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Christian Women Say They’re Not Political. Their Living Rooms Disagree

Exerpts: In truth, the politics of white Christian women cannot be reduced to a single issue. Rather, their voting patterns reflect an underlying cultural worldview shaped less by formal political organizing than by the products they buy and the culture…

Kristin Kobes Du MezSeptember 1, 2026

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Because a Twitter thread this long would be annoying

Note: I'd originally planned this as a Twitter thread, but because of its length, I thought I'd try my hand at Twitter's newsletter function. Total fail. So I'll just put it up here, for now. (Paragraphs are constrained by character…

Kristin Kobes Du MezNovember 27, 2021

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Braveheart’s Warped History Keeps Suckering Evangelicals

The Daily Beast. June 20, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/bravehearts-warped-history-has-been-suckering-evangelicals-for-a-quarter-century Mel Gibson’s sadomasochistic fantasy is beloved by evangelical Christians (and William Wallace wannabes like Ted Cruz), who wallow in its exaltation of violent, macho religion.

Kristin Kobes Du MezJune 20, 2021

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What We Believe About History

Excerpts: Beliefs have a history. As a historian of religion, I take this for granted. I’d forgotten how foreign this notion is to many evangelicals in the United States. Evangelicals are not alone in considering that their beliefs are eternal…

Kristin Kobes Du MezMay 27, 2021

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The Cost of Staying Silent

It was more than a decade ago, but I still remember that moment vividly. It was one of the few times in my life where I found myself genuinely speechless. My husband and I had been visiting a church near…

Kristin Kobes Du MezApril 15, 2021

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Peace Through Understanding: The Life of a Christian Scholar

I’ve written in this space from time to time on the subject of Christian scholarship, and I feel compelled to return to that topic today, but in a much more personal way. This past Sunday, my Calvin History Department colleagues and I were shocked…

Kristin Kobes Du MezApril 1, 2021

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#LeaveLOUD and the Evangelical Reckoning

Earlier this month, Jemar Tisby shared his story of leaving white evangelical spaces with the hastag #LeaveLOUD on his Pass the Mic podcast, the first in a series of episodes where Black Christians go public with their exit stories. Tisby is not…

Kristin Kobes Du MezMarch 18, 2021

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Discipline and Punish: A Guide to Power in American Evangelicalism

“Are you going rogue?” The question startled me. It had come from a professor at another Christian university, someone I hadn’t met before. This was in the months before Jesus and John Wayne published, but she was responding to some of my…

Kristin Kobes Du MezFebruary 18, 2021

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Five Myths about Evangelicals

Excerpts: Myth No. 1: Evangelical beliefs come strictly from the Bible But evangelicals’ beliefs are often molded by political and cultural allegiances, not just biblical texts. Political scientist Michele Margolis has demonstrated that politics can shape religious choices, just as religious belief…

Kristin Kobes Du MezJanuary 22, 2021

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Jemar Tisby’s How to Fight Racism

Jemar Tisby has a new book out this week, How to Fight Racism. Is it any good? First, some personal history. I first met Jemar Tisby at an academic conference, long enough ago that I can’t even remember which one. By…

Kristin Kobes Du MezJanuary 7, 2021

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On Pandemic Christmas Eve

For many of us, this is a Christmas without family celebrations, mall Santas, rousing performances of Handel’s Messiah, and Christmas Eve candlelight services. All is not lost, however. Starbucks has come through with a lovely selection of red-and-green holiday cups, one…

Kristin Kobes Du MezDecember 24, 2020

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Confronting Toxic Christianity

The latest scandal to rock American evangelicalism is more of the same but with a fresh, updated feel. James MacDonald, Paige Patterson, Mark Driscoll, and Bill Hybels, to name just a few evangelical pastors caught up in abuses of power,…

Kristin Kobes Du MezDecember 10, 2020

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NBCNews.com. Op Ed. Trump pick Amy Coney Barrett’s Christian ‘Handmaid’ History Matters

