American Prophets

“[A] thoroughly reported [and] revelatory history about the intersection of progressive politics and religion in America” (Publishers Weekly).

Since the 1970s, the Religious Right has established itself as a coalition of fundamentalist powerbrokers who set the standard for Christian political values. But, as religion reporter Jack Jenkins contends, the country is also driven by a vibrant, long-standing moral force from the left. Taking many forms and many names, the Religious Left has operated since America’s founding—praying, and protesting for progressive values such as abolition, labor reform, civil rights, environmental preservation.

In American Prophets, Jenkins examines the re-emergence of progressive faith-based activism, detailing its origins and contrasting its goals with those of the Religious Right. Today’s rapidly expanding interfaith coalition?—?which includes Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and other faiths?—?has become a force within the larger “resistance” movement.

Jenkins profiles Washington political insiders—including former White House staffers and faith outreach directors for the campaigns of Barack Obama, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton—as well as a new generation of progressive faith leaders, including:

• Linda Sarsour, co-chair of the Women’s March
• Rev. Traci Blackmon, a pastor near Ferguson, Missouri, who lifts up black liberation efforts across the country
• Sister Simone Campbell, head of the Catholic social justice lobby and the “Nuns on the Bus” tour organizer
• Native American “water protectors” who demonstrated against the Dakota Access Pipeline in Standing Rock
• Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop