The Self-Hating Evangelical Scholar Complex

Since 2016, a cottage industry of books written by professional historians has routinely blamed evangelicals for everything from Donald Trump's presidency to climate change, the rise of Russian authoritarianism, moral corruption, and much more. The guild of evangelical historians has not offered any real pushback. Instead, they seem more concerned not to ruffle the feathers of their fellow historians, even when the historical work is specious or superficial. A high number of evangelical critics in the academy are former evangelicals who seem intent on sociologically scapegoating their former coreligionists as a vehicle for their own advancement, both sociologically and vocationally. This is not perhaps always intentional, but it is worrisome nonetheless. Why do evangelical academics seem to loathe a religious group they once identified with?