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Cover of "Outrageous," with tomato on face of man holding microphone

Endless Culture Wars

On Kliph Nesteroff’s book, “Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars.”
by Chris Yogerst via Los Angeles Review of Books on December 1, 2023
J. Edgar Hoover

How the FBI Aided the Rise of White Christian Nationalism in the US

It was J. Edgar Hoover who did more than any fire-breathing churchman to turn fearful white suburbanites into the crusaders of a renewed conservative backlash.
by James Robins via New Humanist on October 5, 2023
Photograph of Donald Trump smiling and giving a thumbs up, with Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. behind him.
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A New Documentary Exposes the Truth About the Religious Right

It’s a political movement willing to align with anyone to win.
by Matthew Avery Sutton via Made By History on November 16, 2022
Ronald Reagan and Jerry Falwell speaking to each other in the White House.

It Wasn’t the Religious Right That Made White Evangelicals Vote Republican

To understand why evangelicals vote Republican, we shouldn’t focus just on Falwell; we need to look at a century or more of evangelical political culture.
by Daniel K. Williams via Anxious Bench on August 23, 2022
Reverend Jerry Falwell, speaking from a pulpit.

Evangelical Groundhog Day

The NYT identifies the 'religious fervor in the American right' — around four decades late.
by Diana Butler Bass via Religion Dispatches on April 7, 2022

QAnon Didn't Just Spring Forth From the Void

Calling QAnon a "cult" or "religion" hides how its practices are born of deeply American social and political traditions.
by Adam Willems, Megan Goodwin via Religion Dispatches on September 10, 2020
President Ronald Reagan speaking to Jerry Falwell Sr. Both men are seated with their legs crossed.

Fundamentalism Turns 100, a Landmark for the Christian Right

Christian fundamentalists have become a politically powerful group since the movement’s foundation in 1919.
by William Trollinger via The Conversation on October 8, 2019

'Evangelical' Has Lost Its Meaning

A term that once described a vital tradition within the Christian faith now means something else entirely.
by Alan Jacobs via The Atlantic on September 22, 2019
George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush in church.
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How George H.W. Bush Enabled the Rise of the Religious Right

Religious conservatives used the Bush presidency to launch their takeover of the GOP.
by Neil J. Young via Made By History on December 5, 2018
Trump among a group of people with heads bowed in prayer.

Evangelicalism and Politics

Four historians weigh in on evangelicals' affinity for Trump – and their commitment to the conservative movement more broadly.
by John Fea, Lerone A. Martin, Laura Gifford, R. Marie Griffith via The American Historian on November 30, 2018
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The Roots of Evangelicals’ Political Fervor

White evangelical Christians are among President Trump’s most important supporters. But more than 40 years ago, they were on the margins of American politics.
via Retro Report on October 28, 2018
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Billy Graham, ‘America’s Pastor’?

He became known as an apolitical preacher. But Graham started out as an ardent conservative.
by Kevin M. Kruse via Made By History on February 22, 2018

The Real Origins of the Religious Right

They’ll tell you it was abortion. Sorry, the historical record’s clear: It was segregation.
by Randall Balmer via Politico Magazine on May 27, 2014
Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, beneath a red GOP elephant logo.
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How Conservatives Changed the Whole Point of American Political Parties

The rise of the right remade the GOP—and fundamentally changed how parties operated in American politics.
by Daniel Schlozman, Sam Rosenfeld via Made By History on June 10, 2024
Ronald Reagan campaigns in Houston ahead of the Republican Convention in 1976.
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How Abortion Took Over the Republican Party

Ronald Reagan proved instrumental to Southerners bringing their cultural conservatism to center stage for the Republican Party.
by Jonathan Bartho via Made By History on April 12, 2024
Donald Trump speaks to the Pastors Leadership Conference at New Spirit Revival Center on September 21, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Spreading the Bad News

Right-wing evangelicalism’s moral and religious descent into Trumpism has been near-total. Is there a way out?
by Soong-Chan Rah via Democracy Journal on March 22, 2024
Donald Trump in Alabama.
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To Understand Trump's Appeal, Look to Alabama History

The transformation of Alabama politics in the 1960s and 1970s reflected the rise of a new version of Republicanism that Trump has perfected.
by Ashley Steenson via Made By History on January 25, 2024
The American flag on a black background; underneath the flag the outline of the Christian cross is visible

How Christian Is Christian Nationalism?

