PageSourceSearch

https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/

html douglasernst.blog collected 2026-10-10 00:39:13 UTC 109,526 bytes, 1,253 lines download raw bytes

1<!DOCTYPE html>
2<html lang="en">
3<head>
4<meta charset="UTF-8">
5<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
6
7<title>Thoughts on political and religious ‘influencer’ culture &#8211; Douglas Ernst Blog</title>
8<meta name='robots' content='max-image-preview:large' />
9<meta name="google-site-verification" content="7iY9sSxdNuugrr_jt98222EVA1NNDDw5z59ta1-82jg" />
10
11<!-- Async WordPress.com Remote Login -->
12<script id="wpcom_remote_login_js">
13var wpcom_remote_login_extra_auth = '';
14function wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( element_id ) {
15	var dom_node = document.getElementById( element_id );
16	if ( dom_node ) { dom_node.parentNode.removeChild( dom_node ); }
17}
18function wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_classes( class_name ) {
19	var dom_nodes = document.querySelectorAll( '.' + class_name );
20	for ( var i = 0; i < dom_nodes.length; i++ ) {
21		dom_nodes[ i ].parentNode.removeChild( dom_nodes[ i ] );
22	}
23}
24function wpcom_remote_login_final_cleanup() {
25	wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_classes( "wpcom_remote_login_msg" );
26	wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_remote_login_key" );
27	wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_remote_login_validate" );
28	wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_remote_login_js" );
29	wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_request_access_iframe" );
30	wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_request_access_styles" );
31}
32
33// Watch for messages back from the remote login
34window.addEventListener( "message", function( e ) {
35	if ( e.origin === "https://r-login.wordpress.com" ) {
36		var data = {};
37		try {
38			data = JSON.parse( e.data );
39		} catch( e ) {
40			wpcom_remote_login_final_cleanup();
41			return;
42		}
43
44		if ( data.msg === 'LOGIN' ) {
45			// Clean up the login check iframe
46			wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_remote_login_key" );
47
48			var id_regex = new RegExp( /^[0-9]+$/ );
49			var token_regex = new RegExp( /^.*|.*|.*$/ );
50			if (
51				token_regex.test( data.token )
52				&& id_regex.test( data.wpcomid )
53			) {
54				// We have everything we need to ask for a login
55				var script = document.createElement( "script" );
56				script.setAttribute( "id", "wpcom_remote_login_validate" );
57				script.src = '/remote-login.php?wpcom_remote_login=validate'
58					+ '&wpcomid=' + data.wpcomid
59					+ '&token=' + encodeURIComponent( data.token )
60					+ '&host=' + window.location.protocol
61					+ '//' + window.location.hostname
62					+ '&postid=40202'
63					+ '&is_singular=1';
64				document.body.appendChild( script );
65			}
66
67			return;
68		}
69
70		// Safari ITP, not logged in, so redirect
71		if ( data.msg === 'LOGIN-REDIRECT' ) {
72			window.location = 'https://wordpress.com/log-in?redirect_to=' + window.location.href;
73			return;
74		}
75
76		// Safari ITP, storage access failed, remove the request
77		if ( data.msg === 'LOGIN-REMOVE' ) {
78			var css_zap = 'html { -webkit-transition: margin-top 1s; transition: margin-top 1s; } /* 9001 */ html { margin-top: 0 !important; } * html body { margin-top: 0 !important; } @media screen and ( max-width: 782px ) { html { margin-top: 0 !important; } * html body { margin-top: 0 !important; } }';
79			var style_zap = document.createElement( 'style' );
80			style_zap.type = 'text/css';
81			style_zap.appendChild( document.createTextNode( css_zap ) );
82			document.body.appendChild( style_zap );
83
84			var e = document.getElementById( 'wpcom_request_access_iframe' );
85			e.parentNode.removeChild( e );
86
87			document.cookie = 'wordpress_com_login_access=denied; path=/; max-age=31536000';
88
89			return;
90		}
91
92		// Safari ITP
93		if ( data.msg === 'REQUEST_ACCESS' ) {
94			console.log( 'request access: safari' );
95
96			// Check ITP iframe enable/disable knob
97			if ( wpcom_remote_login_extra_auth !== 'safari_itp_iframe' ) {
98				return;
99			}
100
101			// If we are in a "private window" there is no ITP.
102			var private_window = false;
103			try {
104				var opendb = window.openDatabase( null, null, null, null );
105			} catch( e ) {
106				private_window = true;
107			}
108
109			if ( private_window ) {
110				console.log( 'private window' );
111				return;
112			}
113
114			var iframe = document.createElement( 'iframe' );
115			iframe.id = 'wpcom_request_access_iframe';
116			iframe.setAttribute( 'scrolling', 'no' );
117			iframe.setAttribute( 'sandbox', 'allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation' );
118			iframe.src = 'https://r-login.wordpress.com/remote-login.php?wpcom_remote_login=request_access&origin=' + encodeURIComponent( data.origin ) + '&wpcomid=' + encodeURIComponent( data.wpcomid );
119
120			var css = 'html { -webkit-transition: margin-top 1s; transition: margin-top 1s; } /* 9001 */ html { margin-top: 46px !important; } * html body { margin-top: 46px !important; } @media screen and ( max-width: 660px ) { html { margin-top: 71px !important; } * html body { margin-top: 71px !important; } #wpcom_request_access_iframe { display: block; height: 71px !important; } } #wpcom_request_access_iframe { border: 0px; height: 46px; position: fixed; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; min-width: 100%; z-index: 99999; background: #23282d; } ';
121
122			var style = document.createElement( 'style' );
123			style.type = 'text/css';
124			style.id = 'wpcom_request_access_styles';
125			style.appendChild( document.createTextNode( css ) );
126			document.body.appendChild( style );
127
128			document.body.appendChild( iframe );
129		}
130
131		if ( data.msg === 'DONE' ) {
132			wpcom_remote_login_final_cleanup();
133		}
134	}
135}, false );
136
137// Inject the remote login iframe after the page has had a chance to load
138// more critical resources
139window.addEventListener( "DOMContentLoaded", function( e ) {
140	var iframe = document.createElement( "iframe" );
141	iframe.style.display = "none";
142	iframe.setAttribute( "scrolling", "no" );
143	iframe.setAttribute( "id", "wpcom_remote_login_key" );
144	iframe.src = "https://r-login.wordpress.com/remote-login.php"
145		+ "?wpcom_remote_login=key"
146		+ "&origin=aHR0cHM6Ly9kb3VnbGFzZXJuc3QuYmxvZw%3D%3D"
147		+ "&wpcomid=12031417"
148		+ "&time=" + Math.floor( Date.now() / 1000 );
149	document.body.appendChild( iframe );
150}, false );
151</script>
151
152<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//s1.wp.com' />
153<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//s2.wp.com' />
154<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//fonts-api.wp.com' />
155<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//s0.wp.com' />
156<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//af.pubmine.com' />
157<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Douglas Ernst Blog &raquo; Feed" href="https://douglasernst.blog/feed/" />
158<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Douglas Ernst Blog &raquo; Comments Feed" href="https://douglasernst.blog/comments/feed/" />
159<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Douglas Ernst Blog &raquo; Thoughts on political and religious ‘influencer’ culture Comments Feed" href="https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/feed/" />
160	
160<script type="text/javascript">
161		/* <![CDATA[ */
162		function addLoadEvent(func) {
163			var oldonload = window.onload;
164			if (typeof window.onload != 'function') {
165				window.onload = func;
166			} else {
167				window.onload = function () {
168					oldonload();
169					func();
170				}
171			}
172		}
173		/* ]]> */
174	</script>
174
175	<style id="wp-img-auto-sizes-contain-inline-css">
176img:is([sizes=auto i],[sizes^="auto," i]){contain-intrinsic-size:3000px 1500px}
177/*# sourceURL=wp-img-auto-sizes-contain-inline-css */
178</style>
179<link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-2-1' href='/_static/??-eJx9zNEKwjAMheEXssaJMr0Qn6W0YXRN22ASyt7eTQRBxMuf5HzQ2YVWFatCMcdkU6oCPcUJVQBtvbac0JHvoFiYvKKA6EK4DyI7+A3MqOxDfjeIVSgtGq3bB25GdNxEv+qfSCnjx33V9n4vt2EcD9fhfLoc5ycZcU0/&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' />
180<style id="wp-emoji-styles-inline-css">
181
182	img.wp-smiley, img.emoji {
183		display: inline !important;
184		border: none !important;
185		box-shadow: none !important;
186		height: 1em !important;
187		width: 1em !important;
188		margin: 0 0.07em !important;
189		vertical-align: -0.1em !important;
190		background: none !important;
191		padding: 0 !important;
192	}
193/*# sourceURL=wp-emoji-styles-inline-css */
194</style>
195<style id="wp-block-library-inline-css">
196:root{--wp-block-synced-color:#7a00df;--wp-block-synced-color--rgb:122,0,223;--wp-bound-block-color:var(--wp-block-synced-color);--wp-editor-canvas-background:#ddd;--wp-admin-theme-color:#007cba;--wp-admin-theme-color--rgb:0,124,186;--wp-admin-theme-color-darker-10:#006ba1;--wp-admin-theme-color-darker-10--rgb:0,107,160.5;--wp-admin-theme-color-darker-20:#005a87;--wp-admin-theme-color-darker-20--rgb:0,90,135;--wp-admin-border-width-focus:2px}@media (min-resolution:192dpi){:root{--wp-admin-border-width-focus:1.5px}}.wp-element-button{cursor:pointer}:root .has-very-light-gray-background-color{background-color:#eee}:root .has-very-dark-gray-background-color{background-color:#313131}:root .has-very-light-gray-color{color:#eee}:root .has-very-dark-gray-color{color:#313131}:root .has-vivid-green-cyan-to-vivid-cyan-blue-gradient-background{background:linear-gradient(135deg,#00d084,#0693e3)}:root .has-purple-crush-gradient-background{background:linear-gradient(135deg,#34e2e4,#4721fb 50%,#ab1dfe)}:root .has-hazy-dawn-gradient-background{background:linear-gradient(135deg,#faaca8,#dad0ec)}:root .has-subdued-olive-gradient-background{background:linear-gradient(135deg,#fafae1,#67a671)}:root .has-atomic-cream-gradient-background{background:linear-gradient(135deg,#fdd79a,#004a59)}:root .has-nightshade-gradient-background{background:linear-gradient(135deg,#330968,#31cdcf)}:root .has-midnight-gradient-background{background:linear-gradient(135deg,#020381,#2874fc)}:root{--wp--preset--font-size--normal:16px;
196--wp--preset--font-size--huge:42px}.has-regular-font-size{font-size:1em}.has-larger-font-size{font-size:2.625em}.has-normal-font-size{font-size:var(--wp--preset--font-size--normal)}.has-huge-font-size{font-size:var(--wp--preset--font-size--huge)}:root .has-text-align-center{text-align:center}:root .has-text-align-left{text-align:left}:root .has-text-align-right{text-align:right}.has-fit-text{white-space:nowrap!important}#end-resizable-editor-section{display:none}.aligncenter{clear:both}.items-justified-left{justify-content:flex-start}.items-justified-center{justify-content:center}.items-justified-right{justify-content:flex-end}.items-justified-space-between{justify-content:space-between}.screen-reader-text{border:0;clip-path:inset(50%);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:normal!important;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;word-break:normal!important}.screen-reader-text:focus{background-color:#ddd;clip-path:none;color:#444;display:block;font-size:1em;height:auto;left:5px;line-height:normal;padding:15px 23px 14px;text-decoration:none;top:5px;width:auto;z-index:100000}html :where(.has-border-color){border-style:solid}html :where([style^=border-color],[style*=";border-color"],[style*="; border-color"]){border-style:solid}html :where([style^=border-top-color],[style*=";border-top-color"],[style*="; border-top-color"]){border-top-style:solid}html :where([style^=border-right-color],[style*=";border-right-color"],[style*="; border-right-color"]){border-right-style:solid}html :where([style^=border-bottom-color],[style*=";border-bottom-color"],[style*="; border-bottom-color"]){border-bottom-style:solid}html :where([style^=border-left-color],[style*=";border-left-color"],[style*="; border-left-color"]){border-left-style:solid}html :where([style^=border-width],[style*=";border-width"],[style*="; border-width"]){border-style:solid}html :where([style^=border-top-width],[style*=";border-top-width"],[style*="; border-top-width"]){border-top-style:solid}html :where([style^=border-right-width],[style*=";border-right-width"],[style*="; border-right-width"]){border-right-style:solid}html :where([style^=border-bottom-width],[style*=";border-bottom-width"],[style*="; border-bottom-width"]){border-bottom-style:solid}html :where([style^=border-left-width],[style*=";border-left-width"],[style*="; border-left-width"]){border-left-style:solid}html :where(img[class*=wp-image-]){height:auto;max-width:100%}:where(figure){margin:0 0 1em}html :where(.is-position-sticky){--wp-admin--admin-bar--position-offset:var(--wp-admin--admin-bar--height,0px)}@media screen and (max-width:600px){html :where(.is-position-sticky){--wp-admin--admin-bar--position-offset:0px}}
197
198/*# sourceURL=/wp-content/plugins/gutenberg-core/v24.1.0/build/styles/block-library/common.min.css */
199</style>
200<style id="wp-block-paragraph-inline-css">
201.is-small-text{font-size:.875em}.is-regular-text{font-size:1em}.is-large-text{font-size:2.25em}.is-larger-text{font-size:3em}.has-drop-cap:not(:focus):first-letter{float:left;font-size:8.4em;font-style:normal;font-weight:100;line-height:.68;margin:.05em .1em 0 0;text-transform:uppercase}body.rtl .has-drop-cap:not(:focus):first-letter{float:none;margin-left:.1em}p.has-drop-cap.has-background{overflow:hidden}:root :where(p.has-background){padding:var(--wp--style--block-background-padding,1.25em 2.375em)}:where(p.has-text-color:not(.has-link-color)) a{color:inherit}p.has-text-align-left[style*="writing-mode:vertical-lr"],p.has-text-align-right[style*="writing-mode:vertical-rl"]{rotate:180deg}
