Kristin Du Mez: How Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith | Amanpour and Company

Two people you should never trust: A religious leader who tells you how to vote, and a politician who tells you how to pray.

As an Orthodox Christian, I find that American evangelicals often represent pretty much everything my faith teaches me to be against. Greed, consumerism, economic exploitation, the glorification of violence and militarism. Don't even get me started on prosperity gospel or the likes of Kenneth Copeland, and his private jets, mansions, and fleet of expensive cars. "My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves." - Luke 19:46

EUREKA MOMENT: For years, I've been scratching my head for answers; why is it that the evangelicals in America are the exact opposite of what Jesus Christ and the Bible taught and encouraged? This interview was and is a timeless piece! ...thanks, Prof Du Mez!

Raised evangelical Christian. I ran away from the evil of it, their contempt and hatred among evangelicals for Christ’s teachings of live and compassion.

As a liberal Christian, I often feel sad that the label “Christian” has been so co-opted by the Evangelicals that people are shocked I’m pro-choice, anti-Trump, etc. AND a Christian.

There is nothing in what these evangelicals preach and do that resembles anything that Jesus taught. Blasphemy

Not a theological belief but a cultural movement. Mind blowing for me.

This hits home so much for me. i was also raised in this culture. Most of my family are still there. I thank God that I was always an idealist, someone who felt so strongly that anyone who claims to follow Christ should do their best to behave in loving, kind ways. Things started to become so clear to me when my daughter died and I was in enough pain to be unable to accept hatefulness, toxic maleness and political fervor any longer. Now, my heart breaks for so many in the church who have been swept away by this madness. It is madness, and tragic, but also dangerous and powerful.

"I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial, and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels." -- Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

When I used to investigate child abuse and went into a home where there were allegations of sexual abuse, at least 75% of the time the family either had their own store front church or were 'devout' evangelicals. The dynamic of embracing religiosity to an obsessive extent in an effort to deny the urges so many of these men were dealing with was very 'in your face'. I would bet my house that the majority of men who marry children, and the families of those girls, are evangelical/fundamentalist Christians. As someone who grew up a non-evangelical Christian, the whole evangelical trying to turn the US into a Christian Taliban theocracy, has really just turned me off to religion.

Watching this a year later (fall of 2023). Very insightful, and we're seeing the continuing rise of "we're right, and to the vote doesn't go with us, then the vote is wrong." Disturbing. The evangelical movement is not Christian or American.

This person is so knowledgeable, with an obvious gift for teaching, that we all need to have access to her assessment of our current situation in America. She verbalizes what many of us feel intuitively, but lack the full understanding and words to explain. Thank you PBS for bringing her forward and please allow more time for these teachers to educate us all.

Having spent 20 years in evangelicalism, but having left so disillusioned, I totally understand what Kristin Du Mez is talking about. I am so disturbed and distressed to see where things are going in the US, but there is no compromise on the side of the evangelicals caught in this ideological bent. They believe they are on the side of God, so there's no reasoning with them.

As a Christian, I am often offended by evangelicals. Many are not followers of Christ, even though they claim to be. There’s very little love coming from that group.

Thank you for this piece. I was so confused by how people who professed to be Christian could support Trump. The answer is shocking.

Amanpour & Company has become the go to source of important news and cultural events. Can’t say how nice it is to have a resource that seeks to inform people, not simply reinforce there aligned propaganda. While I don’t always agree with the interviewees position, at least I’m confident that it has been honestly challenged. Keep up the good work!!!

Evangelical Fascism is dangerous, destructive stuff. I so appreciate Professor Du Mez's research and her explaining so clearly what she has seen and experienced first hand. Great interview.

I grew up in the Evangelical community. I remember singing, "they will know we are Christians by our love." I remember the social gospel of compassion. Today I see a faith overtaken by materialism and Americanism. The church has turned from compassion of Christ's love to judgemental, punitive legalistic attempts to force people to God's ways, as if that would ever work. The typical Christian church goer believes their mission is to bring their version of heaven here on this earth now. But that's not what's described in the Bible. They fail to see that if God's love is truly living in them, people would want to become Christians and live by loving principles, not be forced or punished into doing so.

I came to faith later in life, and landed right in the middle of the culture Dr. Du Mez is explaining. It has taken me years of study and unlearning to renew my faith in the real Jesus Christ and the real church—not the prosperous, entertainment driven, people pleasing centers that act as if the Sermon on the Mount has no relevance today. And maybe for them it doesn’t. For anyone who wants to save their faith and understand more of what breaking away from white American evangelicalism looks like and the hope on the other side, I’d recommend Brad Jersak Out of the Embers and Brian Zahnd When Everything is on Fire and Water into Wine. Both men are educated, pastoral, and activist. The have written many books, and I’ve enjoyed listening to both on You Tube. Thanks for this presentation. I get discouraged sometimes when all people who call themselves Christians are lumped together no matter how bad their behavior. This episode makes some important distinctions and as a learner/unlearner, I’m grateful.

This is a very accurate analysis. As someone brought up in former traditional Christian church from 60's and Sunday school in elementary school. I have watched how Christian church has changed. In 90's I noticed how political and strident it became when my daughter was in Sunday school in a non denominational larger church as it became evangelical. Kindergarten was great, but 1st grade was weird. Also, they began teaching traditonal churches were not really Christian, and you must be "born again" - that original baptism was not important or valid. We left that church. Evangelicalism has become a mess since then.