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A review by davehershey
American Prophets: The Religious Roots of Progressive Politics and the Ongoing Fight for the Soul of the Country by Jack Jenkins
4.0
The Religious Left is notoriously difficult to define. This is partly because many who appear solidly to fit the description, defy the title. In this book, Jenkins sets out to tell stories of the Religious Left and their impact on politics in the last two decades. When I first saw this book, I thought it was more of a history of the roots of the Religious Left, somewhat similar to Kevin Kruse’s book on the origins of the Religious Right in the 1930s. While Jenkins briefly mentions some of this older history, this is not a history book. Or at least, its a history book of the first 20 years of the 21st century.
This is a helpful, even necessary, book. The Religious Right dominates the religiously informed political discourse in America. “Evangelical” has basically become a synonym for Republican. If you’re actively religious, in the eyes of non-religious people, the assumption is you are conservative and Republican. The reality is that there is a vibrant, energetic, diverse and passionate Religious Left. Unlike the Religious Right, which is overwhelmingly white and Christian, the Religious Left is much more ethnically and religiously diverse.
It reminds me of a conversation I had prior to the last presidential election. An acquaintance of mine, himself a conservative Christian, stated that the majority of Christians will vote for Trump. After I held in my vomit, I pointed out that such a statement is racist, since the truth is while most white evangelical Christians did vote Trump, nearly 90% of black Christians vote Democrat. Apparently, these religiously motivated voters were not even on his radar.
Jenkins’ book helps put such voters on our radar. He writes of Catholic nuns who advocated for the Affordable Care Act and the Obama campaign’s outreach to religious folks. He introduces readers to LGBTQ religious activists as well Native Americans, Jews and Muslims. In the end, we see a wide-ranging and diverse movement.
As someone who grew up in a white conservative evangelical tradition and has since moved to the left, I loved this book. I was familiar with some of these stories and people, but enjoyed learning more. Personally, I hope the Religious Left continues to grow. The way things have continued to deteriorate since the last election, we need the Religious Left.
I suppose the only thing I wish this book had was some sort of index of organizations and ways to get involved. Overall though, great book.
This is a helpful, even necessary, book. The Religious Right dominates the religiously informed political discourse in America. “Evangelical” has basically become a synonym for Republican. If you’re actively religious, in the eyes of non-religious people, the assumption is you are conservative and Republican. The reality is that there is a vibrant, energetic, diverse and passionate Religious Left. Unlike the Religious Right, which is overwhelmingly white and Christian, the Religious Left is much more ethnically and religiously diverse.
It reminds me of a conversation I had prior to the last presidential election. An acquaintance of mine, himself a conservative Christian, stated that the majority of Christians will vote for Trump. After I held in my vomit, I pointed out that such a statement is racist, since the truth is while most white evangelical Christians did vote Trump, nearly 90% of black Christians vote Democrat. Apparently, these religiously motivated voters were not even on his radar.
Jenkins’ book helps put such voters on our radar. He writes of Catholic nuns who advocated for the Affordable Care Act and the Obama campaign’s outreach to religious folks. He introduces readers to LGBTQ religious activists as well Native Americans, Jews and Muslims. In the end, we see a wide-ranging and diverse movement.
As someone who grew up in a white conservative evangelical tradition and has since moved to the left, I loved this book. I was familiar with some of these stories and people, but enjoyed learning more. Personally, I hope the Religious Left continues to grow. The way things have continued to deteriorate since the last election, we need the Religious Left.
I suppose the only thing I wish this book had was some sort of index of organizations and ways to get involved. Overall though, great book.