The Shepherd vs. The Wolves: Unmasking the Deceptive ‘Christianity’ of Project 2025 and Its Allies

A battle for the soul of “Christianity” in American public life is undeniably underway, and the stakes could not be higher. A formidable, multi-front effort seeks to redefine and impose a narrow, politicized, and often harsh interpretation of faith upon the nation. This isn’t a grassroots revival of universally held spiritual values; it’s a calculated campaign orchestrated by policy architects like those behind Project 2025, amplified by cultural influencers pushing trends like the “Jesus Glow,” and aggressively litigated by legal activist organizations such as the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Together, these forces constitute what one observer has termed a “tremendous religious monster,” cloaked in Christian rhetoric to advance a deeply conservative, often exclusionary agenda. But into this fray has stepped an unexpected figure: Pope Leo XIV, the first American to lead the global Catholic Church, whose history as Cardinal Robert Prevost reveals a commitment to social justice that offers a stark and potentially crucial counter-narrative. By juxtaposing the agenda of this “monster” with the demonstrable values of a figure like the new Pope, the profound deception at the heart of this politicized “Christianity” can be laid bare, revealing it as little more than wolves in sheep’s clothing.

The “Monster” Unveiled: A Triumvirate of Politicized Piety

The campaign to reshape America along specific ideological lines is well-coordinated and operates on several fronts:

Project 2025 – The Theocratic Blueprint: At the policy level stands Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s nearly 900-page “Mandate for Leadership.” As detailed in David A. Graham’s recent book, “The Project,” a core aim is to restore a highly specific “traditional family” – a married heterosexual couple with children, where men are primary breadwinners and women are primarily homemakers – as the sacrosanct foundation of a “well-ordered nation.” This vision, explicitly rooted in a “biblically based” worldview, seeks to translate into sweeping federal policy. Proposed changes include altering savings plans to favor married couples, enlisting churches for “parenting guidance,” emphasizing biblically defined gender roles, and reshaping social programs like child support and welfare (TANF) to enforce marriage as the norm. Critically, Project 2025 advocates for an aggressive rollback of LGBTQ+ rights – defining sex as strictly binary and unchangeable, banning transgender participation in sports and the military – and calls for severe federal restrictions on abortion access, including potential use of the archaic Comstock Act to ban the mailing of abortion medication and instituting federal surveillance over state-level abortion procedures. This is a top-down strategy to legislate a narrow theology into the very fabric of American governance, with President Punk himself signaling a desire to “forget about” the separation of church and state.


The “Jesus Glow” – Online Culture as Political Tool: Complementing these policy ambitions are cultural currents that package a similar ideology for mass consumption, particularly among younger, online audiences. Amanda Marcotte, writing in Salon, dissected the “Jesus Glow” TikTok trend, where individuals claim miraculous physical beautification upon converting to Christianity. These videos often feature a shift to more “traditional” gender presentations, sometimes with racialized undertones, and adopt a posture of “imaginary victimization” against supposed atheist detractors. Marcotte astutely links this to a shallow, self-help oriented “MAGA Christianity,” where empathy is sidelined, and outward appearance or social media performance becomes a mark of holiness. Like the “Girls Gone Bible” podcast, she also critiques this trend using an apolitical, self-improvement veneer to subtly – or not so subtly – push a far-right agenda, conditioning followers to equate a particular brand of “Christianity” with a specific political identity and set of conservative social norms.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) – The Legal Crusaders: Weaponizing the law to achieve these religio-political goals is the Alliance Defending Freedom. As John Oliver recently highlighted on Last Week Tonight, ADF, despite its “winsome” and misleadingly friendly public face, is a hugely powerful legal organization with a clear agenda: attacking LGBTQ+ rights (having historically argued for the criminalization of gay sex), rolling back abortion access (the Dobbs decision was modeled on an ADF-drafted bill), and carving out broad “religious freedom” exemptions that allow conservative Christians to discriminate. With deep political connections (House Speaker Mike Johnson is a former senior legal counsel; Justice Amy Coney Barrett has frequented their conferences) and an impressive string of Supreme Court victories, ADF works tirelessly to dismantle the separation of church and state and codify its narrow, exclusionary interpretation of Christian doctrine into binding legal precedent. Their current backing of the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic charter school in Oklahoma, seeking public funds for explicitly religious education, is but the latest salvo in this long campaign.

These three forces – policy architects, cultural influencers, and legal activists – form a powerful symbiotic relationship. They feed off each other, creating a pervasive ecosystem that pushes a singular, politicized vision of faith, often, as one observer noted, “bilking people” for their funds, their support, and ultimately, their votes, much like the televangelist scandals of a bygone era preyed on the vulnerable and the hopeful.

