‘Trump is inconsistent with Christian principles’: why the Democratic party is seeing a rise of white clergy candidates; The Guardian, November 15, 2025

 David Smith , The Guardian; ‘Trump is inconsistent with Christian principles’: why the Democratic party is seeing a rise of white clergy candidates

"He grew up on a farm in Indiana, the son of a factory worker and eldest of five children. He studied at Liberty, a Christian university founded by the conservative pastor and televangelist Jerry Falwell, and recalls wearing a T-shirt expressing opposition to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Two decades later, Justin Douglas is running for the US Congress – as a Democrat.

He is among around 30 Christian white clergy – pastors, seminary students and other faith leaders – known to be potential Democratic candidates in next year’s midterm elections, including a dozen who are already in the race. While stressing the separation of church and state, many say that on a personal level their faith is calling them into the political arena...

Douglas is a county commissioner looking to unseat Republican Scott Perry in Pennsylvania’s 10th district. But he was previously the lead pastor of a growing church that allowed LGBTQ+ individuals to participate fully in its community; over the course of a year, this developed into a huge bone of contention and in 2019 Douglas eventually lost his licence. He had to find a new house and go from one job to three jobs including driving an Uber and CrossFit coaching. He started a new church that is still operating today.

Douglas recalls: “I paid the price for standing with the LGBTQ+ people. I would do it again. It taught me that doing what’s right is often costly but always necessary, and everyone deserves to be safe, respected and fully included. That’s not a religious belief. It’s a human belief that I have.”

James Talarico, a Texas state representative and a 36-year-old part-time seminary student who has amassed a sizable social media following – has become an unlikely standard-bearer in the Democrats’ 2026 Senate primary.

In a series of social media posts, he deploys scripture to champion the poor and vulnerable while castigating Republicans for what he casts as their drift towards Christian nationalism and corporate interests. He asked in one: “Instead of posting the Ten Commandments in every classroom, why don’t they post, ‘Money is the root of all evil’ in every boardroom?”"

Courage Seemed to Be Dead. Then Came Zelensky.; The New York Times, May 13, 2022

Peter Coy, The New York Times ; Courage Seemed to Be Dead. Then Came Zelensky.

"Economists may have lost track of courage, but artists never did. Maya Angelou, the American poet and activist, once echoed Aristotle: “Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.”

I interviewed Geoffrey Hodgson, who was trained in economics, taught management at several British universities and wrote “From Pleasure Machines to Moral Communities.” He told me that human beings are unique in that their tendency to sacrifice for one another, while having a biological basis, is reinforced by culture. “I grew up with stories of heroic individuals,” he said. “We teach kids about great heroes. People doing good. Putting others before themselves.” Zelensky will be used as an example to inculcate courage and selflessness in future generations, Hodgson predicted.

I also interviewed Al Gini, a retired professor of business ethics at Loyola University Chicago. He said it’s no coincidence that Zelensky was a comic actor before he became president. “Being a leader is playing a role,” Gini said. “A role dedicated to others.”

Zelensky is playing the role of hero, and it’s growing on him."

Social distancing isn’t a personal choice. It’s an ethical duty.; Vox, April 9, 2020

Sarah-Vaughan Brakman, Vox; Social distancing isn’t a personal choice. It’s an ethical duty.

Why we should foreground our commitment to the common good in the fight against coronavirus.

"Social distancing is inconvenient at best, truly burdensome at worst. What hasn’t helped matters is the confusing messaging of why we should social distance at all. We’ve been conditioned to think social distancing is only about us — lowering the risk to one’s self and one’s family. And yet we’ve also been told that this is something we need to do to protect others. 

While not necessarily incorrect, both ways of thinking about it are not equal to the task before us. What we need is an exhortation to act that is grounded firmly in an ethical foundation, one that not only gets at the deeper purpose of social distancing, but that also lays the groundwork for a more resilient society on the other side of this crisis. We as a global society need to see social distancing as nothing less than an act of solidarity, an intentional choice that binds us in a common cause."