Introducing ‘In Polite Company’

Migrating my work to try to bring spiritually diverse reader groups together

As my regular Medium readers know, I’ve had a heck of a year. The sort that makes a person regroup and not only consider how to focus one’s time, but also, how to create the most meaning from daily labor.

When I see readers respond to my religion writing on social media, I get an interesting mix of believers, nones, those trying to deconstruct, and folks outside the church who are deeply curious about that world. It’s rare to see these groups getting along and genuinely trying to learn from one another — and I want to capture and tend to that rarified space.

Today I’m launching In Polite Company, a weekly newsletter for people who want to interrogate or otherwise defrag American faith. We’ll cover the topics most mothers (not mine!) warn against bringing up in polite company: religion, sex (gender too!), and politics.

This space and related community are for people looking to sort and heal — whether that means tearing it all down or rebuilding so you can reside in a sense of truth free of undue influence.

Since so many of my friends and readers are here on Medium, I wanted to share an excerpt from the first issue, published today. If you like what you see, click…