Red State Christians: A Journey into White Christian Nationalism and the Wreckage It Leaves Behind

by Angela Denker

Overview

Winner of a 2019 Foreword INDIES Award Silver Medal

In Red State Christians, readers will get an honest look at the Christians who gave the presidency to the unlikeliest candidate of all time. Veteran journalist Angela Denker spent a year traveling across the United States, interviewing the Evangelical Christian voters who supported the Trump presidency and exploring how their voting block continues to influence the landscape of modern conservative politics. From booming, wealthy Orange County megachurches to libertarian farmers in Missouri, to a church in Florida where the pastors carry guns, to an Evangelical Arab American church in Houston, to conservative Catholics on the East Coast—the picture Denker paints of them is enlightening, at times disturbing, but always empathetic.

In this expanded edition, Denker reflects on the lasting impact of the Trump presidency, the Christian white nationalism it emboldened, the 2020 election and transfer of power, and the subsequent insurrection at the United States Capitol. A must-read for those hoping to truly understand what Trumpism means for the 2020s and beyond.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506482507
Publisher:	1517 Media
Publication date:	08/16/2022
Pages:	319
Sales rank:	236,336
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Rev. Angela Denker is an ELCA Lutheran pastor and veteran journalist. Her first book, Red State Christians, was the 2019 Silver Foreword Indies award-winner for political and social sciences. She has written for many publications, including Sports Illustrated, the Washington Post, and FORTUNE magazine, and has appeared on CNN, BBC, SkyNews, and NPR to share her research on politics and Christian Nationalism in the U.S. Pastor Angela lives with her husband, Ben, and two sons in Minneapolis, where she is a sought-after speaker on Christian Nationalism and its theological and cultural roots.

Table of Contents

Preface to the 2022 Edition xix

Introduction 1

1 Christian Nationalism and Fourth of July Church in Dallas, Texas 7

2 He Will Save the Supreme Court: Abortion 41

3 God and Guns 57

4 Bibles and Boob Jobs: The Money and Influence of Orange County Christians 79

5 Young, Free-Thinking, and Pro-Trump: Midwestern Farm Families in Rural Missouri 107

6 Winners and Losers: Trump, Football, and Christianity 123

7 The Evangelical Intelligentsia: What about "Establishment" Christians? 147

8 Evangelical Women and Donald Trump: Who's Grabbing Whom? 167

9 Less Conservative, More Consequential: Rural Rust Belt Red State Christians in Appalachia and Central Pennsylvania 193

10 Conservative Catholics: Building a New American Kingdom and Defying the Pope 215

11 Red State Arabs: Christians, Muslims, and Evangelicals in Houston 245

12 On the Border: Donald Trump and Latinx Christians 265

Conclusion 287

Conclusion to the 2022 Edition 297

Acknowledgments 307

Notes 313

Editorial Reviews

"(An) enriching debut...Denker etches a vivid and revealing picture of the moral bargains struck by evangelical Christian Americans." —Publishers Weekly

"The richness of the book lies in Denker's refusal to tie her results neatly into a grand narrative." —The Christian Century

"Red State Christians helps bring clarity to some fundamental questions many have been asking since the last election. Angela Denker does a wonderful job of helping the reader begin to understand both the simple and complex dynamics that make up the relationship between politics and much of the evangelical world." —Boz Tchividjian, attorney and founder of GRACE

"Some readers will differ sharply with Denker over her political and theological views—as I do in some respects—but her intrepid forays of empathy show us how these very differences can be met with love rather than with bitter, downwardly spiraling enmity." —America Magazine

"Red State Christians will surprise you, maybe even shock you. Angela Denker will take you with her to interview people in churches where you'll be shocked at what's said both in and out of the pulpit. She'll also introduce you to people who defy stereotypes and behave far better than you'd expect based on who they voted for in 2016. Whoever wins the next election, we're all neighbors, and we need to get along. Books like Angela's can help mend the tears in our social fabric—if you'll dare to let her be your guide in a tour across our nation." —Brian D. McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christian

"Denker did not, as too many reporters have, visit two grumpy Trump voters in a rust-belt diner for a superficial chat. She traveled the country, probing the most fascinating contradiction in modern America: the religious Trump supporter. Incisive and thoughtful, tough yet empathetic, personal and honest, this book explodes clich‚s and takes you into the hearts and minds of people you may not have met and who may surprise you, for better or worse." —Jim Souhan, columnist, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"What we call 'red states' are an optical illusion—places where religion has been used to pit neighbors against one another so a minority can maintain political control. But what Denker calls 'Red State Christians' are real. They've been cultivated for forty years by the Religious Right, and they've led the charge toward extremism in American public life. But they are our fellow Americans and family at God's welcome table. We need to listen closely to hear their pain and to learn how their healing is an essential part of the healing of our land." —Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, author of Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion

"In Red State Christians, Angela Denker moves us beyond the caricatures of Evangelical voters by exploring their world and revealing their words. She gives us insight into one of the most important and powerful political subcultures in the United States. Fair and enlightening, this is a book you'll want to read." —Carol Howard Merritt, author of Healing Spiritual Wounds

"Angela Denker's Red State Christians is pure revelation. Denker's empathetic ear combines with dogged reporting to reveal Trumpism's genesis and the nature of its stronghold in Red State America. This book is essential reading for all Americans." —Lisa Sharon Harper, author of The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right

From the Publisher