Dear Revealer readers,

The first time I voted was also the first time I thought about democracy’s fragility. The year was 2000. By the end of that Election Day, the country’s attention turned to southern Florida, where the vote count was so tight that some news organizations predicted Al Gore won the state over George W. Bush, only to retract that prediction hours later. By the end of the week, stories of voting anomalies emerged from people in Florida who intended to vote for Gore but who accidentally voted for a third-party candidate because that person’s name appeared in the second spot on the ballot, which they assumed was for Gore. Then, investigators discovered that Florida’s Republican leadership, helmed by the governor (and George W. Bush’s brother), had purged thousands of people from the voter rolls, many of whom were people of color, making it impossible for them to vote. As the recounting in Florida continued, the United States Supreme Court ultimately cast the deciding vote in the 2000 presidential election. In a 5-4 decision, the deciding justices forced the Florida recount to stop, thereby handing the presidency to George W. Bush. The people voted, but the court decided.

The Revealer Editor, Brett Krutzsch

The 2000 election made clear to me that the will of the people did not always drive our democracy. Instead, I saw how local election officials could create intentionally confusing ballots to favor one political party over the other, how politicians could disenfranchise people of color, and how the Supreme Court could decide an election, something that many Americans believed could only be determined by voters.

Of course, democracy in the United States has always been limited and unequally distributed. People of color and women had to fight for decades to get the right to vote. Catholics and other religious minorities were viewed with skepticism if they sought political office. And, wealth has long influenced our political culture and narrowed who has the ability to run for elected positions.

Now, in 2026, democracy in the United States, and around the world, seems especially fragile. Here in the U.S., the Trump administration has made it clear that they intend to restrict voting opportunities, like mail-in voting, and re-draw Congressional districts to favor Republicans. Meanwhile, since Trump returned to office, he and his administration have acted as if laws do not apply to them as they have unlawfully detained protestors and immigrants. And all of these things have happened as a broad coalition of conservative Christians continue to support Trump in nearly everything he does.

Given the dangers facing democracy, I am pleased to share the 2026 special issue of The Revealer with you: “Religion and Democracy.” Each year, The Revealer publishes one themed special issue. Earlier special issues have focused on “The Threat of Christian Nationalism, “Religion and Reproductive Rights,” “Trans Lives and Religion,” and “Religion and Sex Abuse.”

The 2026 special issue on “Religion and Democracy” opens with Matthew D. Taylor’s “The Antidote to Christian Nationalism Is Christian,” where here uses insights from how other countries have responded to religious nationalism to make a case for how to combat Christian nationalism in the United States and how to preserve our liberal democracy. Then, in “Is Religious Liberty in America Real?,” Anna Piela examines how various state legislatures have tried to restrict Muslim religious practices and, in turn, she asks what those proposed restrictions mean for the health of a pluralistic democracy. Following that, in “Waiting on November,” Ken Chitwood meets with Muslim migrants who are trapped in Mexico and who are desperately hoping they will be able to cross the border into the United States after the 2026 midterm elections, a hope that may not be fulfilled regardless of which political party takes control of Congress. Then, in “The Gospel of Peter Thiel,” Bradley Onishi examines the religious thinking of Peter Thiel, the billionaire tech industry leader, and warns about his disdain for democracy given his outsized influence in American politics. After that, in “Homeschooling for Christian Nationalism,” Keri Ladner investigates a growing movement called the Convention of States that seeks to undermine the Constitution in order to make the United States an officially Christian nation. Then, in “The Myth of Meritocracy,” Noah Berlatsky considers how the belief that everyone has equal access to success so long as they work hard causes Americans to overlook how power typically stays in the hands of those who were born into wealthy families. And, in “The Conservative Youth Pipeline,” an excerpt from Esther’s Army: The Christian Women Who Power the American Right, Katie Gaddini meets with college-aged, conservative Christian women to understand their strong support of right-wing politics.

The special issue also includes the newest episode of The Revealer podcast: “The Tech Industry and Conservative Christian Alliance.” Bradley Onishi joins us to discuss why tech leaders and conservative Christians have aligned themselves, why they see democracy as a problem, and what needs to happen to push back against this movement so we can preserve democracy in America. You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

We should remember that democracy in the United States is not dead. Indeed, several writers in this special issue spell out suggestions on how to help preserve America’s liberal democracy. However, in order to fix our democracy, we must first understand the reasoning behind the current attacks on it so we can respond adequately.

I hope the articles in this special issue give you insights into the assaults on democracy and a clear sense of what all of us can do to work toward a more equitable society for everyone.

Yours,
Brett Krutzsch, Ph.D.