VEST Her Podcast: Confronting Religion, Christian Nationalism, and the Push for Women’s Submission
- VEST
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
At VEST, we talk a lot about careers, money, and women’s economic mobility. But here’s the truth: you can’t fully talk about women building power without talking about the systems that taught us what we’re allowed to want and what we should quietly accept.
For many of us, that system was religion.
In this episode of the VEST Podcast, Erika sits down with Reverend Lori Walke for an honest, grounded conversation about what happens when faith becomes complicated, especially for women who grew up inside religious institutions that preached love, but practiced control.
What We Talk About
How women learn “their place” and how to unlearn it
Separating the message from the messengers
Deconstruction without losing yourself
Religious trauma is real and you have permission to leave
When religion becomes a political weapon
How women stay engaged without burning out
Why this matters for women’s careers and economic mobility
Deconstructing harmful spiritual narratives isn’t a side quest. It’s part of building a life where women can earn, lead, rest, belong, and thrive, without shrinking.
At VEST, we’re not afraid to have these conversations because women are whole people. Not just workers. Not just caregivers. Not just resilience machines.
Show Notes
Speaking Christian by Marcus Borg. Rev. Walke recommends this book for anyone coming out of the Christian tradition who is questioning what they were taught. The book helps readers understand that there are multiple theological frameworks and that faith doesn’t have to be rigid, literal, or patriarchal to be meaningful.
God Didn’t Make Us to Hate Us by Rev. Lizzie McManus-Dail. This is a devotional-style book Rev. Walke recommends for people healing from religious trauma. It focuses on liberating faith from shame, patriarchy, and exclusion, and on reconnecting with joy, embodiment, and spiritual wholeness.
Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net by Jessica Calarco. Erika brings this book up when discussing how, in the absence of strong public systems, women have historically been expected to fill the gaps, through unpaid labor, caregiving, emotional work, and community support. She notes that the church has often functioned as both a support system and, at times, a substitute for structural solutions.
About our Guest
Rev. Dr. Lori Walke, JD, serves as the Senior Minister at Mayflower Congregational UCC in Oklahoma City. Blending her background as an attorney and minister, Dr. Walke is unabashedly enthusiastic about what a well prepared argument and community can do to make life on earth as it is in heaven. A recognized public speaker and author, with a monthly Oklahoman column for the past four years, Dr. Walke gives a voice to those who often lack one. Dr. Walke earned her B.S. in Political Science at Oklahoma State University in 2005, where she was also a four-year scholarship student athlete for Cowgirl basketball. She earned her M.S. in Healthcare Administration from OSU in 2006. She received her J.D. from Oklahoma City University in 2009, and passed the Bar Exam the same year. To further confuse people about what she wanted to be when she grew up, Dr. Walke then went on to earn her M.Div from Phillips Theological Seminary, and was ordained as a minister in the United Church of Christ in 2012. After serving as associate minister of Mayflower Congregational UCC for eight years, she was called as Senior Minister in November of 2020. She earned her D.Min from Emory University in 2020. She and her husband, Collin, delight in their seven brilliant nieces and love to spoil Teddy, their ever-grinning pocket pit. Connect with Rev. Lori Walke on LinkedIn
If you’re ready to take your career to the next level, apply to join our community of women eager to help you get there and stay there. Learn more at www.vesther.co.