Listen free for 30 days

  • Jesus and John Wayne

  • How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
  • Written by: Kristin Kobes du Mez
  • Narrated by: Suzie Althens
  • Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (130 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Jesus and John Wayne cover art

Jesus and John Wayne

Written by: Kristin Kobes du Mez
Narrated by: Suzie Althens
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $27.83

Buy Now for $27.83

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

How did a libertine who lacks even the most basic knowledge of the Christian faith win 81 percent of the white evangelical vote in 2016? And why have white evangelicals become a presidential reprobate's staunchest supporters? These are among the questions acclaimed historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez asks in Jesus and John Wayne, which explains how white evangelicals have brought us to our fractured political moment.

Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping account of the last 75 years of white evangelicalism, showing how American evangelicals have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism. Evangelical popular culture is teeming with muscular heroes - mythical warriors and rugged soldiers, men like Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson, and the Duck Dynasty clan, who assert white masculine power in defense of "Christian America." Chief among these evangelical legends is John Wayne, an icon of a lost time when men were uncowed by political correctness, unafraid to tell it like it was, and did what needed to be done.

A much-needed reexamination, Jesus and John Wayne explains why evangelicals have rallied behind the least-Christian president in American history and how they have transformed their faith in the process, with enduring consequences for all of us.

©2020 Kristin Kobes Du Mez (P)2020 Kalorama

What listeners say about Jesus and John Wayne

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    96
  • 4 Stars
    27
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    59
  • 4 Stars
    26
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    81
  • 4 Stars
    20
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • T
  • 2021-10-18

Amazing look at evangelical Christian history.

Really great book. Well with the listen. Sadly, the cadence of the reader is really off. The emphasis in almost every sentence feels off. And makes an amazing book harder to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Important

This is one of the most important books you’ll read. Especially if you grew up in church, but even if you didn’t and you wonder what makes church people do shitty things like support Trump.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Quite a detailed look at evangelicals in the US

So sad, people stuck on power, money, and sex. Age old tricks that will never changed and yet we think we can!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Essential Insight

Anyone who is baffled, worried, angry, hopeless, scared etc about the state of politics in this country MUST read this book. Kristen Kobes du Mez has given us a detailed chronology of the Evangelical movement with all of the relevant players, their ideology and hypocrasies; their fight to maintain and spread their corrupt patriarchal family values and the lasting damage their manical expression of christian male machismo has done. This book has given me tremendous insight on Americas' "inner struggle": (1 step forward, 2 steps back ) And as a 70 year old American woman, it has also given me a new understanding of myself. Thank you Thank you

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A really great perspective

This book was so informative & I found it really intriguing to know how the North American church ended up so toxic. You can love Jesus & still hate how people are gatekeeping this religion. Definitely time for the church to start looking inwards

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Eye Opening

Worth the read in order to understand the whole Trump thing. Sad commentary on white evangelicalism but understanding the history hopefully will raise awareness amongst the church at wide.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Every Christian Needs to Read This Book

This book should be required reading for every Christian. Eye opening. Find the courage to read this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The dangers of religion and religionists

This book is well-written and is well read by the narrator. It lays out the history of the movement that has managed to fool itself and many Americans that god exists for them. It also presents the best rationale for the election of an idiot like Donald Trump that I have yet read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Explains so much

This book is a must read for all who have been brought up in the Evangelical tradition. It’s a difficult history to digest but an important one to know.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

This is essential reading for anyone who was raised in the Evangelical movement. The narrator has a choppy, halting style, but the content is worth pushing through & finishing the book anyway. Highly recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!