202/*# sourceURL=/wp-content/plugins/gutenberg-core/v24.1.0/build/styles/block-library/paragraph/style.min.css */
203</style>
204<style id="wp-block-library-inline-css-extra">
205.has-text-align-justify {
206	text-align:justify;
207}
208.has-text-align-justify{text-align:justify;}
209/*# sourceURL=wp-block-library-inline-css */
210</style>
211
212
213<style id="coblocks-inline-format-inline-css">
214.uppercase{text-transform:uppercase}
215/*# sourceURL=coblocks-inline-format-inline-css */
216</style>
217<link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-10-1' href='/_static/??-eJx9jEEOAiEQBD/kQECjeDC+ZWEnijIwYWA3/l72op689KFTVXplCCU3zE1z6reYRYfiUwlP0VYZpwxIJE4IFRd10HOU9iFA2iuhCiI7/ROiDt9WxfETT20jCOc4YUIa2D9t5eGA91xRBMZS7ATtPkTZvCtdzNEZt7f2fHq8Afl7R7w=&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' />
218<style id="global-styles-inline-css">
219:root{--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--square: 1;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--4-3: 4/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-4: 3/4;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-2: 3/2;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--2-3: 2/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--16-9: 16/9;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--9-16: 9/16;--wp--preset--color--black: #000000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray: #abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white: #ffffff;--wp--preset--color--pale-pink: #f78da7;--wp--preset--color--vivid-red: #cf2e2e;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange: #ff6900;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber: #fcb900;--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan: #7bdcb5;--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan: #00d084;--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue: #8ed1fc;--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue: #0693e3;--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple: #9b51e0;--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(6,147,227) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(122,220,180) 0%,rgb(0,208,130) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(252,185,
2190) 0%,rgb(255,105,0) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,105,0) 0%,rgb(207,46,46) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(238,238,238) 0%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(74,234,220) 0%,rgb(151,120,209) 20%,rgb(207,42,186) 40%,rgb(238,44,130) 60%,rgb(251,105,98) 80%,rgb(254,248,76) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,206,236) 0%,rgb(152,150,240) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(254,205,165) 0%,rgb(254,45,45) 50%,rgb(107,0,62) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,203,112) 0%,rgb(199,81,192) 50%,rgb(65,88,208) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,245,203) 0%,rgb(182,227,212) 50%,rgb(51,167,181) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(202,248,128) 0%,rgb(113,206,126) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--midnight: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(2,3,129) 0%,rgb(40,116,252) 100%);--wp--preset--font-size--small: 0.889rem;--wp--preset--font-size--medium: 1.266rem;--wp--preset--font-size--large: 1.602rem;--wp--preset--font-size--x-large: 42px;--wp--preset--font-size--normal: 1rem;--wp--preset--font-size--huge: 2.027rem;--wp--preset--font-size--enormous: 3.247rem;--wp--preset--font-size--gigantic: 4.11rem;--wp--preset--font-family--albert-sans: 'Albert Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--alegreya: Alegreya, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--arvo: Arvo, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--bodoni-moda: 'Bodoni Moda', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--bricolage-grotesque: 'Bricolage Grotesque', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--cabin: Cabin, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--chivo: Chivo, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--commissioner: Commissioner, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--cormorant: Cormorant, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--courier-prime: 'Courier Prime', monospace;--wp--preset--font-family--crimson-pro: 'Crimson Pro', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--dm-mono: 'DM Mono', monospace;--wp--preset--font-family--dm-sans: 'DM Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--dm-serif-display: 'DM Serif Display', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--domine: Domine, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--eb-garamond: 'EB Garamond', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--epilogue: Epilogue, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--fahkwang: Fahkwang, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--figtree: Figtree, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--fira-sans: 'Fira Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--fjalla-one: 'Fjalla One', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--fraunces: Fraunces, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--gabarito: Gabarito, system-ui;--wp--preset--font-family--ibm-plex-mono: 'IBM Plex Mono', monospace;--wp--preset--font-family--ibm-plex-sans: 'IBM Plex Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--ibarra-real-nova: 'Ibarra Real Nova', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--instrument-serif: 'Instrument Serif', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--inter: Inter, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--josefin-sans: 'Josefin Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--jost: Jost, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--libre-baskerville: 'Libre Baskerville', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--libre-franklin: 'Libre Franklin', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--literata: Literata, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--lora: Lora, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--merriweather: Merriweather, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--montserrat: Montserrat, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--newsreader: Newsreader, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--noto-sans-mono: 'Noto Sans Mono', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--nunito: Nunito, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--open-sans: 'Open Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--overpass: Overpass, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--pt-serif: 'PT Serif', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--petrona: Petrona, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--piazzolla: Piazzolla, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--playfair-display: 'Playfair Display', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--plus-jakarta-sans: 'Plus Jakarta Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--poppins: Poppins, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--raleway: Raleway, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--roboto: Roboto, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--roboto-slab: 'Roboto Slab', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--rubik: Rubik, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--rufina: Rufina, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--sora: Sora, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--source-sans-3: 'Source Sans 3', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--source-serif-4: 'Source Serif 4', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--space-mono: 'Space Mono', monospace;--wp--preset--font-family--syne: Syne, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--texturina: Texturina, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--urbanist: Urbanist, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--work-sans: 'Work Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--text-shadow--light: 0.05em 0.05em 0.1em rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);--wp--preset--text-shadow--strong: 0.1em 0.1em 0.25em rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5);--wp--preset--spacing--20: 0.44rem;--wp--preset--spacing--30: 0.67rem;--wp--preset--spacing--40: 1rem;--wp--preset--spacing--50: 1.5rem;--wp--preset--spacing--60: 2.25rem;--wp--preset--spacing--70: 3.38rem;--wp--preset--spacing--80: 5.06rem;--wp--preset--shadow--natural: 6px 6px 9px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--deep: 12px 12px 50px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);--wp--preset--shadow--sharp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--outlined: 6px 6px 0px -3px rgb(255, 255, 255), 6px 6px rgb(0, 0, 0);--wp--preset--shadow--crisp: 6px 6px 0px rgb(0, 0, 0);}.wp-block-button{--wp--preset--dimension--25: 25%;--wp--preset--dimension--50: 50%;--wp--preset--dimension--75: 75%;--wp--preset--dimension--100: 100%;}:root { --wp--style--global--content-size: var(--th--global--content-size);--wp--style--global--wide-size: var(--th--global--wide-size); }:where(body) { margin: 0; }.wp-site-blocks > .alignleft { float: left; margin-right: 2em; }.wp-site-blocks > .alignright { float: right; margin-left: 2em; }.wp-site-blocks > .aligncenter { justify-content: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; }:where(.is-layout-flex){gap: 0.5em;}:where(.is-layout-grid){gap: 0.5em;}.is-layout-flow > .alignleft{float: left;margin-inline-start: 0;margin-inline-end: 2em;}.is-layout-flow > .alignright{float: right;margin-inline-start: 2em;margin-inline-end: 0;}.is-layout-flow > .aligncenter{margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}.is-layout-constrained > .alignleft{float: left;margin-inline-start: 0;margin-inline-end: 2em;}.is-layout-constrained > .alignright{float: right;margin-inline-start: 2em;margin-inline-end: 0;}.is-layout-constrained > .aligncenter{margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}.is-layout-constrained >
219 :where(:not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.alignfull)){max-width: var(--wp--style--global--content-size);margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}.is-layout-constrained > .alignwide{max-width: var(--wp--style--global--wide-size);}body .is-layout-flex{display: flex;}.is-layout-flex{flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;}.is-layout-flex > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}body .is-layout-grid{display: grid;}.is-layout-grid > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}body{background-color: var(--th-color-white);color: var(--th-color-primary-base);font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--normal);padding-top: 0px;padding-right: 0px;padding-bottom: 0px;padding-left: 0px;}h1{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--enormous);}h2{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--huge);}h3{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--large);}h4{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium);}h5{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--normal);}h6{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--small);}:root :where(.wp-element-button, .wp-block-button__link){background-color: #32373c;border-width: 0;color: #fff;font-family: inherit;font-size: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;letter-spacing: inherit;line-height: inherit;padding-top: calc(0.667em + 2px);padding-right: calc(1.333em + 2px);padding-bottom: calc(0.667em + 2px);padding-left: calc(1.333em + 2px);text-decoration: none;text-transform: inherit;}.has-black-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}
219.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--x-large) !important;}.has-normal-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--normal) !important;}.has-huge-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--huge) !important;}.has-enormous-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--enormous) !important;}.has-gigantic-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--gigantic) !important;}.has-albert-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--albert-sans) !important;}.has-alegreya-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--alegreya) !important;}.has-arvo-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--arvo) !important;}.has-bodoni-moda-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--bodoni-moda) !important;}.has-bricolage-grotesque-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--bricolage-grotesque) !important;}.has-cabin-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--cabin) !important;}.has-chivo-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--chivo) !important;}.has-commissioner-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--commissioner) !important;}.has-cormorant-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--cormorant) !important;}.has-courier-prime-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--courier-prime) !important;}.has-crimson-pro-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--crimson-pro) !important;}.has-dm-mono-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--dm-mono) !important;}.has-dm-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--dm-sans) !important;}.has-dm-serif-display-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--dm-serif-display) !important;}.has-domine-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--domine) !important;}.has-eb-garamond-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--eb-garamond) !important;}.has-epilogue-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--epilogue) !important;}.has-fahkwang-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--fahkwang) !important;}.has-figtree-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--figtree) !important;}.has-fira-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