Preparing for War The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism--And What Comes Next

The events of January 6, 2021, shocked the nation and the world. But to those who lived through White Christian nationalism, consumed its media, and practiced its teachings, the Insurrection was the logical outcome of a seventy-five-year war on American democracy. Despite a growing body of literature that analyzes White Christian nationalism in the United States, there are no works that bring together firsthand accounts of the decades-long culture wars that set the stage for the violent White Christian nationalism plaguing the country with historical analyses of the events, leaders, and communities that prepared the troops and led the charge. PREPARING FOR WAR uses Onishi’s lived experience as an Evangelical insider as a prism for understanding the violence and extremism of the White Christian nationalists at the center of our current political moment. It asks: How did the rise of the Religious Right, from 1964-2015, eventually give birth to violent White Christian nationalism during the Trump presidency and beyond? What are the foundational components of the “alternative” worldview that propelled some of the most conservative religious communities in the country to ignite a cold civil war? How can the history of the Religious Right provide a basis for anticipating how White Christian nationalism will bear on our public square in the years to come?