Jack Jenkins

@jackjenkins

National Reporter for Religion News Service. "Workaday writer." — The New Yorker. Author of "American Prophets," a book on the religious left. Tips? Try me on Signal: jackmjenkins.60 Website: jackjenkins.me

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Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· 27d

Oh hey I do video reports now —> www.instagram.com/reel/DayTjIP...

Me reporting from Delaney Hall with a gas mask and a giant “press” helmet on because I guess that’s the kinda stuff I wear for work now.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· 28d

Now chanting “evict GEO now” — referring to the private prison group that runs the facility.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· 28d

Now reciting the names of people killed by ICE and family affiliations (aunt, sister, etc.) written on ribbons, and then tying those ribbons to a Delaney Hall gate.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· 28d

It’s a big group.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· 28d

I’m here at Delaney Hall, where a group of around 100 clergy are staging a protest at the detention facility, decrying what they allege are inhumane conditions endured by detainees.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jul 10

Yeeeeeeeaaah I'm not quite sure the new statement matches the original one.

In one of his first interviews since the decision, McElroy told Catholic News Service it should not be interpreted as a judgment on unidentified flying objects or extraterrestrial life, but in what he sees as the proper role of an exorcist within the Catholic Church.

"It wasn't touching on the question of UFOs," the cardinal said in an interview June 29 at the Pontifical North American College. "My major objection is that I think the traditional role of an exorcist is a very private one. It's a sacred one."

Rossetti has built one of the largest online followings among Catholic exorcists through the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal, with more than 146,000 followers on YouTube, as well as tens of thousands more on his personal Instagram, where he regularly discusses exorcism, spiritual warfare and demonic activity.

In May, Rossetti posted online that "probably many, if not most, UFO sightings are in fact demons," drawing widespread attention as public interest in unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP — the government's official term for what are commonly called UFOs — has increased in recent years.

On June 3, McElroy said in a press release that "statements made by Msgr. Rossetti linking UFOs to demonic presence and the Center's recent use of social media gravely undermine the Church's very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism."

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jul 7

Unexpected detail in here: One of the potential candidates to replace Platner is the Maine Beer Company guy (mis-IDed here as Maine Brewing Company), who briefly launched his own senate campaign before dropping out to endorse Platner's opponent. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

And Dan Kleban, who ran for Senate but withdrew last year, is also considering vying for the job, said a person close to the Maine Brewing Company owner, who argued that his lack of a relationship with Platner was a positive in his possible bid.

“He never endorsed him,” the person said of Kleban’s relationship with Platner. “He never even liked the guy.”

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jul 6

I'd missed this, and it's true! Cited by Mamdani and Roberts in the span of a week! No matter how you feel about Thomas Paine, dude absolutely refuses to be irrelevant. Also: there's rising belief that Paine was involved in the Declaration —> thomaspaine.org/the-sherman-...

In a Nation of immigrants—an “asylum for mankind,” in
Thomas Paine’s words—jus soli’s broad scope took on particular importance. Common Sense (1776), in 1 Writings of
Thomas Paine 101 (M. Conway ed. 1894). The young Republic attracted tens of thousands of émigrés from the Old
World—Scotch-Irish, French, German, Welsh, and many
more, some of whom hoped to stay only a short time, others
of whom hoped never to leave. See M. Jones, American Immigration 64–91 (1960). No matter their intentions,

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jul 4

Just watched a guy fishing on the beach send a drone out to drop his line instead of, you know, casting it. Y’all.

Image of Dr. Manhattan from the comic The Watchman.

He is seated on Mars, alone, under the caption: “I am tired of Earth. These people. I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives.”

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jul 3

Pope Leo, in a letter to the U.S. on its 250th anniversary, makes a point to champion welcoming immigrants, arguing doing so is part of the Catholic Church’s larger concern for life. Full letter here: www.usccb.org/resources/48...