--fira-sans) !important;}.has-fjalla-one-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--fjalla-one) !important;}.has-fraunces-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--fraunces) !important;}.has-gabarito-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--gabarito) !important;}.has-ibm-plex-mono-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--ibm-plex-mono) !important;}.has-ibm-plex-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--ibm-plex-sans) !important;}.has-ibarra-real-nova-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--ibarra-real-nova) !important;}.has-instrument-serif-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--instrument-serif) !important;}.has-inter-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--inter) !important;}.has-josefin-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--josefin-sans) !important;}.has-jost-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--jost) !important;}.has-libre-baskerville-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--libre-baskerville) !important;}.has-libre-franklin-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--libre-franklin) !important;}.has-literata-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--literata) !important;}.has-lora-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--lora) !important;}.has-merriweather-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--merriweather) !important;}.has-montserrat-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--montserrat) !important;}.has-newsreader-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--newsreader) !important;}.has-noto-sans-mono-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--noto-sans-mono) !important;}.has-nunito-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--nunito) !important;}.has-open-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--open-sans) !important;}.has-overpass-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--overpass) !important;}.has-pt-serif-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--pt-serif) !important;}.has-petrona-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--petrona) !important;}.has-piazzolla-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--piazzolla) !important;}.has-playfair-display-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--playfair-display) !important;}.has-plus-jakarta-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--plus-jakarta-sans) !important;}.has-poppins-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--poppins) !important;}.has-raleway-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--raleway) !important;}.has-roboto-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--roboto) !important;}.has-roboto-slab-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--roboto-slab) !important;}.has-rubik-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--rubik) !important;}.has-rufina-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--rufina) !important;}.has-sora-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--sora) !important;}.has-source-sans-3-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--source-sans-3) !important;}.has-source-serif-4-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--source-serif-4) !important;}.has-space-mono-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--space-mono) !important;}.has-syne-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--syne) !important;}.has-texturina-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--texturina) !important;}.has-urbanist-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--urbanist) !important;}.has-work-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--work-sans) !important;}.has-light-text-shadow{text-shadow: var(--wp--preset--text-shadow--light) !important;}.has-strong-text-shadow{text-shadow: var(--wp--preset--text-shadow--strong) !important;}
220/*# sourceURL=global-styles-inline-css */
221</style>
222
223<link rel='stylesheet' id='venture-google-fonts-css' href='https://fonts-api.wp.com/css?family=Roboto%3A300%2C400%2C700%2C400italic%2C700italic&#038;subset=latin%2Clatin-ext%2Ccyrillic%2Ccyrillic-ext&#038;display=swap' media='all' />
224<link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-14-1' href='/wp-content/themes/premium/venture/style.css?m=1630507115i&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' />
225<link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='print-css-15-1' href='/wp-content/themes/premium/venture/assets/css/print-style.css?m=1590180452i&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='print' />
226<link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-16-1' href='/_static/??-eJydjssKAjEMRX/IGhxQ60L8llhi7NgXTTr+vmE2IoILd/eREy48mwu1KBUFvVMmgdYpx5FhsWx0AhQhFQhiFbIdSCw8EvatRRv448FM2jA8vvg8XEuDYxHodE2VTfLKve0viKm6VANqrOXDuFvCuO695PPuMB33/jR5P78AfxxfQg==&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' />
227<link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='print-css-17-1' href='/wp-content/mu-plugins/global-print/global-print.css?m=1465851035i&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='print' />
228<style id="jetpack-global-styles-frontend-style-inline-css">
229:root { --font-headings: unset; --font-base: unset; --font-headings-default: -apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Helvetica Neue",sans-serif; --font-base-default: -apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Helvetica Neue",sans-serif;}
230/*# sourceURL=jetpack-global-styles-frontend-style-inline-css */
231</style>
232<link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-20-1' href='/_static/??-eJyNjcsKAjEMRX/ImhmUURfip0inLW3GNCmmQfx7H7gRN+7ugcs5cGsuCPfEHaq5RpaRFZbUmw+XD4MaQ5VolBS0+GuKPsb7eyLndVBdwd+iM3KA2ZAiqAT05Eiy6Bf8KHtJ9RkvW8gks6fX4VSP426/mQ7TMA7LA38FSqA=&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' />
233<script id="jetpack_related-posts-js-extra">
234var related_posts_js_options = {"post_heading":"h4"};
235//# sourceURL=jetpack_related-posts-js-extra
236</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 236
236
237<script id="wpcom-actionbar-placeholder-js-extra">
238var actionbardata = {"siteID":"12031417","postID":"40202","siteURL":"https://douglasernst.blog","xhrURL":"https://douglasernst.blog/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php","nonce":"8e63c467fc","isLoggedIn":"","statusMessage":"","statusSubscribed":"","subsEmailDefault":"instantly","proxyScriptUrl":"https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/js/wpcom-proxy-request.js?m=1513050504i&amp;ver=20211021","shortlink":"https://wp.me/pOtV7-asq","i18n":{"followedText":"New posts from this site will now appear in your \u003Ca href=\"https://wordpress.com/reader\"\u003EReader\u003C/a\u003E","foldBar":"Collapse this bar","unfoldBar":"Expand this bar","shortLinkCopied":"Copied to clipboard."}};
239//# sourceURL=wpcom-actionbar-placeholder-js-extra
240</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 240
240
241<script id="jetpack-mu-wpcom-settings-js-before">
242var JETPACK_MU_WPCOM_SETTINGS = {"assetsUrl":"https://s1.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/jetpack-mu-wpcom-plugin/sun/jetpack_vendor/automattic/jetpack-mu-wpcom/src/build/"};
243//# sourceURL=jetpack-mu-wpcom-settings-js-before
244</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 244
244
245<script crossorigin='anonymous' type='text/javascript'  src='/_static/??-eJxdjd0KAiEQhV+o2aFYWPciepRwVUTTcXC0rbdvFyKqq8PH+cOVwRRqjhrmDpy6DyQYXWNtbm9G6YTXQAaXHpLF6pJuzgIXafJLQw40RDng127cMqkB1/J4/ntLKv7zupZqtRUwSYs42YsmM95PuwAVAm+5bhOXfD5OSk3zOKsxvgB+5Efu'></script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 245
245
246<script id="rlt-proxy-js-after">
247	rltInitialize( {"token":null,"iframeOrigins":["https:\/\/widgets.wp.com"]} );
248//# sourceURL=rlt-proxy-js-after
249</script>
249
250<link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="https://dougernst.wordpress.com/xmlrpc.php?rsd" />
251<meta name="generator" content="WordPress.com" />
252<link rel="canonical" href="https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/" />
253<link rel='shortlink' href='https://wp.me/pOtV7-asq' />
254<link rel="alternate" type="application/json+oembed" href="https://public-api.wordpress.com/oembed/?format=json&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fdouglasernst.blog%2F2026%2F03%2F27%2Fthoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture%2F&amp;for=wpcom-auto-discovery" /><link rel="alternate" type="application/xml+oembed" href="https://public-api.wordpress.com/oembed/?format=xml&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fdouglasernst.blog%2F2026%2F03%2F27%2Fthoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture%2F&amp;for=wpcom-auto-discovery" />
255<!-- Jetpack Open Graph Tags -->
256<meta property="og:type" content="article" />
257<meta property="og:title" content="Thoughts on political and religious ‘influencer’ culture" />
258<meta property="og:url" content="https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/" />
259<meta property="og:description" content="Explore the rise of paid influencers in politics and religion, and why humility and nuance are disappearing from social media discourse." />
260<meta property="article:published_time" content="2026-03-27T19:55:44+00:00" />
261<meta property="article:modified_time" content="2026-03-27T20:00:42+00:00" />
262<meta property="og:site_name" content="Douglas Ernst Blog" />
263<meta property="og:image" content="https://s0.wp.com/_si/?t=eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvczAud3AuY29tXC9pXC9ibGFuay5qcGciLCJ0eHQiOiJEb3VnbGFzIEVybnN0IEJsb2ciLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImhpZ2h3YXkiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTIwMzE0MTd9.TQLbAxgTkYOAGPdbd8WUXY4o3v2mYcNg8uqABgFeXl8MQ" />
264<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />
265<meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />
266<meta property="og:image:alt" content="" />
267<meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" />
268<meta property="article:publisher" content="https://www.facebook.com/WordPresscom" />
269<meta name="twitter:text:title" content="Thoughts on political and religious ‘influencer’ culture" />
270<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary" />
271
272<!-- End Jetpack Open Graph Tags -->
273<link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="https://s1.wp.com/i/favicon.ico?m=1713425267i" sizes="16x16 24x24 32x32 48x48" />
274<link rel="icon" type="image/x-icon" href="https://s1.wp.com/i/favicon.ico?m=1713425267i" sizes="16x16 24x24 32x32 48x48" />
275<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="https://s2.wp.com/i/webclip.png?m=1713868326i" />
276<link rel='openid.server' href='https://douglasernst.blog/?openidserver=1' />
277<link rel='openid.delegate' href='https://douglasernst.blog/' />
278<link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="https://douglasernst.blog/osd.xml" title="Douglas Ernst Blog" />
279<link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="https://s1.wp.com/opensearch.xml" title="WordPress.com" />
280<meta name="theme-color" content="#333333" />
281<link rel="pingback" href="https://douglasernst.blog/xmlrpc.php"><meta name="description" content="Explore the rise of paid influencers in politics and religion, and why humility and nuance are disappearing from social media discourse." />
282<style id="custom-background-css">
283body.custom-background { background-color: #333333; }
284</style>
285<script>
286var wa_client = {}; wa_client.cmd = []; wa_client.config = { 'blog_id': 12031417, 'blog_language': 'en', 'is_wordads': true, 'hosting_type': 1, 'afp_account_id': 'pub-1333598493936611', 'afp_host_id': 5038568878849053, 'theme': 'premium/venture', '_': { 'title': 'Advertisement', 'privacy_settings': 'Privacy Settings' }, 'formats': [ 'inline', 'belowpost', 'bottom_sticky', 'sidebar_sticky_right', 'sidebar', 'top', 'shortcode', 'gutenberg_rectangle', 'gutenberg_leaderboard', 'gutenberg_mobile_leaderboard', 'gutenberg_skyscraper' ] };
287</script>
287
288		
288<script type="text/javascript">
289
290			window.doNotSellCallback = function() {
291
292				var linkElements = [
293					'a[href="https://wordpress.com/?ref=footer_blog"]',
294					'a[href="https://wordpress.com/?ref=footer_website"]',
295					'a[href="https://wordpress.com/?ref=vertical_footer"]',
296					'a[href^="https://wordpress.com/?ref=footer_segment_"]',
297				].join(',');
298
299				var dnsLink = document.createElement( 'a' );
300				dnsLink.href = 'https://wordpress.com/advertising-program-optout/';
301				dnsLink.classList.add( 'do-not-sell-link' );
302				dnsLink.rel = 'nofollow';
303				dnsLink.style.marginLeft = '0.5em';
304				dnsLink.textContent = 'Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information';
305
306				var creditLinks = document.querySelectorAll( linkElements );
307
308				if ( 0 === creditLinks.length ) {
309					return false;
310				}
311
312				Array.prototype.forEach.call( creditLinks, function( el ) {
313					el.insertAdjacentElement( 'afterend', dnsLink );
314				});
315
316				return true;
317			};
318
319		</script>
319
320		<style type="text/css" id="custom-colors-css">
321	#masthead,
322	#page .has-background-cover {
323		text-shadow: none;
324	}
325
326	.portfolio-grid .hentry .entry-header a {
327		background: transparent;
328	}
329
330	.portfolio-grid .hentry .entry-header a:before {
331		content: "";
332		display: block;
333		position: absolute;
334		top: 0;
335		bottom: 0;
336		left: 0;
337		right: 0;
338		opacity: 0.8;
339	}
340
341	/* reset Akismet link colour */
342	.a-stats a {
343		color: #CFEA93;
344	}
345
346	/* Forcing widget tag cloud link colour to white */
347	.widget_tag_cloud a:hover {
348		color: #fff !important;
349	}
350
351	/* Redeclaring animation styles without box-shadow colours, so they'll default to the 'color' value of .featured-loader instead */
