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Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Paperback – June 8, 2021
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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The “paradigm-influencing” book (Christianity Today) that is fundamentally transforming our understanding of white evangelicalism in America.
Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping, revisionist history of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, revealing how evangelicals have worked to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism―or in the words of one modern chaplain, with “a spiritual badass.”
As acclaimed scholar Kristin Du Mez explains, the key to understanding this transformation is to recognize the centrality of popular culture in contemporary American evangelicalism. Many of today’s evangelicals might not be theologically astute, but they know their VeggieTales, they’ve read John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart, and they learned about purity before they learned about sex―and they have a silver ring to prove it. Evangelical books, films, music, clothing, and merchandise shape the beliefs of millions. And evangelical culture is teeming with muscular heroes―mythical warriors and rugged soldiers, men like Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson, and the Duck Dynasty clan, who assert white masculine power in defense of “Christian America.” Chief among these evangelical legends is John Wayne, an icon of a lost time when men were uncowed by political correctness, unafraid to tell it like it was, and did what needed to be done.
Challenging the commonly held assumption that the “moral majority” backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 for purely pragmatic reasons, Du Mez reveals that Trump in fact represented the fulfillment, rather than the betrayal, of white evangelicals’ most deeply held values: patriarchy, authoritarian rule, aggressive foreign policy, fear of Islam, ambivalence toward #MeToo, and opposition to Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ community. A much-needed reexamination of perhaps the most influential subculture in this country, Jesus and John Wayne shows that, far from adhering to biblical principles, modern white evangelicals have remade their faith, with enduring consequences for all Americans.
15 black-and-white illustrations- Reading age5 years and up
- Print length384 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions5.5 x 1.1 x 8.3 inches
- PublisherLiveright
- Publication dateJune 8, 2021
- ISBN-10163149905X
- ISBN-13978-1631499050
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Get to know this book
What's it about?
A book that explores the influence of popular culture on white evangelicalism in America, revealing how evangelicals have replaced the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism.Popular highlight
More than any other religious demographic in America, white evangelical Protestants support preemptive war, condone the use of torture, and favor the death penalty.3,824 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
For conservative white evangelicals, the “good news” of the Christian gospel has become inextricably linked to a staunch commitment to patriarchal authority, gender difference, and Christian nationalism, and all of these are intertwined with white racial identity.3,554 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
But evangelical support for Trump was no aberration, nor was it merely a pragmatic choice. It was, rather, the culmination of evangelicals’ embrace of militant masculinity, an ideology that enshrines patriarchal authority and condones the callous display of power, at home and abroad.3,226 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
Evangelical militancy cannot be seen simply as a response to fearful times; for conservative white evangelicals, a militant faith required an ever-present sense of threat.3,113 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
The products Christians consume shape the faith they inhabit. Today, what it means to be a “conservative evangelical” is as much about culture as it is about theology.3,013 Kindle readers highlighted this
From the Publisher
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Editorial Reviews
Review
― Beth Moore, on Twitter
From the Back Cover
“Paradigm-influencing. . . A very readable page-turner.”
―Scot McKnight, Christianity Today
“Jesus and John Wayne is a tour-de-force indictment of the white evangelical cult of masculinity.”
―Michael Rea, Salon
“[N]ot only one of the most important books on religion and the 2016 elections but one of the most important books on post-1945 American evangelicalism published in the past four decades.”
―Jon Butler, Church History
“I hear people say all the time that Trump’s election was a tragedy for evangelicals, but after reading [this] book, I wonder if it isn’t their greatest victory.”
―Sean Illing, Vox
“Brilliant and engaging . . . Across chapters ranging from ‘John Wayne Will Save Your Ass’ to ‘Holy Balls,’ Du Mez peppers her text with entertaining (and sometimes horrifying) examples.”
―Matthew Avery Sutton, The New Republic
“It is impossible to do justice to the richness of Jesus and John Wayne in a short review, but one of the key points the book stresses is that as Christian nationalists, the vast majority of white evangelicals believe that our country’s flourishing depends on aggressive male leadership. The pervasive abusive patterns of white evangelical subculture replicate themselves on a large social scale in the Christian Right’s politics. Since understanding this will be crucial if Americans are to have a functional democratic future, Jesus and John Wayne is a book that America needs now.”
―Chrissy Stroop, Boston Globe
“A much needed and painstakingly accurate chronicle of exactly ‘where many evangelicals are,’ and the long road that got them there.”
―Tom Cox, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“[A] book that’s ignited an enormous amount of argument and debate across the length and breadth of the Christian intelligentsia . . . Du Mez meticulously documents how―time and again―Christian institutions have indulged and often valorized aggressive hyper-masculine male leaders who proved to be corrupt, exploitive, and abusive. They weren’t protectors. They were predators.”
―David French, The Dispatch
“[An] absolute must-read, a stunning work, and one that deserves serious attention and further conversation.”
―Joel Wentz, Englewood Review of Books
“Jesus and John Wayne should be required reading for those who live and move and have our being within American evangelical denominations and churches.”