Many Americans who advocate it have little interest in religion and an aversion to American culture as it currently exists. What really defines the movement?
by Kelefa Sanneh via The New Yorker on March 27, 2023
Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right

‘Birchers,’ a Well-Told, Familiar Entry in the ‘How We Got to Trump’ Genre

In his history of the John Birch Society, Matthew Dallek says Republicans allowed the extreme fringe to “eventually cannibalize the entire party.”
by Sam Adler-Bell via Washington Post on March 22, 2023
A John Birch Society billboard in Stratton, Colorado, calls for the impeachment of Chief Justice Earl Warren, December 1962.

The Fringe Group That Broke the GOP’s Brain — And Helped It Win Elections

The John Birch Society pushed a darker, more conspiratorial politics in the ’50s and ’60s — and looms large over today’s GOP.
by Matthew Dallek, Ian Ward via Vox on March 19, 2023
A GOP Elephant locked up in a padded cell.

It Didn’t Start with Trump: The Decades-Long Saga of How the GOP Went Crazy

The modern Republican Party has always exploited and encouraged extremism.
by David Corn via Mother Jones on September 9, 2022
Collage of a hand raised up toward major conservative Christian figures throughout American history.

The Evangelical Question in the History of American Religion

The disturbing conclusion might just be that evangelicalism does not exist.
by Kirsten Sanders via The Hedgehog Review on July 23, 2022
Cartoon of History of American Slavery book chasing a child.

They Want Your Child!

How right-wing school panics seek to repeal modernity and progress.
by Rick Perlstein via The Forum on July 22, 2022
A celebration outside the Supreme Court on June 24, in Washington. (Steve Helber/AP)
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The Christian Right’s Version of History Paid Off on Abortion and Guns

How Christian conservatives' version of American history shaped the Supreme Court’s abortion and gun decisions.
by Lauren R. Kerby via Made By History on July 18, 2022
Abortion rights demonstrators confront an antiabortion protester on May 14 outside the Supreme Court.
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What Everyone Gets Wrong About Evangelicals and Abortion

Evangelicals started speaking out against legal abortion long before the late 1970s.
by Gillian Frank, Neil J. Young via Made By History on May 16, 2022
Man holding bible outside Capitol with Trump supporters
partner

Christian Nationalism Is Surging. It Wasn’t Inevitable.

How the decline of liberal religion transformed American Christianity — and politics.
by Gene Zubovich via Made By History on May 6, 2022
Julie and Hillary Goodridge talking to reporters

Why the Marriage-Equality Movement Succeeded

The author of “The Engagement" discusses the activists, politicians, and judicial figures who were at the forefront of the battle over same-sex marriage.
by Isaac Chotiner, Sasha Issenberg via The New Yorker on June 10, 2021
Person kneeling with a Trump flag tied to their back, in front of a large wooden cross during the Capitol Siege

How the Study of Evangelicalism Has Blinded Us to the Problems in Evangelical Culture

Are the evangelicals who voted for Trump and stormed the Capitol in his defense part of the fringe of evangelicalism, or the core?
by Christopher D. Cantwell via Religion Dispatches on March 4, 2021
A man in a t-shirt reading "Wanted: Jesus Christ"

The Protest Reformation

In the 1960s, youth counterculture spawned Christian rock.
by Johanna Fateman via Bookforum on November 11, 2020

Reaganland Is the Riveting Conclusion to a Story That Still Isn’t Over

Rick Perlstein’s epic series shows political history and cultural history cannot be disentangled.
by Jack Hamilton via Slate on August 3, 2020
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