352	@-webkit-keyframes loader {
353		0%,
354		80%,
355		100% {
356			box-shadow: 0 0;
357			height: 4em;
358		}
359		40% {
360			box-shadow: 0 -2em;
361			height: 5em;
362		}
363	}
364
365	@keyframes loader {
366		0%,
367		80%,
368		100% {
369			box-shadow: 0 0;
370			height: 4em;
371		}
372		40% {
373			box-shadow: 0 -2em;
374			height: 5em;
375		}
376	}
377
378	@media only screen and (max-width: 500px) {
379		#primary-header .entry-meta {
380			background: transparent !important;
381		}
382	}
383
384body,
385		#fullscreen-header { background: #333333;}
386input[type="submit"],
387		.portfolio-type-list li a:hover,
388		#page .page-links a:hover span,
389		.page-links span,
390		.author-container .author-bio,
391		#comments .reply a:hover,
392		#infinite-handle span,
393		#page .sd-social-icon .sd-content ul li[class*="share-"] a:hover { color: #424242;}
394.blog .hentry .more-link:hover,
395		.archive .hentry .more-link:hover,
396		.search .hentry .more-link:hover,
397		.front-block.front-testimonials .more-link:hover,
398		.front-block.featured-page .hentry:hover .more-link,
399		input[type="submit"]:hover,
400		.widget_tag_cloud a:hover,
401		.widget.wp_widget_tag_cloud a:hover,
402		.post-password-form input[type="submit"],
403		.error404 .error-404.not-found .search-submit,
404		.search .no-results.not-found .search-submit,
405		.widget_search .search-submit,
406		#infinite-handle span:hover { background: #424242;}
407input[type="submit"] { border-color: #424242;}
408#colophon a:hover,
409		.portfolio-type-list li,
410		.portfolio-type-list li a,
411		.posts-navigation a,
412		.post-navigation .meta-nav,
413		.post-navigation a:hover,
414		.comment-navigation,
415		.comment-navigation a,
416		.widget a:hover,
417		.widget.widget_authors li strong,
418		.blog .hentry .entry-meta,
419		.archive .hentry .entry-meta,
420		.search .hentry .entry-meta,
421		.hentry .entry-footer,
422		.hentry .entry-footer .edit-link a,
423		.page-links .page-links-title,
424		.page-links span,
425		#page .page-links a span,
426		.page-header .page-title,
427		.page-header .taxonomy-description,
428		.author-container .author-name,
429		#comments .comment-metadata,
430		#comments .comment-metadata a,
431		#comments .reply a,
432		.jetpack-testimonial-shortcode .testimonial-entry-title,
433		#page .contact-form label span,
434		.wp-caption-text,
435		#page div.sharedaddy h3.sd-title,
436		#page div#jp-relatedposts h3.jp-relatedposts-headline { color: #424242;}
437.featured-loader { color: #919191;}
438.featured-loader,
439		.featured-loader:before,
440		.featured-loader:after { background: #919191;}
441.overlay,
442		.portfolio-grid .hentry .entry-header a:before { background: #424242;}
443#primary-header.has-background-cover .entry-meta { background: #424242;}
444#primary-header.has-background-cover .entry-meta { background: rgba( 66, 66, 66, 0.8 );}
445a,
446		.post-type-archive-jetpack-testimonial #page .jetpack-testimonial.hentry .more-link-container a,
447		#page #flickr_badge_uber_wrapper a:hover,
448		#page #flickr_badge_uber_wrapper a:link,
449		#page #flickr_badge_uber_wrapper a:active,
450		#page #flickr_badge_uber_wrapper a:visited { color: #0089A8;}
451#page .mejs-controls .mejs-time-rail .mejs-time-current,
452		#page .mejs-controls .mejs-horizontal-volume-slider .mejs-horizontal-volume-current { background: #00B3DB;}
453.post-type-archive-jetpack-testimonial #page .jetpack-testimonial.hentry .entry-content,
454		.jetpack-testimonial-shortcode .testimonial-entry-content { background: #00A2C6;}
455#comments .bypostauthor .comment-content { border-color: #00A2C6;}
456#comments .bypostauthor .comment-content:after,
457		.post-type-archive-jetpack-testimonial #page .jetpack-testimonial.hentry .entry-content:after { border-top-color: #00A2C6;}
458#comments .bypostauthor .comment-content:after { border-bottom-color: #00A2C6;}
459h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6,
460		#masthead.default-view-header,
461		.single.singular-featured-image-inactive #masthead,
462		.page.singular-featured-image-inactive:not(.page-template-templatesfront-page-php) #masthead,
463		.front-block.featured-page .hentry.has-post-thumbnail:hover .more-link,
464		.front-block .front-testimonial-inner,
465		.archive .page-header.centered-header .page-title,
466		.author-container .author-name a { color: #222221;}
467#masthead.scroll-header { color: #222221;}
468#toggle-sidebar #close-toggle-sidebar:hover,
469		.main-navigation ul ul { background: #222221;}
470.main-navigation ul ul:before { border-bottom-color: #222221;}
471#primary-header.has-background-cover .entry-meta,
472		#primary-header.has-background-cover .entry-meta a { color: #FFFFFF;}
473</style>
474<script type="text/javascript">
475	window.google_analytics_uacct = "UA-52447-2";
476</script>
476
477
478<script type="text/javascript">
479	var _gaq = _gaq || [];
480	_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-52447-2']);
481	_gaq.push(['_gat._anonymizeIp']);
482	_gaq.push(['_setDomainName', 'none']);
483	_gaq.push(['_setAllowLinker', true]);
484	_gaq.push(['_initData']);
485	_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
486
487	(function() {
488		var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
489		ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
490		(document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(ga);
491	})();
492</script>
492
493<style id="jetpack-subscriptions-inline-css">
494#subscribe-email input {
495	width: 95%;
496}
497
498.comment-subscription-form {
499	margin-bottom: 1em;
500}
501
502.comment-subscription-form .subscribe-label {
503	display: inline !important;
504}
505
506/*
507Text meant only for screen readers.
508Provides support for themes that do not bundle this CSS yet.
509@see https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/2015/02/09/hiding-text-for-screen-readers-with-wordpress-core/
510***********************************/
511.screen-reader-text {
512	border: 0;
513	clip-path: inset(50%);
514	height: 1px;
515	margin: -1px;
516	overflow: hidden;
517	padding: 0;
518	position: absolute !important;
519	width: 1px;
520	overflow-wrap: normal !important;
521}
522
523/*# sourceURL=/wp-content/mu-plugins/jetpack-plugin/sun/_inc/build/subscriptions/subscriptions.min.css */
524</style>
525
526</head>
527
528<body class="wp-singular post-template-default single single-post postid-40202 single-format-standard custom-background wp-embed-responsive wp-theme-premiumventure customizer-styles-applied group-blog has-sidebar has-custom-background singular-featured-image-inactive has-overlap-site-header jetpack-reblog-enabled custom-colors">
529<script id='jetpack-search-theme-token-sampler'>(function(){try{var c=getComputedStyle(document.body),r=document.documentElement,ink=c.color,bg=c.backgroundColor;if(ink){r.style.setProperty('--jp-search-page-ink',ink);}if(bg&&bg!==ink&&bg!=='rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)'&&bg!=='transparent'){r.style.setProperty('--jp-search-page-surface',bg);}}catch(e){}})();</script>
529<div id="page" class="site th-bg-white">
530	<a class="skip-link screen-reader-text" href="#content">Skip to content</a>
531
532	<div id="search-container" class="site-search-container th-items-center th-justify-center th-text-white th-p-sm" role="dialog" aria-hidden="true">
533		<form method="get" class="header-searchform th-bg-primary-dark sm:th-px-3xl th-px-base th-py-4xl th-w-full th-rounded" action="https://douglasernst.blog/" role="search">
534			<div class="header-searchform__inner th-flex">
535				<label class="th-block th-w-full">
536					<span class="screen-reader-text">Search for:</span>
537					<input type="search" id="header-search-field" class="header-searchform--field th-w-full th-text-inherit" placeholder="Search &#x2026;" name="s" value="" />
538				</label>
539
540				<button type="submit" class="header-searchform--submit th-text-white th-ml-2xs th-border-none">
541					<svg class="svg-icon th-fill-current" width="18" height="18" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"><circle cx="11" cy="11" r="8"></circle><line x1="21" y1="21" x2="16.65" y2="16.65"></line></svg>					<span class="screen-reader-text">Search</span>
542				</button><!-- .header-searchform--submit -->
543			</div><!-- .header-searchform__inner -->
544
545			<button id="close-search-container" class="header-searchform--close th-text-white th-border-none th-p-0" type="button">
546				<svg class="svg-icon th-fill-current" width="18" height="18" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"><line x1="18" y1="6" x2="6" y2="18"></line><line x1="6" y1="6" x2="18" y2="18"></line></svg>				<span class="screen-reader-text">Close a search form</span>
547			</button><!-- .header-searchform--close -->
548		</form><!-- .header-searchform -->
549	</div><!-- .site-search-container -->
550
551	<div id="toggle-sidebar" class="toggle-sidebar" aria-hidden="true">
552		<div class="inner-panel th-text-center sm:th-px-lg th-px-base sm:th-py-3xl th-py-lg th-links-inherit">
553			<button id="close-toggle-sidebar" class="close-toggle-sidebar primary-font" type="button">
554				<svg class="svg-icon th-fill-current" width="24" height="24" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"><line x1="18" y1="6" x2="6" y2="18"></line><line x1="6" y1="6" x2="18" y2="18"></line></svg>				Close			</button>
555
556			<nav id="mobile-navigation" class="mobile-navigation th-max-w-base th-mx-auto lg:th-hidden th-block" aria-label="Mobile Menu"></nav><!-- .mobile-navigation-->
557		</div><!-- .inner-panel -->
558	</div><!-- #toggle-sidebar -->
559
560	<header id="masthead" class="site-header sm:th-py-lg th-py-base sm:th-px-lg th-px-base th-flex th-flex-wrap th-items-center">
561		<div class="site-branding th-stack--xs th-w-full th-text-center md:th-px-0 th-px-base">
562			<p class="site-title th-text-xl th-font-normal th-mb-0"><a href="https://douglasernst.blog/">Douglas Ernst Blog</a></p>				<p class="site-description th-hidden th-mb-0 th-text-sm">Creator of the Soulfinder graphic novel series.</p>
563					</div><!-- .site-branding -->
564
565		<div class="header-links th-flex th-justify-end th-items-start th-ml-auto th-w-full">
566			<nav id="site-navigation" class="menu-navigation main-navigation lg:th-block th-hidden" aria-label="Primary Menu">
567				<ul id="primary-menu" class="menu"><li class="page_item page-item-2"><a href="https://douglasernst.blog/about/">About Douglas Ernst</a></li>
568</ul>
569			</nav><!-- #site-navigation -->
570
571			<button id="header-menu-button" class="header-menu th-border-none th-bg-transparent lg:th-hidden th-flex th-items-center clear" type="button">
572				<svg class="svg-icon th-fill-current" width="20" height="20" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"><line x1="3" y1="12" x2="21" y2="12"></line><line x1="3" y1="6" x2="21" y2="6"></line><line x1="3" y1="18" x2="21" y2="18"></line></svg>				Menu			</button>
573
574			
575			<button id="header-search-button" class="header-search th-border-none th-bg-transparent" type="button" aria-expanded="false">
576				<svg class="svg-icon th-fill-current" width="20" height="20" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"><circle cx="11" cy="11" r="8"></circle><line x1="21" y1="21" x2="16.65" y2="16.65"></line></svg>				<span class="screen-reader-text">Open a search form in a modal window</span>
577			</button>
578		</div><!-- .header-links -->
579	</header><!-- #masthead -->
580
581	<div id="content" class="site-content">
582
583	<div id="primary-header" class="page-header singular-page-header th-flex th-flex-wrap th-w-full th-bg-secondary-lightest sm:th-mb-3xl th-mb-lg">
584		
585		<div class="container th-self-end sm:th-py-3xl th-py-lg th-stack--lg">
586			<h1 class="entry-title sm:th-text-7xl th-text-3xl th-max-w-md">Thoughts on political and religious ‘influencer’ culture</h1>				<div class="entry-meta">
587					<span class="byline"><img referrerpolicy="no-referrer" alt='Douglas Ernst&#039;s avatar' src='https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=96&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D96&#038;r=PG' srcset='https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=96&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D96&#038;r=PG 1x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=144&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D144&#038;r=PG 1.5x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=192&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D192&#038;r=PG 2x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=288&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D288&#038;r=PG 3x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=384&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D384&#038;r=PG 4x' class='avatar avatar-96' height='96' width='96' decoding='async' />Written by <a href="https://douglasernst.blog/author/dougernst/" rel="author">Douglas Ernst</a></span>
588					<p class="inner th-mb-0 th-text-sm">
589					<span class="posted-on">Posted on <time class="entry-date published" datetime="2026-03-27T12:55:44-07:00">March 27, 2026</time><time class="updated" datetime="2026-03-27T13:00:42-07:00">March 27, 2026</time></span>					</p>
590				</div><!-- .entry-meta -->
591						</div><!-- .container -->
592	</div><!-- #primary-header -->
593
594
595<div class="container th-flex th-flex-wrap">
596	<main id="main" class="site-main th-w-full th-bordered-stack--lg sm:th-mb-3xl th-mb-lg">
597
598		
599<article id="post-40202" class="th-stack--lg post-40202 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-the-kitchen-sink tag-christianity tag-douglas-ernst tag-faith tag-history tag-politics-2 tag-religion">
600	<div class="entry-content th-content">
601		
