Why the Evangelical Movement Is in 'Disarray' After Dobbs
About this episode
Guest host Jane Coaston interviews Russell Moore, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and now editor of Christianity Today, about evangelicalism after the Dobbs decision. Moore calls the movement 'in disarray': political polarization over Trump, COVID, and racial justice has split congregations and exhausted pastors, while a generational divide separates older evangelicals nostalgic for a moral majority from younger ones comfortable with minority status. They trace how 'evangelical' became a political rather than theological identity, the siege mentality driven by fear of humiliation, and whether backing Trump to overturn Roe damaged the church's witness. Moore proposes 'engaged alienation' — confident, loving minority witness — and argues post-Roe pro-life work must move from courts to persuasion and a consistent ethic of life encompassing immigrants, the poor, and racial justice.