13 must-read theology books like Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies by David P. Gushee

Cover of Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies by David P. Gushee

Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

By: David P. Gushee

4.18

Format: 235 pages, Hardcover

American democracy is in danger. How do we protect it from authoritarian reactionary Christianity? …

If you liked the theology plot in Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies by David P. Gushee , here is a list of 13 books like this:

Cover of Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow

1. Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism

By: Rachel Maddow

4.45

Format: 416 pages, Hardcover

Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful … read more

Similar categories in Rachel Maddow's Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • politics
  • nonfiction
"One big appeal of fascism, if nothing else, was its unapologetic embrace of cruelty. Cruelty towards others, coupled with hypersensitivity towards any slight to oneself."

-Rachel Maddow, Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism

Cover of The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy by Philip S. Gorski

2. The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy

By: Philip S. Gorski

4.19

Format: 176 pages, Hardcover

A bracing examination of a force that imperils American democracy Most Americans were shocked by t… read more

Similar categories in Philip S. Gorski's The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • christianity
  • politics
  • religion
  • nonfiction
"White Christian nationalism is a “deep story"

-Philip S. Gorski, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy

"For white Americans who affirm Christian nationalist ideology, “true Americans"

-Philip S. Gorski, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy

"Even as it’s become riskier for mainstream politicians to use negative dog whistles like “thug"

-Philip S. Gorski, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy

"It’s not that Christian nationalists have a different understanding of American history; it’s that they often have an incorrect understanding."

-Philip S. Gorski, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy

Cover of The Wood Between the Worlds: A Poetic Theology of the Cross by Brian Zahnd

3. The Wood Between the Worlds: A Poetic Theology of the Cross

By: Brian Zahnd

4.53

Format: 216 pages, Hardcover

The cross is the heart of Scripture Everything about the gospel message leads to the cross, and pro… read more

Similar categories in Brian Zahnd's The Wood Between the Worlds: A Poetic Theology of the Cross book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • christianity
  • religion
  • nonfiction
  • theology
Cover of The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta

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

By: Tim Alberta

4.45

Format: 506 pages, Kindle Edition

Evangelical Christians are perhaps the most polarizing—and least understood—people living in Americ… read more

Similar categories in Tim Alberta's The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • theology
  • christianity
  • politics
  • religion
  • nonfiction
Cover of The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church by Sarah McCammon

5. The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church

By: Sarah McCammon

4.21

Format: 310 pages, Hardcover

The first definitive book that names the massive social movement of people leaving the white evange… read more

Similar categories in Sarah McCammon's The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • christianity
  • politics
  • religion
  • nonfiction
Cover of Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies by N.T. Wright

6. Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies

By: N.T. Wright

4.14

Format: 208 pages, Paperback

Should Christians be politically withdrawn, avoiding participation in politics to maintain their pr… read more

Similar categories in N.T. Wright's Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • theology
  • christianity
  • politics
  • religion
  • nonfiction
Cover of When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion by Laura E. Anderson

7. When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion

By: Laura E. Anderson

4.38

Format: 240 pages, Paperback

"Anderson strikes a smart, balanced tone. . . . An exemplary guide to an understudied issue."--Publ… read more

Similar categories in Laura E. Anderson's When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • christianity
  • religion
  • nonfiction
"Rebuilding a worldview and identity likely needs to include space for uncertainty."

-Laura E. Anderson, When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion

"I have lived far too much of my life with the end goal of eternal life in heaven, and so I missed a lot of life on earth."

