Updates and Invitation to Live October 30th WTL Author Forum with Brad Onishi about his book "Preparing for War"
A Conversation about the Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism--and What Comes Next
Dear #WhiteTooLong readers,
After being on the road—five cities in the last nine days—I’m glad to be writing you from home. I’m tired. But I’ve also been energized along the way by connecting with many of you and by being with my fellow travelers (in so many ways!) from
—Diana Butler Bass, Jemar Tisby, and Kristin Du Mez—at inspiring events at First Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC, and Dayspring United Methodist Church in Tempe, AZ, as part of our fall Faith & Democracy Tour.We recorded last Sunday’s Faith & Democracy Tour event in Tempe to share with you all. You can tune in to the discussion via our Convocation Unscripted podcast, or you can watch the full event—including amazing music provided by Taylor Leonhardt, Fernando Ortega, and Tommy Sims—at the link below.
There’s so much happening as we’re on this final stretch before the election. Quickly, here are three things on my radar I want to share:
A sin upon our soul. On Friday, President Biden delivered an historic apology on behalf of the United States for the nation’s dark past with Indian boarding schools, calling it “a sin upon our soul.” This significant event got lost in the election coverage, but it is a significant first step toward truth-telling and repair.
Democracy dies in darkness. Also on Friday, The Washington Post followed the Los Angeles Times in self-interested cowardice, as billionaire owners are blocking news outlets from endorsing Kamal Harris over Donald Trump for the presidency. Democracy indeed dies in darkness, and the Washington Post just dimmed the light. I’m grateful for the willingness of 18 post opinion columnists who called out the paper’s decision “a terrible mistake;” for the Post’s Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes; and for the courage of editor at large Robert Kagan who immediately resigned. For the first time in 20 years, I’m no longer a subscriber to the Washington Post.
What Comes Next. Finally, I hope you’ll join me in my next live WTL Author Forum event Wednesday night, with my friend Brad Onishi. This will be a timely conversation one week ahead of the election. We’ll talk about Christian nationalism and the political violence it is stoking this election cycle and beyond. Details are below.
Wishing everyone stamina and courage these next few weeks.
Robby
WTL Author Forum Wednesday Night with Brad Onishi
On Wednesday, 10/30/2024, at 7:30 PM EDT, I’m hosting a live zoom event exclusively for paid subscribers: a conversation with
, author of Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism--and What Comes Next, which just came out in paperback last month. Brad and I will talk for 30 minutes aand then take questions from Zoom webinar participants for the final 20 minutes.This live event, like all WTL Author Forums, are for paid subscribers only. To receive access to the Zoom registration link (visible below for paid subscribers), please become a paid subscriber. In addition to this episode, you’ll get access to live conversations with an exciting lineup of other authors all year.
About Brad Onishi:
Brad Onishi is a social commentator, scholar, and co-host of the Straight White American Jesus (SWAJ) podcast. He founded Axis Mundi Media in 2023 in order to provide a platform for research-based podcasts focused on safeguarding democracy from the threats of extremism and authoritarianism. His writing has appeared at the New York Times, Politico, Rolling Stone, NBC News, HuffPost, and many other outlets. Onishi is a frequent guest on national radio, podcast, and television outlets, including “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross and MSNBC. His podcast, SWAJ, ranks in the top 50 of Politics shows on Apple’s podcast charts – ahead of programs from NPR, the NYT, and other national outlets.
Book summary:
Watching the eerie footage of the January 6 insurrection, Bradley Onishi wondered: If I hadn't left evangelicalism, would I have been there?
The insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, was not a blip or an aberration. It was the logical outcome of years of a White evangelical subculture's preparation for war. Religion scholar and former insider Bradley Onishi maps the origins of White Christian nationalism and traces its offshoots in Preparing for War. This paperback edition includes a new preface from the author that speaks to the contemporary currents of White Christian nationalism.
Combining his own experiences in the youth groups and prayer meetings of the 1990s with an immersive look at the steady blending of White grievance politics with evangelicalism, Onishi crafts an engrossing account of the years-long campaign of White Christian nationalism that led to January 6. How did the rise of what Onishi calls the New Religious Right, between 1960 and 2015, give birth to violent White Christian nationalism during the Trump presidency and beyond? What propelled some of the most conservative religious communities in the country--communities of which Onishi was once a part--to ignite a cold civil war?
Through chapters on White supremacy and segregationist theologies, conspiracy theories, the Christian-school movement, purity culture, and the right-wing media ecosystem, Onishi pulls back the curtain on a subculture that birthed a movement and has taken a dangerous turn. In taut and unsparing prose, Onishi traces the migration of many White Christians to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming in what is known as the American Redoubt. Learning the troubling history of the New Religious Right and the longings and logic of White Christian nationalism is deeply alarming. It is also critical for preserving the shape of our democracy for years to come.
How to register for the webinar:
*Note: access to live event limited to paid subscribers only; become a paid subscriber to get access to registration.
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