Best Of: John Fugelsang on Jesus and Politics

In this best-of episode of The Al Franken Podcast, host Al Franken revisits his conversation with comedian and podcast host John Fugelsang about Fugelsang's New York Times bestseller, 'Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock Fleecing.' The discussion centers on the profound disconnect between the actual teachings of Jesus—emphasizing love, compassion, service to the marginalized, and radical inclusivity—and the political weaponization of Christianity by right-wing Christian nationalists. Fugelsang, raised in a Catholic family with a nun mother and Franciscan brother father, draws from personal history and deep scriptural analysis to argue that Jesus never addressed issues like abortion or homosexuality, which are instead rooted in later interpretations by Paul and Old Testament laws like Leviticus—laws that are inconsistently followed by modern evangelicals. He highlights how Jesus welcomed the stranger, healed the marginalized, and elevated women—breaking cultural taboos—while contemporary Christian nationalism promotes exclusion, fear, and authoritarian control. Fugelsang challenges listeners to use scripture itself as a tool to counter extremism, urging people to ask: 'What would Jesus think?' The episode concludes with a call for empathy, civil discourse, and a return to the radical, revolutionary ethics of Jesus as a foundation for a just society.