Erica Ramirez (Drew, 2019) is a sociologist of religion with specialization in the study of global Pentecostalism. A fifth generation Texan, Erica’s deep roots in South Texas’ faith communities inform her research and analysis. In 2022, Erica was named one of Religion News Services’ top 15 faith influencers for her deft reporting on the religious right, with keen insights into the ways in which aesthetics of Latinx evangelicalism “lend little credence to the idea that Christian nationalism is, necessarily, white.” More recently, Erica has offered public analysis on Covid-19 vaccine politics, the Asbury Revival, and megachurch discourse on conflict in Gaza for outlets like Dallas Morning News, The Washington Post and The New York Times. Currently working on her first book, Erica frames American Pentecostalism as “carnivalesque”—that is, as a festival culture that turns the world upside down. The book traces the impact of this sacred carnival on democratic politics. As one legitimate historical root of democracy, Erica proposes the carnival must not be rendered profane in the context of our current culture war. Instead, carnival remains one mode of popular sovereignty; popular will must find its footing and voice amid global pressures and fractious elite polarization.