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Devil You Know: The Surprising Link between Conservative Christianity and Crime
In this trenchant examination of Christianity's dark side, a criminologist argues persuasively that high rates of violent crime in the United States can be correlated with Christian conservative attitudes, especially in regard to social mores and politics. Of particular concern is "Christian nationalism." Supporters of this movement argue that America was founded as a Christian nation and they work to install their fundamentalist brand of Christianity as the dominant factor in American political and social life. Far from being a fanatic outlier sect, this group is shown to have significant cultural influence, especially in the American South. Not coincidentally, the author suggests, the South also has the highest homicide rates. Noting the violent biblical passages often cited by religious conservatives, their sense of righteousness, their dogmatic mindset that tolerates no dissent, and their support for harshly punitive measures toward "sinners," Peterson Sparks shows that their worldview is the ideal seedbed for violence. Not only does this mindset make violent reactions in interpersonal conflicts more likely, the author says, but it exacerbates the problems of the criminal justice system by advocating policies that create high incarceration rates. The author also devotes particular attention to the victimization of women, children, and LGBT people, which follows from this rigid belief system. While not resorting to a blanket condemnation of Christianity or religion as a whole, Peterson Sparks issues a wake-up call regarding conservative Christianity's toxic mixture of fundamentalism, authoritarian politics, patriotism, and retributory justice.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published February 9, 2016
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July 17, 2024
The Devil You Know: The Surprising Link between Conservative Christianity and Crime by Elicka Peterson Sparks
“The Devil You Know" presents a persuasive premise that Christian ideology is criminogenic. Professor of criminology and director of the honors program in the Department of Government and Justice Studies at Appalachian State University, Elicka Peterson Sparks takes the reader on a ride rarely taken, the link between conservative Christianity and crime in the United States. This provocative 330-page book includes the following six chapters: 1. When Did Christians Get So Mean (Again)?, 2. Jesus Loves You, but We’re His Favorites, 3. Why Pick on Christian Nationalists, 4. A Theory of Violent Religiosity, 5. The Bible, Cafeteria Style, and 6. The Lion or the Lam – The Future of Crime and Justice in America.
Positives:
1. A well-written and well-researched book.
2. Fascinating topic: the link between crime and extreme Christian religiosity in America.
3. Fair and even-handed treatment. Ms. Elicka Peterson Sparks went out of her way to be cordial, fair and transparent.
4. An engaging style of writing. The author is pleasant but provocative as well.
5. Establishes her main premise of the book early on and proceeds to back it up with sound research albeit with the caution of a scientist. “There is nothing compassionate about the Christian right's response to crime, and that response has resulted in incredibly high recidivism rates that perpetuate and amplify our crime rate.”
6. Provides a list of tenets held by Christian nationalists also referred to as Dominionists or Christian Reconstructionists.
7. Gets to the heart of the matter, “the animosity between academia and religion is perhaps best understood as tension between people seeking the truth and those who believe they already know the truth and thus do not care to be confused by the facts.”
8. Is the United States a Christian Nation? “I would characterize the position of Christianity in America as the dominant religion culturally but not in any official capacity.”
9. Takes David Barton to task.
10. The impact of Christianity in the United States. “Within this framework, nonbelievers are persecuted while simultaneously being cast as persecutors of Christians.” Bonus, “Probably the greatest threat to Christianity posed by atheists is that they tend to be much more educated about Christianity, and other religious traditions, than the adherents of Christianity themselves.”
11. An interesting look at righteous hatred. “Overall, the Bible provides ample justification for violence.” “Dominionism promotes intolerance and hatred.”
12. Fascinating facts. “To put that into even greater perspective, the United States accounts for roughly 5 percent of the world's population but about a quarter of all the people in prison in the world.” “Getting tough is not the solution to our crime problem, or we would likely be among the safest countries in the world.”
13. Discusses the three criminogenic aspects of Christian Nationalism.
14. A long bullet list of characteristics of Christian nationalists.
15. The author’s overreaching hypotheses resulting from her main theory. “H1: The level of violent crime in any country will increase as the level of religious nationalism increases.”
16. Great quotes throughout book. “With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. —Steven Weinberg.”
17. The Bible under scrutiny, is the Bible a potential impetus for violent crime? Fascinating. “What is germane is that the Bible serves as an accomplice in a lot of violence perpetrated against women, mainly because women are cast as something less than men, weak and evil, and as existing in the service of men.”