-Laura E. Anderson, When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion

"A marker of healing from religious trauma is not simply the process of deconstructing one’s worldview and identity and rebuilding a new one; it is also the willingness to remain open to shifting and …"

-Laura E. Anderson, When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion

"Religious trauma resides in our bodies and nervous systems in the same way that trauma from war, developmental trauma, or sexualized trauma live inside us. Though the triggers and environment of the …"

-Laura E. Anderson, When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion

Cover of Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point by Steven Levitsky

8. Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point

By: Steven Levitsky

4.43

Format: 384 pages, Hardcover

A call to reform our antiquated political institutions before it’s too late—from the New York Times… read more

Similar categories in Steven Levitsky's Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • politics
  • nonfiction
Cover of Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—and What Comes Next by Bradley Onishi

9. Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—and What Comes Next

By: Bradley Onishi

4.33

Format: 237 pages, Hardcover

Watching the eerie footage of the January 6 insurrection, Bradley Onishi wondered: If I hadn't left… read more

Similar categories in Bradley Onishi's Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—and What Comes Next book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • christianity
  • politics
  • religion
  • nonfiction
Cover of Curveball: When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming (or How I Stumbled and Tripped My Way to Finding a Bigger God) by Peter Enns

10. Curveball: When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming (or How I Stumbled and Tripped My Way to Finding a Bigger God)

By: Peter Enns

4.36

Format: 239 pages, Kindle Edition

“Peter Enns is brilliant at taking the big topics, those Christian ideas that usually scare us or i… read more

Similar categories in Peter Enns's Curveball: When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming (or How I Stumbled and Tripped My Way to Finding a Bigger God) book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • christianity
  • religion
  • nonfiction
  • theology
"Does the God of Abraham look lovingly upon ancient cave drawings and temples dedicated to the only gods ancient humans could have known?"

-Peter Enns, Curveball: When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming (or How I Stumbled and Tripped My Way to Finding a Bigger God)

"Like a frail plant that needs careful tending and constant protection from sun and wind, perhaps the real problem wasn’t me but the fragile, unsustainable version of Christianity I had been told was …"

-Peter Enns, Curveball: When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming (or How I Stumbled and Tripped My Way to Finding a Bigger God)

"Placeholder theology is the very nature of theology. By it we acknowledge the human need to say something about ultimate meaning concerning the Creator and the creation while also understanding that …"

-Peter Enns, Curveball: When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming (or How I Stumbled and Tripped My Way to Finding a Bigger God)

"A God who does not connect to the world around us is a God who cannot speak to us. Believing in a God who demands that we continue to adopt only biblically ancient ways of thinking of God, which are …"

-Peter Enns, Curveball: When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming (or How I Stumbled and Tripped My Way to Finding a Bigger God)

Cover of Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith by Sarah Bessey

11. Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith

By: Sarah Bessey

4.49

Format: 256 pages, Hardcover

A nurturing and hopeful collection of practices to help an emerging generation of Christians reconn… read more

Similar categories in Sarah Bessey's Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • christianity
  • religion
  • nonfiction
  • theology
"And yet religion in our modern era seems mostly concerned with systematizing theology, charting time lines, answering questions, and making God small and knowable. We have created a God we can regula…"

-Sarah Bessey, Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith

Cover of American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church by Andrew L. Whitehead

12. American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church

By: Andrew L. Whitehead

4.20

Format: 215 pages, Hardcover

"Heartfelt, incisive, and worthy of thoughtful consideration."-- Library Journal Power. Fear. Viol… read more

Similar categories in Andrew L. Whitehead's American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • theology
  • christianity
  • politics
  • religion
  • nonfiction
"Jesus calls us to be a light, not a wildfire."

-Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church

"When it comes down to democracy or power, white Christian nationalism will choose power every time."

-Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church

"Christian nationalism is not interested in a government for the people, by the people, but rather for a particular people, by a particular people."

-Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church

"Our ability to love, serve, and act as salt and light in our communities is not dependent on various symbols of Christianity dominating the civic landscape."

-Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church

Cover of The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here by Kaitlyn Schiess

13. The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here

By: Kaitlyn Schiess

4.30

Format: 224 pages, Paperback

How do Bible passages written thousands of years ago apply to politics today? What can we learn fro… read more

Similar categories in Kaitlyn Schiess's The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • theology
  • christianity
  • politics
  • religion
  • nonfiction
"The Bible is not a free-floating book of ageless wisdom, an interesting historical document, or a weapon that can be put in the service of any political goal. The Bible is a gift from God to the chur…"

-Kaitlyn Schiess, The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here

"What is government? What is the relationship between theology and politics? How should Christians think about their political participation? These questions typically get lost in our conversations. W…"