Defending human life also includes welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants, whose hopes, sacrifices and contribution have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning. In every generation, those who have arrived seeking freedom, opportunity and a place to belong have helped to shape the nation's character. To receive them with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity, but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jul 1

Also in here: Back in March, GOP Rep. Michael Cloud brandished a Bible during a congressional hearing about DHS operations in Minnesota and admonished a Methodist pastor for referring to Matthew 25. Cloud didn't provide the pastor an opportunity for a full response — but she sent me one.

Another example of Republican politicians challenging faith leaders on their interpretations of Matthew 25 came up in March. At a congressional hearing on the Department of Homeland Security’s Minnesota deportation efforts, the Rev. Mariah Tollgaard, a United Methodist minister in St. Paul, read a statement criticizing the president’s immigration policies and mentioned Matthew 25. In response, GOP Rep. Michael Cloud, a former communications director at an evangelical megachurch, brandished a Bible and argued that “Christ didn’t say” to “lobby your government,” that taxes are coercive and Christian “charity” is ultimately voluntary.

Cloud’s office didn’t respond to questions about his remarks, but Tollgaard, denied time to respond in the hearing, told RNS by email that the congressman’s framing “flattens” Scripture.

“In the Bible, God’s people are instructed to build structures of shared responsibility — laws about gleaning, Jubilee debt release, and care for the stranger — that are not optional but are understood as expressions of covenant love, what we might today call the common good,” she wrote. “And even if one wanted to argue that caring for those in need should be the work of individuals, in a representative democracy our government is precisely the means by which people, acting together, shoulder that responsibility.”

Tollgaard added: “Matthew 25 is not a bootstraps story about self‑optimization; it is Jesus’ stark reminder that God’s judgment is revealed in how a community treats those who are hungry, sick, strangers, or imprisoned.”

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 30

Fact check: Vought has, in fact, repeatedly expressed support for Christian nationalism by name. He has been very public about that. religionnews.com/2025/06/23/o...

Christian nationalism was incorporated into his rationale for decimating the federal government. In 2022, he tweeted, “… if the question is whether Christian Nationalism beats secular globalism & whether a woke/weaponized administrative state needs to be deconstructed … the answer is emphatically yes.”

He grew bolder about promoting Christian nationalism in public appearances and behind closed doors. In a hidden-camera footage recorded by the Centre for Climate Reporting, a British nonprofit, Vought told two men posing as relatives of a wealthy conservative donor that he believes in “Christian nation-ism” and wants to “rehabilitate Christian nationalism.”

Vought is also close to William Wolfe, a promoter of Wilson’s thought. A former mid-level Trump administration official and Heritage Action staffer, Wolfe has referred to Vought as his “political mentor.” In since-deleted tweets from 2022, Wolfe said Christian nationalism is the only option to combat liberalism, posting, “You can be a Christian nationalist, or a Rainbow Flag nationalist” before adding, “Choose wisely.”

Today Wolfe heads the Center for Baptist Leadership, a project of the American Reformer, a conservative Christian outlet that has published pieces by Vought. Vought, meanwhile, boosts Wolfe’s work on social media often and has said he is “proud” to work with Wolfe “on scoping out a sound Christian Nationalism.”

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 28

Here's him telling the story, which is also referenced often by Russell Vought (as noted above) and is popular with many associated with Christian nationalism (a descriptor Johnson himself rejects).

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 28

At the Faith and Freedom gathering yesterday, Speaker Johnson told a story that concluded w/John Quincy Adams saying, "Duty is ours, results are God's." But I spoke w/historians who oversee the Adams family papers. They…couldn’t find evidence of Adams saying that. religionnews.com/2025/06/23/o...

