Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood - Hardcover

Angela Denker

Hardcover

ISBN 13: 9798889830757

Publisher: Broadleaf Books, 2025

Synopsis

White boys and men are dangerous. White boys and men are struggling. Both of these statements are staggeringly true in America today. By far, most large-scale mass shooters are white men. White men also die by suicide more often than any other demographic. In this sensitive, searing, and unsparing look at American boyhood, journalist, mother, and pastor Angela Denker investigates the sometimes-tragic stories of boyhood across the United States. Disciples of White Jesus is a comprehensive look at the rise in radicalization among young white men in America, especially focused on the role of right-wing Christianity in the increase of religious-based hatred and violence. Denker goes deep into the online rabbit holes of right-wing Christian influencers and conservative Christian ideology to understand how the preaching of "traditional gender roles" and "submission of women" has led to anger, outrage, loneliness, depression, and limiting identities for young white Christian men across America. Casting her journalist's eye across the US, Denker retraces the steps of a racist South Carolina mass shooter and a Phoenix skinhead turned Evangelical pastor, interviews middle school teachers and coaches in the Midwest, and introduces us to young men across the country who will both confirm and confound our ideas about American boyhood--stories about boys and men who are forging new identities grounded in kindness, grace, respect, and even joy. A must-read for parents, grandparents, educators, coaches, faith leaders, researchers, and all who care about the state of American families, boys themselves, and the safety of American society at large.

About this title

About the Author

Rev. Angela Denker is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a veteran journalist. Her first book, Red State Christians, was the silver winner in political and social sciences for the 2019 Foreword Indies Book of the Year awards. She has written for many publications, including Sports Illustrated, the Washington Post, and Fortune magazine, and has appeared on CNN, BBC, SkyNews, and NPR. Pastor Denker lives with her husband, Ben, and two sons in Minneapolis, where she is a sought-after speaker on Christian nationalism and its theological and cultural roots.

Edition details

• Publisher: Broadleaf Books
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798889830757
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 215