- Andy Ogles consistently frames his political beliefs and campaigns around a Christian worldview, emphasizing America's Christian roots and asserting that contemporary society has strayed from those foundations (Jackson Sun, Columbia Daily Herald).
- He has publicly described current political and cultural conflicts as a "spiritual war," often blending religious language with political messaging (Leaf-Chronicle, Knoxville News-Sentinel).
- Ogles has taken concrete actions tying government roles to religious practices, such as organizing prayer vigils following local tragedies and objecting to COVID-era restrictions on church gatherings (Daily Herald, Daily Herald).
- He has actively supported the use of religious exemptions in opposition to vaccine and mask mandates, offering assistance to health workers and families seeking such exemptions (Columbia Daily Herald, Jackson Sun).
- Critics and media have identified Ogles’ messaging as aligning with Christian nationalism, a label he has not directly addressed and on which he has declined interview requests (Columbia Daily Herald, Knoxville News-Sentinel).
- Potential vulnerability: Ogles’ close alignment of faith and politics and perceived embrace of Christian nationalism could be polarizing or draw criticism in broader or more diverse constituencies.
November 2021: Ogles Encouraged Health Workers To File For Religious Exemption Against Vaccine Mandate According to Columbia Daily Herald, "In closing, Mayor Ogles encouraged the county's health workers to file for religious exemption. 'File your religious exemption. Make them fire you,' Ogles said. 'Do not cave. Then, we will take it from there. Be blessed. Just know, we are here, and we are fighting for you.'" [Columbia Daily Herald, 11/18/21]
October 2018: Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles Scheduled Prayer Vigil For Collier Family Murder-Suicide Victims According to The Daily Herald, "A prayer vigil is scheduled at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23 at the Maury County Courthouse square by Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles, which will honor the victims, as well as surviving family members and first responders. Ogles was on the scene Monday night but did not give comments to media." [Daily Herald (Columbia, Tennessee), 10/18/18]
October 2018: Ogles Invited Community To Prayer Vigil After Local Tragedy According to The Daily Herald, "'Churches and Community Leaders from around Maury County will join together in unity as we pray, heal and learn from this tragic event,' Ogles wrote on the vigil's Facebook event page. 'Please arrive early, as the event will begin promptly at 6 p.m. with words of hope and wisdom, songs of worship and a lighting of vigil candles. Please share and invite others as we stand together.'" [Daily Herald (Columbia, Tennessee), 10/18/18]
October 2018: Andy Ogles Organized Vigil For Collier Family After Tragedy According to The Daily Herald, "Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles, who organized Tuesday's vigil, described the days after last week's quadruple murder-suicide as 'a time of healing,' and the important thing is for the community to continue its support for the Collier family." [Daily Herald (Columbia, Tennessee), 10/24/18]
Ogles Opposed School Mask Mandates By Assisting With Religious Exemptions According to The Jackson Sun, "When Williamson County Schools instituted a district-wide mask mandate, he said he would sign families' religious exemption requests or connect families with pastors who could." [Jackson Sun, 10/31/22]
April 2020: Andy Ogles Opposed Continued Church Closures Under State COVID-19 Guidelines According to Daily Herald, "Ogles, shared criticism for Lee's decision to keep churches closed. 'If restaurants can open with precautions and social distancing, so can churches,' Ogles said. 'If there is no further guidance on how churches can operate I think you will see myself and other mayors moving on our own to make sure our churches are open.'" [Daily Herald, 4/26/20]
2006: Ogles Emphasized Conservative Christian Values In Senate Campaign According to The Tennessean, "Andy Ogles, 34, a business consultant, was running because he wanted to see more 'good solid conservative Christian men' running for elected office. [...] He emphasized his conservative values to differentiate him from the other Republicans." [Tennessean, 4/7/06]
