Brian Rosten's Blog - Posts Tagged "review-du-mez"

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In her book, Du Mez walks through the history of the Evangelical movement to support Donald Trump. Her thesis is based off two figures: 74% of those who in some way would identify as Evangelical Christians voted for Trump. Meanwhile, 80% of all Trump voters indicate that their personal value system (not considerations of economic policy, as many have guessed) led them to support him. Therefore, close to a majority, or perhaps a healthy majority, of Evangelical Christians voted for Trump based off his purported values. So in what ways does the Evangelical movement align its values with those of a Trump White House?

Du Mez does an excellent job of walking the reader through the political history of major Evangelical leaders post-WWII all the way through 2020. This paints a picture of what motivated the slow but steady turn of Evangelical alignment with conservative platforms. To see what leaders were involved, what mechanisms they used to consolidate power, and how certain books, movies, and senators you've never heard of created a culture that came to see Donald Trump as its savior, I'd recommend grabbing a copy.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is filled with insight and research that I was both horrified and fascinated to see put together all in one place. Some may find this unpalatable for varying reasons, but as one review on the cover mentions, it is probably a book many people need to read right now.



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Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation