Sep 30, 2026 · 57 min · 11 segments
The intermingling of Christianity and democracy in America has long been a source of controversy. Many see the blending of faith and politics as harmful to one or the other – or both. What, if…
Michael WearGuest
Daniel StidHost
My grandfather was a very influential person in my life and was not a particularly political person, but was very involved in his community.
And for a while, I thought, well, that meant I should probably go to seminary, become a pastor, but I still had this civic bug.
And, you know, a big part of my coming to faith was the Black church and particularly sort of Black music culture was very formative for me.
And You don't need to be around black music for very long until you're introduced to the black church and black Christianity and sort of the social conscious of that music.
And so an exciting night for me growing up was Watching the State of the Black Union, which was an annual event that Tavis Smiley used to put on and listening to Michael Eric Dyson and Cornel West.
And I think because I had that line, when I became a Christian myself, I was also familiar with this deeply civic perspective.
social Christianity that is so much a part of the historical black church in America.
And so early in my adolescence or sort of as a teenager, this question, this vocational question of what does it mean to be faithful in and with public things was there and present.
That led me to D.C., where I studied political science at George Washington University.
And it wasn't too long into my time in D.C. that I met Barack Obama in the lobby of the Hilton Washington Hotel.
And that set off a series of dominoes that led to me working first as an intern on his first campaign, then in the White House and the Domestic Policy Council, and eventually running religious outreach for his second presidential campaign and second inaugural.
And obviously can talk about that more, but that gave me a pretty rarefied perch and position at which to navigate and help the president navigate issues of religion and civic life.
Can I ask you, to what extent did you see that animating kind of civic tradition of the black church showing up and initially, I guess, Senator Obama and then President Obama's leadership.
My grandfather was a very influential person in my life and was not a particularly political person, but was very involved in his community.
And for a while, I thought, well, that meant I should probably go to seminary, become a pastor, but I still had this civic bug.
And, you know, a big part of my coming to faith was the Black church and particularly sort of Black music culture was very formative for me.
And You don't need to be around black music for very long until you're introduced to the black church and black Christianity and sort of the social conscious of that music.
And so an exciting night for me growing up was Watching the State of the Black Union, which was an annual event that Tavis Smiley used to put on and listening to Michael Eric Dyson and Cornel West.
And I think because I had that line, when I became a Christian myself, I was also familiar with this deeply civic perspective.
social Christianity that is so much a part of the historical black church in America.
And so early in my adolescence or sort of as a teenager, this question, this vocational question of what does it mean to be faithful in and with public things was there and present.
That led me to D.C., where I studied political science at George Washington University.
And it wasn't too long into my time in D.C. that I met Barack Obama in the lobby of the Hilton Washington Hotel.
And that set off a series of dominoes that led to me working first as an intern on his first campaign, then in the White House and the Domestic Policy Council, and eventually running religious outreach for his second presidential campaign and second inaugural.
And obviously can talk about that more, but that gave me a pretty rarefied perch and position at which to navigate and help the president navigate issues of religion and civic life.
Can I ask you, to what extent did you see that animating kind of civic tradition of the black church showing up and initially, I guess, Senator Obama and then President Obama's leadership.
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