“American Heretics”: Blue Christians in a Red State

The film American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel, now screening in select cities nationwide, celebrates the work of progressive Christian leaders behind the pulpit and in the statehouse, as they carve a narrow path for themselves in the politically conservative, Bible Belt state of Oklahoma. Directed and produced by Emmy award-winning sister documentarians Jeanine and Catherine Butler, it takes as its case studies two liberal Christian communities in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The featured ministers see themselves as defenders of imperiled immigrants, champions for LGBTQ rights, and advocates for the marginalized more broadly. In contrast to a Christianity whose focus is on saving immaterial souls for an as-of-yet inaccessible future, the Christianity we observe in this film self-consciously strives to relieve hell on earth. Kids are hungry. Women are incarcerated at alarming rates. Undocumented Oklahomans need sanctuary. These Christian leaders see their job as a call to combat such suffering and injustice. Their struggle has a political edge.