In the months after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, his organization, Turning Point USA, reported that more than 100,000 students had requested to get involved — a surge in interest they described as both political and spiritual. One year later, it’s hard to know if that uptick in engagement has had staying power. Some students told RNS the enthusiasm had simply waned. Others pointed to the divisive power of the conspiracies around Kirk’s death, especially those promoted by conservative influencer Candance Owens. (“It’s created this ginormous divide amongst students,” one TPUSA chapter president told RNS.) While still others doubt Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, has the respect needed to lead the organization. RNS national reporter, Kathryn Post, has kept up with several TPUSA student leaders over the past year and attended milestone events put on by the organization. She reports now on how Turning Point has emphasized Christian messaging in the wake of Kirk’s death, describing its founder as a martyr and its political efforts as part of a spiritual battle between the godly and demonic. By continuing to cast political alignment as a biblical mandate, Turning Point is testing whether that strategy can unite a splintering movement and sustain the organization’s mission, even without its founder. Top Stories | (RNS) — ‘All of you in this room are those people who I am so proud to have in my army as I go through this battle against Satan,’ Erika Kirk said to student Turning Point leaders in July. |
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 Opinion | (RNS) — During Trump’s second term, we're seeing the emergence of a doggedly stronger and more unapologetic ownership of what it means to be American Muslim. |
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ICYMI | (RNS) — The Hispanic Pentecostals were divided on whether the Trump administration’s immigration policies would impact how they vote in the future. |
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