The Divine Institution: White Evangelicalism's Politics of the Family

by Sophie Bjork-James

The Divine Institution  provides an account of how a theology of the family came to dominate a white evangelical tradition in the post-civil rights movement United States, providing a theological corollary to Religious Right politics. This tradition inherently enforces racial inequality in that it draws moral, religious, and political attention away from problems of racial and economic structural oppression, explaining all social problems as a failure of the individual to achieve the strong gender and sexual identities that ground the nuclear family. The consequences of this theology are both personal suffering for individuals who cannot measure up to prescribed gender and sexual roles, and political support for conservative government policies. Exposure to experiences that undermine the idea that an emphasis on the family is the solution to all social problems is causing a younger generation of white evangelicals to shift away from this narrow theological emphasis and toward a more social justice-oriented theology. The material and political effects of this shift remain to be seen.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christianity, Religion

198 pages, Hardcover

Published March 12, 2021

Reviews

[C Dumaoal · Rating 5 out of 5]

would give this one million stars if i could!! new fave *academic* book of all time perhaps - I have the utmost respect for the way Dr. Bjork-James is able to deliver legitimate critiques of white evangelicals while also generously acknowledging the sincerity of their belief. Beyond that, this opened up a whole new world for me as I think about my own theological questions and the environments that gave rise to them, as well as navigating relationships with people I love with whom I disagree. Everyone who has been involved with white evangelicalism in any way needs to read this.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. I heard Bjork-James being interviewed and decided that I needed to read her book. I am glad that I did. First, while this is a scholarly, anthropological study of an evangelical church, it is very readable, being written very well.
Bjork-James does not take potshots at Evangelicals, which I appreciate very much, even though she does not agree with their political, social, or religious understandings of the world. Like a good anthropologist, she develops a good rapport and relationships with the people among whom she works and it shows in her writing. At the same time, she offers the best analysis of Evangelical social and political views that I have read anywhere.

As the subtitle suggests, the patriarchal family value discourse is at the center of Evangelical attitudes towards race, ethnicity, gay rights, abortion, women's rights, etc. Read the book!!