A pro-military and cowboy brand of masculinity held sway – embodied in the aesthetic of John Wayne: a large, strong, politically conservative white man who loves his country and militantly defends against communism and illegal immigrants. Du Mez explains how Evangelicals became passionate for political power and fascinated with celebrity symbols. Billy Graham’s influence with republican presidents like Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan, and his ability to persuade Evangelicals to cast votes for them, lays the foundation of J&JW ’s narrative. History Professor at Calvin College, Kristin Kobes Du Mez, wonders how conservatives could “support a man who flouted every value they insisted they held dear (2).” The same people, explains Du Mez, who literally turned “WWJD” (What Would Jesus Do) into “a national phenomenon, justify their support for a man who seemed the very antithesis of the savior they claimed to emulate (2).” J&JW provides a narrative that seeks to answer these questions for those shocked and dismayed at the reported 81% evangelical support for Donald Trump.įrom Billy Graham and the formation of the National Association of Evangelicals to the 2016 election, Du Mez examines the last 70-80 years of evangelicalism’s rise.
We should see it as an opportunity for self-examination. Whatever emotions or responses J&JW provokes in us (“right on” or “shut up”), we should resist the urge to make it such a symbol. Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (henceforth J&JW ) is poised to be another symbol for camp categorization between progressives and conservatives.
The Communist Manifesto or Road to Serfdom ? Battleground books become symbols of community signaling, “ We don’t read THOSE. Like preachers, doctrines, politicians and positions, books and authors can become identity markers for sub-cultures, movements and communities. “What embitters the world is not excess of criticism, but an absence of self-criticism.” – G.K.
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