Approximately 500 individuals gathered at B’nai Emunah Synagogue on Monday for a screening of “Bad Faith,” a film addressing Christian nationalism, followed by discussions with community leaders.
The one-and-a-half-hour documentary outlines the evolution of Christian nationalism in the United States, linking current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to a network of evangelical activists aiming to dismantle the federal government. The event was co-sponsored by around twelve churches in Oklahoma to show their solidarity. Screenings of the film are scheduled across the United States through the end of October.
Stacey Paisner, a recent arrival in Tulsa, shared her transformative experience while watching the film, stating, “I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out how this disgusting, unfaithful, cheating, lying man got all these evangelicals behind him. And it’s because he’s the puppet to get them what they want.”
Following the film, a panel was held, moderated by Brian Silva from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Panelists included Rabbi Dan Kaiman from Tulsa, Reverend Shannon Fleck from Oklahoma City, and Anne Nelson, a scholar from Columbia University.
Nelson, originally from Stillwater, discussed a comprehensive document known as Project 2025, created by Trump’s supporters. Despite Trump’s attempts to distance himself from it, Project 2025 is viewed as a potential guide for his second term if he wins the upcoming election. “They want to ban the words reproductive health from all federal documents, they want to prevent the CDC from recommending vaccinations for school children, they want to close down the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency, and allow the oil companies to proceed and drill wherever they want to with no safety measures,” Nelson remarked. “It is a radical, radical document.”
The panelists encouraged audience members to engage in voting and political advocacy regarding Project 2025. Fleck invited attendees to join a letter from the Oklahoma Faith Network aimed at lawmakers and school boards.
Kaiman highlighted the importance of community solutions and shared values, advocating for continued efforts in Holocaust education and expansion to teach about the Tulsa Race Massacre and the history of Indigenous peoples in Oklahoma. “There’s a lot we can do, and it is possible,” he affirmed.
The next screening of “Bad Faith” is scheduled for Tuesday in Lexington, North Carolina, with another showing set to take place on September 15 in Oklahoma City at New Covenant Church, located at 1200 N. Rockwell Ave.