Books Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation  by Kristin Kobes Du Mez (Author)

"Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation" by Kristin Kobes Du Mez is a historical and cultural analysis of the rise of militant masculinity within white evangelicalism in the United States. The book explores how, over the past 75 years, white evangelicals transformed the image of Jesus from a figure of radical love and peace into an emblem of rugged masculinity often associated with aggression, dominance, and political power. This reshaping sanctified aggression and militarism within evangelical culture despite conflicting with Christian egalitarian principles.

Du Mez traces this shift through key players, books, and cultural icons like John Wayne, whose persona became a model for evangelical manhood emphasizing strength, assertiveness, and control. The book argues that this redefinition contributed to evangelical support for figures like Donald Trump, viewed as embodying these rugged masculine ideals.