―Sean Michael Lucas, Mere Orthodoxy
“Jesus and John Wayne is history as confession, history as lament, a type of history that hopes in a God who never puts us to shame, even as hope in America does.”
―Aarik Danielsen, Christ & Pop Culture
“Du Mez makes it clear that she’s not criticizing from the ivory tower or explicitly from the left. A history professor at a prominent Christian college, the author of A New Gospel for Women, and a contributor to Christianity Today, she’s in an ideal position to expose the hypocrisy, crudeness, and chauvinism of the religious right.”
―Matt Hanson, The Baffler
“[A] fascinating and fervent book . . . a provocative, but insightful and detailed look at the culture and impact of evangelical Christianity today, where The Duke and The Messiah are riding saddle-by-saddle toward some sort of glory."
―Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press
“In her smart, deftly argued book, historian Du Mez delves into white evangelicals’ militantly patriarchal expressions of faith and their unwavering support for libertine President Donald Trump. Du Mez, a professor at Calvin University, clearly explicates the way the “evangelical cult of masculinity” has played out over decades.”
―The National Book Review
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Liveright (June 8, 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 384 pages
- ISBN-10 : 163149905X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1631499050
- Reading age : 5 years and up
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #3,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4 in History of Christianity (Books)
- #5 in Sociology & Religion
- #10 in Christian Church History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book well-researched, disturbing, and insightful. They also describe the writing style as well-written and interesting. Readers also mention the history as very interesting and profoundly disturbing.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book well researched, objective, and fair-minded. They also say the writing rings true and provides a clarity and overwhelming argument they never fully saw before. Readers also describe the book as informative, powerful, and a powerful balm to their soul.
"...That's the summation after reading this masterful, wonderfully researched book about the peculiarities of white Evangelicalism and the Americanized..." Read more
"...But you know what I equally love?! A good, well researched book!! A book I dually look forward to getting back to after a brief interlude...." Read more
"...This book was thoroughly researched and well written and if you too wonder how a relatively passive religion like Christianity can be used to..." Read more
"...and and patriarchal abuse survivor blogs, I found this book both very enlightening in how it traced the themes and movement that came before my time..." Read more
Customers find the writing style well-written, convincing, and delightful. They also say the book is accessible and the audible version is exceptionally well narrated.
"...May be a little over the top but when you combine intelligent, well articulated ideas, with easy entertainment and the flow…oh how it flowed nicely,..." Read more
"...This book was thoroughly researched and well written and if you too wonder how a relatively passive religion like Christianity can be used to..." Read more
"...historical accounting that maintains a scholarly but very readable tone throughout and that I think is also both fair minded but also doesn't hold..." Read more
"...Her views on both Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama are brutally tone deaf and belie one of the major problems with this effort, which is that the..." Read more
Customers find the book very interesting and readable. They also appreciate the reliable historical evidence used to support the thesis.
"...because rather than being a "cancellation" it is a really interesting historical accounting that maintains a scholarly but very readable tone..." Read more
"...out to be an incredibly well researched, engaging and readable history of the evolution of todays Evangelical Christianity...." Read more
"...available to the public; but is rather an insightful compilation of historical and values progression within evangelicalism...." Read more
"...I appreciate her scholarship and the reliable historical evidence used to support her thesis...." Read more
Customers find the subject matter profoundly disturbing, provocative, and compelling. They also say the book is excellent but devastating.
"...And what these folks say is revealing, often shocking, sometimes side-splitting (be prepared to laugh really hard), and too often deeply..." Read more
"...A deeply troubling book. A must read for anyone who wants to understand the evangelicals' embrace of Donald Trump." Read more
"...This book is full of true horror stories...." Read more
"...Sadly, the book is high on accusation and low on actual facts...." Read more
Customers find the book very accessible, yet well-documented. They also say the style is engaging and easy enough to follow.
"...I couldn't agree less. This is a very well-written and accessible book that also meets anyone's standard for being well-researched...." Read more
"...I also appreciate her narrative style which is engaging and easy enough to follow." Read more
"...And scary for the future of religion and culture. The book is accessible and Du Mez' wit is delightful. I had a feeling I would enjoy this book...." Read more
"...This is an easy read, non-technical and accessible...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the plot. Some find it well-researched, lively, and riveting. They also describe it as a real tour de force. However, others feel the author is agenda driven and not very discriminating.
"This book is really resonating for me as a female in ministry who often gets angry messages from misogynists who think women are not allowed to..." Read more
"...The not-so-good: yes, this author is biased and has an agenda, like one other reviewer noted...." Read more
"...This is a real tour de force. A must read." Read more
"...make some good points on how Trump got elected, I feel she is very agenda driven and not very discriminating when she lumps many different people..." Read more
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That's the summation after reading this masterful, wonderfully researched book about the peculiarities of white Evangelicalism and the Americanized Jesus who was once Brown and poor and despised, the victim of the oppressive empire, but who has been transformed into the muscular, gun-toting, migrant-hating, welfare-despising, violence-loving, manly man-centered white male gonzo who seeks to rule everyone by force for their own good and for the pleasure and power of white men.
