Religious Intelligence Faith, Power, and the Public Square

Religious Intelligence

Faith, Power, and the Public Square

Latest Articles

Blessed and Untaxed: Inside the Political Machinery Hiding Behind Church Exemptions
Law & Policy

Blessed and Untaxed: Inside the Political Machinery Hiding Behind Church Exemptions

Large religious institutions enjoy broad federal tax protections originally designed to shield houses of worship from government interference — but a growing body of evidence suggests those protections are being systematically exploited to finance political campaigns and ballot initiatives. Tax attorneys and campaign finance watchdogs say enforcement remains virtually nonexistent, leaving a multi-billion-dollar gray zone at the intersection of faith and electoral power. Religious Intelligence ex
The Congregation Speaks: Why Evangelical Voters Are Quietly Departing the Agenda Their Leaders Set
Elections & Advocacy

The Congregation Speaks: Why Evangelical Voters Are Quietly Departing the Agenda Their Leaders Set

Prominent evangelical leaders have long projected a unified political voice — but fresh polling data and on-the-ground reporting reveal deep fissures between the positions those leaders publicly champion and the actual preferences of people sitting in their pews. Younger evangelicals in particular are registering sharp disagreements with their churches' institutional stances on immigration, climate change, and economic policy. Religious Intelligence speaks with pastors, congregants, and research
Doctrine Into Regulation: How Faith-Based Groups Are Writing the Rules on Medication Abortion
Law & Policy

Doctrine Into Regulation: How Faith-Based Groups Are Writing the Rules on Medication Abortion

Across dozens of state legislatures, religiously affiliated advocacy organizations have moved from the margins of pharmaceutical policy debates to their very center. Through coordinated legal challenges, medical board lobbying, and theological framing of clinical questions, these groups have produced a patchwork of state-level restrictions on medication abortion that bears the unmistakable imprint of faith-driven governance. This investigation traces the networks, the arguments, and the architec
The Ground Game of God: How Religious Networks Are Quietly Deciding Swing State Elections
Elections & Advocacy

The Ground Game of God: How Religious Networks Are Quietly Deciding Swing State Elections

Beneath the surface of 2024's most competitive electoral contests, religious institutions have been functioning as something far more structured than spiritual communities—they have become the organizing backbone of rival political mobilization campaigns. From mosque-based voter registration drives in Michigan to evangelical precinct networks in Georgia, the infrastructure of American faith is being deliberately mapped onto the infrastructure of American democracy. This investigation examines ho
Pulpit to Polling Place: Measuring the Real Electoral Clout of America's Most Influential Faith Leaders
Elections & Advocacy

Pulpit to Polling Place: Measuring the Real Electoral Clout of America's Most Influential Faith Leaders

As the 2024 election cycle reaches its most consequential phase, a pressing question emerges beneath the surface of political commentary: which religious leaders actually move voters, and which merely generate headlines? Drawing on recent polling data, endorsement tracking, and grassroots mobilization records, Religious Intelligence examines the figures whose spiritual authority translates into measurable political capital.
Sacred Ground, Contested Law: How the Fight Over Religious Exemptions Is Reshaping American Civil Rights
Law & Policy

Sacred Ground, Contested Law: How the Fight Over Religious Exemptions Is Reshaping American Civil Rights

From hospital operating rooms to university classrooms to corporate HR departments, the legal boundaries of religious liberty are being redrawn through an accelerating cascade of court decisions and regulatory reversals. Religious Intelligence maps the current battleground across three policy arenas — healthcare, education, and employment — and examines what the outcome of the 2024 election could mean for the future of faith-based exemptions in American law.