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A review by montymitra
The End of White Christian America by Robert P. Jones
3.0
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.
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.