18. In the final chapter, the author provides some suggestions on how to reduce the extreme theocratic influence. “The goal of Christian nationalism is not religious freedom, however: It is Christian supremacy, as specified in the first commandment.”
19. As well –referenced a book as you will find. The author provides copious links to references.
20. A formal bibliography.
Negatives:
1. Some missed opportunities. The author limits her theory to crime but what about extreme religious practices that deny medical services and lead to death? Would that be considered a crime?
2. Limited use of charts. The narrative would have benefitted with the inclusion of more supplementary visual materials.
3. I wished the author would have provided names and specific examples of Christian nationalist leaders and their practices.
4. There are some interesting subtopics that they author glances over, such as: the teaching of creationism at the expense of science, the denial of climate change, medical pseudoscience, Christian lobby, etc…
In summary, this is a very good book. A lot of research and time went into this book and the reader is the beneficiary. Elicka Peterson Sparks is an engaging and provocative author. The link between Christian nationalism and crime is an incendiary topic but the author handles it with class. Some missed opportunities keeps this book from a five-star score but there’s enough here to whet the appetite and I look forward to future books. I recommend it!
Further recommendations: “Why the Religious Right Is Wrong about Separation of Church and State” by Robert Boston, “Nonbeliever Nation” by David Niose, “The Dark Side of Christian History” by Helen Ellerbe, “Atheism for Dummies” by Dale McGowan, “Birth Control, Insurance Coverage, & the Religious Right” by A.F. Alexander, “The God Argument” by A.C. Grayling, “50 popular beliefs that people think are true” by Guy P. Harrison, “Evolution versus Creationism: An Introduction” by Eugenie C. Scott, “Godless” by Dan Barker, “Freethinkers” by Susan Jacoby, “Moral Combat” by Sikivu Hutchinson, “Republican Gomorrah” by Max Blumenthal, “American Fascists” by Chris Hedges, “Doubt” by Jennifer Michael Hecht, “Society Without God” by Phil Zuckerman, and “Why are you Atheists so Angry?” by Greta Christina.
“The Devil You Know" presents a persuasive premise that Christian ideology is criminogenic. Professor of criminology and director of the honors program in the Department of Government and Justice Studies at Appalachian State University, Elicka Peterson Sparks takes the reader on a ride rarely taken, the link between conservative Christianity and crime in the United States. This provocative 330-page book includes the following six chapters: 1. When Did Christians Get So Mean (Again)?, 2. Jesus Loves You, but We’re His Favorites, 3. Why Pick on Christian Nationalists, 4. A Theory of Violent Religiosity, 5. The Bible, Cafeteria Style, and 6. The Lion or the Lam – The Future of Crime and Justice in America.
Positives:
1. A well-written and well-researched book.
2. Fascinating topic: the link between crime and extreme Christian religiosity in America.
3. Fair and even-handed treatment. Ms. Elicka Peterson Sparks went out of her way to be cordial, fair and transparent.
4. An engaging style of writing. The author is pleasant but provocative as well.
5. Establishes her main premise of the book early on and proceeds to back it up with sound research albeit with the caution of a scientist. “There is nothing compassionate about the Christian right's response to crime, and that response has resulted in incredibly high recidivism rates that perpetuate and amplify our crime rate.”
6. Provides a list of tenets held by Christian nationalists also referred to as Dominionists or Christian Reconstructionists.
7. Gets to the heart of the matter, “the animosity between academia and religion is perhaps best understood as tension between people seeking the truth and those who believe they already know the truth and thus do not care to be confused by the facts.”
8. Is the United States a Christian Nation? “I would characterize the position of Christianity in America as the dominant religion culturally but not in any official capacity.”
9. Takes David Barton to task.
10. The impact of Christianity in the United States. “Within this framework, nonbelievers are persecuted while simultaneously being cast as persecutors of Christians.” Bonus, “Probably the greatest threat to Christianity posed by atheists is that they tend to be much more educated about Christianity, and other religious traditions, than the adherents of Christianity themselves.”
11. An interesting look at righteous hatred. “Overall, the Bible provides ample justification for violence.” “Dominionism promotes intolerance and hatred.”
12. Fascinating facts. “To put that into even greater perspective, the United States accounts for roughly 5 percent of the world's population but about a quarter of all the people in prison in the world.” “Getting tough is not the solution to our crime problem, or we would likely be among the safest countries in the world.”
