How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

Jesus and John Wayne, by Kristin Kobes Du Mez, is an in-depth look into why white evangelicals overwhelming voted for Donald Trump in 2016, despite his obvious lack of knowledge of the Christian faith. In a comprehensive history of the evangelical movement in America, Du Mez challenges the commonly held assumption that the “moral majority” backed Trump for purely pragmatic reasons, and reveals that he in fact represents the fulfillment, rather than the betrayal, of white evangelicals’ most deeply held values.

While many people focus only on the religious of aspect of white evangelicals, Du Mez argues that one must understand the role of culture in modern American evangelicalism. They have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism, and they have been helped along by the heroes of evangelical pop culture: Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson, and, chiefly, John Wayne. All white men who tell it like it is and assert white masculine power in defense of “Christian America,” much like what many evangelicals consider Trump to be doing now.

The hateful values at the heart of white evangelicalism today are likely to persist long after Trump leaves office, but even after their strongman has no more power, their support of him and their twisting of Christian views will have lasting consequences for us all.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“Jesus and John Wayne demolishes the myth that Christian nationalists simply held their noses to form a pragmatic alliance with Donald Trump. With brilliant analysis and detailed scholarship, Kristin Kobes Du Mez shows how conservative evangelical leaders have promoted the authoritarian, patriarchal values that have achieved their finest representative in Trump. A stunning exploration of the relationship between modern evangelicalism, militarism, and American masculinity.” – Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism

“Wielding supreme command of evangelical theology, popular culture, history and politics, as well as rare skill with the pen, Kristin Kobes Du Mez explodes the myth that evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in spite of his crude machismo. It turns out that the opposite is true: for generations, white male evangelical leaders and their supportive wives have been building a movement of brazen masculinity and patriarchal authority, with hopes of finding a warrior who could extend their power to the White House. In Trump they found their man. This is a searing and sobering book, one that should be read by anyone who wants to grasp our political moment and the religious movement that helped get us here.” – Darren Dochuk, author of Anointed With Oil: How Christianity and Crude Made Modern America

“I endorse Kristin Du Mez’s lively and readable account of evangelical political history, having personally seen it from the inside during nearly three decades with the National Association of Evangelicals. Those who legitimately ask “How can evangelicals support Donald Trump?” need to read this book to understand why. An extraordinary work.” – Reverend Richard Cizik, President of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good

For more information on the publication, click here.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

The Womanist Vision of Prathia Hall

Freedom Faith, by Courtney Pace, examines the life and philosophy of Rev. Dr. Prathia Laura Ann Hall, an undersung leader in both the civil rights movement and African American theology. Pace chooses to focus mainly on her her civil rights activism, her teaching career, and her ministry as a womanist preacher, all while examining the most central concept of Hall’s theology: Freedom Faith, the belief that God created humans to be free and assists and equips those who work for freedom.

Although Hall is relatively unknown today, she was a pioneer in activism and ministry, fusing womanist thought with Christian ethics and visions of social justice. She influenced figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and was one of the first women ordained in the American Baptist Churches. Later in life she joined the faculty at the Boston University School of Theology as the Martin Luther King Chair in Social Ethics, where she continued to preach her visionary doctrine.

For more information on the publication, click here.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

Fifteen Sessions with the Famous Trappist Monk

Thomas Merton had many roles he filled in his lifetime — monk, writer, social activist — but one of his main passions was explorations of interfaith understanding. He explored different religions and their relation to the human experience, as well as examining some of the Catholic traditions he had learned about in his studies. A Course in Desert Spirituality, edited by Jon Sweeney, is a collection of some of Merton’s lectures which showcase his teachings and personal thoughts about the concept of desert spirituality.

Although Merton was a monk, and was later ordained, he believed that there was immense value in learning about other religions and their view of the world. In the same way, he believed that all people would benefit from monastic wisdom and spirituality. This book exemplifies his approach to religion and to life itself.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“This well-paced discourse on desert spirituality hosts just enough of an overview to be a course and just enough depth to be a dramatically impactful read. The work, followed by options for further reflection and discussion, makes for an inspiring personal or group engagement. Any reader of A Course in Desert Spirituality will undoubtably come away with new insights on both desert spirituality and one’s own spirituality.” —Cassidy Hall, Author of Notes on Silence and director of Day of a Stranger