Excerpts: Given this polarized context, it’s no surprise that leading Democrats have signaled a reticence to confront Barrett on the issue of her faith. Yet the precise nature of her beliefs, how those beliefs shape her judicial philosophy and how they align…

Kristin Kobes Du MezOctober 10, 2020

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After Jesus and John Wayne

We’re three months out now from the release of Jesus and John Wayne, and it’s been a whirlwind of remote talks, podcasts, interviews, and even a couple of documentary film crews. One of the reasons I’ve had so many opportunities to…

Kristin Kobes Du MezOctober 1, 2020

image of the book cover Jesus and John Wayne in blue with red lettering

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Jesus and John Wayne: An Afterword

Back in June, in anticipation of the book’s release, I published Jesus and John Wayne: the backstory. Now, nearly three months out from publication, I thought I’d take the opportunity to reflect on the book’s initial reception—more specifically, on the surprising…

Kristin Kobes Du MezSeptember 17, 2020

Articles & Essays (Select)In the Media

From Donald Trump to John Wayne: How to become a hero of the Christian Right

Excerpt: . . . in my research on evangelical masculinity, I have found that Trump's leadership style aligns closely with a rugged ideal of Christian manhood championed by evangelicals for more than half a century. As I show in my…

Kristin Kobes Du MezSeptember 8, 2020

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You Want Context? Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Crotch Shot and Family-Values Evangelicalism

Earlier this week Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University and one of President Trump’s leading evangelical supporters, once again found himself at the center of controversy. And once again, Falwell had no one to blame but himself. This time,…

Kristin Kobes Du MezAugust 6, 2020

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Will Trump’s Weakness Threaten White Evangelical Support?

Religion Dispatches. July 9, 2020. Excerpts: Earlier this month he sought to curry favor with evangelicals by staging an awkward photo op in front of a church, Bible in hand, after violently dispersing peaceful protesters. In Arizona last week, he addressed a Students…

Kristin Kobes Du MezJuly 9, 2020

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About Those Manly Evangelical Protectors…

A couple weeks back, evangelical Twitter erupted with the drama unfolding around Aimee Byrd and her new book, Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: How the Church Needs to Rediscover Her Purpose. Byrd is no liberal. A member of the Orthodox…

Kristin Kobes Du MezJuly 9, 2020

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If You Want to Understand White Evangelicals, Tour a Hobby Lobby Store

The Daily Beast. Opinions. June 21, 2020. https://www.thedailybeast.com/if-you-want-to-understand-white-evangelicals-tour-a-hobby-lobby-store Screencapture of Daily Beast. Images/Kristin Kobes Du Mez Excerpt: Scenes of President Donald Trump proclaiming himself the “president of law and order,” urging the deployment of the military to “dominate the streets,” and then…

Kristin Kobes Du MezJune 21, 2020

Christian Women Say They’re Not Political. Their Living Rooms Disagree

Because a Twitter thread this long would be annoying

Braveheart’s Warped History Keeps Suckering Evangelicals

What We Believe About History

The Cost of Staying Silent

Peace Through Understanding: The Life of a Christian Scholar

#LeaveLOUD and the Evangelical Reckoning

Discipline and Punish: A Guide to Power in American Evangelicalism

Five Myths about Evangelicals

Jemar Tisby’s How to Fight Racism

On Pandemic Christmas Eve

Confronting Toxic Christianity

NBCNews.com. Op Ed. Trump pick Amy Coney Barrett’s Christian ‘Handmaid’ History Matters

After Jesus and John Wayne

Jesus and John Wayne: An Afterword

From Donald Trump to John Wayne: How to become a hero of the Christian Right

You Want Context? Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Crotch Shot and Family-Values Evangelicalism

Will Trump’s Weakness Threaten White Evangelical Support?

About Those Manly Evangelical Protectors…

If You Want to Understand White Evangelicals, Tour a Hobby Lobby Store

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