Even though the recurring theme is “the evangelical cult of masculinity”, it’s not a man-hating book. In-between is an exhaustive prehistory and history of the biggest male personalities of the evangelical movement, religious right and their subcultures from a feminist point of view some of it is insightful, but some a little tedious if I’m honest.
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This thesis is recapitulated in the conclusion. The introduction tells us white evangelicals’ choice of and enthusiasm forTrump isn’t pragmatic or transactional, rather results from their inherited culture of militant masculinity that elevates Trump in all his Trumpy-ness-because of it, not in-spite of it. The fractured nation, I felt, wasn’t adequately supported either unless the fractured nation is assumed. I don’t remember the author describing what un-corrupted faith means, for comparison, just so we know.
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I don’t really care about the Iowa part, but I expected more insight into the corrupted faith and fractured nation bit. I wanted to like it, but in the end, the book didn’t deliver for me. So, rural Iowa culture and corrupted faith-I bought it. I’m genuinely interested in a new take on the mental gymnastics some of my evangelical friends must do daily. But more than that, the subtitle was intriguing- “How white evangelicals corrupted a faith and fractured a nation”. The publicity intro described some of her experiences there, so I hoped the book would shed some light for me on some of the conservative Calvinist-Dutch-Iowan culture I visited over those years. For many years I traveled to northwest Iowa for business were the author grew up. I have not been able to set it down yet.īesides the interview on Morning Edition, in part it was the teaser introduction shown on my Kindle that led me to buy the book. If this book's summary (or back cover text) resonates with you at all - if it leaves you intrigued, you will absolutely find this book worthwhile. Through these various lenses, it becomes easier and easier to see how Trump gained 81% of evangelical votes. Through the book, Du Mez discusses the role of centralized "Christian" (evangelical) publishing and media, gender roles (evangelicals have reinforced "traditional" or patriarchal roles), and political activism on forming a culture supportive of a character like Trump (or John Wayne).
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Du Mez does an excellent job of navigating the history of evangelical culture. I've been left unaware of the historical roots of this type of Christian nationalism, and so was completely blindsided by the eager support of Donald Trump from many within my community.ĭr. But at that point, much of the history had happened (though not all). Du Mez analyzes was a consistent "background noise" in my life. As a child of the 90s that grew up close to the evangelical community (with VeggieTales, Adventures in Odyssey, Focus on the Family, and Wild at Heart), the Christian culture that Dr.