I was raised in the milieu that Du Mez talks about. I got adopted into the Beloved Community in the late 1960s in the "Jesus Movement" in Southern California, and many of the people mentioned in this book are familiar to me not only because I know their names but also because I was a recipient of their teaching and ministries. Now, the "Jesus Movement" was not the genesis of this state of white Evangelicalism; in fact, to my experience much of the JM was orthangonal to the beliefs and practices of the white Evangelical world. And yet, we from the JM gradually succumbed to the white Evangelical industrial complex so completely that some of the leaders of the free spirit of the JM are now fully on board with The Former Guy, serving as his loyal allies in church meetings as easily as in political events. (I'm looking at you, Greg Laurie, and it is hard to explain just how deeply you have disappointed me when I see you at ceremonies "honoring" The Former Guy in the very Rose Garden where he denied the existence of COVID-19 and denied the reality of the 2020 election. What happened to you and your free spirit, inquiring mind, and willingness to reach those who are on the margins? You've become a thoroughly compliant part of the Christian industrial complex.)
I will confess I went along with the change, because the people who were my leaders were going along with it. Surely they must have deeper insight and understanding. Surely what God wanted in America was conservative politics and capitalistic economics. Surely God wanted the poor to suffer because suffering might make them work harder. Surely God wanted America to be both blessed and white-majority and white-ruled. Surely God wanted white Evangelicals to run America as if all of this nation was a church and the white male Evangelical pastors the only rulers divine appointed for said rule.
But I grew more and more uneasy with this dissolution of my outside-the-camp religion that had become the state religion, and finally broke a decade ago. I couldn't figure out, though, what had happened to cause people to descend into madness. The very churches that told me continuously in the 70s, 80s, and 90s to avoid the antichrist and to avoid post-modernism and post-truth became . . . the churches that abandoned faith and reason, and descended into pure white nationalism.
So it was <b>fascinating</b> to see Du Mez uncover the threads that connected these people, from Graham to Bright to Dobson to Graham and Falwell and the rest, along the way losing the holiness and moral behaviors that scripture teaches us about to embrace The Former Guy who exemplifies all that they warned about until the chance at power was finally at hand.
I laughed that sad, rueful laugh as I read, discovering more and more how I'd been had, how I'd been reassured that all was well even as decisions leading to the irruption of The Former Guy were being made behind the scenes. (Lordy, how <I>loud</i> Dobson became about the "danger" to America of a Clinton--both times!--for their assumed "lack of moral behavior" and how quickly he bowed the knee to The Former Guy!)
This is a great book for people like me, who went through a lot of this and did not know why it was happening. It is also a great book for those who were wounded by people like me and the churches that people like me built and evangelized for.
There's no excuse for what happened. There were always the voices--often shouted down--saying that we were going off a cliff. We didn't listen, and the result is that we have stained our faith for several generations, watching our children see our own shallow Christian behaviors and responding with "I'll <I>never</i> believe in your faith." We have done this to ourselves, sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind, and Du Mez tells us why. It's too late to unwind all the damage that we have done to the name of Jesus in the lives of those who have heard us and watched us and been harmed by us, but perhaps we can unwind from continuing to repeat the damage, again and again, hoping that we smash all opposition and erase all memory.
Our children are watching to see what we will do now, after watching us spend decades creating the most peculiar and unsatisfying version of Christianity. Let's hope that we listen and learn and repent.
But you know what I equally love?! A good, well researched book!! A book I dually look forward to getting back to after a brief interlude. This is that book!
I picked up because I like to be well versed in what the left is thinking, but to the authors credit, I didn’t even feel like I was reading a propagandized book but rather a deep dive into a greatly researched and well executed masterpiece. May be a little over the top but when you combine intelligent, well articulated ideas, with easy entertainment and the flow…oh how it flowed nicely, well….that is a masterpiece! I loved the book and enjoyed every minute of reading it. You know when you read a book and feel annoyed that “life's responsibilities” are keeping you from it?….that is how I felt about this book! Pick it up today, no matter what way you lean. And I lean RED 🇺🇸
This book helped me understand this phenomenon, tracing the roots of white evangelicalism back over 100 years when, as author Kristin Kobes Du Mez points out “Christians recognized that they had a masculinity problem.” By choosing tougher heroes to emulate (initially Teddy Roosevelt and John Wayne) as well as focusing more on the Jesus from the Book of Revelation (where he goes from the suffering Messiah to the conquering Messiah) some Christians, and specifically white evangelicals, solved this dilemma. This book did a superb job of tracing this evolution to today, when “a substantial number of white evangelicals shared Donald Trump’s nationalism, Islamophobia, racism, and nativism” (as the book points out “more than two-thirds of white evangelicals did not think the United States had a responsibility to accept refugees.”) and thus voted for him in overwhelming numbers, despite his obvious moral shortcomings.
This book was thoroughly researched and well written and if you too wonder how a relatively passive religion like Christianity can be used to justify some pretty selfish and even evil acts, I highly recommend it.