This film could not have been made without the collaboration of scholars, historians and faith leaders whose groundbreaking books provided an indispensable roadmap through uncharted territory.
Anne Nelson’s SHADOW NETWORK reveals the pivotal role of Weyrich’s CNP in funding and harnessing Christian Nationalism.
Katherine Stewart’s THE POWER WORSHIPPERS details CN’s strategy of using cultural issues to conceal their political war on democracy.
Randall Balmer’s BAD FAITH conclusively discredits the myth that the Religious Right united to protect the unborn. Balmer’s title so perfectly describes their leaders’ hypocrisy that I asked permission to use it for our film. He graciously agreed.
LOSING OUR RELIGION by Russell Moore laments how American evangelical Christianity has lost its way, chasing false idols. He calls for repentance and renewal in the church.
Neumann explores the forces within American society that have encouraged the radicalization of white supremacist, anti-government terrorism and concludes that the greatest threat comes from within the Evangelical church.
WHITE POVERTY reveals how racism functions to connect poverty as a Black problem, concealing the devastating amount of white poverty. In fact, poor Blacks and whites have much in common.
THE THIRD RECONSTRUCTION details how a moral movement can overcome the politics of division and fear and bring Blacks and whites together.
THE FALSE WHITE GOSPEL: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy
RECONSTRUCTING THE GOSPEL recounts the author’s conversion from the Bible Belt Christianity he was taught as a youth to his realization it was a gross distortion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
REVOLUTION OF VALUES critiques how Christians have weaponized the Bible to promote policies directly counter to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
THE VERY GOOD GOSPEL by Lisa Sharon Harper contrasts the vision that God intended for us, where all people are treated equitably, with the world we actually live in.
Gordon shows the massive popularity of the KKK in the 1920's and its astonishing similarities to the Trumpist Christian Nationalist movement in our day.
Gorski and Perry argue that the future of American democracy depends on whether a broad spectrum of Americans can unite in a popular front to combat the threat to liberal democracy posed by white Christian nationalism.
TAKING AMERICA BACK FOR GOD by sociologists Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry was the first book exposing Christian Nationalism’s hold on conservative Christian, primarily Evangelical communities, thereby explaining their allegiance to Trump.
A further reading list of sources that have informed the film.
Michelle Goldberg’s Kingdom Coming, which came out in 2006, was the first book I read on the subject. It proved conclusively this was a real movement, and growing fast. Watch out!
