Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Why did 81% of white evangelicals vote for Donald Trump in 2016? And what does this tell us about the relationship between Christianity and democracy in the United States? American Babylon places our present political moment against a deep historical backdrop.
In Part I the author traces the development of democratic institutions from Ancient Greece through to the American Revolution and of Christian political theology from Augustine to Falwell. Part II charts the decline of democratic governance within American churches; explains the capture of evangelical Christianity by the Republican Party; and denounces the fateful embrace between white Christian nationalists and right-wing populists that culminated in Trump's victory.
An accessible and timely book, American Babylon is essential reading for those concerned with the vexed relationship of religion and politics in the United States, including students and scholars in the fields of divinity, history, political science, religious studies, and sociology.
Synopsis
In European history, the relationship between Christianity and democracy has often been ambivalent. In US history, it has usually been complementary. But the role of white evangelicals in the election of Donald Trump suggests that American Christianity may now be taking an authoritarian turn. American Babylon is a historical sociology of this political moment. It explains how and when Christianity and democracy have and have not gone together over the course of European history; why they have generally been complementary for most of America's history and why that complementarity is gradually giving way to antagonism. The author then explores why this antagonism is threat not only to American democracy but also to American Christianity; and why conservative Christians and secular progressives must learn to respect one another again.