Erecting the Pulpit

Muscular Christianity from Teddy Roosevelt to Donald Trump
Erecting the Bully Pulpit illuminates the entanglement of Social Darwinism, muscular Christianity, and American power. Amy Laura Hall reveals how a gospel of manly dominance has shaped U.S. religion, politics, and economics—and invites readers to consider a more just and radical alternative.

Examines a powerful yet overlooked form of Christian Nationalism—one that fuses faith, masculinity, capitalism, and political power under the guise of moral leadership. Beginning with Theodore Roosevelt’s “Muscular Christianity” and tracing the conceit of faithful and fit male leadership through figures like Billy Graham and cultural institutions like National Prayer Breakfasts and modern mega-churches, and flourishing under the administration of Donald Trump, Erecting the Pulpit reveals how religious rhetoric has been wielded to sanctify power and divide communities.

Drawing on her firsthand experiences and years of conversations with participants—from Cowboy Churches to NASCAR chaplaincies and storefront churches with folding chairs to meetings with the parachurch group Young Life—theologian Amy Laura Hall examines the cultural and political forces that have made evangelicalism “ambient” while consolidating wealth and influence. At a time when politicians are expected to pray in public and religious themes shape public policy, Hall offers a vivid, incisive exploration of how religious expressions of faith in the United States have been strategically repackaged to sustain political and economic hierarchies and keep women subservient to men.

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