13. Discusses the three criminogenic aspects of Christian Nationalism.
14. A long bullet list of characteristics of Christian nationalists.
15. The author’s overreaching hypotheses resulting from her main theory. “H1: The level of violent crime in any country will increase as the level of religious nationalism increases.”
16. Great quotes throughout book. “With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. —Steven Weinberg.”
17. The Bible under scrutiny, is the Bible a potential impetus for violent crime? Fascinating. “What is germane is that the Bible serves as an accomplice in a lot of violence perpetrated against women, mainly because women are cast as something less than men, weak and evil, and as existing in the service of men.”
18. In the final chapter, the author provides some suggestions on how to reduce the extreme theocratic influence. “The goal of Christian nationalism is not religious freedom, however: It is Christian supremacy, as specified in the first commandment.”
19. As well –referenced a book as you will find. The author provides copious links to references.
20. A formal bibliography.
Negatives:
1. Some missed opportunities. The author limits her theory to crime but what about extreme religious practices that deny medical services and lead to death? Would that be considered a crime?
2. Limited use of charts. The narrative would have benefitted with the inclusion of more supplementary visual materials.
3. I wished the author would have provided names and specific examples of Christian nationalist leaders and their practices.
4. There are some interesting subtopics that they author glances over, such as: the teaching of creationism at the expense of science, the denial of climate change, medical pseudoscience, Christian lobby, etc…
In summary, this is a very good book. A lot of research and time went into this book and the reader is the beneficiary. Elicka Peterson Sparks is an engaging and provocative author. The link between Christian nationalism and crime is an incendiary topic but the author handles it with class. Some missed opportunities keeps this book from a five-star score but there’s enough here to whet the appetite and I look forward to future books. I recommend it!
Further recommendations: “Why the Religious Right Is Wrong about Separation of Church and State” by Robert Boston, “Nonbeliever Nation” by David Niose, “The Dark Side of Christian History” by Helen Ellerbe, “Atheism for Dummies” by Dale McGowan, “Birth Control, Insurance Coverage, & the Religious Right” by A.F. Alexander, “The God Argument” by A.C. Grayling, “50 popular beliefs that people think are true” by Guy P. Harrison, “Evolution versus Creationism: An Introduction” by Eugenie C. Scott, “Godless” by Dan Barker, “Freethinkers” by Susan Jacoby, “Moral Combat” by Sikivu Hutchinson, “Republican Gomorrah” by Max Blumenthal, “American Fascists” by Chris Hedges, “Doubt” by Jennifer Michael Hecht, “Society Without God” by Phil Zuckerman, and “Why are you Atheists so Angry?” by Greta Christina.
May 21, 2016
I have good things and bad things to say about this book. Let me preface this by saying that I sincerely wish more Christians would wrestle with the issues that Elicka Peterson-Sparks brings up in this book.
However, I think she makes some all too common errors. She rightly accuses Conservative Christians as cherry-picking their Bibles and points out many examples, but then she turns around and accuses Liberal Christians of doing the same without any understanding of what is actually going on. Liberal Christians are usually more knowledgeable about historical context and language, and at the same time do not often accept the "Bible as inerrant and infallible Word of God directly from God's mouth" model. Liberal Christians usually recognize that Judaism changed and grew over time, leading to the non-violence we see in Jesus and in the Church in the 1st three centuries before Constantine.
Mentioning the Church in the 1st three centuries also brings me to the downright untrue statements Peterson-Sparks makes - such as "Christianity has treated women terribly since its creation." This is just plain false - as any historian would tell you. Christianity actually enjoyed much of its rapid growth in the first century to the fact that it was egalitarian in its views towards women, especially compared to other religions at the time. It wasn't until the Church started writing things in Paul's name to try to suppress this attitude that it started to change.
Then, she will make statements that just show complete ignorance when it comes to scholarship - for example, in regards to scriptures that seem to condemn homosexuality: "As painful as this might be to Christian LGBT people, the Bible is crystal clear on the issue." There has been so much scholarship demonstrating that the passages in question were mistranslated, and their historical context ignored in order to interpret them this way. The passages supposedly condemning LGBT had to do with idolatry, temple prostitution, and pederasty, not consensual and monogamous relationships between two adults of the same sex.
Furthermore, she tends to judge all of Christianity by the bad parts. She will occasionally admit that there are good things to be found, such as when she admits:
But she seems to consider it as inevitable that any Christian who takes the Bible seriously will either come to reject it completely, or become a violent sociopath. And again, she does this while claiming that all Liberal Christians are cherry-pickers without understanding their side at all.