602<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A lot has happened in the years since your friendly neighborhood writer was regularly posting on WordPress. Elections were won and lost. Twitter became X. Most of the people who were laughed at as conspiracy theorists were vindicated, and a nation in debt got much, much, much deeper in the hole.</p>
603
604
605
606<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Today, however, I’d like to speak on the rise of paid “influencer” culture on social media — and the throngs of wannabes who take cues from “stars” without ever seeing fame and fortune (all while cultivating atrocious personality traits often correlated with success). More specifically, I’d like to talk about the realms of political and religious influencers. </p>
607
608
609
610<p class="wp-block-paragraph">What one tends to see across social media is that most popular influencers in these spheres are brimming with self-righteousness, shun nuance, and always on the hunt for more content to mine for attention, clicks, and the revenue that comes from manufacturing outrage.</p>
611
612
613
614<p class="wp-block-paragraph">All of this makes sense when it comes to politics because, on some level, we expect political junkies to behave that way. The bar, sadly, is quite low. What is fascinating, however, is the lack of self-awareness that various Christian “influencers” have as it pertains to their chosen path’s deleterious effect on the cultivation of virtue.</p>
615
616
617
618<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It does not take long peruse through Christian gathering places on X to see members of various denominations rhetorically tearing each other apart. <em>Humility?</em> Nowhere to be seen. <em>Charity?</em> Missing in action. <em>Discernment?</em>
618 Not much.</p>
619
620
621
622<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Christian “influencers” often spend an inordinate amount of time getting into fights and then making everything about themselves (as opposed to, you know, Christ). They often act like the very same busybodies successfully mocked in the 1980s, which ushered in an era of Clintonian liberalism in the 90s.</p>
623
624
625
626<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On the political front, influencers who initially start out level-headed eventually become caricatures of themselves as they begin to believe their own hype. They start chasing algorithms, which reward those who strip commentary of all nuance. Truth becomes an afterthought because channels transmute into altars to ego and ideology.</p>
627
628
629
630<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It becomes increasingly difficult to root out what’s real and relevant in various news cycles because the individuals pushed into feeds by social media companies engage far more in a WWE-type ideological wrestling match than anything resembling a search for <em>truth.</em></p>
631
632
633
634<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In short, it seems as though those who yearn for wisdom will have the best luck by looking for refuges of the influencer-fatigued because it is in the small, hidden corners of the internet where humility has an opportunity to thrive. Nuance, similarly, can be found in the crevices of the online world where individuals puffed up on their own egos would never deign to crawl.</p>
635
636
637
638<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While I do enjoy streaming to <em><a href="https://www.iconiccomics.com/soulfinder">Soulfinder</a></em> readers on YouTube and interacting on X, I find myself increasingly drawn back to WordPress as a safe haven from monetized rage and the money that flows from moral preening.</p>
639
640
641
642<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Thanks, as always, for reading.</p>
643
644
645
646<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>
647
648
649
650<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>
651<div id="atatags-120314175-6ac933f3524e2">
652		
652<script type="text/javascript">
653			__ATA = window.__ATA || {};
654			__ATA.cmd = window.__ATA.cmd || [];
655			__ATA.cmd.push(function() {
656				__ATA.initVideoSlot('atatags-120314175-6ac933f3524e2', {
657					sectionId: '120314175',
658					format: 'inread'
659				});
660			});
661		</script>
661
662	</div><span id="wordads-inline-marker" style="display: none;"></span><div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing"><h3 class="sd-title">Share this:</h3><div class="sd-content"><ul><li class="share-twitter"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"
663				data-shared="sharing-twitter-40202"
664				class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text"
665				href="https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/?share=twitter"
666				target="_blank"
667				aria-labelledby="sharing-twitter-40202"
668				>
669				<span id="sharing-twitter-40202" hidden>Share on X (Opens in new window)</span>
670				<span>X</span>
671			</a></li><li class="share-facebook"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"
672				data-shared="sharing-facebook-40202"
673				class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text"
674				href="https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/?share=facebook"
675				target="_blank"
676				aria-labelledby="sharing-facebook-40202"
677				>
678				<span id="sharing-facebook-40202" hidden>Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)</span>
679				<span>Facebook</span>
680			</a></li><li class="share-tumblr"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"
681				data-shared="sharing-tumblr-40202"
682				class="share-tumblr sd-button share-icon no-text"
683				href="https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/?share=tumblr"
684				target="_blank"
685				aria-labelledby="sharing-tumblr-40202"
686				>
687				<span id="sharing-tumblr-40202" hidden>Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)</span>
688				<span>Tumblr</span>
689			</a></li><li class="share-end"></li></ul></div></div></div><div class='sharedaddy sd-block sd-like jetpack-likes-widget-wrapper jetpack-likes-widget-unloaded' id='like-post-wrapper-12031417-40202-6ac933f352ea6' data-src='//widgets.wp.com/likes/index.html?ver=20261009#blog_id=12031417&amp;post_id=40202&amp;origin=dougernst.wordpress.com&amp;obj_id=12031417-40202-6ac933f352ea6&amp;domain=douglasernst.blog' data-name='like-post-frame-12031417-40202-6ac933f352ea6' data-title='Like or Reblog'><div class='likes-widget-placeholder post-likes-widget-placeholder' style='height: 55px;'><span class='button'><span>Like</span></span> <span class='loading'>Loading...</span></div><span class='sd-text-color'></span><a class='sd-link-color'></a></div>
690<div id='jp-relatedposts' class='jp-relatedposts' >
691	<h3 class="jp-relatedposts-headline"><em>Related</em></h3>
692</div></div>	</div><!-- .entry-content -->
693
694			<footer class="entry-footer th-stack--lg">
695			<div class="cat-links th-text-sm th-text-secondary-base">Posted in <a href="https://douglasernst.blog/category/the-kitchen-sink/" rel="category tag">The Kitchen Sink</a></div><div class="tags-links th-text-sm th-text-secondary-base">Tagged <a href="https://douglasernst.blog/tag/christianity/" rel="tag">Christianity</a>, <a href="https://douglasernst.blog/tag/douglas-ernst/" rel="tag">Douglas Ernst</a>, <a href="https://douglasernst.blog/tag/faith/" rel="tag">Faith</a>, <a href="https://douglasernst.blog/tag/history/" rel="tag">History</a>, <a href="https://douglasernst.blog/tag/politics-2/" rel="tag">politics</a>, <a href="https://douglasernst.blog/tag/religion/" rel="tag">Religion</a></div>
696			<div class="entry-author author-container th-pt-lg sm:th-flex">
697				<div class="author-avatar th-rounded-full"><img referrerpolicy="no-referrer" alt='Unknown&#039;s avatar' src='https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=192&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D192&#038;r=PG' srcset='https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=192&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D192&#038;r=PG 1x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=288&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D288&#038;r=PG 1.5x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=384&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D384&#038;r=PG 2x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=576&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D576&#038;r=PG 3x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=768&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D768&#038;r=PG 4x' class='avatar avatar-192' height='192' width='192' decoding='async' /></div>
698				<div class="author-bio th-self-center sm:th-ml-lg th-stack--xs">
699					<p class="author-name th-mb-0 th-text-md th-links-inherit"><span class="th-block th-text-sm th-text-secondary-base">About the Author:</span> <a class="th-inline-block th-font-normal" href="https://douglasernst.blog/author/dougernst/" rel="author">Douglas Ernst</a></p>
700					<p class="author-bio-content th-mb-xs">I'm a former Army guy who believes success comes through hard work, honesty, optimism, and perseverance. 
701
702I believe seeing yourself as a victim creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. I believe in God. I'm a USC Trojan with an MA in Political Science from American University.</p><p class="author-link-container th-mb-0 th-mt-2xs th-text-secondary-base th-links-inherit"><a class="author-link th-font-normal has-arrow" href="https://douglasernst.blog/author/dougernst/" rel="author">View all posts by Douglas Ernst</a></p><ul class="author-links th-inline-block th-links-inherit th-list-none th-leading-none th-mb-0 th-ml-0 th-mt-md"><li class="th-inline-block th-text-secondary-base th-mr-sm"><a href="https://dougernst.wordpress.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><svg class="svg-icon th-fill-current" width="16" height="16" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" viewBox="0 0 16 16"  fill="currentColor" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M6.5 10.995V14.5a.5.5 0 0 1-.5.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5v-7a.5.5 0 0 1 .146-.354l6-6a.5.5 0 0 1 .708 0l6 6a.5.5 0 0 1 .146.354v7a.5.5 0 0 1-.5.5h-4a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V11c0-.25-.25-.5-.5-.5H7c-.25 0-.5.25-.5.495z"/><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M13 2.5V6l-2-2V2.5a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h1a.5.5 0 0 1 .5.5z"/></svg><span class="screen-reader-text">Personal website</span></a></li></ul><!-- .author-links -->
703				</div>
704			</div>
705					</footer><!-- .entry-footer -->
706		</article><!-- .hentry -->
707
708	<nav class="navigation post-navigation" aria-label="Posts">
709		<h2 class="screen-reader-text">Post navigation</h2>
710		<div class="nav-links"><div class="nav-previous"><a href="https://douglasernst.blog/2024/07/03/soulfinder-tunnel-hounds-now-available-at-iconic-comics/" rel="prev"><span class="meta-nav primary-font th-block th-mb-xs th-text-secondary-base th-text-sm">Previous Entry</span> <span class="post-title th-font-normal">Soulfinder: Tunnel Hounds now available at Iconic Comics!</span></a></div></div>
711	</nav>
712	</main><!-- #main -->
713
714	
715<aside id="secondary" class="widget-area sidebar-section th-w-full th-stack--lg th-text-sm sm:th-mb-3xl th-mb-lg">
716	<section id="freshly_pressed-4" class="widget widget_freshly_pressed"><a href="https://wordpress.com/discover/" title="Featured on Freshly Pressed"><img src="https://s0.wp.com/i/badges/freshly-pressed-rectangle.png?m=1391188133i" width="200px" height="62px" /></a>
717</section><section id="follow_button_widget-6" class="widget widget_follow_button_widget">
718		<a class="wordpress-follow-button" href="https://douglasernst.blog" data-blog="12031417" data-lang="en" >Follow Douglas Ernst Blog on WordPress.com</a>
719		
719<script type="text/javascript">(function(d){ window.wpcomPlatform = {"titles":{"timelines":"Embeddable Timelines","followButton":"Follow Button","wpEmbeds":"WordPress Embeds"}}; var f = d.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0], p = d.createElement('SCRIPT');p.type = 'text/javascript';p.async = true;p.src = '//widgets.wp.com/platform.js';f.parentNode.insertBefore(p,f);}(document));</script>
719
720
721		</section><section id="blog_subscription-7" class="widget widget_blog_subscription jetpack_subscription_widget"><h2 class="widget-title th-text-base th-mb-sm th-font-normal"><label for="subscribe-field">Follow via Email</label></h2>
722
723			<div class="wp-block-jetpack-subscriptions__container">
724			<form
725				action="https://subscribe.wordpress.com"
726				method="post"
727				accept-charset="utf-8"
728				data-blog="12031417"
729				data-post_access_level="everybody"
730				id="subscribe-blog"
731			>
732				<p>Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.</p>
733				<p id="subscribe-email">
734					<label
735						id="subscribe-field-label"
736						for="subscribe-field"
737						class="screen-reader-text"
738					>
739						Email Address:					</label>
740
741					<input
742							type="email"
743							name="email"
744							autocomplete="email"
745							
746							style="width: 95%; padding: 1px 10px"
747							placeholder="Email Address"
748							value=""
749							id="subscribe-field"
750							required
751						/>				</p>
752
753				<p id="subscribe-submit"
754									>
755					<input type="hidden" name="action" value="subscribe"/>
756					<input type="hidden" name="blog_id" value="12031417"/>
757					<input type="hidden" name="source" value="https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/"/>
758					<input type="hidden" name="sub-type" value="widget"/>
759					<input type="hidden" name="redirect_fragment" value="subscribe-blog"/>
760					<input type="hidden" id="_wpnonce" name="_wpnonce" value="36d8830454" />					<button type="submit"
761													class="wp-block-button__link"
762																	>
763						Follow					</button>
764				</p>
765			</form>
766						</div>
767			
768</section><section id="gravatar-7" class="widget widget_gravatar"><p><img referrerpolicy="no-referrer" alt='Unknown&#039;s avatar' src='https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=256&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D256&#038;r=PG' srcset='https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=256&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D256&#038;r=PG 1x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=384&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D384&#038;r=PG 1.5x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=512&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D512&#038;r=PG 2x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=768&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D768&#038;r=PG 3x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=1024&#038;d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D1024&#038;r=PG 4x' class='avatar avatar-256 grav-widget-none' height='256' width='256' loading='lazy' decoding='async' /></p>
769</section><section id="rss-3" class="widget widget_rss"><h2 class="widget-title th-text-base th-mb-sm th-font-normal"><a class="rsswidget" href="https://douglasernst.blog/feed/" title="Syndicate this content"><img style="background: orange; color: white; border: none;" width="14" height="14" src="https://s.wordpress.com/wp-includes/images/rss.png?m=1354137473i" alt="RSS" /></a> <a class="rsswidget" href="https://douglasernst.blog" title="Creator of the Soulfinder graphic novel series.">Douglas Ernst Blog</a></h2><ul><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/' title='A lot has happened in the years since your friendly neighborhood writer was regularly posting on WordPress. Elections were won and lost. Twitter became X. Most of the people who were laughed at as conspiracy theorists were vindicated, and a nation in debt got much, much, much deeper in the hole. Today, however, I’d like… Continue reading Thoughts on politica [&hellip;]'>Thoughts on political and religious ‘influencer’ culture</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2024/07/03/soulfinder-tunnel-hounds-now-available-at-iconic-comics/' title='There seems to be something about releasing a new installment of the Soulfinder series that brings me back to this little old blog. My musings on politics and pop culture here opened up job opportunities, introduced me to solid dudes who I’m still in touch with today, and put me on the path that ultimately… Continue reading Soulfinder: Tunnel Hounds now avai [&hellip;]'>Soulfinder: Tunnel Hounds now available at Iconic Comics!</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2022/11/17/soulfinder-infinite-ascent-released-succeeds-on-its-own-merits-zero-boogeymen-needed-for-new-readers/' title='It was one year ago that your friendly neighborhood blogger-turned-YouTuber-turned-indie comics creator came out with Soulfinder: Black Tide. The May 2021 piece I penned upon its release talked about zigging while others zagged; the series about combat veteran exorcists skipped crowdfunding and went straight to the Iconic Comics website. Soulfinder: Infinite [&hellip;]'>Soulfinder: Infinite Ascent released, succeeds on its own merits: Zero boogeymen needed for new readers</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2021/05/01/soulfinder-black-tide-iconic-comics-and-the-case-for-zigging-while-others-zag/' title='The release of &#039;Soulfinder: Demon&#039;s Match&#039; in 2019 and &#039;Soulfinder: Black Tide&#039; in 2021 shows that there is no single blueprint for indie comics success.'>‘Soulfinder: Black Tide,’ ICONIC Comics, and the case for zigging while others zag</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2020/12/27/a-thank-you-to-marian-rose-world-mission/' title='A global pandemic. Lockdowns. Looting. Riots. Presidential politics. The U.S. faced numerous challenges in 2020, which seemed to bring out the worst in a lot of people. All of it was chronicled on social media (platforms that in many ways reward division and hate). Your friendly neighborhood blogger, however, was blessed to start off the… Continue reading A [&hellip;]'>A ‘Thank You’ to Marian Rose World Mission</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2020/11/22/dan-slott-exposed-by-tom-brevoort-in-marvel-616-episode-we-use-the-term-work-loosely-when-it-comes-to-dan/' title='Regular readers of this blog know that for years I have said Marvel’s Dan Slott is more of an “idea man” than a writer’s writer. I’ve said that he spends far too much time ranting and raving on social media — or opining on plans that aren’t scheduled to take place for another 100 issues… Continue reading Dan Slott exposed by Tom Brevoort in ‘Marvel 616’ epis [&hellip;]'>Dan Slott exposed by Tom Brevoort in ‘Marvel 616’ episode: ‘We use the term ‘work’ loosely when it comes to Dan’</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2019/09/24/dan-slott-marvel-elite-hypocrite-lectures-indie-creators-on-professionalism/' title='Dan Slott&#039;s unprofessional behavior was in many ways the catalyst for &quot;Comicsgate,&quot; but he now wants to lecture indie creators on tact and decorum.  Classic!'>Dan Slott, Marvel-elite hypocrite, lectures indie creators on professionalism</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2019/06/18/soulfinder-demons-match-crosses-10k-i-love-it-when-a-plan-comes-together/' title='&quot;Soulfinder: Demon&#039;s Match&quot; by Douglas Ernst crossed the $10K barrier it needed in funding in four days. '>‘Soulfinder: Demon’s Match’ crosses $10K: ‘I love it when a plan comes together’</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2019/06/14/soulfinder-demons-match-is-live-on-indiegogo-now/' title='&quot;Soulfinder: Demon&#039;s Match&quot; is live on Indiegogo. The comic on combat vet exorcists is written by Douglas Ernst — with art by Timothy Lim and Brett R. Smith.'>‘Soulfinder: Demon’s Match’ is LIVE on Indiegogo NOW</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2019/06/10/soulfinder-demons-match-trailer-for-ju
769ne-14-indiegogo-launch/' title='&quot;Soulfinder: Demon&#039;s Match&quot; by Douglas Ernst — with art by Timothy Lim and work by colorist Brett R. Smith — launches on June 14. Watch the trailer now.'>‘Soulfinder: Demon’s Match’ trailer for June 14 Indiegogo launch</a></li></ul></section></aside><!-- #secondary -->
770</div><!-- .container -->
771
772
773	</div><!-- #content -->
774
775	<footer id="colophon" class="site-footer th-py-lg th-bg-secondary-lightest">
776		<div class="container th-stack--lg">
777						<div class="footer-widget-area th-flex th-flex-wrap th--mx-sm th-stack-full--lg">
778				<section id="blog_subscription-9" class="widget widget_blog_subscription jetpack_subscription_widget footer-widget th-w-full th-px-sm"><h2 class="widget-title th-text-lg th-mb-sm th-font-normal"><label for="subscribe-field-2">Follow via Email</label></h2>
779
780			<div class="wp-block-jetpack-subscriptions__container">
781			<form
782				action="https://subscribe.wordpress.com"
783				method="post"
784				accept-charset="utf-8"
785				data-blog="12031417"
786				data-post_access_level="everybody"
787				id="subscribe-blog-2"
788			>
789				<p>Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.</p>
790				<p id="subscribe-email">
791					<label
792						id="subscribe-field-2-label"
793						for="subscribe-field-2"
794						class="screen-reader-text"
795					>
796						Email Address:					</label>
797
798					<input
799							type="email"
800							name="email"
801							autocomplete="email"
802							
803							style="width: 95%; padding: 1px 10px"
804							placeholder="Email Address"
805							value=""
806							id="subscribe-field-2"
807							required
808						/>				</p>
809
810				<p id="subscribe-submit"
811									>
812					<input type="hidden" name="action" value="subscribe"/>
813					<input type="hidden" name="blog_id" value="12031417"/>
814					<input type="hidden" name="source" value="https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/"/>
815					<input type="hidden" name="sub-type" value="widget"/>
816					<input type="hidden" name="redirect_fragment" value="subscribe-blog-2"/>
817					<input type="hidden" id="_wpnonce" name="_wpnonce" value="36d8830454" />					<button type="submit"
818													class="wp-block-button__link"
819																	>
820						Follow					</button>
821				</p>
822			</form>
823						</div>
824			
825</section><section id="follow_button_widget-8" class="widget widget_follow_button_widget footer-widget th-w-full th-px-sm">
826		<a class="wordpress-follow-button" href="https://douglasernst.blog" data-blog="12031417" data-lang="en" >Follow Douglas Ernst Blog on WordPress.com</a>
827		
827<script type="text/javascript">(function(d){ window.wpcomPlatform = {"titles":{"timelines":"Embeddable Timelines","followButton":"Follow Button","wpEmbeds":"WordPress Embeds"}}; var f = d.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0], p = d.createElement('SCRIPT');p.type = 'text/javascript';p.async = true;p.src = '//widgets.wp.com/platform.js';f.parentNode.insertBefore(p,f);}(document));</script>
827
828
829		</section>			</div><!-- .footer-widget-area -->
830			
831			<div class="footer-bottom th-stack-full--lg th-flex lg:th-flex-no-wrap th-flex-wrap th-items-center th-font-normal th-text-center">
832				<div class="footer-left th-stack--xs lg:th-w-auto th-w-full th-text-xs">
833					<div class="footer-links th-uppercase">
834						<div class="site-copyright lg:th-inline-block">2026 <a href="https://douglasernst.blog/">Douglas Ernst Blog</a></div>					</div><!-- .footer-links -->
835
836					<div class="site-info th-normal-case">
837						<a href="https://wordpress.com/?ref=footer_blog" rel="nofollow">Blog at WordPress.com.</a>
838						
839											</div><!-- .site-info -->
840				</div><!-- .footer-left -->
841
842							</div><!-- .footer-bottom -->
843		</div><!-- .container  -->
844	</footer><!-- #colophon -->
845</div><!-- #page -->
846
847<!--  -->
848<script type="speculationrules">
849{"prefetch":[{"source":"document","where":{"and":[{"href_matches":"/*"},{"not":{"href_matches":["/wp-*.php","/wp-admin/*","/files/*","/wp-content/*","/wp-content/plugins/*","/wp-content/themes/premium/venture/*","/*\\?(.+)"]}},{"not":{"selector_matches":"a[rel~=\"nofollow\"]"}},{"not":{"selector_matches":".no-prefetch, .no-prefetch a"}}]},"eagerness":"conservative"}]}
850</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 850
850
851<script id="grofiles-cards-js" src="//0.gravatar.com/js/hovercards/hovercards.min.js?ver=202641d1133547e8a1f2801609f51cef12522abe7f6647d869e9fbc974fe356a37e613"></script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 851
851
852<script id="wpgroho-js-extra">
853var WPGroHo = {"my_hash":""};
854//# sourceURL=wpgroho-js-extra
855</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 855
855
856<script crossorigin='anonymous' type='text/javascript'  src='/wp-content/mu-plugins/gravatar-hovercards/wpgroho.js?m=1610363240i'></script>
856
857
858	
858<script>
859		// Initialize and attach hovercards to all gravatars
860		( function() {
861			function init() {
862				if ( typeof Gravatar === 'undefined' ) {
863					return;
864				}
865
866				if ( typeof Gravatar.init !== 'function' ) {
867					return;
868				}
869
870				Gravatar.profile_cb = function ( hash, id ) {
871					WPGroHo.syncProfileData( hash, id );
872				};
873
874				Gravatar.my_hash = WPGroHo.my_hash;
875				Gravatar.init(
876					'body',
877					'#wp-admin-bar-my-account',
878					{
879						i18n: {
880							'Edit your profile →': 'Edit your profile →',
881							'View profile →': 'View profile →',
882							'Contact': 'Contact',
883							'Send money': 'Send money',
884							'Sorry, we are unable to load this Gravatar profile.': 'Sorry, we are unable to load this Gravatar profile.',
885							'Gravatar not found.': 'Gravatar not found.',
886							'Too Many Requests.': 'Too Many Requests.',
887							'Internal Server Error.': 'Internal Server Error.',
888							'Is this you?': 'Is this you?',
889							'Claim your free profile.': 'Claim your free profile.',
890							'Email': 'Email',
891							'Home Phone': 'Home Phone',
892							'Work Phone': 'Work Phone',
893							'Cell Phone': 'Cell Phone',
894							'Contact Form': 'Contact Form',
895							'Calendar': 'Calendar',
896						},
897					}
898				);
899			}
900
901			if ( document.readyState !== 'loading' ) {
902				init();
903			} else {
904				document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', init );
905			}
906		} )();
907	</script>
907
908
909		<div style="display:none">
910	<div class="grofile-hash-map-0197eceb42e9bae0e9b8e8c4ebfebf7b">
911	</div>
912	<div class="grofile-hash-map-0197eceb42e9bae0e9b8e8c4ebfebf7b">
913	</div>
914	</div>
915		<!-- CCPA [start] -->
916		
916<script type="text/javascript">
917			( function () {
918
919				var setupPrivacy = function() {
920
921					// Minimal Mozilla Cookie library
922					// https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Document/cookie/Simple_document.cookie_framework
923					var cookieLib = window.cookieLib = {getItem:function(e){return e&&decodeURIComponent(document.cookie.replace(new RegExp("(?:(?:^|.*;)\\s*"+encodeURIComponent(e).replace(/[\-\.\+\*]/g,"\\$&")+"\\s*\\=\\s*([^;]*).*$)|^.*$"),"$1"))||null},setItem:function(e,o,n,t,r,i){if(!e||/^(?:expires|max\-age|path|domain|secure)$/i.test(e))return!1;var c="";if(n)switch(n.constructor){case Number:c=n===1/0?"; expires=Fri, 31 Dec 9999 23:59:59 GMT":"; max-age="+n;break;case String:c="; expires="+n;break;case Date:c="; expires="+n.toUTCString()}return"rootDomain"!==r&&".rootDomain"!==r||(r=(".rootDomain"===r?".":"")+document.location.hostname.split(".").slice(-2).join(".")),document.cookie=encodeURIComponent(e)+"="+encodeURIComponent(o)+c+(r?"; domain="+r:"")+(t?"; path="+t:"")+(i?"; secure":""),!0}};
924
925					// Implement IAB USP API.
