American Prophets

The Religious Roots of Progressive Politics and the Ongoing Fight for the Soul of the Country

By: Jack Jenkins

Narrated by: Kyle Tait

Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

From one of the country’s most respected religion reporters, a paradigm-shifting discussion of how the religious left is actually the moral compass that has long steered America’s political debates, including today.

Since the ascendancy of the religious right in the 1970s, common wisdom holds that it is a coalition of fundamentalist power brokers who are the “moral majority”, setting the standard for conservative Christian values and working to preserve the status quo.

But, as national religion reporter Jack Jenkins contends, the country is also driven by a vibrant, long-standing moral force from the left. Constituting an amorphous group of interfaith activists that goes by many names and takes many forms, this coalition has operated since America’s founding - praying, protesting, and marching for common goals that have moved society forward. Throughout our history, the religious left has embodied and championed the progressive values at the heart of American democracy - abolition, labor reform, civil rights, environmental preservation.

Drawing on his years of reporting, Jenkins examines the reemergence 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 at the forefront today, including:

• Rev. William Barber II, leader of North Carolina’s Moral Mondays and co-chair of the nationwide Poor People’s campaign
• Linda Sarsour, co-chair of the Women’s March
• Rev. Traci Blackmon, a pastor near Ferguson, Missouri, who works to lift 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

An exciting reevaluation of America’s moral center and an inspiring portrait of progressive faith-in-action, American Prophets will change the way we think about the intersection of politics and religion. 

©2020 Jack Jenkins (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

My weekend is now complete!

This has been an awesome book. Whereas Jack and I probably disagree in the visible nature of our politics, but this is a really great book. The passion for Jesus and His name being exalted is quite evident in the pages of this book. Jack takes a journalistic perspective that is extremely well researched and backed up by practical, boots on the ground advocacy. Together we can make a difference. The Holy Spirit is call YOU to action today!

Enjoyed listening to this book.

I enjoyed how thorough the book was in detailing the intricacies between faith and politics.

Really well done

Jack Jenkins does a wonderful of exposing and lifting up the work progressive people of faith are doing to life out their faiths in the world. It will be dismissed by those who already want to dismiss it, but for those who have “ears to hear” it will be encouraging and inspiring.

My only wish is that Jack, who comes from the progress camp, had more deep interaction with religious conservatives. Though this work is about religious progressives, I do think once or twice religious conservatives weren’t accurately represented.

well woven

Connected the dots of data that I knew some about into a whole woven beautiful blanket covering the overlaps and intersections of progressive politics with left-leaning religious groups - illuminating and helpful! Thank you

Molding “faith” into the Left ’s politics

Satan was (is) really good at distorting scripture. The “Religious Left” is equally as talented in using moral relativism in place of the absolutes in judaism and Christianity. The author danced around the abortion issue and only half-dealt with any other faith issue that puts Democrats on the defensive. While ignoring any discordant faith-based viewers, he lionized people who managed to fool enough people to generate Leftist political momentum. In their heart of hearts, so-called “Progressives,” like Jenkins, believe our human rights derive from many instead of God. The heroes in this book ignore that basic fact... and it could be our undoing.