The conservative Christian women turning moral urgency into political power

“If I perish, I perish.”

That’s the chant sociologist Katie Gaddini heard echoing from the National Mall in October 2024, weeks before President Donald Trump was elected a second time.

Raised an evangelical, Gaddini knew the reference — Esther 4:16, a Bible passage in which the Jewish Queen Esther prepares to risk her life to save her people. But to the thousands of conservative Christian women gathered for a prayer rally that fall day, the declaration had taken on a different meaning.

“In the retelling, they were Esther, they were the warrior queens,” Gaddini explained to RNS. “God had called them to save the nation from destruction — that being the left, or what they call woke indoctrination.”

Gaddini said the chant was indicative of how conservative women viewed the stakes of the 2024 election. To them, the nation’s morality was on the line.

In her latest book, “Esther’s Army: The Christian Women Who Power the American Right,” Gaddini distills 10 years of ethnographic research on conservative Christian women into six chapters, each exploring an archetype: college students, “Mama Bears,” political powerhouses, social media influencers, Black conservatives and white suburbanites. She spoke to RNS about how these women are re-defining feminism and reshaping America’s political and religious landscape.

Religion & Politics

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Mourners attend the start of the dayslong funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

In Opinion

And finally, Modern Judaica helps Jews express identity, build community in uncertain times.

For generations, Judaica referred primarily to traditional ritual objects: menorahs, Kiddush cups, Shabbat candlesticks, tallits, mezuzah cases and Passover Seder plates. These objects are often made of precious metals and fabrics embodying the tradition of “hiddur mitzvah” — beautifying Jewish practice through artistry.

Today, a growing cohort of Jewish artists and curators say they want to honor the design specifications of traditional Jewish law while playing around and expanding non-traditional design in Judaica — from minimalist and geometric to playful and whimsical, to objects and garments inspired by secular high fashion and streetwear. Their vision comes at a moment when Jewish communities worldwide report an increased desire to engage in Jewish community, ritual or religious life in the years since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

For some consumers seeking connection outside traditional institutional frameworks, contemporary Judaica has become an entry point into Jewish culture, spirituality and community.

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