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“The Christian right has been threatening American plurality for decades, and its influence is on the rise. In Wild Faith, Talia Lavin thoroughly chronicles how this reactionary force is spreading through the US political system and sounds a clear alarm: Christian nationalism is a growing danger to democracy. To fully understand the peril at hand, you must read this book, which is both an investigative triumph and a warning." –David Corn, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Russian Roulette and American Psychosis
From the author of Culture Warlords, a sweeping investigation of the Christian-right that scrutinizes the toxic religious and political forces that are shaping our democracy.
In Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America, author Talia Lavin goes deep into the beliefs that motivate the Christian right, from its segregationist past to a future riddled with apocalyptic visions. Along the way, she explores what motivates anti-abortion terrorists; the Christian Patriarchy movement, with its desire to place all women under absolute male control; the twisted theology that leads to rampant child abuse; and the ways conspiracy theorists and extremist Christians influence each other to mutual political benefit.
Using primary sources and firsthand accounts, Lavin introduces readers to "deliverance ministers" who carry out exorcisms by the hundred; modern-day, self-proclaimed prophets and apostles; Christian militias, cults, zealots, and showmen; and the people in power who are aiding them to achieve their goals.
From school boards to the Supreme Court, Christian theocracy is ascendant in America -- and only through exploring its motivations and impacts can we understand the crisis we face. Can a multiracial democracy survive in the face of an organized, fervent theocratic movement?
