Yesterday’s post about the FCC sent us back to the Stephen Colbert / James Talarico interview. We ended up watching it more than once. The topic was Christian Nationalism.
You’ll recall Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast saying, “I don’t know how a person of faith can vote for a Democrat.”
James Talarico - a Democrat and a practicing Christian - is clearly attempting to answer that question.
He closes the interview with this:
“The culture wars are a smokescreen. Because the real fight in this country is not left versus right - it’s top versus bottom.”
Keep that in mind as you look at the photograph above.
It’s an official White House photo from February 2025, marking the establishment of the White House Faith Office. The setting is unmistakable: the Oval Office, the Resolute Desk, the flags of state authority. The central political figure sits at the desk while a circle of religious leaders stands around him, heads bowed, hands extended in prayer.
Whether you see it as inspiring or troubling, the image fuses religious ritual with executive power.
That fusion - not theology - is the issue.
History is remarkably consistent: when religious authority and political authority intertwine, dissent starts to look like heresy and disagreement starts to look like sin. The American experiment tried something different. The founders did not ban religion from public life; they prevented it from becoming an arm of the state.
That separation protects believers and non-believers alike.
It also forces faith to stand on its own - without the assistance of executive power.
The Gospel most frequently quoted in these culture battles is not Matthew 6, but it might be the most relevant here: “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them… When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee.”
We are in no position to lecture anyone on religion. But we did check Talarico’s biblical claims.
It is true that Jesus does not mention abortion or same-sex marriage in the Gospels. What he does speak about, repeatedly, is mercy, justice, humility, compassion - and the spiritual danger of wealth, power, and hypocrisy. His harshest and most sustained criticism is directed at religious leaders who weaponize morality while neglecting justice.
Which brings us back to the photograph.
It’s easy to fixate on appearances - the suits, the styling, the extended hands - and dismiss the moment as merely performative. But that may miss the deeper point. The question is not whether the prayer is sincere. It may well be.
The question is: why is it happening here, in this room, in this configuration of power?
Who gains access when religion moves closer to the executive branch? Who is excluded? And what happens if the faith tradition represented in that room is not your own?
If Talarico is right - if the real divide is not left versus right but top versus bottom - then the image above is not primarily about belief. It is about proximity to power.
And history suggests that when the priest and the president become indistinguishable, it is rarely the powerful who lose their rights.
Well written and on point. As a Christian this photo disturbs me for the reason stated. Talarico is right. The fight is between the top and the bottom. And the divide is growing wider every day.
Ditto from an atheist.