnews.com/2025/08/27/j...
A thing that shows up in here: I last saw Johnnie Moore, now head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in February. He was a featured speaker at the National Religious Broadcasters gathering. But his talk wasn't on Gaza. It was on crisis communications for U.S. churches that encounter scandals.
Question: is there a good book (or books) that looks at the connection between the development of democratic systems and the development of certain technologies — i.e., the printing press? One of those things that’s mentioned offhand often, but curious if there’s a deep study.
Just hours after a shooter opened fire through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis, hundreds were crowding inside a nearby school's gym, clutching one another and wiping away tears during a vigil.
lol it gets worse with every minute that passes nothing about the plot makes sense not even the color grading is logical YES KEEP IT COMING APPLE STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS
Update: CDC Director Susan Monarez is ousted as her lawyer says ‘she will not resign’ www.statnews.com/2025/08/27/c...
This whole show, plus aliens:
The Jenkins household makes a habit of watching Apple TV’s “Invasion,” because it’s just intriguing enough to keep you watching but, otherwise, a really infuriatingly bad show you can laugh at throughout. The third season seems to be continuing that tradition.
religionnews.com/2025/08/26/a...
A thing that shows up in here: I last saw Johnnie Moore, now head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in February. He was a featured speaker at the National Religious Broadcasters gathering. But his talk wasn't on Gaza. It was on crisis communications for U.S. churches that encounter scandals.
How did a Christian PR exec and Jerry Falwell Sr. protégé become the face of a controversial Gaza relief group? @jackjenkins.me @adelle bas @adellembanks.bsky.social and @yonat.bsky.social explain religionnews.com/2025/08/27/h...
Shoutout to my colleagues @bmietana.bsky.social, @adellembanks.bsky.social, and @yonat.bsky.social here — 'twas a lengthy team effort.
NEW: In June, Johnnie Moore, an evangelical PR expert and Trump adviser, surprised many when he took over the widely criticized Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Folks outside the religion world were left wondering: how did he end up there? So @rns.org investigated: religionnews.com/2025/08/27/j...
"Our community is rightfully outraged at such horrific acts of violence perpetrated against the vulnerable and innocent. They are far too commonplace." -- Archbishop Bernard Hebda Hebda added that Pope Leo is praying for families of Annunciation Parish and School www.archspm.org/statement-re...
Pope Leo XIV sent his "heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness" to all those affected by the "terrible tragedy" of a shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis that left two children dead and 17 people injured.
“.. Members of the National Guard patrol the National Mall past a banner of U.S. President Donald Trump hanging on the Department of Labor building in Washington DC.” @reuters.com
A good explainer on the National Guard in DC (and potentially elsewhere) from @pattynieberg.bsky.social and Jeff Schogol @taskandpurpose.com taskandpurpose.com/news/what-tr...
Here's a guide to what the new restrictions on Covid vaccines mean for you, and how you may be able to get a shot if you don't meet the new criteria (age 65+ or a high-risk condition).
The article notes this will impact faith-based nonprofits, but I’m curious if that’ll trigger a legal challenge. Not quite the same thing, but: a Unitarian Universalist group successfully sued Trump in the past, arguing aiding migrants is part of their religion. religionnews.com/2020/10/07/b...
The latest on the next Covid booster vaccines with marked governmental restrictions, with notable delay in context of the ongoing summer US wave www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/h...
"These kids were literally praying," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. "It was the first week of school. They were in a church. They should be able to go to school or church without the risk of fear or violence." https://bit.ly/4fZGEqo
NEW in @chron.com Christian organization under investigation for labor abuse after Houston FBI raid Kingdom of God Global Church has allegedly forced individuals to collect $50M in donations since 2014. www.chron.com/culture/reli...
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, per WaPo: “Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying.”
Per @washingtonpost.com, children were killed in the Minnesota church shooting as they attended a back-to-school mass. They were “killed where they sat in the pews,” per the Minneapolis Police Chief. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
NEW: At least five children hospitalized from Minneapolis church shooting. We will keep updating asap as we learn and can confirm more: www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
What an image (J. Scott Applewhite, AP)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis hospital says it is treating five children injured from a shooting at a Catholic school.
used to be you could get an indictment against a ham sandwich. now you can't even indict a guy who throws a ham sandwich. folks, www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/u...
Trump's DC takeover runs into resistance in courthouse. A grand jury refused three times to indict a woman accused of assaulting an FBI agent and a magistrate said an arrest followed the "most illegal search I’ve seen in my life" @rizzotk.bsky.social Mike Laris www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Fascinating argument here, where the AT Protocol (the foundation of Bluesky) and the broader federated internet are framed as an alternative and/or direct challenge to an AI-based internet. www.niemanlab.org/2025/08/the-...
That's what I find fascinating: In the scenario described above, there's reason to suspect the bulk any initial outcry would've come from the National Guard members, their families and allies in red states, as opposed to DC residents. E.g., "You're deploying me to pick up trash?"
If Trump had been like "okay, I'm going to call in the National Guard to pick up trash and spread mulch," there's reason to suspect DC residents would've reacted super differently to that news. But that was not, in fact, Trump's initial stated reasoning for calling in the military.
Like in order for this to work you'd still have to get a submarine filled with drones pretty near the U.S. so it could deploy drones through very specific wind farm sites or maybe if you developed drones that could somehow fly over entire oceans below radar aw man why am I thinking about this
Also in this scenario we are ultimately saved by a talking dolphin, so it's all good.
Trying desperately to imagine a situation in which the scenario described here would be an even remotely plausible military strategy and folks my brain just keeps laughing at me and mockingly replaying long-forgotten scenes from Seaquest over and over.
BREAKING: Democrat Catelin Drey has pulled off a victory in a special election for the Iowa Senate, flipping a Republican-held seat and breaking the GOP's supermajority in the chamber for the first time in three years. www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/p...
Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, expressed concern Aug. 22 about "safeguarding human dignity" of detainees after the state's governor announced plans for a migrant detention center dubbed "Cornhusker Clink."
Note: Ukraine did not go "into" a war with Russia. It was invaded. By Russia.
A man, near the White House, who describes himself as a "retired disabled combat veteran," after burning an American flag tells bystanders "I am being detained because I expressed my First Amendment rights."
DOJ tried and failed three times to indict a woman for allegedly assaulting an ICE officer during an arrest of two purported gang members. So they were forced to reduce her charge to a misdemeanor. www.courtlistener.com/recap/og-loo...
New Economist/YouGov poll shows a plurality of Americans disapprove of Trump's takeover of the DC police Department: -48% disapprove -38% approve -20% of Black people approve -25% pf Hispanics approve d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/ec...
