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Church & State 250: Evangelical Fear, Masculinity, and Political Power
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July 24, 2026
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How did “biblical manhood” become so tied to aggression, politics, and power?
Kristin Kobes Du Mez, professor of history at Calvin University and author of Jesus and John Wayne, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain how white evangelical ideas about masculinity helped shape American Christianity and American politics. Du Mez traces the rise of rugged Christian manhood through culture, Cold War politics, the Religious Right, Ronald Reagan, fear of feminism and secularism, anti-Muslim rhetoric, and the culture war machinery that turns complicated issues into loyalty tests.
She also connects masculine power to institutional self-protection, including the Southern Baptist Convention’s response to women in leadership and sexual abuse reform. This conversation is not just about men. It is about how gender, theology, fear, capitalism, and political power worked together to shape modern white evangelicalism, and why America’s 250th raises urgent questions about religious liberty and democracy.
Guest Bio
Kristin Kobes Du Mez, PhD, is a historian, New York Times bestselling author, and professor of history at Calvin University. Her work focuses on the intersection of gender, religion, politics, and American evangelicalism. She is the author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, A New Gospel for Women, and the forthcoming Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made. She is also a Senior Democracy Fellow with PRRI. In this conversation, Du Mez helps explain how white evangelical ideas about masculinity, femininity, fear, family, politics, and power shaped the modern church and the country around it.
Book Mentioned
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Bookshop.org
Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Bookshop.org
Relevant Links & Resources
Kristin Kobes Du Mez Official Website
Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She DoesWhy Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026. Bookshop.org
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