926					window.__uspapi = function( command, version, callback ) {
927
928						// Validate callback.
929						if ( typeof callback !== 'function' ) {
930							return;
931						}
932
933						// Validate the given command.
934						if ( command !== 'getUSPData' || version !== 1 ) {
935							callback( null, false );
936							return;
937						}
938
939						// Check for GPC. If set, override any stored cookie.
940						if ( navigator.globalPrivacyControl ) {
941							callback( { version: 1, uspString: '1YYN' }, true );
942							return;
943						}
944
945						// Check for cookie.
946						var consent = cookieLib.getItem( 'usprivacy' );
947
948						// Invalid cookie.
949						if ( null === consent ) {
950							callback( null, false );
951							return;
952						}
953
954						// Everything checks out. Fire the provided callback with the consent data.
955						callback( { version: 1, uspString: consent }, true );
956					};
957
958					// Initialization.
959					document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', function() {
960
961						// Internal functions.
962						var setDefaultOptInCookie = function() {
963							var value = '1YNN';
964							var domain = '.wordpress.com' === location.hostname.slice( -14 ) ? '.rootDomain' : location.hostname;
965							cookieLib.setItem( 'usprivacy', value, 365 * 24 * 60 * 60, '/', domain );
966						};
967
968						var setDefaultOptOutCookie = function() {
969							var value = '1YYN';
970							var domain = '.wordpress.com' === location.hostname.slice( -14 ) ? '.rootDomain' : location.hostname;
971							cookieLib.setItem( 'usprivacy', value, 24 * 60 * 60, '/', domain );
972						};
973
974						var setDefaultNotApplicableCookie = function() {
975							var value = '1---';
976							var domain = '.wordpress.com' === location.hostname.slice( -14 ) ? '.rootDomain' : location.hostname;
977							cookieLib.setItem( 'usprivacy', value, 24 * 60 * 60, '/', domain );
978						};
979
980						var setCcpaAppliesCookie = function( applies ) {
981							var domain = '.wordpress.com' === location.hostname.slice( -14 ) ? '.rootDomain' : location.hostname;
982							cookieLib.setItem( 'ccpa_applies', applies, 24 * 60 * 60, '/', domain );
983						}
984
985						var maybeCallDoNotSellCallback = function() {
986							if ( 'function' === typeof window.doNotSellCallback ) {
987								return window.doNotSellCallback();
988							}
989
990							return false;
991						}
992
993						// Look for usprivacy cookie first.
994						var usprivacyCookie = cookieLib.getItem( 'usprivacy' );
995
996						// Found a usprivacy cookie.
997						if ( null !== usprivacyCookie ) {
998
999							// If the cookie indicates that CCPA does not apply, then bail.
1000							if ( '1---' === usprivacyCookie ) {
1001								return;
1002							}
1003
1004							// CCPA applies, so call our callback to add Do Not Sell link to the page.
1005							maybeCallDoNotSellCallback();
1006
1007							// We're all done, no more processing needed.
1008							return;
1009						}
1010
1011						// We don't have a usprivacy cookie, so check to see if we have a CCPA applies cookie.
1012						var ccpaCookie = cookieLib.getItem( 'ccpa_applies' );
1013
1014						// No CCPA applies cookie found, so we'll need to geolocate if this visitor is from California.
1015						// This needs to happen client side because we do not have region geo data in our $SERVER headers,
1016						// only country data -- therefore we can't vary cache on the region.
1017						if ( null === ccpaCookie ) {
1018
1019							var request = new XMLHttpRequest();
1020							request.open( 'GET', 'https://public-api.wordpress.com/geo/', true );
1021
1022							request.onreadystatechange = function () {
1023								if ( 4 === this.readyState ) {
1024									if ( 200 === this.status ) {
1025
1026										// Got a geo response. Parse out the region data.
1027										var data = JSON.parse( this.response );
1028										var region      = data.region ? data.region.toLowerCase() : '';
1029										var ccpa_applies = ['california', 'colorado', 'connecticut', 'delaware', 'indiana', 'iowa', 'montana', 'new jersey', 'oregon', 'tennessee', 'texas', 'utah', 'virginia'].indexOf( region ) > -1;
1030										// Set CCPA applies cookie. This keeps us from having to make a geo request too frequently.
1031										setCcpaAppliesCookie( ccpa_applies );
1032
1033										// Check if CCPA applies to set the proper usprivacy cookie.
1034										if ( ccpa_applies ) {
1035											if ( maybeCallDoNotSellCallback() ) {
1036												// Do Not Sell link added, so set default opt-in.
1037												setDefaultOptInCookie();
1038											} else {
1039												// Failed showing Do Not Sell link as required, so default to opt-OUT just to be safe.
1040												setDefaultOptOutCookie();
1041											}
1042										} else {
1043											// CCPA does not apply.
1044											setDefaultNotApplicableCookie();
1045										}
1046									} else {
1047										// Could not geo, so let's assume for now that CCPA applies to be safe.
1048										setCcpaAppliesCookie( true );
1049										if ( maybeCallDoNotSellCallback() ) {
1050											// Do Not Sell link added, so set default opt-in.
1051											setDefaultOptInCookie();
1052										} else {
1053											// Failed showing Do Not Sell link as required, so default to opt-OUT just to be safe.
1054											setDefaultOptOutCookie();
1055										}
1056									}
1057								}
1058							};
1059
1060							// Send the geo request.
1061							request.send();
1062						} else {
1063							// We found a CCPA applies cookie.
1064							if ( ccpaCookie === 'true' ) {
1065								if ( maybeCallDoNotSellCallback() ) {
1066									// Do Not Sell link added, so set default opt-in.
1067									setDefaultOptInCookie();
1068								} else {
1069									// Failed showing Do Not Sell link as required, so default to opt-OUT just to be safe.
1070									setDefaultOptOutCookie();
1071								}
1072							} else {
1073								// CCPA does not apply.
1074								setDefaultNotApplicableCookie();
1075							}
1076						}
1077					} );
1078				};
1079
1080				// Kickoff initialization.
1081				if ( window.defQueue && defQueue.isLOHP && defQueue.isLOHP === 2020 ) {
1082					defQueue.items.push( setupPrivacy );
1083				} else {
1084					setupPrivacy();
1085				}
1086
1087			} )();
1088		</script>
1088
1089
1090		<!-- CCPA [end] -->
1091		<div class="widget widget_eu_cookie_law_widget">
1092<div
1093	class="hide-on-button ads-active"
1094	data-hide-timeout="30"
1095	data-consent-expiration="180"
1096	id="eu-cookie-law"
1097	style="display: none"
1098>
1099	<form method="post">
1100		<input type="submit" value="Close and accept" class="accept" />
1101
1102		Privacy &amp; Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. <br />
1103To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here:
1104				<a href="https://automattic.com/cookies/" rel="nofollow">
1105			Cookie Policy		</a>
1106 </form>
1107</div>
1108</div>			<div id="actionbar" dir="ltr" style="display: none;"
1109				class="actnbr-premium-venture" role="region" aria-label="Site actions">
1110			<span class="actnbr-live" aria-live="polite"></span>
1111			<ul>
1112										<li class="actnbr-btn">
1113							<a class="actnbr-action actnbr-actn-reblog" href="" role="button">
1114								<svg class="actnbr-icon actnbr-icon-reusable-block" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" fill="currentColor"><path d="M7 7.2h8.2L13.5 9l1.1 1.1 3.6-3.6-3.5-4-1.1 1 1.9 2.3H7c-.9 0-1.7.3-2.3.9-1.4 1.5-1.4 4.2-1.4 5.6v.2h1.5v-.3c0-1.1 0-3.5 1-4.5.3-.3.7-.5 1.2-.5zm13.8 4V11h-1.5v.3c0 1.1 0 3.5-1 4.5-.3.3-.7.5-1.3.5H8.8l1.7-1.7-1.1-1.1L5.9 17l3.5 4 1.1-1-1.9-2.3H17c.9 0 1.7-.3 2.3-.9 1.5-1.4 1.5-4.2 1.5-5.6z"/></svg><span>Reblog</span>
1115							</a>
1116						</li>
1117											<li class="actnbr-btn actnbr-hidden">
1118										<a class="actnbr-action actnbr-actn-follow " href="" role="button" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-expanded="false">
1119				<svg class="actnbr-icon actnbr-icon-bell" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" fill="currentColor"><path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M17 11.5c0 1.353.17 2.368.976 3 .266.209.602.376 1.024.5v1H5v-1c.422-.124.757-.291 1.024-.5.806-.632.976-1.647.976-3V9c0-2.8 2.2-5 5-5s5 2.2 5 5v2.5ZM15.5 9v2.5c0 .93.066 1.98.515 2.897l.053.103H7.932a4.018 4.018 0 0 0 .053-.103c.449-.917.515-1.967.515-2.897V9c0-1.972 1.528-3.5 3.5-3.5s3.5 1.528 3.5 3.5Zm-5.492 9.008c0-.176.023-.346.065-.508h3.854A1.996 1.996 0 0 1 12 20c-1.1 0-1.992-.892-1.992-1.992Z"/></svg>				<span>Subscribe</span>
1120			</a>
1121			<a class="actnbr-action actnbr-actn-following  no-display" href="" role="button">
1122				<svg class="actnbr-icon actnbr-icon-check" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" style="fill: none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.5"><path d="M7 12L10 15L17 8" vector-effect="non-scaling-stroke"/></svg>				<span>Subscribed</span>
1123			</a>
1124									<div class="actnbr-popover actnbr-panel actnbr-notice" id="follow-bubble" role="dialog" aria-label="Subscribe to Douglas Ernst Blog">
1125								<div class="actnbr-follow-bubble">
1126								<div class="actnbr-panel__group"><a class="actnbr-menu__item actnbr-sitename" href="https://douglasernst.blog"><img loading='lazy' alt='' src='https://s-ssl.wordpress.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png?m=1479929237i' srcset='https://s-ssl.wordpress.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png 1x' class='avatar avatar-50' height='50' width='50' /><span class="actnbr-menu__label">Douglas Ernst Blog</span></a></div>																	<div class="actnbr-panel__group">
1127										<div class="actnbr-message no-display" aria-live="polite"></div>
1128										<form method="post" action="https://subscribe.wordpress.com" accept-charset="utf-8" class="no-display">
1129																							<div class="actnbr-follow-count">Join 953 other subscribers</div>
1130																							<input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Want updates? Enter your email" class="actnbr-email-field" aria-label="Email address" />
1131											<input type="hidden" name="action" value="subscribe" />
1132											<input type="hidden" name="blog_id" value="12031417" />
1133											<input type="hidden" name="source" value="https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/" />
1134											<input type="hidden" name="sub-type" value="actionbar-follow" />
1135											<input type="hidden" id="_wpnonce" name="_wpnonce" value="36d8830454" />											<button type="submit" class="actnbr-button">Sign me up</button>
1136										</form>
1137										<p class="actnbr-login-nudge">
1138											Have a WordPress.com account? <a href="https://wordpress.com/log-in?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fr-login.wordpress.com%2Fremote-login.php%3Faction%3Dlink%26back%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fdouglasernst.blog%252F2026%252F03%252F27%252Fthoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture%252F">Log in now.</a>										</p>
1139									</div>
1140																	</div>
1141							</div>
1142						</li>
1143									<li class="actnbr-ellipsis actnbr-hidden">
1144					<button type="button" class="actnbr-more-toggle" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="More options">
1145						<svg class="actnbr-icon actnbr-icon-more-horizontal" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" fill="currentColor"><path d="M11 13h2v-2h-2v2zm-6 0h2v-2H5v2zm12-2v2h2v-2h-2z"/></svg>					</button>
1146					<div class="actnbr-popover actnbr-menu" role="menu" aria-label="Site options">
