Frederick Clarkson
@fredclarkson.bsky.social
15K followers 860 following 150 posts
Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates. Writer about religion & politics for four decades. Author. Editor. Public speaker. Occasional commentator. Former caregiver to my late parents.
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Reposted by Frederick Clarkson
fredclarkson.bsky.social
You may not hear much about it -- but the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is staging a four day event on the national Mall in Washington, DC. I wrote a bit about it today in the context of wider NAR mobilizations in Brazil. @religiondispatches.org 🧵
Reposted by Frederick Clarkson
fredclarkson.bsky.social
Here in the US, NAR prophet Lou Engle and his allies are staging another event on the Washington Mall, October 9-12, called Communion America (featuring leading apostles Dutch Sheets of South Carolina and Bill Johnson of California).
Reposted by Frederick Clarkson
fredclarkson.bsky.social
Like many Engle-led and organized events, it’s aimed at generating cultural and political energy in advance of the 2026 mid-term elections. For four days there will be “nonstop worship” in tents for each of the 50 states—plus one tent for Israel and another for First Nations.
Reposted by Frederick Clarkson
fredclarkson.bsky.social
Saturday will feature what organizers claim will be “the longest communion table in history, spanning the National Mall” (although attendees are being asked to “bring [their] own food”). The purpose of this stunt, they say, is to bring together all “races, generations, denominations” ...
Reposted by Frederick Clarkson
fredclarkson.bsky.social
...to launch a campaign aimed at colleges and universities.

This is consistent with the history of NAR which has long recruited college students and attacked leading universities as cursed or demonic, a posture that is certainly congruent with the Trump administration’s agenda thus far.
Reposted by Frederick Clarkson
robertdownen.bsky.social
The first day of the 2025 legislative session also featured prominent pastors and lawmakers calling for spiritual warfare and, at one point, praying on the walls of the Capitol to ward off demonic spirits they believe control Austin.
Texas GOP chair claims church-state separation is a myth as lawmakers, pastors prep for “spiritual battle”
Abraham George’s comments are the latest sign of the state GOP’s embrace of fundamentalist ideologies that seek to center public life around their faith.
www.texastribune.org
fredclarkson.bsky.social
Read the story and find out😉
fredclarkson.bsky.social
...to launch a campaign aimed at colleges and universities.

This is consistent with the history of NAR which has long recruited college students and attacked leading universities as cursed or demonic, a posture that is certainly congruent with the Trump administration’s agenda thus far.
fredclarkson.bsky.social
Saturday will feature what organizers claim will be “the longest communion table in history, spanning the National Mall” (although attendees are being asked to “bring [their] own food”). The purpose of this stunt, they say, is to bring together all “races, generations, denominations” ...
fredclarkson.bsky.social
Like many Engle-led and organized events, it’s aimed at generating cultural and political energy in advance of the 2026 mid-term elections. For four days there will be “nonstop worship” in tents for each of the 50 states—plus one tent for Israel and another for First Nations.
fredclarkson.bsky.social
Here in the US, NAR prophet Lou Engle and his allies are staging another event on the Washington Mall, October 9-12, called Communion America (featuring leading apostles Dutch Sheets of South Carolina and Bill Johnson of California).
fredclarkson.bsky.social
You may not hear much about it -- but the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is staging a four day event on the national Mall in Washington, DC. I wrote a bit about it today in the context of wider NAR mobilizations in Brazil. @religiondispatches.org 🧵
Reposted by Frederick Clarkson
buckscountybeacon.com
Moms for Liberty CEO & Co-Founder Tina Descovich verbally attacked the @buckscountybeacon.com at Harrisburg-area event last week while introducing Bucks Chapter Chair Jamie Tromba. Our crime? Journalism. Read more here: bit.ly/46XkOQh (And don't forget to support progressive, independent media!)
Reposted by Frederick Clarkson
robertdownen.bsky.social
To get a sense of where things stand: Here's an exchange from earlier this year, in which a Baptist minister was told by a Texas Senator that she didn't understand the Gospel because she cited Baptists' historic support for church-state separations as one reason to oppose the Ten Commandments bill.
Testifying this month against bills that would put more Christianity in Texas public schools, the Rev. Jody Harrison invoked the violent persecution of her Baptist forefathers by fellow Christians in colonial America.

Harrison hoped the history lesson would remind Texas senators of Baptists’ strong support for church-state separations, and that weakening those protections would hurt people of all faiths.

Instead, she was rebuked.

“The Baptist doctrine is Christ-centered,” Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, responded sharply. “Its purpose is not to go around trying to defend this or that. It is to be a disciple and a witness for Christ. That includes the Ten Commandments. That’s prayer in schools. It is not a fight for separation between church and state.”

Harrison was not allowed to reply, but in an interview said she was stunned that a lawmaker would question a core part of her faith. The exchange, she said, perfectly encapsulated why she has fought to preserve church-state separations — the same religious protections that Campbell said are a distraction from bills that might bring school kids to Christ.

“It was a wake up call,” she said. “I don’t think people — even many churches — realize that this is going on right now, and that is alarming.”
Reposted by Frederick Clarkson
fredclarkson.bsky.social
Don't miss "Charlie Kirk and the ‘Third Great Awakening’: MAGA is embracing the language of a rising Christian movement​," ​by Stephanie McCrummen​ in The Atlantic.

www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Charlie Kirk and the ‘Third Great Awakening’
MAGA is embracing the language of a rising Christian movement.
www.theatlantic.com