An Unexpected Benchmark: The Witness of Pope Leo XIV

Into this contentious landscape steps Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago. As the first American Pope, his words and actions will inevitably carry particular weight in the U.S. context. While it’s too early to predict the full trajectory of his papacy, his record as Cardinal Prevost offers a striking contrast to the agenda of the “religious monster” described above. His background includes decades of service in Peru, a ministry often associated with a deep engagement with the poor and marginalized, reflecting the “preferential option for the poor” central to Catholic social teaching.

More pointedly, his activity on social media prior to becoming Pope reveals a consistent concern for social justice and a willingness to critique political rhetoric and policies he saw as contrary to Christian compassion. He shared articles challenging Vice President JD Vance’s theological justifications for restrictive immigration stances (e.g., “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others”), questioned the morality of deportations under the Punk administration (asking “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed?” in response to a meeting between Punk and Salvadoran President Bukele), and reposted condemnations of the family separation policy during Punk’s first term.

His brother even confirmed to The New York Times that the then-Cardinal was “not happy with what’s going on with immigration.” In his very first days as Pope, Leo XIV has emphasized themes of peace, dialogue, truth in communication, and the need to be “close to those who suffered.” This established pattern suggests a pontiff whose faith is oriented towards a universal message of love, mercy, and justice, particularly for the vulnerable – a stark departure from the often harsh, exclusionary, and power-driven agenda of the movements currently claiming the Christian mantle in American politics.

The Great Unmasking: Juxtaposing “Wolves” with the Shepherd’s Call

The strategy, then, for those wishing to “behead this monster” is one of relentless juxtaposition and unmasking.

When Project 2025 and its proponents speak of “restoring the family,” their narrow, exclusionary definition must be contrasted with a Christian call to compassion that extends to all families, including the immigrant families Pope Leo XIV has defended and the LGBTQ+ individuals these groups seek to marginalize.

When online trends like the “Jesus Glow” equate faith with superficial beauty, conformity, and a narcissistic pursuit of envy, this must be held up against the Christian emphasis on inner virtue, humility, service to the poor and disabled – values that Pope Leo XIV’s background in Peru might exemplify.

When the ADF frames its legal battles as a defense of “religious freedom,” its agenda to limit the rights of others, impose a specific religious viewpoint on all, and blur the lines between church and state must be contrasted with a broader, more tolerant understanding of religious liberty that respects pluralism and protects minorities – principles a global religious leader would be expected to uphold. The “Christian” label is being wielded as a weapon and a disguise by these groups. By consistently highlighting the chasm between their actions and rhetoric versus the core teachings of compassion, justice, and inclusivity often espoused by figures like Pope Leo XIV, the “wolves in sheep’s clothing” can be exposed.

The Choice Before Us: Discerning Faith from Political Facade

Project 2025 and its allies are indeed attempting to define what constitutes “genuine” American values and “authentic” Christianity. This is not a debate to be ceded. Citizens, and particularly those who hold Christian faith, face a critical choice: to align themselves with a politicized, often punitive version of their religion, or to seek and champion expressions of faith rooted in universal love, empathy, and justice. This isn’t about endorsing one denomination over another, or about non-Catholics suddenly defending the Papacy for its own sake. It’s about recognizing that when a prominent global Christian leader, through past actions and current pronouncements, appears to embody values that stand in stark opposition to those aggressively marketed by political factions under a Christian banner, it provides a powerful benchmark for discernment. The “monster” thrives on unthinking allegiance and the conflation of partisan politics with divine will. The antidote is critical thinking, moral courage, and a refusal to let faith be a hostage to political ambition.

Forging a Path of Authentic Values in a Time of Deception

A powerful, well-funded, and legally sophisticated movement is indeed attempting to impose a narrow, politicized, and often uncompassionate version of Christianity upon the United States. Its “success” would reshape American society in ways that are profoundly regressive and deeply damaging to the pluralistic fabric of the nation. “Beheading” this ideological monster requires more than just political opposition; it demands a relentless unmasking of its deceptive claims to religious and moral authority. By illuminating the stark contradictions between its agenda and the core principles of compassion, justice, and inclusivity – principles often championed by authentic voices of faith, potentially including that of the new American Pope – we can challenge its legitimacy and rally those who seek a more genuinely just and humane society. The fight is not just against bad policy, but against a dangerous counterfeit of faith itself.

Not since the early days of Rome has a mythology been so weaponized.


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