1147						<div class="actnbr-menu__group" role="group"><a role="menuitem" class="actnbr-menu__item actnbr-sitename" href="https://douglasernst.blog"><img loading='lazy' alt='' src='https://s-ssl.wordpress.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png?m=1479929237i' srcset='https://s-ssl.wordpress.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png 1x' class='avatar avatar-50' height='50' width='50' /><span class="actnbr-menu__label">Douglas Ernst Blog</span></a></div><div class="actnbr-menu__group" role="group"><a role="menuitem" class="actnbr-menu__item actnbr-shortlink" href="https://wp.me/pOtV7-asq"><span class="actnbr-menu__label actnbr-shortlink__text">Copy shortlink</span><span class="actnbr-menu__icon actnbr-shortlink__icon"><svg class="actnbr-icon actnbr-icon-copy" width="18" height="18" viewBox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" fill="currentColor"><path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M5 4.5h11a.5.5 0 0 1 .5.5v11a.5.5 0 0 1-.5.5H5a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V5a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5ZM3 5a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h11a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v11a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2V5Zm17 3v10.75c0 .69-.56 1.25-1.25 1.25H6v1.5h12.75a2.75 2.75 0 0 0 2.75-2.75V8H20Z"/></svg></span><span class="actnbr-menu__icon actnbr-shortlink__icon-copied"><svg class="actnbr-icon actnbr-icon-check" width="18" height="18" viewBox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" style="fill: none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.5"><path d="M7 12L10 15L17 8" vector-effect="non-scaling-stroke"/></svg></span></a><a role="menuitem" class="actnbr-menu__item actnbr-reader" href="https://wordpress.com/reader/blogs/12031417/posts/40202"><span class="actnbr-menu__label">View post in Reader</span></a></div><div class="actnbr-menu__group" role="group"><a role="menuitem" class="actnbr-menu__item actnbr-subs" href="https://subscribe.wordpress.com/"><span class="actnbr-menu__label">Manage subscriptions</span></a><a role="menuitem" class="actnbr-menu__item actnbr-signup" href="https://wordpress.com/start/"><span class="actnbr-menu__label">Sign up</span></a><a role="menuitem" class="actnbr-menu__item actnbr-login" href="https://wordpress.com/log-in?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fr-login.wordpress.com%2Fremote-login.php%3Faction%3Dlink%26back%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fdouglasernst.blog%252F2026%252F03%252F27%252Fthoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture%252F"><span class="actnbr-menu__label">Log in</span></a></div><div class="actnbr-menu__group" role="group"><a role="menuitem" class="actnbr-menu__item flb-report" href="https://wordpress.com/abuse/?report_url=https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span class="actnbr-menu__label">Report this content</span><span class="actnbr-menu__icon"><svg class="actnbr-icon actnbr-icon-external" width="18" height="18" viewBox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" fill="currentColor"><path d="M19.5 4.5h-7V6h4.44l-5.97 5.97 1.06 1.06L18 7.06v4.44h1.5v-7Zm-13 1a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v10a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h10a2 2 0 0 0 2-2v-3H17v3a.5.5 0 0 1-.5.5h-10a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5v-10a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h3V5.5h-3Z"/></svg></span></a></div><div class="actnbr-menu__group" role="group"><a role="menuitem" class="actnbr-menu__item actnbr-fold" href=""><span class="actnbr-menu__label">Collapse this bar</span></a></div>					</div>
1148				</li>
1149			</ul>
1150		</div>
1151		
1151<script>
1152window.addEventListener( "DOMContentLoaded", function () {
1153				var link = document.createElement( "link" );
1154				link.href = "\/wp-content\/mu-plugins\/jetpack-plugin\/sun\/jetpack_vendor\/automattic\/jetpack-newsletter\/src\/..\/build\/action-bar.css?ver=35dd33285eb46dc308dd";
1155				link.rel = "stylesheet";
1156				document.head.appendChild( link );
1157
1158				var script = document.createElement( "script" );
1159				script.src = "\/wp-content\/mu-plugins\/jetpack-plugin\/sun\/jetpack_vendor\/automattic\/jetpack-newsletter\/src\/..\/build\/action-bar.js?ver=35dd33285eb46dc308dd";
1160				document.body.appendChild( script );
1161			} );
1162</script>
1162
1163
1164	
1164<script type="text/javascript">
1165		window.WPCOM_sharing_counts = {"https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/":40202};
1166	</script>
1166
1167				
1168	
1168<script type="text/javascript">
1169		(function () {
1170			var wpcom_reblog = {
1171				source: 'toolbar',
1172
1173				toggle_reblog_box_flair: function (obj_id, post_id) {
1174
1175					// Go to site selector. This will redirect to their blog if they only have one.
1176					const postEndpoint = `https://wordpress.com/post`;
1177
1178					// Ideally we would use the permalink here, but fortunately this will be replaced with the 
1179					// post permalink in the editor.
1180					const originalURL = `${ document.location.href }?page_id=${ post_id }`; 
1181					
1182					const url =
1183						postEndpoint +
1184						'?url=' +
1185						encodeURIComponent( originalURL ) +
1186						'&is_post_share=true' +
1187						'&v=5';
1188
1189					const redirect = function () {
1190						if (
1191							! window.open( url, '_blank' )
1192						) {
1193							location.href = url;
1194						}
1195					};
1196
1197					if ( /Firefox/.test( navigator.userAgent ) ) {
1198						setTimeout( redirect, 0 );
1199					} else {
1200						redirect();
1201					}
1202				},
1203			};
1204
1205			window.wpcom_reblog = wpcom_reblog;
1206		})();
1207	</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 1207
1207
1208<script id="sharing-js-js-extra">
1209var sharing_js_options = {"lang":"en","counts":"1","is_stats_active":"1"};
1210//# sourceURL=sharing-js-js-extra
1211</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 1211
1211
1212<script crossorigin='anonymous' type='text/javascript'  src='/_static/??-eJx9UNFqwzAM/KG5oqOQ9mH0U4Zji0SJ7HiWlNC/rxs2OvrQB4F0ujsdgq24sGTFrNDzMrjCNlAW2JYafRQX2IugwNQgr+zWz8MkH/BPluwpojigCqC17TITOvYbKKbCXvEFf+PDNDf2j6Hh6HNkrK9kHTE1SqmYyBKsDbOK8Miqe9hiPVP4W7y5NaEWH+bfGcQyfFMO0BtxBBl9xfaIeNtbysMhUW521/R17M7d5XRqNd0BKmJ6MQ=='></script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 1212
1212
1213<script id="jetpack-portfolio-theme-supports-js-after">
1214const jetpack_portfolio_theme_supports = false
1215//# sourceURL=jetpack-portfolio-theme-supports-js-after
1216</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 1216
1216
1217<script id="jetpack-testimonial-theme-supports-js-after">
1218const jetpack_testimonial_theme_supports = false
1219//# sourceURL=jetpack-testimonial-theme-supports-js-after
1220</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 1220
1220
1221<script id="sharing-js-js-after">
1222window.WPCOM_sharing_popups = window.WPCOM_sharing_popups || {};
1223window.WPCOM_sharing_popups[ "twitter" ] = "menubar=1,resizable=1,width=600,height=350";
1224window.WPCOM_sharing_popups = window.WPCOM_sharing_popups || {};
1225window.WPCOM_sharing_popups[ "facebook" ] = "menubar=1,resizable=1,width=600,height=400";
1226window.WPCOM_sharing_popups = window.WPCOM_sharing_popups || {};
1227window.WPCOM_sharing_popups[ "tumblr" ] = "menubar=1,resizable=1,width=450,height=450";
1228//# sourceURL=sharing-js-js-after
1229</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 1229
1229
1230<script id="wp-emoji-settings" type="application/json">
1231{"baseUrl":"https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/wpcom-smileys/twemoji/2/72x72/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/wpcom-smileys/twemoji/2/svg/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"/wp-includes/js/wp-emoji-release.min.js?m=1783090810i&ver=7.2-alpha-63973"}}
1232</script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 1232
1232
1233<script type="module">
1234/*! This file is auto-generated */
1235var e="script#wp-emoji-settings",t=document.querySelector(e);if(!(t instanceof HTMLScriptElement))throw new Error("Element missing: "+e);const r=JSON.parse(t.text),s=(window._wpemojiSettings=r,"wpEmojiSettingsSupports"),o=["flag","emoji"];function i(e){try{var t={supportTests:e,timestamp:(new Date).valueOf()};sessionStorage.setItem(s,JSON.stringify(t))}catch(e){}}function c(e,t,n){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);t=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data);e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(n,0,0);const r=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data);return t.every((e,t)=>e===r[t])}function p(e,t){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);var n=e.getImageData(16,16,1,1);for(let e=0;e<n.data.length;e++)if(0!==n.data[e])return!1;return!0}function u(e,t,n,r){switch(t){case"flag":return n(e,"\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f","\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200b\u26a7\ufe0f")?!1:!n(e,"\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf6","\ud83c\udde8\u200b\ud83c\uddf6")&&!n(e,"\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f","\ud83c\udff4\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc62\u200b\udb40\udc65\u200b\udb40\udc6e\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc7f");case"emoji":return!r(e,"\ud83e\udec8")}return!1}function f(e,t,n,r){let a;const s=(a="undefined"!=typeof WorkerGlobalScope&&self instanceof WorkerGlobalScope?new OffscreenCanvas(300,150):document.createElement("canvas")).getContext("2d",{willReadFrequently:!0}),o=(s.textBaseline="top",s.font="600 32px Arial",{});return e.forEach(e=>{o[e]=t(s,e,n,r)}),o}function a(e){var t=document.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=!0,document.head.appendChild(t)}r.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},new Promise(t=>{let n=function(){try{var e=JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem(s));if("object"==typeof e&&"number"==typeof e.timestamp&&(new Date).valueOf()<e.timestamp+604800&&"object"==typeof e.supportTests)return e.supportTests}catch(e){}return null}();if(!n){if("undefined"!=typeof Worker&&"undefined"!=typeof OffscreenCanvas&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&URL.createObjectURL&&"undefined"!=typeof Blob)try{var e="postMessage("+f.toString()+"("+[JSON.stringify(o),u.toString(),c.toString(),p.toString()].join(",")+"));",r=new Blob([e],{type:"text/javascript"});const a=new Worker(URL.createObjectURL(r),{name:"wpTestEmojiSupports"});return void(a.onmessage=e=>{i(n=e.data),a.terminate(),t(n)})}catch(e){}i(n=f(o,u,c,p))}t(n)}).then(e=>{for(const n in e)r.supports[n]=e[n],r.supports.everything=r.supports.everything&&r.supports[n],"flag"!==n&&(r.supports.everythingExceptFlag=r.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&r.supports[n]);var t;r.supports.everythingExceptFlag=r.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!r.supports.flag,r.supports.everything||((t=r.source||{}).concatemoji?a(t.concatemoji):t.wpemoji&&t.twemoji&&(a(t.twemoji),a(t.wpemoji)))});
1236//# sourceURL=/wp-includes/js/wp-emoji-loader.min.js
1237</script>
1237
1238	<iframe src='https://widgets.wp.com/likes/master.html?ver=20261009#ver=20261009' scrolling='no' id='likes-master' name='likes-master' style='display:none;'></iframe>
1239	<div id='likes-other-gravatars' role="dialog" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><div class="likes-text"><span>%d</span></div><ul class="wpl-avatars sd-like-gravatars"></ul></div>
1240	
1240<script src="//stats.wp.com/w.js?69" defer></script>
1240 
1240<script type="text/javascript">
1241_tkq = window._tkq || [];
1242_stq = window._stq || [];
1243_tkq.push(['storeContext', {'blog_id':'12031417','blog_tz':'-7','user_lang':'en','blog_lang':'en','user_id':'0'}]);
1244		// Prevent sending pageview tracking from WP-Admin pages.
1245		_stq.push(['view', {'blog':'12031417','v':'wpcom','tz':'-7','user_id':'0','post':'40202','subd':'dougernst'}]);
1246		_stq.push(['extra', {'crypt':'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'}]);
1247_stq.push([ 'clickTrackerInit', '12031417', '40202' ]);
1248</script>
1248
1249<noscript><img src="https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" style="height:1px;width:1px;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;bottom:1px;" alt="" /></noscript>
1250<meta id="bilmur" property="bilmur:data" content="" data-provider="wordpress.com" data-service="simple" data-site-tz="America/Los_Angeles" data-custom-props="{&quot;logged_in&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;wptheme&quot;:&quot;premium\/venture&quot;,&quot;wptheme_is_block&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}"   >
1251		
1251<script defer src="/wp-content/js/bilmur.min.js?i=19&amp;m=202641"></script>
1251 	
1252</body>
1253</html>

Line numbers count LF bytes from the start of the resource, as the search results do. Vendor segments are library code the classifier recognised; they are stored but not indexed. Bytes are shown as Latin1 characters, one per byte.