Don't Paint Evangelicals with a Broad Brush

Kristin Kobes du Mez has written an eminently readable treatment of American evangelicalism that is this year's runaway best-seller. Jesus and John Wayne offers a colorful account of American evangelicalism that begins with Donald Trump's win in 2016 and seeks to explain "evangelical support" for Trump through a history of "evangelical culture". Kobes du Mez (KDM from here on) is correct by my reading that evangelicalism is not a theological movement, if by that she means that theological literacy is not a high priority among evangelicals and that significant theological disagreements can exist within the category. KDM argues instead that it is culture that binds evangelicals together. Her book, therefore, uses examples from evangelical culture to draw conclusions about what characteristics evangelicals actually share.