John Fugelsang’s Separation of Church and Hate (2025) is a work of nonfiction that combines political commentary, religious criticism, and practical debate guidance. Fugelsang, a comedian and broadcaster, draws from his unique upbringing as the son of a former nun and a former Franciscan brother to challenge the rise of the Christian Right and Christian nationalism, which he describes as the belief that the United States should function as a Christian nation based on a narrow interpretation of the Bible. He argues that these movements have distorted the Bible to serve a political agenda of power and exclusion that directly contradicts the teachings of Jesus. The book offers a guide for believers and nonbelievers alike to counter these interpretations by referring to biblical teachings, especially the words of Jesus, to expose what Fugelsang sees as hypocrisy.

Fugelsang has long focused on the intersection of faith, politics, and culture in his work, including his SiriusXM show Tell Me Everything and his PBS documentary Dream On. His book addresses current debates about Christian nationalism by encouraging readers to respond to fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible using scripture itself. This approach can be understood as Persuasion Through Scriptural Engagement, showing how passages, particularly the words of Jesus, can be used to challenge selective or literal readings. Central to this project is the argument for Centering Jesus’s Teachings in Christian Interpretation, which prioritizes the message of love, compassion, and care for others found in the Gospels over passages Fugelsang argues are often used to justify exclusion or discrimination. The book also critiques the hyper-masculine “warrior Christ” archetype in nationalist discourse, The Cultural Construction of “Warrior Jesus,” presenting instead a figure associated with nonviolence, humility, and social justice.

This guide is based on the 2025 hardcover edition published by Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of racism, religious discrimination, gender discrimination, anti-gay bias, pregnancy termination, antisemitism, graphic violence, illness or death, and cursing.

Summary

The author, John Fugelsang, begins by recounting his unique parentage. His mother, Peggy, was a former nun named Sister Damien, and his father, Jack, was a former Franciscan brother named Brother Boniface. They met in a Brooklyn hospital, left their religious orders, married, and raised their children as progressive Catholics on Long Island. Fugelsang’s upbringing instilled in him a version of Christianity centered on Jesus’s teachings of service, forgiveness, and social justice. This faith is presented as contrasting with the political Christian Right that rose to prominence in the 1980s with figures like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, who focused on issues like abortion and homosexuality while, as Fugelsang argues, moving away from Jesus’s core commandments. Fugelsang identifies the modern iteration of this movement as Christian nationalism. He argues that acts of violence committed by self-proclaimed Christians, such as mass shootings and the January 6 Capitol attack, reflect the consequences of this ideology. The book’s purpose is to provide a guide for reclaiming the Bible from these groups by using Jesus’s own words to challenge their arguments.

Fugelsang presents Jesus as an “inconvenient radical Jew” (19), a non-violent revolutionary who challenged religious authorities and was executed by the state. The core of his message is found in the Sermon on the Mount, which includes Beatitudes, the Golden Rule, and commands to love one’s enemies and not judge others. Fugelsang outlines five key facts about Jesus often overlooked by modern Christians: he was a brown-skinned, Middle Eastern Jew, not a white European; he was Jewish; his teachings align with liberal values of tolerance and generosity but also conservative ones of family and tradition; and he frequently condemned religious hypocrites, or Pharisees, for prioritizing ritual over mercy. He then challenges the argument that aid to the poor is the job of churches, not the government by citing Matthew 25, the parable of the sheep and the goats, where Jesus declares that nations will be judged by how they treat the hungry, sick, imprisoned, and strangers.

The book then examines the influence of Paul, who never met Jesus. Originally Saul of Tarsus, a zealous persecutor of Christians, he converted on the road to Damascus and became a missionary. Paul adapted Christianity for non-Jews (Gentiles) by removing requirements like kosher laws, which, as Fugelsang presents, contributed to the spread of the faith. However, Fugelsang argues that Paul is the source of most of the misogyny and homophobia in the New Testament, citing his instructions for women to be silent and submissive. Paul’s letters, written to address specific community issues, were later canonized. The phrase “All Scripture is God-breathed” (50), which Paul wrote about the Hebrew scriptures, is presented by Fugelsang as later being applied to his own writings, giving them authority equal to Jesus’s words. This theological shift is described as becoming more firmly established when Emperor Constantine converted, and Christianity became the state religion of Rome, which Fugelsang presents as transforming it from a persecuted sect into an institution aligned with political power.

