Over the past several decades, the popular image of an evangelical Christian has become ever more rigid. From preaching personal salvation over hellfire and damnation, to pushing for conservative “family values,” to, most recently, lobbying for a certain vision of the US Supreme Court, the media has helped construct a very particular figure. But just how accurate is this understanding? What lies beneath the rhetoric of the mega-church congregation and a presidential “base?” In this panel discussion, leading experts in the social sciences present their research on “other evangelicals,” detailing the ways in which different configurations of theology, social engagement, race, sexuality, and other factors shape the evangelical fabric, and, by extension, the contested landscape of faith-based politics in America.
With:
Gerardo Marti, Professor & Chair of Sociology, Davidson College
Wes Markofski, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton College
Janelle Wong, Professor of American Studies, University of Maryland