Around this time Vought was often heard using the phrase “Duty is ours; results are God’s,” an axiom quoted by Christian nationalist leaders affiliated with groups such as Wallbuilders, the organization run by activist David Barton. Vought attributed it to “the Founders” and President John Quincy Adams but, like other dictums embraced by Christian nationalists, the sourcing is dubious: Researchers at the Massachusetts Historical Society, which holds Adams family papers, told RNS they couldn’t find any instance of Adams using the phrase.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 23

Curious how/if this matches what Nancy Mace told me in a statement in August 2022, when I asked her about Christian nationalism. Her expressed views at the time seem…distinct from what she's articulating now. religionnews.com/2022/08/12/a...

Mace, who attends services at Sea Coast Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, also attributed the principle to the founders of the federal government.

“The Republican Party has room for anyone that believes in the fundamental principles of limited government, federalism, and keeping taxes low for all Americans,” read her statement. “Our founders designed a nation that explicitly maintains the separation of Church and State, something which should continue to be a guiding principle of our Republic.”

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 18

Speaking at the unveiling of Former President Barack Obama's new center just now, former First Lady Michelle Obama argues that refusing to respect people who "aren't exactly like us" as Americans flies in the face of the American founding and the religious belief that "each of us is a child of God."

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 18

Leading prayers right now at the unveiling of former President Barack Obama's new presidential center are Pastor Joel Hunter, who offered the 2008 DNC benediction, and Joshua DuBois, who oversaw faith outreach during his 08 campaign and ran his the WH faith-related office* during his administration.

Pastor Joel Hunter prays at a podium that reads "Obama Presidential Center"

Joshua DuBois prays at a podium that reads "Obama Presidential Center"

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 16

That said, DeWine *was* asked about whether his faith played a role in his decision to come out against the death penalty during this press conference. This was his response:

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 15

Surprising interpretation from Vance here, given Francis had recently sent a letter to US bishops seen as rebuking Vance's religious justification for Trump's immigration policies. Nor sure why he tries to distinguish between the pope and Vatican diplomats. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Vance adds he was “struck that one of the few institutions with the moral authority and global perspective to address the migration question seemed so afraid of saying something controversial that it chose, effectively, to say nothing at all.”

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 15

Relatedly: The Vatican has actually already done a bunch of theological work on what it means, religiously speaking, if aliens turn out to exist. Heck, GOP Rep. Tim Burchett told me this about his views on aliens and faith a year or so ago.

*Jack Jenkins*
I know you said that you don't believe your religious beliefs are incongruous with believing in UFOs as well. I was curious if you could talk a little bit about that.
"Tim Burchett*
..........
Yeah, okay, I can...I believe God created the heavens and the earth. I mean, created the heavens and the earth. And he also, first chapter of Ezekiel, he saw the wheel, and the wheel, at that time was the most technologically advanced mechanized item that they had. And he described basically what I would say, a traditional flying saucer. And I just don't think in the vastness of God's great universe that we are all but there, I don't think we're the best that God can do. That's very arrogant of us. But also, I go out every night - my dogs always gotta go the bathroom at four in the morning. They never wanna go, like at 10 or 11 when I wanna go to bed - but the light from those stars left there before the time of Christ. I mean, that is the vastness of God's great universe, and that's just hard for us to comprehend. And I'm I'm not worried about them, I'm not worried about them coming down here. I'm more | just want to know what - and I'm not worried about Little Green Men or flying saucers - I'm just worried about what we're spending 10s of millions of dollars on. And then they tell us they're not studying them and they don't exist. But yet they keep spending the money, and l'd like them to release the files unredacted.

*Jack Jenkins*
Gotcha. And if there are extraterrestrials, I'm just curious: there's a debate about, like, do they have their own Jesus that died for them, or did Jesus die for those extraterrestrials?
*Tim Burchett*
The Bible is pretty clear about there being one. And Jesus died for them, just like everybody else. I don't think that God created some level of being and all this stuff. It fits into all that hoo ha, that, you know, that Hollywood and the rest of these people try to try to bring, you know, to divide us. I think ultimately the devil uses that to divide us. I just don't buy that

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 14

Someone just randomly liked a Bluey-related post I made that went viral on Threads years ago and checking on that alerted me to this *truly incredible* exchange in the replies that I feel obligated to share.

timeforanap49 10/7/24
The real issue with Bluey is the crime. Bandit is an archaeologists and Chilli worls for Customs.
Together they shouldn't be able to afford their house in Brisbane.
Obviously they are working together to illegally smuggle stolen cultural artefacts which they sell on the black market to find their lavish lifestyles.
O1.2K
Q 17
G5 87
ithika_ 10/8/24
I respect the potential hustle here but I'd like to point out that you've forgotten this is *dog* society. What profession would be more highly regarded in a society of highly intelligent dogs than digging up bones and guarding?
Imo there's nothing untoward happening here, they just have top tier dog society jobs
lou_papas 10/7/24
I'd watch that spin off

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 10

Ahead of this event, I keep thinking about the joke Obama made at Trump’s expense at the 2011 WH correspondents dinner, when Obama flashed the image on the left on the screen poking fun at what a (then hypothetical) Trump presidency would look like. It’s theorized the joke spurred Trump to run.

An image on a screen showing a Photoshopped version of the White House, with Trump’s name on it, golden columns, and women swimming in a foundation.

Image of the UFC stage set up in front of the White House, dwarfing the house itself with giant red, white and blue struts and screens.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 9

Front page NYTimes (top left): Just one of those headlines and subheads that would've been considered bonkers 10 years ago, and now is almost unsurprising.

With Baseless California Vote Fraud Claims, Trump Previews His Midterms Strategy
The president is using the slow count of mail ballots to try to cast doubt on outcomes he doesn't like, despite a lack of evidence of any widespread fraud.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 8

NEW: After pushback from Congressional members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Pentagon has released the new Religious Affiliation Code list without specifying which groups are Christian. Previously, the tradition was not listed as Christian (last week's list on right).

DOW Rapid Response <E
@DOWResponse
S...
Last week, a proposed list of simplified faith codes was released to the media. The Pentagon list included redundant and unnecessary labeling, and the mistake has been fixed.
The goal of this effort is to simplify a previously out-of-control "belief" coding system that had ballooned to over 200 codes.
In order to clarify the work of chaplains, and simplify the work of commanders, the Pentagon has consolidated and simplified the list to roughly thirty codes — using the previously used labels for faiths.
The Pentagon's job is not to adjudicate theological debates, but instead to ensure sincerely-held faith is respected and encouraged in our ranks.
Below is the updated Religious Affiliation Codes (RAC) list:

The old list confirmed last week, which did not list the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as Christian.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 5

10. In January, a pair of pastors — one UCC, one UU — were among the first on the scene after Renee Nicole Good was killed in Minneapolis. Both were exposed to pepper spray and pepper power. One had a pepper round fired just feet away from her head. religionnews.com/2026/01/07/m...

Also on the scene was the Rev. Ashley Horan, vice president for programs and ministries at the Unitarian Universalist Association. Horan, who lives a block away from where the shooting happened and was two blocks away when it occurred, rushed down and began livestreaming. Her footage shows protesters shouting at the agents, as well as officers firing at demonstrators with chemical irritants.

At one point in the video, an agent can be seen firing what appears to be a pepper round just a few feet from Horan’s head, sending her and other protesters fleeing into the neighborhood.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 4

For comparison: Faith leaders' account of the recent incident where DHS fired pepper balls at the feet of demonstrators (including Sen. Andy Kim) vs. DHS' account of the same event.

(RNS) — Moments before Department of Homeland Security agents fired a hail of pepper balls at the feet of demonstrators outside the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, last Monday (May 25), faith leaders say they were frantically working to calm things down.

