Articles & Essays Archives - Kristin Kobes Du Mez

image of cross with two guns - the image on book cover for Jesus and John Wayne

Articles & Essays Christian Scholarship Work & Family

Jesus and John Wayne: the Backstory

In a little over a week, my new book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation will find its way into the world. When I started the project, I couldn’t have imagined the world it…

Kristin Kobes Du MezJune 11, 2020

American Evangelicalism Articles & Essays Culture

Is Media Coverage Biased Against Evangelicals in the Midst of the Coronavirus?

How should we talk about white evangelicals during the coronavirus pandemic? On the one hand, there’s been no shortage of critical editorials highlighting the relatively small number of evangelical churches that have refused to comply with public health recommendations and…

Kristin Kobes Du MezMay 14, 2020

silhouette of boxing training with two onlookers

American Evangelicalism Articles & Essays Church History Featured

Some Evangelicals deny the Coronavirus Threat. It’s because they Love Tough Guys.

The Washington Post. "Some Evangelicals deny the Coronavirus Threat. It’s because they Love Tough Guys." Perspective. April 2, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/04/02/conservative-evangelicals-coronavirus-tough-guys/ Excerpts: To be a man was to take risks, to eschew political correctness, to be, according to author and chaplain John McDougall,…

Kristin Kobes Du MezApril 2, 2020

Artistic representation of Hermione Granger wielding a wand

Articles & Essays Hillary Clinton

Why We Can’t Have Nice Feminists

It’s been a rough couple of weeks to be a feminist. First, there was Elizabeth Warren’s heartbreaking exit from the race, leaving Democrats with two elderly white men standing. Then, there was the release of the Hulu documentary “Hillary.” This…

Kristin Kobes Du MezMarch 22, 2020

American Evangelicalism Articles & Essays Christian Women Purity Culture

Sex, Outrage, and American Religion: Miss America’s God

This year’s Super Bowl halftime show sparked outrage among a contingent of American Christians. Although the halftime show is rarely considered a purveyor of American moral values, this year’s performance by Shakira and Jennifer Lopez provoked new levels of opposition.…

Kristin Kobes Du MezFebruary 20, 2020

Articles & Essays Christian Scholarship Donald Trump

Shepherd or Sheep? Religious Leadership in the Age of Trump

Published in Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, January 23, 2020. Summary: On any given Sunday, many evangelical pastors find themselves preaching to polarized congregations. There are many reasons a pastor might choose this path of least resistance.…

Kristin Kobes Du MezJanuary 24, 2020

image of people gathered in a field dressed in clothes associated with Amish communities

Articles & Essays Christian Thought Purity Culture

Simple Truth: Sex Abuse, the Amish, and the Evangelicals

Last week, journalist Sarah McClure published an investigative report in Cosmopolitan—yes, Cosmopolitan—on the prevalence of sexual abuse among the Amish. Based on a year-long investigation, the report contains disturbing details that are difficult to stomach; I’d call it shocking if we didn’t already have…

Kristin Kobes Du MezJanuary 23, 2020

collage of book from the article by kristin dumez at patheos.com/anxious bench regarding 2020 must-reads

Articles & Essays Christian Scholarship Featured

Coming Soon: 2020 Must-Reads in Christianity and Politics

The frenzied commentary around Mark Galli’s Christianity Today editorial has not only revealed widely diverging opinions within the evangelical community about the Trump presidency, but also about about what, if anything, an anti-Trump editorial in the pages of CT portends. Is this merely…

Kristin Kobes Du MezDecember 26, 2019

image of wooden door with large metal handle

American Evangelicalism Articles & Essays Book Reviews Church History

Evangelicals: The Problem with Insider History

This is a post about the history of evangelicalism. But as with many things these days, it starts with the election of Donald Trump. Or, more precisely, with the night before the election of Donald Trump. ‘Twas the evening of…

Kristin Kobes Du MezNovember 21, 2019

Articles & Essays Christian Feminists Christian Thought Christian Women Featured

Hey, John MacArthur. You have a Culture. It’s Called White (Christian) Patriarchy.

The tricky thing about cultures, though—cultural systems, cultural values, however you want to put it—is that they’re largely invisible to us when we’re inside those cultures. When you’re comfortably ensconced within a culture, it’s really hard to see your culture…

Kristin Kobes Du MezOctober 24, 2019

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