Poema S7 033 | Kristin Kobes Du Mez on Jesus & John Wayne

Today, historian and author Kristin Kobes Du Mez joins me to talk about her bestselling book "Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation".

We talk about the forces in US evangelical culture which led to the rise and election of Donald Trump as President, dating back to the 70s and 80s and the Presidency of Ronald Reagan. We touch on the truths President Jimmy Carter confronted the US with...which they chose to ignore in favour of certainty. 

We discuss the patriarchal and systemically racist system of evangelicalism and capitalism, how this has impacted wider US culture, and where we see this in the UK, where colonialism and patriarchal system had its genesis.

In the process, we discover how the election of Donald Trump was almost an inevitable, and how this system counterintuitively sees white evangelical men percieve moral failings and law breaking almost as a badge of honour. We also explore how all of this has led to many people beginning to deconstruct their faith and from this system, and where this could all go.

Kristen ends by sharing how the response to her book has given her hope that things can change...and shares this hope with us.