The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

In this scathing account, journalist Alberta (American Carnage) scrutinizes the unraveling of American evangelicalism over the past several decades. According to the author, extremists are now the establishment within the evangelical movement and have been “conditioned to subdue” their Christlike love and chase political power. To make his case, Alberta profiles such “conservative clerics, Trump-inspired politicos, patriot crusaders, [and] culture-war capitalists” as Robert Jeffress, a Southern Baptist megachurch pastor and longtime Trump acolyte who believes evangelicalism is “under siege” from a secular government, as well as moderate pastors who’ve broken from the denomination, including Russell Moore, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, whose critiques of Trump and calls to address racial tensions in the church sparked “vicious internecine fighting” and led to his 2021 departure from the denomination. Alberta adeptly illustrates how Christian nationalism is “destroying the evangelical church” on a big-picture level, as well as how it’s justified individually, framed scripturally, and blared over pulpits in support of hyper-conservative political candidates. While he suggests a “true Christianity” might still be salvageable, Alberta’s own evidence reveals how deep the rot has already spread. It’s an incisive, unsparing look at a movement in crisis. (Dec.)