Meet The interviewees

Ryan Burge

is professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and the author of six books about religion and politics in the United States, including The Vanishing Church, The Nones, and The Great Dechurching (co-author). 

is Editor at Large and columnist at Christianity Today and the author of Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America. He hosts the weekly podcast The Russell Moore Show and is co-host of Christianity Today’s weekly news and analysis podcast, The Bulletin.

Russell Moore

Gregory A. Smith

 is a Senior Associate Director of Research at Pew Research Center, where he studies religion’s role in American public life, including religious change in the U.S., the intersection of religion and politics, American Catholicism, religiously unaffiliated Americans, and other topics.

Alan Cooperman

is Director of Religion Research at Pew Research Center, where his work focuses on religious change in America and around the world. He broadly oversees the Center’s efforts to measure religious and spiritual beliefs and practices; explore the intersection of religion, politics and national identity; and conduct specialized surveys of small religious groups. 

Judy Fentress-Williams

 is a Senior Associate Director of Research at Pew Research Center, where he studies religion’s role in American public life, including religious change in the U.S., the intersection of religion and politics, American Catholicism, religiously unaffiliated Americans, and other topics.

Michael White 

is pastor of the Church of the Nativity in Timonium, Maryland.

Erica Ramirez

is a sociologist of religion and Senior Director of Programming, Research, and Strategic Initiatives at the Louisville Institute.

Brian D. McLaren

is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. He is an Auburn Senior Fellow, a faculty member at the Center for Action and Contemplation, and a leader in the Convergence Network. Among his many books are A New Kind of Christianity, Do I Stay Christian?, and Faith After Doubt.

Drew Lindsay

 is an independent writer and former editor at the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Melissa Wagner

is former pastor of Belding United Methodist Church in Belding, Michigan

Mark Elsdon

 is the editor of Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition and author of We Aren't Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry. He co-founded RootedGood, an organization that supports faith-based leaders in property development, money and mission alignment, and social enterprise.

Frank Newport 

is a Gallup Senior Scientist and former Gallup Poll Editor in Chief. He is the author of The Evangelical Voter.

Robert Jeffress

is senior pastor of the historic First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, and the host of Pathway to Victory, a daily radio and television broadcast ministry. He is the author of America is a Christian Nation, What Every Christian Should Know, and A Place Called Heaven, among other books.

Tom Corcoran

is associate to the pastor at the Church of the Nativity in Timonium, Maryland.

Alexis Record

is Executive Director of Sunday Assembly San Diego.

Jacqueline Lewis 

is Senior Pastor of Middle Church in New York City, a womanist theologian, and a justice activist. Her books include The Power of Stories; Ten Essential Strategies (with John Janka); Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World.

Howard-John Wesley 

is senior pastor of the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, and host of the “Faith Forward” radio broadcast. A renowned preacher, his sermons have generated over 100 million views on YouTube.

Otis Moss, III

is senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and an author and filmmaker. He is founder of The Unashamed Media Group, a justice-centered, faith-based agency committed to producing and curating inspirational stories. Among his books are Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times and Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World: Finding Hope in an Age of Despair.

Jason Shepperd

 is founder of Church Project, a Church of House Churches in Texas, and the author of A Church of House Churches: An Articulated and Applied Ecclesiology.

Melissa Deckman

is CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute and the author of the books The Politics of Gen Z, Tea Party Women, and School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics. As a political scientist, she studies the impact of gender, religion, and age on public opinion and political behavior.

Timothy P. Carney

 is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he works on civil society, family, religion in America, and other topics, and a senior columnist at the Washington Examiner. His most recent books are Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be, and Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse.

Asa Lee 

is President of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Will Ed Green

is lead pastor of Silver Spring United Methodist Church in Silver Spring, MD.