“As with many of Merton’s writings, there are several ways of reading it. One could take a genetic approach, seeking to uncover vestiges of Merton’s biography. The text could also be read as a short history of monastic practice or a snapshot of the novitiate under Merton’s tutelage in the 1950s before the drastic changes of Vatican II. It could also be read, and this is the way Sweeney intends for us to read it, in a lectio divina fashion—that is, as a spiritual discipline to mature our souls and draw us nearer to God. At its best, this book is a primer on the mystical tradition which offers guidance on whom to read, what to look for, what to watch out for, and how to approach the tradition.”—Reading Religion

“A Course in Desert Spirituality offers keen insight into the wisdom of early Christian mystics like St. Gregory of Nyssa, John Cassian, and Evagrius Ponticus. It makes the Desert Mothers and Fathers come alive. But it also reveals much about the spiritual heart of Thomas Merton himself.”—Carl McColman, author of The Big Book of Christian Mysticism and The Unteachable Lessons

 

For more information on the publication, click here.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

Understanding American Religion in the Twenty-First Century

When white people of faith act in a specific way, it is often attributed to their religious commitments. But when religious people of color act in specific way, it almost exclusively attributed to their racial positioning. In Religion is Raced, authors Grace Yukich and Penny Edgell argue that all religion must be acknowledged as a raced phenomenon, even though America tends to look at religion only through the lens of white Christians.

This book offers a new model for thinking about religion, one that emphasizes how racial dynamics interact with religious identity, and attempts to bring the discussion of race and religion into the mainstream. It draws from a variety of religious traditions, including Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Protestantism, and even atheism, in order to better demonstrate the roles that religion and whiteness play in politics and everyday life. Yukich and Edgell argue that when we overlook the role race plays in religious belief and action, it also causes us to overlook the way race might influence religiously motivated political and public action.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“Challenges the unspoken narrative of whiteness that has shaped studies of US religion. Writing from various disciplinary perspectives, the authors collectively chart a more productive way forward, one that begins with very different (and more empirically accurate) assumptions. A state-of-the-art work and a shot across the bow.” —Paul Harvey, author of Christianity and Race in the American South: A History

“An important collective endeavor that will leave its mark as an essential resource for understanding contemporary American religion. Yukich and Edgell bring together several of the best scholars in the sociology of religion in order to shed new light on neglected racial (but also religious, ethnic and gendered) aspects of religion as it is lived in the United States today. This is a crucial and overdue corrective and a significant achievement.” —Michèle Lamont, Harvard University

“An incredibly rich, important and timely book. Yukich and Edgell, along with their powerhouse group of contributing authors, highlight crucial racial underpinnings and underlying organizing principals of contemporary religion and the consequences for social divisions, politics and identities. This book is a cornerstone, one that will shape scholarly work and public conversations for generations.” —Vincent J. Roscigno, Ohio State University

For more information on the publication, click here.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

Political Activism and Redemption after Incarceration

The use of religion to rehabilitate and redeem formerly incarcerated individuals has been around for many years, but it typically places an emphasis on private spirituality, with efforts focused on repentance, conversion, and restorative justice. In Jesus Saved an Ex-Con, author Edward Orozco Flores examines two faith-based organizations that utilize the public arena to expand the social and political rights of former inmates.

Most work on prisoner reentry has focused on how the behavior of those with records may be changed through interventions, rather than considering how those with records may change the society that receives them. Community Renewal Society and LA Voice reject this narrative, and instead focus on expanding the rights of people with records through community organizing campaigns. Flores explores how the formerly incarcerated use redemption scripts to participate in civic engagement, to remove the felony conviction question from employment applications and to restrict the use of criminal background checks in housing and employment. He shows that people with records can redeem themselves, but we must also challenge the way society receives them.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“In this book, Edward Orozco Flores contributes to the growing debate on criminal justice reform by showing how ex-prisoners now ‘returning citizens’ are giving back to American communities. They give back not only by sharing their personal stories of moral redemption, but also by reclaiming forms of civic life and political empowerment against the grain of elite manipulation. Drawing on scholarly work in the sociology of religion, social movements, and civic life, Flores argues that ‘prophetic redemption’ may not only redeem ex-offenders own stories but also redeem the full promise of American democracy against the imposters that claim to speak in its name.”—Richard L. Wood, author of A Shared Future: Faith-Based Organizing for Racial Equity and Ethical Democracy

“In this powerful work, Flores challenges the top-down bias of criminal justice reform … Flores’s concepts of pastoral and insurgent prophetic redemption will be useful to scholars studying religious social movements, and the book’s broad themes make it valuable for diverse sociological audiences. A welcome addition to criminal justice literature as well as to the literature on the sociology of religion and social movements.”—Choice

For more information on the publication, click here.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.