At what point in our history has the line between church and state become
so tangled and polarized? American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel takes audiences into the buckle of Oklahoma’s Bible belt where a group of defiant ministers, scholars, congregations, and community leaders are challenging deeply rooted fundamentalist Christian doctrine in favor of a Gospel of Inclusion.
Premiering in Oklahoma
American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel is premiering in Oklahoma City, June 8 & 9, at one of the best film festivals of the year—deadCenter. Tulsa audiences can see the film at the Circle Cinema Film Festival, July 11-15.
Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Carlton D. Pearson, Nicole Ogundare, Dr. Teresa Reed, and Nehemiah Frank make appearances in the documentary. Their interviews and commentary share the story of progressive religious work in Oklahoma along with the ministers from Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, Rev. Robin Meyers and Rev. Lori Walke.
The Politics of the Gospel
We’ve entered a time where the power of negative partisanship has
excerpt from American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel
increasingly divided us. According to Dr. Robert Jones, head of the Public
Religion Research Institute, “The two parties have exploited race and
religion, two of the most visceral things you can think of in terms of the
human experience, and they’ve locked them in partisan identities.”
Labeled as heretics for their beliefs and actions, they refuse to wield their
faith as a sword sharpened by a literal reading of the Bible—especially
those fundamentalist interpretations that continue to justify nationalism
and hack away at landmark civil rights protections for women, minorities,
immigrants, and the LGBTQ communities.
Directed and Produced by Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Jeanine and Catherine Butler of Butler Films; edited by award-winning editor Jamie Lee Godfrey (National Geographic, Newseum); and lensed by Peter Hutchens (Showtime’s “The Trade,” and Oprah Winfrey’s “Belief” series).
American Heretics at UUA GA!
Rev. Marlin Lavanhar and Carlton Pearson will showcase the documentary at the 2019 UUA General Assembly in Spokane, Washington. The workshop, Healing America’s Largest Race Massacre is Religious Work, will lift up how the work of All Souls—a progressive, multicultural church—is a story of how Unitarian Universalists impact our world.