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Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy
Not yet published
Expected 8 Sep 26- GenresNonfictionPolitics
304 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication September 8, 2026
About the author
Robert P. Jones
25 books222 followersRobert P. Jones is a New York Times bestselling author and the president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). He is the author of BACKSLIDE: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy (2026); The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future (2023); White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity (2020), which won a 2021 American Book Award; and The End of White Christian America (2016), which won the 2019 Grawemeyer Award in Religion.
Jones writes regularly on politics, culture, and religion for The Atlantic, TIME, Religion News Service, and other outlets. He is frequently featured in major national media, such as CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. Jones writes the popular Redeeming Democracy newsletter on Substack (https://www.redeemingdemocracy.net/).
He holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University, an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a B.S. in computing science and mathematics from Mississippi College. Jones was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2026. He was selected by Emory University’s Graduate Division of Religion as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2013, and by Mississippi College’s Mathematics Department as Alumnus of the Year in 2016. Jones served on the editorial boards for the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and Politics and Religion, a journal of the American Political Science Association.
Before founding PRRI, Jones worked as a consultant and senior research fellow at several think tanks in Washington, D.C., and was an assistant professor of religious studies at Missouri State University.
Jones writes regularly on politics, culture, and religion for The Atlantic, TIME, Religion News Service, and other outlets. He is frequently featured in major national media, such as CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. Jones writes the popular Redeeming Democracy newsletter on Substack (https://www.redeemingdemocracy.net/).
He holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University, an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a B.S. in computing science and mathematics from Mississippi College. Jones was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2026. He was selected by Emory University’s Graduate Division of Religion as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2013, and by Mississippi College’s Mathematics Department as Alumnus of the Year in 2016. Jones served on the editorial boards for the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and Politics and Religion, a journal of the American Political Science Association.
Before founding PRRI, Jones worked as a consultant and senior research fellow at several think tanks in Washington, D.C., and was an assistant professor of religious studies at Missouri State University.
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Every now and again one comes across a work that stops you in your tracks. Robert P. Jones, does that with Backslide. I read his earlier book White Too Long, and was impressed with his analysis of the growing racism in the USA today and the role that White Christianity plays into it. In backslide, he takes that analysis to a whole new level.
Jones, who is a few years younger than me, grew up with many of the same experiences. Even though I was in a more “progressive environment” I was surprised at the ways we have systematically built racism into our culture. Through the games we played as kids, to the comic books and TV shows, white (male) culture was demonstrated to be dominant and best. We have strayed far from the ideal of Jesus who calls us all family.
The section of Columbus and Juneteenth was, to say the least, enlightening. I had no idea of where the ideas came from and how they developed in our culture. The idea of bridging July 4 with the Juneteenth celebration is a necessary, but unfortunately naive idea. And his conclusion, celebrating division in a positive way, needs to be shouted from the rooftops.
As I read, I thought of numerous friends who really need to read this, but the sad reality is, even if they did, they would not hear the message. I appreciate what Jones is attempting to do, but I am pessimistic that the white (male) evangelical community will ever hear or embrace his message.
I highly recommend this book! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an ARC for my unbiased opinion.
Jones, who is a few years younger than me, grew up with many of the same experiences. Even though I was in a more “progressive environment” I was surprised at the ways we have systematically built racism into our culture. Through the games we played as kids, to the comic books and TV shows, white (male) culture was demonstrated to be dominant and best. We have strayed far from the ideal of Jesus who calls us all family.
The section of Columbus and Juneteenth was, to say the least, enlightening. I had no idea of where the ideas came from and how they developed in our culture. The idea of bridging July 4 with the Juneteenth celebration is a necessary, but unfortunately naive idea. And his conclusion, celebrating division in a positive way, needs to be shouted from the rooftops.
As I read, I thought of numerous friends who really need to read this, but the sad reality is, even if they did, they would not hear the message. I appreciate what Jones is attempting to do, but I am pessimistic that the white (male) evangelical community will ever hear or embrace his message.
I highly recommend this book! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an ARC for my unbiased opinion.
Displaying 1 of 1 review