State Sen. Doug Mastriano announced last week that he would not make another bid for governor of Pennsylvania. The decision, he said, came after prayer, fasting and discussion, and it was divinely inspired.
“God has not called us to run for governor in this season,” Mastriano said last week. “Maybe 2028. Maybe 2030. But not now. That does not mean we are stepping away.”
Beyond divine inspiration, other reasons may have contributed to his decision: the GOP had endorsed state Treasurer Stacy Garrity in the fall and the party signaled little interest in reopening a primary after Mastriano’s 2022 loss against current Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Others have invoked spiritual guidance when contemplating public office. Trisha Paytas, a YouTuber and podcaster, said she “really would love to run” for the U.S. House of Representatives in California. “The idea of me being a Representative for the State of California came to me in a dream, in a vision, if you will. It was so vivid to me,” she said in a TikTok video.
Paytas said she has been distressed by “watching the world just crumble,” but she remained determined. “I’m a mother with three kids, who need a better world.”
God and politics have grown more entangled in public speech, with some supporters describing President Donald Trump as a messianic figure and an “anointed one.” In a recent sermon, Pastor Otha Turnbough urged congregants to pray for Trump, saying it was necessary “because God is using that man outside of your understanding.”
Scholars who study religion and politics say religious language is often both an expression of genuine faith and a politically useful strategy.
A 2025 paper in the journal Politics and Religion by researchers from George Mason and Stanford universities, titled “Sacred speech: analyzing the influence of congressional leadership on religious rhetoric”, describes the phenomenon as “God talk.” Researchers found a notable increase in religious language in congressional newsletters, particularly after Mike Johnson became Speaker of the House.
Religious references in political speech have been on the uptick from Franklin D. Roosevelt through Donald Trump, peaking during Trump’s presidency, researchers found. Both Republicans and Democrats use religious language, but Republicans tend to do it more frequently with the focus on Christianity.
Researchers point to two purposes of religious messaging. In addition to expressing beliefs, it shapes voter perceptions. “Religious language can enhance perceptions of trustworthiness and morality, as religious candidates, regardless of partisanship, are perceived as more trustworthy,” authors write.
At the same time, using religious language, and Christian language in particular, reinforces the norm that political leadership is inherently Christian. “This can strengthen the civic religion seen in America today, further tying patriotism to religious faith,” authors point out. Invoking God may also cast candidates in a moral or even prophetic light, portraying them as figures called to lead.
As “God talk” seeps more fully into American politics, religion could see a further shift from a matter of personal belief and freedom to a public signal, one that can legitimize political ambitions and leadership in moral and spiritual terms.
Fresh off the press
- Pope Leo addressed an audience of diplomats, calling the group to prioritize human dignity over “mere national interest.” “War is back in vogue and a zeal of war is spreading,” he said. “Peace is no longer sought as a gift and a desirable good in itself,” he said.
- Why are young Latter-day Saints identifying as Republicans less and less? My colleague Brigham Tomco takes a look.
- If you’re looking to feel a sense of awe today, don’t miss this stunning photo essay and story from Tess Crowley: ‘A holy place’: Preserving Native American culture in the Southwest.
Grace in action
Last week, Philip Yancey, an evangelical author, confessed to an extramarital affair with a married woman that lasted eight years, according to a statement he shared with Christianity Today, where he has served as an editor at large.
“I confess that for eight years I willfully engaged in a sinful affair with a married woman,” he wrote in the statement. Yancey, who is 76, has been married to Janet Yancey for 55 years. He sent the confession to the publication “due to my longstanding relationship with CT,” the outlet reported on Tuesday. Yancey also said he was resigning from writing and public speaking.
Yancey is a well-known Christian author and speaker who has written about faith, doubt, grace and suffering. He is best known for bestselling books such as “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” and “The Jesus I Never Knew.”
The announcement shook the evangelical world, prompting a conversation about the virtues Yancey had written about and how they hold up in the midst of fraught, imperfect lives.
Yancey’s former colleague, Wendy Murray, wrote that she was praying that the pain would “cleanse your inner being so that — when you come into the presence of God — there will something of you left that can bear witness to the glory of it.” Diana Butler Bass, another Christian author, told CNN that some evangelicals “will feel sorrow and they might extend grace in some way, shape or form,” even though evangelicalism “has been increasingly closed to expressions of empathy and narrowed its definitions of grace.”
The most astounding response, however, came from Yancey’s wife of 55 years, Janet Yancey, in a statement of her own that Yancey had shared with CT. She said she was speaking from “a place of trauma and devastation,” but announced she would stay in the marriage.
“I made a sacred and binding marriage vow 55½ years ago, and I will not break that promise. I accept and understand that God through Jesus has paid for and forgiven the sins of the world, including Philip’s.” The statement also became part-prayer. “God grant me the grace to forgive also, despite my unfathomable trauma. Please pray for us.”
What I’m reading, and listening, to
Elizabeth Oldfield calls her London home a “micromonastery” and a commune. A week before Christmas, I was fortunate to attend a Christmas party at Oldfield’s home, which she shares with her husband and their two children, as well as another couple expecting a baby, and another woman.
Oldfield wrote about her unusual housing arrangement for the New York Times, but what’s not in the piece is that everyone who lives in the home is Christian and that’s by intent. She explained to me: “Community for its own sake is not enough, you need something to gather around.”
Faith-based companies are finding a niche with Lego-compatible sets that depict religious figures and temples, blending play and spirituality. — National Catholic Reporter
Why 250 million Christians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7. — AlJazeera
President Trump spoke to four New York Times reporters for nearly two hours. When asked if there are any checks on his power on “the world stage,” he said: “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me, and that’s very good.” He went on: “I don’t need international law. I’m not looking to hurt people. I’m not looking to kill people. I’ve ended — remember this, I’ve ended eight wars."
End notes
Ryan Burge has a new book out. It’s called “The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us.” I had a chance to interview Ryan today about why Christian congregations are so polarized, what life after pastoring looks like and much more. (Stay tuned for a story.)