Publishers Weekly
04/06/2020
In this thoroughly reported and illuminating debut, Religion News Service journalist Jenkins examines issues important to the religious left today. Through a panoply of portraits, Jenkins contends that the spiritual and “moral center” of America can be found within the liberal wing, and he devotes chapters to individual topics, including health care, electoral politics, racism, police violence, immigration, environmentalism, economic inequality, LGBTQ equality, hate crimes, and multifaith work. A particularly revealing section details his reporting on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, where Hawaiian tribal elders successfully protested to halt the environmentally destructive construction of a large telescope. His investigation into Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Ariz., a church that has become a bedrock of the New Sanctuary movement sheltering the undocumented, is also a highlight. This revelatory history about the intersection of progressive politics and religion in America will appeal to political junkies. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
"Jenkins is my go-to source when I want a snapshot of what’s happening in the American religious landscape... demonstrating how a vibrant and undeterred Religious Left has filled the moral vacuum with an unapologetically progressive agenda promoting peace, pluralism, and human dignity for all." — Reza Aslan, author of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
"A master storyteller." — Brian D McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration and A New Kind of Christianity
“Illuminating . . . [A] thoroughly reported and . . . revelatory history about the intersection of progressive politics and religion in America.” — Publishers Weekly
“Delves deeply into the origins, activities, and leadership of the Religious Left . . . highlighting the widespread—though not always widely recognized—role that progressive faith communities have long held in political and social causes. . . . A well-researched and timely work of journalism.” — Kirkus Reviews
“American Prophets offers a fresh viewpoint that would not likely be noticed without the careful attention and study Jenkins put into his research, and it offers hope to those who may be experiencing dismay at the current political scene in this country." — New York Journal of Books
“Jenkins proves an able and engaging guide through all of these progressive movements. He approaches his subject through the personal stories of those intimately involved in the efforts he explores, and readers will see in his telling the human dimension of these broader justice campaigns." — National Catholic Reporter
“A contemporary ‘Lives of the Saints’—a series of profiles of admirable leftist activists whose politics are motivated by their faith. . . . The problem isn’t that there has not yet been a potent religious left; it’s that the ‘religious’ part is too often left out.” — The New Yorker
“For those who find the Religious Right suffocating, American Prophets will be balm to the soul. Jenkins describes a prophetic voice that encompasses a pro-life view for all humanity and family values for all sorts of families.” — Spectrum Magazine
“Jenkins helps us see the other part of that story: the faith-driven struggle by Jews, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Earth-centered religionists, and “nones” as well, to write a new and more hopeful chapter in our communal life.” — The Progressive
“Jenkins is an outstanding journalist. His coverage of politics for the Religion News Service is the gold standard among religion reporters. Those skills are evident in the 12 mostly disconnected stories he tells here about religious activists advocating for progressive causes.” — Christianity Today
“Excellent.” — Commonweal Magazine
Christianity Today
Jenkins is an outstanding journalist. His coverage of politics for the Religion News Service is the gold standard among religion reporters. Those skills are evident in the 12 mostly disconnected stories he tells here about religious activists advocating for progressive causes.”
The New Yorker
A contemporary ‘Lives of the Saints’—a series of profiles of admirable leftist activists whose politics are motivated by their faith. . . . The problem isn’t that there has not yet been a potent religious left; it’s that the ‘religious’ part is too often left out.
Brian D McLaren
"A master storyteller."
National Catholic Reporter
Jenkins proves an able and engaging guide through all of these progressive movements. He approaches his subject through the personal stories of those intimately involved in the efforts he explores, and readers will see in his telling the human dimension of these broader justice campaigns."
New York Journal of Books
American Prophets offers a fresh viewpoint that would not likely be noticed without the careful attention and study Jenkins put into his research, and it offers hope to those who may be experiencing dismay at the current political scene in this country."
Reza Aslan
"Jenkins is my go-to source when I want a snapshot of what’s happening in the American religious landscape... demonstrating how a vibrant and undeterred Religious Left has filled the moral vacuum with an unapologetically progressive agenda promoting peace, pluralism, and human dignity for all."
The Progressive
Jenkins helps us see the other part of that story: the faith-driven struggle by Jews, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Earth-centered religionists, and “nones” as well, to write a new and more hopeful chapter in our communal life.”
Spectrum Magazine
For those who find the Religious Right suffocating, American Prophets will be balm to the soul. Jenkins describes a prophetic voice that encompasses a pro-life view for all humanity and family values for all sorts of families.
Commonweal Magazine
Excellent.”
The New Yorker
A contemporary ‘Lives of the Saints’—a series of profiles of admirable leftist activists whose politics are motivated by their faith. . . . The problem isn’t that there has not yet been a potent religious left; it’s that the ‘religious’ part is too often left out.
PW
Illuminating . . . [A] thoroughly reported and . . . revelatory history about the intersection of progressive politics and religion in America.
Kirkus Reviews
2020-04-05
The role of the modern "Religious Left" in American politics.
Religion reporter Jenkins delves deeply into the origins, activities, and leadership of the Religious Left, a movement he describes as “an amorphous, ever-changing group of progressive, faith-based advocates, strategists, and political operatives.” The author highlights the widespread—though not always widely recognized—role that progressive faith communities have long held in political and social causes. Jenkins illuminates these causes through stories of individual leaders of specific movements. After an introductory chapter discussing how faith communities were essential in the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the author segues into a discussion of Barack Obama’s own expressions of faith in public discourse. He then covers a number of well-known movements from the past two decades and important leaders associated with them. Examples include the Rev. William Barber with North Carolina’s Moral Mondays, the Rev. Traci Blackmon with Black Lives Matter, and Sioux activist Chase Iron Eyes with the Standing Rock protests. Jenkins goes on to cover a number of other topics, such as the Religious Left’s role in LGBTQ activism, the influence of Roman Catholicism in the environmental movement, and interfaith organizing to support the Muslim community. Beyond providing stories of the Religious Left, Jenkins attempts to determine how it has operated in politics and society. For example, he writes, “to understand the New Sanctuary movement [which advocates for immigrants] is to understand how the Religious Left builds power through a mixture of moral arguments, liberation theology, and the art of protest.” Throughout, Jenkins analyzes as well as reports, adding further value to his work. The author has provided a contemporary history that will be useful to students of the intersection of politics and religion in our current era.
A well-researched and timely work of journalism geared toward like-minded readers.
