American Heresy: The Roots and Reach of White Christian Nationalism

by John Fanestil

Overview

American Heresy uncovers the complex legacy of America's founding principles, demonstrating how the very same values have produced both good fruit and the bitter harvest of white Christian nationalism. Fanestil adeptly traces an early American story that reaches into our present with alarming immediacy.

Using cogent examples from the earliest days of colonial settlement through the Revolutionary War era, Fanestil helps us understand how many of the principles we view as paradigmatic expressions of American identity have had contested histories from the start. Virtue has brought both self-sacrifice and extremism; progress, both cultural pride and white racism. The very same principles that underpin the United States' proudest moments also forged the white Christian nationalism that fruited so dangerously in the Capitol insurrection of January 6, 2021.

The implications of Fanestil's complex history are highly pertinent—and alarming. Far from a fringe movement embraced by a violent few, white Christian nationalism is a spiritual inheritance shared by all white American Christians. Grappling with this history is vital if the United States is ever to move beyond its tragic legacy as a white settler society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506489230
Publisher:	1517 Media
Publication date:	09/26/2023
Pages:	215
Sales rank:	314,466
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

John Fanestil holds a PhD in American history from the University of Southern California and studied as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. Fanestil's previous books include Mrs. Hunter's Happy Death (Doubleday, 2006) and One Life to Give (Fortress, 2021). An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, Fanestil serves as executive director of Via International, a nonprofit serving border communities in San Diego and Tijuana.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION: DEEP ROOTS

1. VIRTUE: Self-Sacrifice & Extremism

2. ORDER: Private Property & Violence

3. PROGRESS: Cultural Pride & White Racism

4. PROVIDENCE: Destiny & Nostalgia

5. CONVERSION: Passion & Propaganda

6. LIBERTY: Independence & Conspiratorial Thinking

7. PATRIOTISM: Love of Country & Nationalism

CONCLUSION: LONG REACH