April 2020: Andy Ogles Described Places Of Worship As Essential Services According to Daily Herald, "Ogles said that places of worship are as essential than any other service in the community. 'It is time to start allowing our churches to open,' Ogles said. With overflow rooms and the ability to stagger services, Ogles said churches have the capacity to operate safely." [Daily Herald, 4/26/20]
August 4, 2022: Andy Ogles Attributed U.S. Founding To Divine Intervention During Congressional Campaign According to The Leaf-Chronicle, 'Think back to our founding fathers and our roots in this country, and our obedience to God. His (God's) hand was apparent on the founding of this nation,' Ogles said at the Aug. 4 event. [Leaf-Chronicle, 10/30/22]
2022: Ogles Framed Candidacy As Response To Cultural And Spiritual Crisis According to The Leaf-Chronicle, 'The country has strayed too far from that point, said the Republican nominee for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District. "God has a plan for this country," Ogles said. "But what it takes is people like you and like myself to stand up and say, 'I've had enough, and I want my country back.'"' [Leaf-Chronicle, 10/30/22]
May 2021: Ogles Characterized Political And Cultural Arguments As A 'Spiritual War' According to The Leaf-Chronicle, 'We're at war. We're in a cultural war. We're in a spiritual war. We're in a political war. And buckle up, Buttercup, because it's time,' Ogles told talk show radio host Michael Patrick Leahy in May 2021. [Leaf-Chronicle, 10/30/22]
August 2022: Ogles Cited Christian Roots Of America In Campaign Speech According to The Jackson Sun, "Standing triumphantly alongside his family and before a hundred-plus supporters in a Franklin hotel lobby on primary night, Andy Ogles was clear about the crisis his candidacy is confronting. 'Think back to our founding fathers and our roots in this country, and our obedience to God. His (God's) hand was apparent on the founding of this nation,' Ogles said at the Aug. 4 event." [Jackson Sun, 10/31/22]
2022: Ogles Asserted America Had Strayed From Its Christian Foundations According to The Jackson Sun, "The country has strayed too far from that point, said the Republican nominee for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District. 'God has a plan for this country,' Ogles said. 'But what it takes is people like you and like myself to stand up and say, 'I've had enough, and I want my country back.'" [Jackson Sun, 10/31/22]
2022: Ogles Promoted The Idea That America's Civic Roots Are Christian According to The Jackson Sun, "The belief Ogles is promoting is that America's civic and social roots are Christian, and that contemporary forces threaten that foundation. Analysts and scholars are more often calling it Christian nationalism." [Jackson Sun, 10/31/22]
2021: Ogles Described Ongoing Conflicts As ‘A Spiritual War’ According to The Jackson Sun, "'We're at war. We're in a cultural war. We're in a spiritual war. We're in a political war. And buckle up, Buttercup, because it's time,' Ogles told talk show radio host Michael Patrick Leahy in May 2021. He announced his congressional bid less than a year later, repeating the same line and idea on the campaign trail." [Jackson Sun, 10/31/22]
August 2022: Ogles Promoted The Belief That America's Civic Roots Are Christian According to Knoxville News-Sentinel, "Standing triumphantly alongside his family and before a hundred-plus supporters in a Franklin hotel lobby on primary night, Andy Ogles was clear about the crisis his candidacy is confronting. 'Think back to our Founding Fathers and our roots in this country, and our obedience to God. His (God's) hand was apparent on the founding of this nation,' Ogles said at the Aug. 4 event. The country has strayed too far from that point, said the Republican nominee for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District. 'God has a plan for this country,' Ogles said. 'But what it takes is people like you and like myself to stand up and say, 'I've had enough, and I want my country back.'" [Knoxville News-Sentinel, 10/31/22]
