The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

The successor to the Moral Majority, the Christian Coalition was created by Ralph Reed, a politician, and Pat Robertson, a televangelist. The Christian Coalition morphed into the Faith and Freedom Coalition and was defined by a marked rise in extremist, apocalyptic rhetoric that surpassed the Moral Majority’s.

Christian nationalism refers to the rising tide of Christians who decry the separation of church and state and call for political changes that would institute Christianity as a state religion. This is widely considered to be an extremist stance, yet some political figures, like Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene openly endorse it. Christian nationalism is often tied to white supremacy groups.

Originally from the Greek evangelos, meaning “good news,” evangelism has a nebulous definition. Though attempts have been made to define it, many different versions of evangelical philosophy exist in America today. Leaders like Jerry Falwell Sr. have taken advantage of the flexible definitions of “evangelical” to push partisan issues and acquire wealth and power.