After the votes were counted for the November presidential election we learned a painful truth. Many Americans turned against democracy. The majority of voters gave a pass to the clear threat to American multi-cultural democracy. They gave Donald Trump their votes and they gave him the power to tear down the world as we know it.
Since taking office Trump has used the power of the presidency to create a constitutional crisis that threatens to end the ideals of America, and also crash the economy while he is promising to make Gaza part of the United States,
How did this take root in the nation’s politics and succeed when decades earlier similar anti-American policies would have been political suicide? In her new book, Katherine Stewart takes readers to conferences of conspiracy-mongers, backroom strategy gatherings, and services at extremist churches, and profiles the people who are still cheering Trump. Stewart reports they want to burn down the government. She introduces us to reactionary Catholic activists, atheist billionaires, pseudo-Platonist intellectuals, self-appointed apostles of Jesus, disciples of Ayn Rand, women-hating opponents of “the gynocracy,” Covid truthers, militia members masquerading as “concerned moms” and battalions of spirit warriors who appear to be inventing a new style of religion even as they set about attacking democracy at its foundations.
Along the way, she provides a compelling analysis of the authoritarian reaction in the United States. She demonstrates that the movement relies on several distinct constituencies, with very different and often conflicting agendas. Stewart's reporting and comprehensive political analysis helps reframe the conversation about the moral collapse of conservatism in America and points the way forward toward a democratic future.
Guest:
Katherine Stewart is the author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, the award-winning book upon which the documentary feature, God & Country, produced by Rob Reiner, is based. She has covered the intersection of faith and politics for over 15 years; her work appears in the New York Times, the New Republic and others. Her 2012 book, The Good News Club, covered the religious right's effort to infiltrate and undermine public education. Find her at @kathsstewart and katherinestewart.me
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This interview will be recorded on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
