Jasmine Mithani is The 19th’s data visuals reporter. She is focused on making complex ideas accessible to everyone. She has worked as a game developer, civic tech software consultant, alt-weekly editor, and user experience designer. Her experience in journalism spans newsrooms national to hyper-local, including National Public Radio and South Side Weekly. She was most recently at FiveThirtyEight, where she worked on interactive forecasts and visual stories.
Posts By This Author
Why LGBTQ+ People of Faith Combine Political and Religious Activism
The cover of Yes, Gawd! by R.G. Craves. The 19th spoke with R.G. Cravens about race, religion and how LGBTQ+ people are showing up for the 2024 election. (TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS)
The effects of personal religious belief are everywhere in politics, from the rallying sermons of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Christian nationalists citing biblical justice when Roe v. Wade was overturned. For queer people, R. G. Cravens argues, faith is more than a motivating factor — it can be a way into political engagement. His research shows religious LGBTQ+ people are more politically active than nonreligious LGBTQ+ people. In fact, religion often facilitated political activity, from congregations marching together at Pride events to organizing letter-writing campaigns to government officials.