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A review by chloe_601
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
Listening to this book felt like tumbling down a bizarre and scary rabbit hole, with more and more developments introducing a new aspect of conservative evangelicalism, and documenting its slow rise through the background of American politics, eventually producing the election of Trump.
It is really well researched, and makes a connection between southern churches and anti-desegregation pastors, to pro-Vietnam war stances anchored by an ideal of rugged masculinity, to Nixon’s southern strategy and the party shift of the later 20th century. This continued with Ronald Reagan’s presidency in the 1980s and opposition to the Equal Rights amendment, through the 1990s and 2000s with support for the war on terror, all the way through the Obama presidency.
It felt like reading a bizarre conspiracy of shadow actors and insane interpretations of a religion, but I think that was just because I hadn’t made the connections between all the people and events before. The mentions of popular evangelical/christian media from when I was raised in that environment was slightly triggering but eye opening at the same time. I had heard and read a lot of accounts of abuse, both physical and mental, in some of the more authoritarian church environments when I deconstructed/left the faith, but reading a chapter listing out scandal after scandal shows just how horrific an environment it is for anyone who isn’t a white cis male.
The book was written from the perspective of someone who is a Christian themselves (though more progressive), which means their conclusions possibly weren’t as strong as I had hoped. But their analysis of the 2016 election, particularly their hypothesis for why evangelicals supported trump so strongly, was well-argued and made complete sense. It seemed like a contradiction at the time, but a deeper look shows that this momentum had been building for the better part of 50 years. Their support mainly came from a place of feeling threatened by not being the dominant majority anymore, and they wanted a strongman to “protect” them.
As scary and dark as reality can be, though, that analysis shows that their support was so fervent and things so insane because their system of militant masculinity, rigid gender roles, and hatred of anyone different is on the way out. It will fight as hard as it can to stay relevant, but eventually it will be in the way out. I just hope we can minimise the amount of people hurt when it lashes out.
It is really well researched, and makes a connection between southern churches and anti-desegregation pastors, to pro-Vietnam war stances anchored by an ideal of rugged masculinity, to Nixon’s southern strategy and the party shift of the later 20th century. This continued with Ronald Reagan’s presidency in the 1980s and opposition to the Equal Rights amendment, through the 1990s and 2000s with support for the war on terror, all the way through the Obama presidency.
It felt like reading a bizarre conspiracy of shadow actors and insane interpretations of a religion, but I think that was just because I hadn’t made the connections between all the people and events before. The mentions of popular evangelical/christian media from when I was raised in that environment was slightly triggering but eye opening at the same time. I had heard and read a lot of accounts of abuse, both physical and mental, in some of the more authoritarian church environments when I deconstructed/left the faith, but reading a chapter listing out scandal after scandal shows just how horrific an environment it is for anyone who isn’t a white cis male.
The book was written from the perspective of someone who is a Christian themselves (though more progressive), which means their conclusions possibly weren’t as strong as I had hoped. But their analysis of the 2016 election, particularly their hypothesis for why evangelicals supported trump so strongly, was well-argued and made complete sense. It seemed like a contradiction at the time, but a deeper look shows that this momentum had been building for the better part of 50 years. Their support mainly came from a place of feeling threatened by not being the dominant majority anymore, and they wanted a strongman to “protect” them.
As scary and dark as reality can be, though, that analysis shows that their support was so fervent and things so insane because their system of militant masculinity, rigid gender roles, and hatred of anyone different is on the way out. It will fight as hard as it can to stay relevant, but eventually it will be in the way out. I just hope we can minimise the amount of people hurt when it lashes out.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment