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A novel account of the culture wars and Evangelical influence in the United States that traces the 80-year rise of a quasi-religious anti-liberal demonology. When people talk about the chaotic, increasingly precarious political landscape in the United States, they often blame polarization and the culture wars. In A shadow gospel framework helps contextualize the violence of January 6th, the fervor of Satanic conspiracy theorizing, and the crusade against “wokeness” and LGBTQ existence. But it also helps explain the most vexing elements of our politics: that the most potent source of religious messaging and influence in the US is secular, that the most ruthless destroyers of Republicans are other Republicans, and that anti-liberal fear and loathing span the political spectrum.;By offering new ways of thinking about religious influence, the left/right dichotomy, and the appeal of Donald Trump,
List of contents
Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introducing the Shadow Gospel
1 The Realm of the Shadowy Bizarre
2 Branding Satan
3 Make Me a Shadow Myth
4 The Culture Wars Are Satanic
5 Religion without Religion
6 The Left Hates America
Conclusion: Seeing Through the Shadows
Notes
Selected Bibliography: Academic Work and Other Sources
Index
About the author
Whitney Phillips is Assistant Professor of Digital Platforms and Media Ethics in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. She is the coauthor of You Are Here and the author of This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (both MIT Press). She is also the coauthor of a digital ethics guide, Share Better and Stress Less (MITeen Press), written for middle school readers.
Mark Brockway is Assistant Teaching Professor in Political Science at Syracuse University. His research centers on religious and political identity and activism as expressed through party politics, in the electorate, and in governmental institutions.