-Kaitlyn Schiess, The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here

Cover of Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart by Brian D. McLaren

14. Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart

By: Brian D. McLaren

4.17

Format: 290 pages, Hardcover

A highly readable, deeply insightful exploration of how to live with wisdom, resilience and love in… read more

Similar categories in Brian D. McLaren's Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • christianity
  • religion
  • nonfiction
  • theology
Cover of When Everything's on Fire: Faith Forged from the Ashes by Brian Zahnd

15. When Everything's on Fire: Faith Forged from the Ashes

By: Brian Zahnd

4.46

Format: 192 pages, Hardcover

Is it possible to hold on to faith in an age of unbelief? Intellectual certainty has long been a co… read more

Similar categories in Brian Zahnd's When Everything's on Fire: Faith Forged from the Ashes book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • christianity
  • religion
  • nonfiction
  • theology
"If we intend to purely think our way to God, the more likely result is crippling skepticism. As Kierkegaard pointed out, “When thinking turns toward itself in order to think about itself, there emerg…"

-Brian Zahnd, When Everything's on Fire: Faith Forged from the Ashes

Cover of The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy by Jim Wallis

16. The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy

By: Jim Wallis

4.20

Format: 286 pages, Hardcover

A major new work by the New York Times bestselling author, arguing that the answer to bad religion … read more

Similar categories in Jim Wallis's The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • theology
  • christianity
  • politics
  • religion
  • nonfiction
Cover of The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism by Lerone A. Martin

17. The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism

By: Lerone A. Martin

3.94

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

The shocking untold story of how the FBI partnered with white evangelicals to champion a vision of … read more

Similar categories in Lerone A. Martin's The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • theology
  • christianity
  • politics
  • religion
  • nonfiction
Cover of Insurgency: How Republicans Lost Their Party and Got Everything They Ever Wanted by Jeremy W. Peters

18. Insurgency: How Republicans Lost Their Party and Got Everything They Ever Wanted

By: Jeremy W. Peters

4.12

Format: 432 pages, Hardcover

How did the party of Lincoln become the party of Trump? From a Washington reporter for The New York… read more

Similar categories in Jeremy W. Peters's Insurgency: How Republicans Lost Their Party and Got Everything They Ever Wanted book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • politics
  • nonfiction
Cover of Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies by David P. Gushee

19. Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

By: David P. Gushee

4.18

Format: 235 pages, Hardcover

American democracy is in danger. How do we protect it from authoritarian reactionary Christianity? … read more

Similar categories in David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • theology
  • christianity
  • politics
  • religion
  • nonfiction
Cover of Who Could Ever Love You: A Family Memoir by Mary L. Trump

20. Who Could Ever Love You: A Family Memoir

By: Mary L. Trump

4.15

Format: 288 pages, Hardcover

New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller! A New York Times Nonfiction Book to R… read more

Similar categories in Mary L. Trump's Who Could Ever Love You: A Family Memoir book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • politics
  • nonfiction
Cover of The Widening of God's Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story by Christopher B. Hays

21. The Widening of God's Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story

By: Christopher B. Hays

4.06

Format: 288 pages, Hardcover

A fresh, deeply biblical account of God’s expanding grace and mercy, tracing how the Bible’s narrat… read more

Similar categories in Christopher B. Hays's The Widening of God's Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story book and David P. Gushee's Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

  • christianity
  • religion
  • nonfiction
  • theology

14 must-read politics books like Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies by David P. Gushee

Transform Your Habits

Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism

Rachel Maddow

4.45

Transform Your Habits

The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy

Philip S. Gorski

4.19

Transform Your Habits

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

Tim Alberta

4.45

Transform Your Habits

The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church

Sarah McCammon

4.21

View all the books

18 best-selling audiobook books like The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy by Jim Wallis

Transform Your Habits

Life After Power: Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House

Jared Cohen

4.27

Transform Your Habits

Somehow: Thoughts on Love

Anne Lamott

3.95

Transform Your Habits

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

Tim Alberta

4.45

Transform Your Habits

The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church

Sarah McCammon

4.21

View all the books

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