“[A] thoroughly reported [and] revelatory history about the intersection of progressive politics and religion in America” (Publishers Weekly).
Since the 1970s, the Religious Right has established itself as a coalition of fundamentalist powerbrokers who set the standard for Christian political values. But, as religion reporter Jack Jenkins contends, the country is also driven by a vibrant, long-standing moral force from the left. Taking many forms and many names, the Religious Left has operated since America’s founding—praying, and protesting for progressive values such as abolition, labor reform, civil rights, environmental preservation.
In American Prophets, Jenkins examines the re-emergence of progressive faith-based activism, detailing its origins and contrasting its goals with those of the Religious Right. Today’s rapidly expanding interfaith coalition — which includes Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and other faiths — has become a force within the larger “resistance” movement.
Jenkins profiles Washington political insiders—including former White House staffers and faith outreach directors for the campaigns of Barack Obama, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton—as well as a new generation of progressive faith leaders, including:
Linda Sarsour, co-chair of the Women’s March
Rev. Traci Blackmon, a pastor near Ferguson, Missouri, who lifts up black liberation efforts across the country
Sister Simone Campbell, head of the Catholic social justice lobby and the “Nuns on the Bus” tour organizer
Native American “water protectors” who demonstrated against the Dakota Access Pipeline in Standing Rock
Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop
JACK JENKINS is a national reporter for Religion News Service and a former Senior Religion Reporter for ThinkProgress. His work has also been published in The Atlantic and the Washington Post, and he is cited regularly in the New York Times, The New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, MSNBC, and other top media outlets. He is a regular guest on radio shows and podcasts, including ABC, BBC, various NPR affiliates, Sirius XM, Vox.com’s Today Explained podcast, and many others. A graduate of Presbyterian College, Jenkins earned his Master of Divinity at Harvard University.
