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

Having grown up in this movement, this book perfectly explains the history, proving that what we see today is not an anomaly - it is the blueprint.

Lives up to the hype. As an historian, DuMez make sense of the relationships between masculinity, patriotism, individualism, conservative politics, and Christianity. As a writer, she skillfully underlines points without belaboring them.

This book was EYE OPENING!! Like did you know “In God We Trust” wasn’t put on the US Dollar until 1957 when the president was approached by Evangelical leaders on his strategic approach to making America more Christian???????? A long read but damn did I learn a lot about how Evangelical leaders have permeated just about every space in the US and convoluted so many ideas of what’s “right v wrong”?? 🥲🤡

An absolutely incredible, thoroughly researched, compelling and terrifying look at white Christian nationalism in the US. A must read for anyone who grew up in American evangelicalism.

Very slow and dry, packing in a lot of detail to lay the foundation for why Trump is a culmination of evangelical priorities, not an outlier. It reads like a standard history book. I think what bothered me about this book is that it felt so clinical in describing issues that have such an incredible, daily impact on people’s daily lives. It felt like a 1000 ft view, mostly due to the writing style. Still an enlightening read, but purely informational.

This book was an emotional ride. I found it to be angering, saddening, disorientating, engaging and coherent. I'm so glad that I have had other examples of evangelical manhood to look to from the likes of Shane Claiborne, Greg Boyd, Ron Sider, Dallas Willard, Rene Padilla, John Perkins and John Stott. Du Mez makes the fascinating case that evangelicalism is a (sub)-culture produced more by a shared marketplace than theological convictions, and that the marketplace of militant masculinity led to the election of Trump by the vast majority of people in this evangelical culture. I wish she would have added a little more hope or corrective reflections than she did and took more aims at showing that not all of those within evangelicalism bought into the militant masculinity and right wing culture wars. But an excellent and engaging historical survey of recent history.

I have had this on my shelf for a while, but did not have time to get to it. I've been reading mostly fiction this fall, but decided it was time to finish this book. If you have ever thought, "hey, why did so many evangelical Christians offer such loyal support for Donald Trump in 2016?" then this book should offer some insight on the history of American Christianity in politics. The rise of the Christian celebrity is nothing new and this book gave a thorough insight to the history of groups of people who took ideas and used them for their own gain. I was familiar with a good deal of stories from 2000 and beyond, but the sections on politics and religion in the 1960's, 70's, 80's, and 90's were a helpful foundation to understand how we got to this place.

This is one of the books that gets recommended a LOT in the progressive space- as it should be. Du Mez lays out the harrowing history of white evangelicalism, with precision and clarity that can be hard to find in a history book. Du Mez is not a theologian (she has said so herself) so this is more history based, not theology, but the book doesn't suffer for it. In fact, most of the time you're glued to the page in horror as she lays out this history- this is the perfect primer for anyone who wants to see how we got the The Orange Guy in Office and the abuse allegations in prominent evangelical spaces. I remember hearing Du Mez say in an interview her editor asked for a piece of hope in the conclusion because the book was rough - but I wish she didn't have to add it. I found the book more comforting because you could see the threads that got us where we are today. I found this an easy (technically, not emotionally) read. CW for mentions of child abuse and martial abuse, if you are interested in this book!

I wish I could buy a copy of this book for every single person I know, because understanding the heartbreaking and gut-wrenching way in which patriarchal machismo and Christian nationalism and Zionism has warped the good news of Christ cannot be talked about enough. Especially if we’re to understand how our country arrived in a place where honest conversations about abuse, authority, and social justice are unwilling to be had by many in the church. This is probably the most important book on evangelism anyone could ever read.

Ooph. Jesus, just when you think you know how deeply horrifying things are you read this book and are reminded you only know the tip of the iceberg.

I expected a lot more out of this book than I got. I got a lot from the introduction and expected that to continue through the course of the book. Instead, I felt like the author beat the same concept repeatedly through the approximately forty year time frame she surveyed. The narrative did not really go anywhere; it did not have any direction. I think many people in my circles need to come to grips with the main concepts the author presents. However, I do not think that this book is the right book for someone like myself who has already come to the realization the author describes.

A very difficult read for me. I've been influenced by and involved with many of these ministries and books. I agree with most of her conclusions, but give it 4 stars because she doesn't clearly make a case for "fractured a nation". The nation is somewhat fractured, but I do not think Evangelicalism is solely responsible for it. It is a must read book for Evangelicals. It's hard to face your own history. What if the assumptions we operate on aren't correct? I think Kristin Kobes Du Mez does a great job of laying out the history of a overly power driven and patriarchal culture, and now we need to wrestle with it. That is not an easy task.