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Angela Denker

Contributing Columnist | Opinion

The Rev. Angela Denker is a contributing columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune. She is a pastor, author and journalist who focuses on religion, politics, parenting and everyday life.


The Rev. Angela Denker is an ELCA pastor, journalist and award-winning author. She is a sought-after speaker on Christian nationalism. Her first book was "Red State Christians," and her new book, "Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood" will be released in March 2025. She has written for many publications, including Sports Illustrated, the Washington Post and Fortune magazine. You can read more of her work on her Substack, I'm Listening, at https://angeladenker.substack.com/. She serves Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church as pastor of visitation and public theology and lives in Minneapolis.
Recent content from Angela Denker
Angela Denker was invited to Stillwater on Dec. 19 “for a graduation ceremony of the nation’s only iteration of clinical pastoral education (CPE)

Denker: What can't be confined

The true presence of the season from inside the Stillwater prison, and from the glimmers of hope in incarcerated clinical pastoral education graduates.
More than a thousand people gathered in Brooklyn Center on a blustery November day to witness 501 new American citizens take their oaths and receive n

Denker: Citizenship in Trump's America

Too often we native-born Americans take for granted a privilege that others must earn.
President-elect Donald Trump speaks at an America First Policy Institute gala at his residence, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 14.

Denker: An American reckoning: Trump's re-election and who we really are

The past and future president knew who we are better than Democrats did.
Students at Susan B. Anthony Middle School in Minneapolis participate in a mock election the day before Election Day.

Denker: Watching students vote in a mock election filled me with hope

Our voting future is in good hands. I was impressed how seriously the preteens and teenagers took the exercise.
Senior pastor Bob Merritt delivers the sermon at Eagle Brook Church while being filmed by multiple cameras for a live feed in 2018.

Believe what they do, not what they say

Evangelical megachurches that are not transparent about who they are give Christianity a bad name.
"In Donald Trump and JD Vance, I see two men who are all too willing to capitalize on the ghosts of rural America’s past and present," Angela Denker

Denker: Ghosts don't vote, but haunted people do

A visit to rural Minnesota — and its plentiful Trump signs — brings up memories of grief and loss, and the connection between them all.
People in Winder, Ga., hold candles at a prayer vigil on Sept. 11, organized by local churches for the victims of the Apalachee High School shooting.

Denker: The stress of sending your kids to school amid bomb threats and yet another school shooting

From bomb threats at schools in Ohio to the recent shooting in Georgia, it's no wonder the U.S. surgeon general has warned that parental stress is a significant public health issue.
Fair goers take photos and take in the sights of the nightly fireworks Aug. 26 at the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights, Minn.



    ] AARON LAV

From Opinion: Our State Fair: Pain and pride, miracles and a double rainbow after the storm

Are these 322 acres large enough to hold Minnesota's past, present and future, its tragedies and hope?
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris addresses Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen

In defense of the 'bro hug' marriage

Why I can't shake off criticism about how Tim and Gwen Walz greeted each other on stage.