May 2021: Ogles Characterized US Politics As 'A Cultural War' And 'A Spiritual War' According to Knoxville News-Sentinel, '"We're at war. We're in a cultural war. We're in a spiritual war. We're in a political war. And buckle up, Buttercup, because it's time,' Ogles told talk show radio host Michael Patrick Leahy in May 2021. He announced his congressional bid less than a year later, repeating the same line and idea on the campaign trail." [Knoxville News-Sentinel, 10/31/22]
August 2022: Andy Ogles Cited Religious Foundations In Campaign Speech According to The Daily Herald, "Standing triumphantly alongside his family and before a hundred-plus supporters in a Franklin hotel lobby on primary night, Andy Ogles was clear about the crisis his candidacy is confronting. 'Think back to our founding fathers and our roots in this country, and our obedience to God. His (God's) hand was apparent on the founding of this nation,' Ogles said at the Aug. 4 event. [...] 'God has a plan for this country,' Ogles said. 'But what it takes is people like you and like myself to stand up and say, 'I've had enough, and I want my country back.'" [Daily Herald (Columbia, Tennessee), 10/31/22]
October 2022: Ogles Promoted Christian Nationalism Themes In Congressional Campaign According to The Daily Herald, "The belief Ogles is promoting is that America's civic and social roots are Christian, and that contemporary forces threaten that foundation. Analysts and scholars are more often calling it Christian nationalism." [Daily Herald (Columbia, Tennessee), 10/31/22]
May 2021: Ogles Described Political Climate As A 'Cultural' And 'Spiritual' War According to The Daily Herald, "'We're at war. We're in a cultural war. We're in a spiritual war. We're in a political war. And buckle up, Buttercup, because it's time,' Ogles told talk show radio host Michael Patrick Leahy in May 2021. He announced his congressional bid less than a year later, repeating the same line and idea on the campaign trail." [Daily Herald (Columbia, Tennessee), 10/31/22]
August 2022: Ogles Claimed America Was Founded On Christian Principles According to Columbia Daily Herald, Ogles said at an Aug. 4 event, "Think back to our founding fathers and our roots in this country, and our obedience to God. His (God's) hand was apparent on the founding of this nation." [Columbia Daily Herald, 10/31/22]
August 2022: Ogles Asserted America Had Strayed From Its Christian Foundations According to Columbia Daily Herald, "The country has strayed too far from that point, said the Republican nominee for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District." [Columbia Daily Herald, 10/31/22]
August 2022: Ogles Expressed Belief In Divine Plan For America According to Columbia Daily Herald, Ogles said, "God has a plan for this country. But what it takes is people like you and like myself to stand up and say, 'I've had enough, and I want my country back.'" [Columbia Daily Herald, 10/31/22]
2022: Ogles Promoted Christian Nationalist Ideas In Campaign According to Columbia Daily Herald, "The belief Ogles is promoting is that America's civic and social roots are Christian, and that contemporary forces threaten that foundation. Analysts and scholars are more often calling it Christian nationalism." [Columbia Daily Herald, 10/31/22]
2022: Ogles Did Not Respond To Interview Requests About Christian Nationalism According to Knoxville News-Sentinel, "Ogles didn't respond to an interview request and his campaign didn't respond to questions by email." [Knoxville News-Sentinel, 10/31/22]
July 2020: Andy Ogles Commented On Mayor Molder's COVID-19 Diagnosis According to The Daily Herald, '"Prayers for Chaz, Liz and the family," Ogles said in an a statement shared Thursday afternoon. "I hope they recover soon."' [Daily Herald (Columbia, Tennessee), 7/17/20]
August 2020: Andy Ogles Stated Need For Kindness At Annie Hardison Vigil According to Daily Herald, "'She was kind, and this world right now needs a lot of kindness,' Ogles said. 'We live in a broken world, and it's not a white thing, a brown thing or a black thing. It's a heart thing, and we've got to get back to the heart.'" [Daily Herald, 8/4/20]
April 2020: Andy Ogles Spoke On Praying For Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients According to Daily Herald, '"We will pray and think about those three in the hospital."' [Daily Herald, 4/6/20]