The Power Worshippers

Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism

De: Katherine Stewart

Narrado por: Tosca Hopkins

Bloomsbury presents The Power Worshippers by Katherine Stewart, read by Tosca Hopkins.

The inspiration for the documentary God & Country

For listeners of Democracy in Chains and Dark Money, a revelatory investigation of the Religious Right’s rise to political power.

For too long the Religious Right has masqueraded as a social movement preoccupied with a number of cultural issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage. In her deeply reported investigation, Katherine Stewart reveals a disturbing truth: this is a political movement that seeks to gain power and to impose its vision on all of society. America’s religious nationalists aren’t just fighting a culture war, they are waging a political war on the norms and institutions of American democracy.

Stewart pulls back the curtain on the inner workings and leading personalities of a movement that has turned religion into a tool for domination. She exposes a dense network of think tanks, advocacy groups, and pastoral organizations embedded in a rapidly expanding community of international alliances and united not by any central command but by a shared, anti-democratic vision and a common will to power. She follows the money that fuels this movement, tracing much of it to a cadre of super-wealthy, ultraconservative donors and family foundations. She shows that today’s Christian nationalism is the fruit of a longstanding antidemocratic, reactionary strain of American thought that draws on some of the most troubling episodes in America’s past. It forms common cause with a globe-spanning movement that seeks to destroy liberal democracy and replace it with nationalist, theocratic and autocratic forms of government around the world. Religious nationalism is far more organized and better funded than most people realize. It seeks to control all aspects of government and society. Its successes have been stunning, and its influence now extends to every aspect of American life, from the White House to state capitols, from our schools to our hospitals.

The Power Worshippers is a brilliantly reported book of warning and a wake-up call. Stewart’s probing examination demands that Christian nationalism be taken seriously as a significant threat to the American republic and our democratic freedoms.

©2020 Katherine Stewart (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Connected the Dots

Some of this I already knew while other stuff I only suspected. The author added tons of new information and connected all the dots. She had clearly done her research and I am sure she and her work will be attacked by the Christian Nationalists but her facts are very hard to dispute.

A must read if you love America

I’m in my 50’s and have seen this first hand from the days of Regan to our current ‘45th’. It’s sad when you see Americans willing joining forces with other nations to purposefully suppress, subjugate, lie, and then justify the oppression of their fellow citizens all in the guise of doing god will.

Outstanding work of non-fiction

Author's research and first hand witness to strategic undermining of our democracy by ungodly plutocrats longing to dominate and annihilate those deemed undesirable or inferior, translates to religious prostitution!!

Insidious!

Every aspect of our society in the United States is being bent to shift beliefs that used to be so caring and compassionate!

Hitting the Nail on the Head

Current, clear, and very well written. Concise and sharp analysis complicated effort by a rather exclusive community.

Necessary & urgent information for protecting our democracy

Excellent, URGENT book that has been on my list since it came out. I was worried it might be dated, but aside from the now (2024) outdated references to the titles and positions of Trump administration officials and others, which have been replaced in the Biden era, the information and history is accurate and unchanged. This is an important book!! I was raised in this Christian nationalist, evangelical culture and left in the 1980s out of disgust with the so-called Moral Majority. If you’re not familiar with the subculture you should read this to learn about who is working to derail pluralistic democracies around the world and here in the USA. If you are familiar with the subculture this book will still be an eye-opener.
I gave this version two stars for performance, just to alert the publisher that this narrator did not research correct pronunciations before recording some words and a few proper nouns she is apparently unfamiliar with (I wondered if it was an AI narrator throughout, because of that). But the qualities of her voice, pacing and enunciation are otherwise clear and pleasant.

While I was asleep in church...

I had absolutely no idea that all of these religious groups were plotting in the name of freedom but against true democracy. It is startling and very concerning. Everyone should read or listen to this reporting of a little known movement.

insightful and informative

I loved the book and the narration made understanding it so easy. if you have struggled, like myself, to understand why church folk supported a leader with zero morals. this book will turn on all the lights.

This book was very informative and horrifying.

This book was very informative and horrifying. The religious wackos in the U.S. are attempting to turn the United States into a Christian version of Saudi Arabia. Our democracy is at stake even more so as of the week I am writing this review.

Somebody had to say it.

I enjoyed the book and felt vindicated by the author’s basic premise that America’s challenges are so deeply rooted in its culture that it will be next to impossible to eradicate it. White supremacy and white nationalism is not going away quietly. Denial is the first hurdle. The author it clear that our work as a nation to repair its racist past is far from over and in many ways has not even begun.