All that said, she really hits the nail on the head quite often when describing the problems with Christian Nationalism and Conservative Christianity in America. And as such, I feel her critiques deserve serious attention.
However, I think she makes some all too common errors. She rightly accuses Conservative Christians as cherry-picking their Bibles and points out many examples, but then she turns around and accuses Liberal Christians of doing the same without any understanding of what is actually going on. Liberal Christians are usually more knowledgeable about historical context and language, and at the same time do not often accept the "Bible as inerrant and infallible Word of God directly from God's mouth" model. Liberal Christians usually recognize that Judaism changed and grew over time, leading to the non-violence we see in Jesus and in the Church in the 1st three centuries before Constantine.
Mentioning the Church in the 1st three centuries also brings me to the downright untrue statements Peterson-Sparks makes - such as "Christianity has treated women terribly since its creation." This is just plain false - as any historian would tell you. Christianity actually enjoyed much of its rapid growth in the first century to the fact that it was egalitarian in its views towards women, especially compared to other religions at the time. It wasn't until the Church started writing things in Paul's name to try to suppress this attitude that it started to change.
Then, she will make statements that just show complete ignorance when it comes to scholarship - for example, in regards to scriptures that seem to condemn homosexuality: "As painful as this might be to Christian LGBT people, the Bible is crystal clear on the issue." There has been so much scholarship demonstrating that the passages in question were mistranslated, and their historical context ignored in order to interpret them this way. The passages supposedly condemning LGBT had to do with idolatry, temple prostitution, and pederasty, not consensual and monogamous relationships between two adults of the same sex.
Furthermore, she tends to judge all of Christianity by the bad parts. She will occasionally admit that there are good things to be found, such as when she admits:
Jesus is a little problematic for Christian nationalists, and Matthew 10: 34 is one of the mechanisms they use to blunt his impact where it is not welcome. He was something of a nonjudgmental, socialistic peacenik, which is inconvenient to a movement characterized by judgment, unfettered capitalism, and war. So Christian nationalists gave Jesus a makeover, combining the unflinching, violent judgment and punishments of the Old Testament with a Jesus who provides eternal life through his death and resurrection for our sins. I often wonder how Jesus would feel in a modern, evangelical megachurch, as he would have precious little ideology in common with his followers there.
But she seems to consider it as inevitable that any Christian who takes the Bible seriously will either come to reject it completely, or become a violent sociopath. And again, she does this while claiming that all Liberal Christians are cherry-pickers without understanding their side at all.
All that said, she really hits the nail on the head quite often when describing the problems with Christian Nationalism and Conservative Christianity in America. And as such, I feel her critiques deserve serious attention.
October 26, 2023
This is a very well referenced book, by a criminologist, about just why it is that Christianity, when taken to extremes, leads to more crime, as well as vengeance at the expense of rehabilitation for criminals. Despite claims to the contrary, programs which seek to cause more religion in offenders does not make it less likely for them to offend, nor do longer sentences, more brutal conditions, or even capital punishment. Indeed, the more politicians seek to be “tough on crime”, the more violent crime there is, the more incarcerated people, and, indeed, the rise of the private prison industry. This can be seen in that states with a heightened emphasis on harsh punishments is having a steep rise in violent crime.
Religious involvement, or involvement with the activities of a religion, does not reduce crime, except for non-serious delinquency issues. Yes, a faith based sports program can help youth stay away from drugs and encourage them to stay in school. It has little effect on more serious crime. There are programs which can reduce recidivism, yet money for those has been taken away to pay for the faith-based ones which are proven to not work to reduce crime.
Christian nationalists or dominionists are a people with their own beliefs. They seek facism with a set of Biblical teachings which support them, along with harsher punishments. Contrary to popular belief, these Biblical passages are not just found in the Old Testament: The New Testament has them as well, and they move into a life beyond death as well. Christian nationalism does not just exist in certain denominations or types of religious beliefs: It can go well iwithin any church or Christian belief system. It seeks power for its own sake, and is immune from criticism because it is a “religious belief”. Indeed, dominionists cry “persecution” toward everybody else who wants anything other than a total takeover by their faith. Such things as teaching creationism, book bans in schools and libraries, opposition to abortion and contraception are merely stand-ins for getting or showing their power.
