4 Aftyn Behn controversies: ‘Uncomfortable’ with Christianity, drag shows and anti-Nashville remarks

1. ‘Uncomfortable’ with Christian influence in government

Last month, The Daily Caller reported on comments Behn made on the “Red State Blue Moon” podcast in June 2024, in which she expressed discomfort over the presence of Christianity in state government.

“I think, especially as someone who is more secular, I have a hard time when religion is at the core of everything we do in the legislature. For example, on the House floor, we say a prayer at the beginning of each session,” she said.

“Some committees open up with prayer, we also stand for the pledge. And there are also prayer groups in the legislature who meet routinely. There are Christian pastors that have a lot of say and proximity to power in the legislature and dictate a lot of what the power players do. And it is uncomfortable, and I think it makes a lot of my constituents who represent a diversity of religion deeply uncomfortable.”

Conservatives have denounced her comments, with Republican President Donald Trump going as far as to claim that Behn “hates Christianity.”

For her part, Behn told Newsweek that she believes Trump weighed in on her remarks “because he doesn’t have a plan to address the rising cost of health care and to ensure that working Tennesseans are able to afford health care, groceries and utilities.”