A one-time TV producer for the Christian Nationalist “700 Club” and Christian Broadcasting Network and now the author of a book recounting her former life, a transformed April Ajoy delivered a memorable keynote address.
Humorously and vividly, Ajoy explored her life’s journey and exposed the contradictions and silliness of the Christian Nationalism belief system within which she was raised, a story she wrote about in her recently published book — Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding A True Faith.
“Politics and faith were intertwined” in her family life, and a persecution complex was ever present. “We believed it was a war of good and evil” in which “we were very proud to be narrow-minded,” she quipped. “Depending on the day” and the momentary political environment, she said of a fervent belief that Jesus was coming back to judge the world, “we would work to start the End Times, or stop the End Times.”
Despite her Christian Nationalist stardom, Ajoy eventually began questioning her insular world. The aftermath of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting; the hatefulness of the anti-abortion movement; an interview with a gay couple who had attended a Christian school and were clearly nice people — her religious certainty crumbled away.
Closer to home, her father was tragically diagnosed with a terminal illness. Rather than consoling her, her Christian Nationalist community coldly pronounced the illness as God’s will and not to be questioned. By the time her brother came out as gay, she realized her theology was wrong.
Today, Ajoy focuses on “values more than beliefs” and on “fighting to get the most rights for the most people.” She encouraged her audience to ask questions of Christian Nationalists in order to make them think. Keep in mind, she said from experience, “they don’t care about facts.” Rather, using humor to “disarm” Christian Nationalists can be helpful, as well as appealing “to people’s goodness” as a conversation starting point.