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347 reviews for:
Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding a True Faith
April Ajoy
4.46 AVERAGE
347 reviews for:
Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding a True Faith
April Ajoy
4.46 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
I have frequently felt at a loss for the words to explain why I left the church in 2020 and why I will most likely never go back. April's story is very different from mine but somehow still similar in so many ways and I resonated deeply with so much of what she said.
Genuinely, if you can read this book before you vote in this year's election, please do so!
Genuinely, if you can read this book before you vote in this year's election, please do so!
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Books about christian nationalism tend to be very heavy to read. Rightly so, as it is a very serious topic. April Ajoy’s Star Spangled Jesus threads the needle between treating this topic with the seriousness it deserves while providing levity to the reader by including quizzes and references to a political memes. Star Spangled Jesus feels part memoir part confessional and lends an outreaching hand to any deconstructing evangelical who is reflecting on their church experience and thinking “What was I thinking?”
I would recommend this book if you have liked:
📖 Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobez Du Mez
📖 The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr
I would recommend this book if you have liked:
📖 Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobez Du Mez
📖 The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
I felt so seen by Ajoy's memoir. Her insights were informative with just the right amount of humor and an approachable writing style. This is a must read for Americans.
Thanks to NetGalley and Worthy Publishing for the ARC!
April Ajoy’s Star-Spangled Jesus is a rambunctious, TikTok-style takedown of Christian nationalism, offering readers a glimpse into a life redirected away from evangelicalism.
I mention Ajoy’s social media presence because it feels key to understanding the book. The tone is acerbic but earned, and Ajoy finds an effective balance between her own story and outside research, although I wish she leaned more heavily on the memoirish parts of the book. The author’s approach here is admirable, as she never succumbs to the tendency to rewrite her own history—to suggest that she always “saw through” her nationalistic beliefs. Instead, she is very forthright about how deeply she held them, and the result is a self-forgiveness that allows for genuine self-examination. It also makes Star-Spangled Jesus stand out from its peers because it flouts the sociological detachment that characterizes many similar books.
I found Star-Spangled Jesus to be really resonant because I share a lot of the life experiences Ajoy describes. She grew up in the world of Target boycotts and Adventures in Odyssey and Left Behind. She describes crying for two days after Obama’s election; I remember that I was convinced it was the beginning of the "end times." It’s an embarrassing belief system to reflect on, but Ajoy is remarkably gracious and forceful in her calls for accountability. She still identifies as religious, and she accepts that there are conservative people who aren’t nationalists. Regardless of whether or not that’s a tenable argument, it reflects the humility that prevents the author’s critiques from becoming self-promoting.
Despite the book’s strengths, I found myself struggling to get through parts of it. Parts of Star-Spangled Jesus form an excellent memoir. The problem, however, is that the other parts—the analytical, research-based parts—really drag because they don’t add anything to the discourse that hasn’t been done better elsewhere. It may not matter if this is the only book someone reads on the subject, but I think Ajoy excels at describing the real-world impact Christian nationalism has on an individual’s life, and every move away from that focus feels like a loss.
My other critique is a matter of taste, so take it accordingly. I know humor is subjective, but I found every attempt at it really grating here, as it’s about as sophisticated as “NOT” jokes. You know what I’m talking about—where someone makes a blatantly wrong statement and follows it with an emphatic “NOT,” and that’s the joke. If that description feels unclear, in response to a pastor saying people should preach from the constitution, Ajoy writes: “You know, because the Bible says ‘In the beginning was the constitution,’ or something.” It’s a terminally online sensibility, and the humor feels reflective of our collective cultural burnout—the fatigued, obligatory need to point out absurdity that has grown humdrum over the past decade. It’s tired. I’m tired. We’re all tired. If you’re a fan of Ajoy’s TikTok account or SNL’s Trump sketches, it’ll probably work for you, but I found it cringeworthy.
All in all, Star-Spangled Jesus is an excellent addition to the conversation on the pervasiveness of Christian nationalism, and I greatly appreciate April Ajoy’s conviction and skill in writing it. This feels like a perfect book for people who need to read personal narrative to grasp the significance of an issue.
April Ajoy’s Star-Spangled Jesus is a rambunctious, TikTok-style takedown of Christian nationalism, offering readers a glimpse into a life redirected away from evangelicalism.
I mention Ajoy’s social media presence because it feels key to understanding the book. The tone is acerbic but earned, and Ajoy finds an effective balance between her own story and outside research, although I wish she leaned more heavily on the memoirish parts of the book. The author’s approach here is admirable, as she never succumbs to the tendency to rewrite her own history—to suggest that she always “saw through” her nationalistic beliefs. Instead, she is very forthright about how deeply she held them, and the result is a self-forgiveness that allows for genuine self-examination. It also makes Star-Spangled Jesus stand out from its peers because it flouts the sociological detachment that characterizes many similar books.
I found Star-Spangled Jesus to be really resonant because I share a lot of the life experiences Ajoy describes. She grew up in the world of Target boycotts and Adventures in Odyssey and Left Behind. She describes crying for two days after Obama’s election; I remember that I was convinced it was the beginning of the "end times." It’s an embarrassing belief system to reflect on, but Ajoy is remarkably gracious and forceful in her calls for accountability. She still identifies as religious, and she accepts that there are conservative people who aren’t nationalists. Regardless of whether or not that’s a tenable argument, it reflects the humility that prevents the author’s critiques from becoming self-promoting.
Despite the book’s strengths, I found myself struggling to get through parts of it. Parts of Star-Spangled Jesus form an excellent memoir. The problem, however, is that the other parts—the analytical, research-based parts—really drag because they don’t add anything to the discourse that hasn’t been done better elsewhere. It may not matter if this is the only book someone reads on the subject, but I think Ajoy excels at describing the real-world impact Christian nationalism has on an individual’s life, and every move away from that focus feels like a loss.
My other critique is a matter of taste, so take it accordingly. I know humor is subjective, but I found every attempt at it really grating here, as it’s about as sophisticated as “NOT” jokes. You know what I’m talking about—where someone makes a blatantly wrong statement and follows it with an emphatic “NOT,” and that’s the joke. If that description feels unclear, in response to a pastor saying people should preach from the constitution, Ajoy writes: “You know, because the Bible says ‘In the beginning was the constitution,’ or something.” It’s a terminally online sensibility, and the humor feels reflective of our collective cultural burnout—the fatigued, obligatory need to point out absurdity that has grown humdrum over the past decade. It’s tired. I’m tired. We’re all tired. If you’re a fan of Ajoy’s TikTok account or SNL’s Trump sketches, it’ll probably work for you, but I found it cringeworthy.
All in all, Star-Spangled Jesus is an excellent addition to the conversation on the pervasiveness of Christian nationalism, and I greatly appreciate April Ajoy’s conviction and skill in writing it. This feels like a perfect book for people who need to read personal narrative to grasp the significance of an issue.