Souls and Polls: Christianity Is on the Georgia Ballot

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So. Much. Prayer.

Kicking off debates, woven into speeches, and emanating from pulpits serving as campaign pit stops, God is everywhere in the Senate runoff between Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and his Trump-backed challenger Herschel Walker. Mother Jones Creator-in-Residence Garrison Hayes grew up in the Southern Bible Belt, and even he has been blown away by the sheer amount of Jesus inundating the campaign as the final vote draws near.

During his recent trips to Georgia to visit family and friends, it became clear that in addition to voting red or blue, voters also will be choosing between two wildly different visions of Christianity itself, as embodied by these two dramatically contrasting candidates: One, whose religious lineage traces directly from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement; the other, who preaches the gospel of right-wing Christian nationalism, where the waters between church and state are muddy and the topics of conversation revolve around incendiary culture war politics. Mother Jones viewers don’t need me to point out which is which.

Christianity itself, in other words, is on the ballot in Georgia. This video explores the contrasts between right-wing Christian Nationalism and a more inclusive faith tradition with roots in the Civil Rights movement, in this bruising battle for Georgia's soul.

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