Interesting history.

I would qualify this less of a "good book" and more of a valuable input into building out a holistic and diverse view of the world (or country, as it were). One thing that stuck out was that most of the data cited was from the author's organization, of which he is CEO. Now, he doesn't hide this (it's on the book cover) nor do I find this suspect. But given how much data came from a single source where he has a vested interest, I would have appreciated at least a little insight and transparency into their methodologies, perhaps as an introductory chapter.

The main premise is the fall of White Christian America as it staked its identity on anti-gay, anti-abortion, and racial policies, all of which are either turning or have already turned against them due to public favor. However, there are several other threads that I would have like to have explored:

- Changing mediums/technologies: Television gave rise to the conservative evangelical movement, which is interesting given how now the internet and social media have given rise to the alt-right movement.
- Has the level of education or science been an influence? A criticism of religion is often that it seeks to explain that which science has yet to explain. Has this always been at odds with one the most scientifically forward thinking countries?
- Has the financial crises over the last decade been an influence? American Christianity is unique in its political and cultural ties to American capitalism (Jones makes brief mention of the prosperity gospel) so has the negative reaction to the financial collapse inflicted anger towards WCA?
- Has global interconnectivity influenced the decline (related to the tech/medium point above)? Organized religion seems to sometimes be less about belief in a specific theology and more about community. Are people moving away from geographic communities (ie churches) to online communities (facebook, etc?) and fulfilling their needs for inclusiveness digitally?
- How does the fall of WCA relate in the global context? My guess is that much of western Europe and parts of Asia have also seen a decrease in religious affiliation? How does it compare/contrast to parts of the world that are dependent on religious authority?

Again, those are things that popped up in my head as I read it and seem like worthwhile exploration. The scope of this book seems quite narrow and I think it would have been good if that scope had been defined up front because I find the book a bit lacking.

Really a 4.5 star book, this is a short work about the loss of political power. Jones identifies two groups - white mainline Protestants and white evangelical Protestants - who have enjoyed political power and privilege for all of the 19th and 20th centuries. But as we roll into the 21st century, it is clear these groups are surely losing that power. The book is filled with graphs and bar charts quoting survey data and polling numbers that supports this and the author's other main points. But this is no dry, dusty statistical tome. It's a clear and interesting explication whose main narrative explains much about American society today.

A key point Jones makes is "The American religious landscape is being remade, most notably by the decline of the white Protestant majority and the rise of the religiously unaffiliated." Religiously unaffiliated is not jargon for "other," as in religious affiliations other than mainline or evangelical Christianity. It means the rise of Americans with no religion at all. This is an important and welcome sea change in this country. Jones presents much polling data from his PRRI organization to support this contention. Jones also makes important points about how WCA’s views on race and LGBT issues have contributed to its wane.

The book itself was written before the 2016 election though the Afterword addresses the topic in a few short pages. He points out that Trump's victory was in large part due to White Evangelicals whom he calls "nostalgia" voters rather than their former name, "values" voters. White evangelicals voted overwhelmingly for Trump: 81%. And while he castigates that group slightly (saying the 2016 election will be remembered as the one in which white evangelicals traded away their integrity and influence to resurrect their past), he stops short of calling them the shameless hypocrites they surely are.

Jones has no bitterness with the loss of power of these two privileged groups. Instead he recognizes America's increasing diversity. He proposes a hopeful path forward with WCA becoming an equal partner with Black and Hispanic religious groups as well as with the religiously unaffiliated. He understands that this path may not be easy. When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression. Recommended.

This was a fascinating and thought-provoking read. Perhaps because I was going through the book while the recent Texas abortion law came into effect, but I thought it was a miss that there wasn't a chapter on abortion/women's roles in addition to the chapters on gay rights and race. I think that examination would have added to the overall book.

Such an important read for anyone who's deviated in some way from conservative, evangelical Christianity. It explains a lot about the rise and fall of this particular demographic and provides excellent commentary on how it has shaped conversations on same-sex marriage, politics, and race.

I will possibly come back to this one at some point. I’m just really struggling with the author’s writing and can’t connect. I don’t know why because this is a topic I’m really interested in. Might just not be the right time for me to be reading it I guess?

Listened to this on audiobook. Very interesting.

The End of White Christian America is truly an informative read. The title sounds controversial, but the book actually takes a very objective, fact-based and stats-based look at the shifting demographics of America as well as the increasing number of young people, particularly young white people, that are a part of a steadily growing trend of religious disaffiliation in a America. This trend is having a profound effect on America's culture and has caused the culture wars to become more and more explosive.

Jones also does a wonderful job exploring the history of race in America and highlighting the correlation between racism--as well as those who are complicit when it comes to racism (passive observers)--and certain sects of Christianity, particularly white evangelical Christians.

I highly recommend this book to those that are interested in the this topic or for those who wonder how America has gotten to this very contentious point in time.

I heard about this book prior to the 2016 presidential election, but didn't get a chance to read it until after the election. The End of White Christian America explores how the power and influence of Christian Protestants has been declining in the U.S. in the last several decades. Jones's research shows that mainline Protestants have been declining for longer than evangelical Protestants, but both are in decline due to reduced numbers of parishioners, changing demographics and younger generations having different priorities. I think the most interesting aspect of this book was the eulogy at the end. Jones details how White Christian America is dealing with its decline and what it should be doing to make itself more relevant to the future. Because this book was written before the election of Donald Trump, I do wonder what Jones would have to say about the results of the 2016 election. This is a fascinating look at the history of Christians and politics in the United States; how they rose to power and why they are falling out of favor. It will be interesting to see where they go from here.