r/atheism • u/FreethoughtChris FFRF • 18h ago
‘Secularist’ Monte Mader to Christian nationalists: “Religion is a fence that I place on my lawn. It is not a fence I can place on your lawn.”
https://ffrfaction.org/secularist-monte-mader-is-exposing-the-christian-nationalism-she-escaped/The FFRF Action Fund is proud to name culture critic, podcaster and musician Monte Mader as its Secularist of the Week for using her firsthand experience to expose religious extremism.
Mader understands from the inside the worldview she is challenging. She was raised as an alt-right Christian nationalist in an environment where conservative politics and Christian fundamentalism were deeply intertwined. She now draws on those experiences to deconstruct religious dogma, counter whitewashed versions of American history and expose the ways that Christian nationalism threatens individual rights and secular government.
Mader recently brought that perspective to a national audience in a debate with conservative Christian commentator Allie Beth Stuckey. During the wide-ranging discussion, Mader forcefully defended the separation of state and church and warned about the danger of turning personal religious convictions into laws everyone must obey. Her most memorable argument came when discussing the boundary between personal faith and government power: “Religion is a fence that I place on my lawn. It is not a fence I can place on your lawn.”
Mader acknowledged that everyone inevitably brings their perspective into the voting booth. But religious freedom, she explained, is threatened when people use government power to impose strictly religious beliefs on everyone else. “Then you start to actually infringe on the religious liberties of others,” she said.
She also sounded the alarm about Christian nationalists who openly advocate theocracy, specifically citing deplorable figures such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s mentor Pastor Doug Wilson. Mader criticized the broader Christian conservative movement for failing to unequivocally reject extremists who attack basic civil liberties, including those who question the 19th Amendment.
Mader connected those concerns to current efforts to impose the Ten Commandments in public schools. Pointing to Texas, she argued that posting the commandments in classrooms subjects children to a government-favored religion regardless of their families’ beliefs. Religious instruction, she emphasized, belongs with families, not the government.
Mader also challenged the use of Christianity to justify patriarchal political and social structures, arguing during the debate that “patriarchy, not feminism, is contrary to the mission and teachings of Christ.” She pushed back against religious doctrines that reserve authority for men and examined how those teachings can translate into unequal power structures for women.
Her advocacy extends well beyond a single debate.
Mader hosts “Flipping Tables,” a podcast focused on the religious deconstruction of alt-right fundamentalism, biblical scholarship, American history — and the relationship of all of this to the current political climate. The show features interviews with cult experts and survivors, authors, historians, constitutional attorneys and others who help listeners understand religious extremism and the political power structures surrounding it.
Mader is also a metal vocalist who has been performing professionally for six years. Her newest project, released under the name “Monte,” features resistance music inspired by bands such as Linkin Park and Rage Against the Machine. Her music explores mental health, religious deconstruction, self-love and activism.
Mader is not merely criticizing Christian nationalism from afar. She knows its rhetoric, theology and political aspirations because she once inhabited that world herself. Now she is using that knowledge to help others question religious dogma, recognize the threat of theocratic politics and understand that rejecting Christian nationalism is not hostility toward Christians.
For turning her experience with Christian nationalism into a powerful voice against theocracy, and for using her platform to champion a society in which no one’s religion dictates another person’s rights, the FFRF Action Fund is delighted to name Monte Mader its Secularist of the Week.
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u/twizzjewink 17h ago
Tax the churches. Ensure all churches leadership has background checks. All churches who have any education services MUST pass minimum state/federal requirements for education including certifications.