Fugelsang defines the contemporary forces of right-wing Christianity as fundamentalism, the belief in a literal and inerrant Bible, and Christian nationalism, the belief that America was founded as a Christian nation whose laws should reflect a narrow interpretation of the faith. He introduces the “Seven Mountain Mandate” (57), a dominionist goal to achieve Christian control over all major spheres of society. He refutes the idea of America as a Christian nation by pointing to the secular Constitution and the beliefs of many founders. The book offers strategies for debating Christian nationalists, primarily by using Jesus’s teachings to counter their claims.

Fugelsang argues against biblical literalism, citing commands that no modern Christian follows, such as executing people for working on the Sabbath or condoning sex slavery. He points to the Bible’s history as a collection of oral stories, translations, and copies, likening the process to a game of telephone. He highlights internal inconsistencies, such as the two creation narratives in Genesis, to challenge the notion of an inerrant text.

The book contrasts what Fugelsang describes as misogynistic elements in the Bible with Jesus’s inclusion of women. Jesus broke social and religious taboos by speaking with the Samaritan woman, affirming Mary of Bethany’s right to an education, healing the bleeding woman, and refusing to condemn the woman caught in adultery. His opposition to lenient divorce laws is presented as a means of protecting women from destitution. This approach is contrasted with the writings of Paul and later church fathers, which include the later myth of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute. Fugelsang presents these writings as a 6th-century development intended to diminish Mary’s authority as the “Apostle to the Apostles” (100).

Fugelsang examines the biblical passages used to justify homophobia, arguing that Jesus never condemned same-sex relationships. He argues the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was gang rape and inhospitality; the prohibitions in Leviticus are part of an ancient law code that Christians do not follow; and the Greek terms used by Paul are interpreted by Fugelsang as referring to exploitative practices like pederasty, not loving relationships. He also argues that the Bible contains no condemnation of lesbianism or transgender people, concluding with the story of the apostle Philip baptizing an Ethiopian eunuch as an example of early Christian inclusivity.

Fugelsang then tackles abortion, stating that the Bible does not explicitly forbid it and that Jesus never mentions it, though the practice was common in his time. The anti-abortion stance of modern evangelicals is presented as a recent political development, adopted in the late 1970s. Fugelsang refutes biblical arguments against abortion, noting that Exodus treats a miscarriage as a property crime, not murder, and that Genesis states life begins at the first breath. He also points to a ritual in the Book of Numbers that appears to describe an induced miscarriage. Similarly, Fugelsang argues that the Bible contains repeated commands to welcome immigrants, which he interprets as support for pro-immigration positions. He describes Jesus as a child refugee when his family fled to Egypt.

The book argues that the Bible addresses poverty frequently, consistently commanding care for the poor and warning against the dangers of wealth. Fugelsang contrasts liberation theology, which aligns with Jesus’s focus on social justice, with the prosperity gospel, which he criticizes as emphasizing wealth and personal success. He also addresses Christian sexual hang-ups, tracing them to misinterpretations of stories like that of Onan and to the anti-pleasure teachings of Paul and St. Augustine. He argues that Jesus never condemned premarital sex, birth control, or masturbation.

Fugelsang argues that Christian support for the death penalty contradicts the teachings of Jesus, whom he presents as rejecting the “eye for an eye” (149) principle and as a victim of state execution. Likewise, the fusion of right-wing Christianity with what Fugelsang describes as gun culture is presented as conflicting with Jesus’s message of nonviolence. The book also addresses religious bigotry, challenging the anti-Semitic myth that “the Jews killed Jesus” (251) and arguing that Islamophobia is incompatible with Christian teachings, noting that Muslims worship the same God and revere Jesus as a prophet. Fugelsang also criticizes white supremacy as a theological position that contradicts the core Christian belief that all people are made in the image of God.

In conclusion, Fugelsang distinguishes between “Christians,” who may use the label for cultural or political power, and “Christ followers,” who strive to live by Jesus’s teachings of love, justice, and mercy. He cites historical examples, from abolitionists to civil rights leaders, of Christ followers who resisted the injustices of authoritarian Christianity. The book ends with a reflection on his parents, who chose their love for each other over their religious orders, illustrating his final point that “love is the only religion that always works” (283).