Kathy O’Leary, coordinator of the Catholic group Pax Christi New Jersey, said she was helping to push the crowd back. Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, vice president of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, said she and a Christian pastor had placed themselves between agents and demonstrators, raising their hands aloft. And the Rev. Robin Tanner, a Unitarian Universalist minister in Summit, New Jersey, said she was conversing with DHS agents as she stood beside U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, who had come to visit Delaney amid reports of a hunger and labor strike staged by detainees alleging inhumane conditions inside.

Then, unexpectedly, DHS agents unleashed the volley of pepper balls. All three faith leaders — along with Kim — were exposed, some left coughing and sputtering as bystanders rushed to help.

“We got hit with the same pepper spray,” said Tanner. “(Kim) got his in his eyes, and I got mine up my nose.”

A DHS spokesperson said in a statement to RNS that the agents used the “minimum amount of force necessary” against “rioters” who “obstructed law enforcement from exiting the ICE facility,” but demonstrators allege the incident is one of many cases of law enforcement using unnecessary force outside Delaney Hall in the last two weeks. During that period, one religious organizer interviewed estimated that at least a dozen clergy and other faith leaders have been hit with nonlethal projectiles or exposed to pepper balls, pepper spray and other crowd-control measures deployed by DHS agents and state police outside the facility. RNS was unable to independently verify that number but spoke with four faith-led advocates who said they have experienced such measures in that time frame.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 4

Also: allegations a "radical hospitality" tent outside Delaney Hall — often staffed by faith leaders, who insist its primarily task is aiding families visiting detainees — was raided over the weekend. Photos show HSI and FBI agents in the tent, which has become a conservative media target.

For her part, O’Leary stressed the “radical hospitality” tent is not meant to be a protest space, but rather a center for assisting visiting families. Even so, the space appears to have become a target: This past weekend, Pax Christi New Jersey posted a video claiming the tents had been “trashed,” showing supplies strewn about the ground inside. The images showed many religious signs and symbols, such as images of the Virgin Mary, thrown to the ground, including one that read “The Empire can kidnap Joseph and jail Mary but Baby Jesus is still coming back.”

Photographs taken by Reuters on Sunday appeared to show FBI and Homeland Security investigations agents inside the tent. DHS did not respond to direct questions about whether federal agents raided the tent, and why they would do so. But O’Leary said that conservative-leaning media outlets have suggested the tent is a hub for the protests — a claim she called “absolutely not true” — and that the New York Post described it as a place where “rioters enjoy puzzles and games.”

“The puzzles and games are for the children,” she said.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 4

Among the wild things about this: Unitarian Universalists (4, albeit separate groups at the time) and Deists (arguably 2) were represented among the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Those are among the groups reportedly now excluded from faith codes. www.military.com/dod-official...

He added that members will not be limited to the list of “religious affiliation codes” when selecting information for their dog tags. The revised list, according to documents obtained by Military.com, include Agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Islam (Muslims), Judaism, Sikh, and a wide range of Christian-based groups like Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans and Methodists.

This restructuring of faith codes, which help identity service members as well as the military in planning for appropriated religious coverage to include them, has now excluded minority faith/worldview groups including Atheists, Asatru, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, Magick, New Age churches, Pagan, Rosicrucianism, Shaman, Spiritualists, Troth, Unitarian Universalists and various Wiccans.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 3

UPDATE: Pax Christi NJ, a Catholic group, is claiming on Instagram the hospitality tent outside Delaney Hall — featured in the @rns.org minidoc below — has been “trashed.”

An Instagram post from Pax Christi NJ showing a tent with things thrown around and the caption “the radical hospitality tent was trashed”

An Instagram post from Pax Christi showing what appears to be an FBI agent in the tent.

A post from Pax Christi showing a sign on the ground reading “The Empire can kidnap Joseph and jail Mary but Baby Jesus is still coming.”

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins· Jun 1

1. Fascinating piece here, although I'm not sure about this argument. It suggests the *size* of Talarico's denomination (as opposed to the larger Mainline tradition) is why folks haven't heard of his approach to theology — but that's not how it works in practice. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/u...