Andrew L. Whitehead

A detailed take down of the current evangelical Christian theological frenzy from a Christian theological perspective. I'm no longer a Christian, but I grew up as one, in the same area and in the same (more of less) churches as the author, albeit somewhat earlier (I have kids his age). Saying that, I can say this: this book is spot on as to the history and roots of Christian nationalism. It's both fascinating and horrifying. Dinged a star only because his solutions are unworkable - it's going to be a lot harder and take a lot longer than he suspects to fix this. Read it if you want to understand the current marriage of American religion to fascism.… (more)

In American Idolatry by Andrew Whitehead, the author attempts to describe how White Chrisitan Nationalism is the greatest threat to American society currently. While not an academic book, the book is scholarly as Dr. Whitehead is a professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The academic background of the author can be seen in the desire to express his point clearly and with an academic’s precision. However, unlike an academic book, the author liberally sprinkles this book with personal anecdotes and stories from his faith journey.
In some ways, I felt it was difficult to figure out to whom the book was written. Christian nationalists are not going to read it as their premise is that they are right and would reject the author’s thesis as being against God. However, those who have rejected Chrisitan nationalism would already know the points that are made in this book. Therefore, this book is written for the small group that is on the fence regarding this issue and would like to understand how to deal with moving out of their previous group into another.
While this book claims to show how to fight against Christian Nationalism, I think it really provides examples and general principles. If one is interested in this topic then this would be a fine place to start. The book is accessible and well-researched.

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Andrew Whitehead presents an insider-to-insider take on Christian nationalism in this slim volume. Still, Whitehead's experience as an academic social scientist is apparent throughout. Despite the author's stated intent and hope that this book be accessible and used by everyday Christians who are likely to encounter Christian nationalist elements in their communities, large portions of this book read like a scholarly argument one might see in an academic journal. That being said, I couldn't help but think of the people in my life who I'd like to see read this book. Recommended for anyone interested in the intersections of religion and politics.… (more)