The author specifies that she is only going to discuss Christianity in this book. While other religions may have their own versions of this belief system – or may not, that is a topic outside of the subject of this book.
Indeed, “terror management” theory, or the aspect of it that encompasses how people deal with their fear of eventual demise, figures strongly into it. Anyone believing in a way that is different than their conservative Christianity represents an existential threat to their own “terror management”, and must be eliminated.
What can we do about this which are effective, and what people do that is ineffective. One ineffective strategy people use is to attempt to reason with them or debate them. They are immune to reason, and the scientific method is viewed as a devil’s way to trick people. We can push back when things happen in their political agenda – from erecting 10-commandment monuments on public property to taking over school boards and curricula, to enacting laws at any level. We need to be vigilant to cry “foul” when any nonprofit “faith based” group uses their money and power to affect politics.
Religious involvement, or involvement with the activities of a religion, does not reduce crime, except for non-serious delinquency issues. Yes, a faith based sports program can help youth stay away from drugs and encourage them to stay in school. It has little effect on more serious crime. There are programs which can reduce recidivism, yet money for those has been taken away to pay for the faith-based ones which are proven to not work to reduce crime.
Christian nationalists or dominionists are a people with their own beliefs. They seek facism with a set of Biblical teachings which support them, along with harsher punishments. Contrary to popular belief, these Biblical passages are not just found in the Old Testament: The New Testament has them as well, and they move into a life beyond death as well. Christian nationalism does not just exist in certain denominations or types of religious beliefs: It can go well iwithin any church or Christian belief system. It seeks power for its own sake, and is immune from criticism because it is a “religious belief”. Indeed, dominionists cry “persecution” toward everybody else who wants anything other than a total takeover by their faith. Such things as teaching creationism, book bans in schools and libraries, opposition to abortion and contraception are merely stand-ins for getting or showing their power.
The author specifies that she is only going to discuss Christianity in this book. While other religions may have their own versions of this belief system – or may not, that is a topic outside of the subject of this book.
Indeed, “terror management” theory, or the aspect of it that encompasses how people deal with their fear of eventual demise, figures strongly into it. Anyone believing in a way that is different than their conservative Christianity represents an existential threat to their own “terror management”, and must be eliminated.
What can we do about this which are effective, and what people do that is ineffective. One ineffective strategy people use is to attempt to reason with them or debate them. They are immune to reason, and the scientific method is viewed as a devil’s way to trick people. We can push back when things happen in their political agenda – from erecting 10-commandment monuments on public property to taking over school boards and curricula, to enacting laws at any level. We need to be vigilant to cry “foul” when any nonprofit “faith based” group uses their money and power to affect politics.
December 13, 2017
The Devil You Know was a interesting examination of the crimogenic effects of christian nationalism. Much of the book was spent assembling the groundwork for the hypothesis rather than examining evidence for the hypothesis itself. This is because Peterson Sparks was using The Devil You Know to propose the hypothesis of crimogenic religion (specifically, crimogenic religion when it is based on highly violent and unforgiving passages of a particular holy book), explain why current evidence regarding religion and crime suggests that certain types of religions are crimogenic, propose methods by which the hypothesis could be tested, and try to encourage others in the field of criminology to begin research on the topic. Despite standing on less firm ground than I would have liked, The Devil You Know was nonetheless a great overview of the more maladaptive features and logical consequences christian nationalism. I thought Peterson Sparks brought in a lot of information from a variety of fields and justified her hypothesis (and further research for it) well. This is a book that I would feel comfortable recommending, though I would also like to know what - if any - research has been done in line with the research recommendations made here and whether or not the outcomes of that research support the original hypothesis.
September 2, 2016
I found this book as one of the reviewers said to be "a startling read, confronting a touchy subject [religion] and analyzing its impact on criminal behavior and criminal justice in an honest and courageous fashion." - Bonnie Berry, PhD
Elicka is an acquaintance and friend and so that was yet another dimension to a read that was indeed difficult and which took some significant research on her part. I'm grateful to have read it and that Elicka took the time to research and write it.
Elicka is an acquaintance and friend and so that was yet another dimension to a read that was indeed difficult and which took some significant research on her part. I'm grateful to have read it and that Elicka took the time to research and write it.
April 18, 2016
A very interesting topic that was totally mishandled in this book. An academic book that turned into a political screed. I would go into the glaring mistakes, but I really do not want to waste anymore time. Would love to see someone study this topic that is not a political hack
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews