Review by Choice Review
Cavalcanti (sociology and anthropology, James Madison Univ.) offers a highly critical view of the changing nature of Christian conservatism in the US. Although he is right that conservative Christians since the 1980s have greater financial resources and larger followings that allow them to assume "a more direct, confrontational posture toward modernity," the author passes over important particularities and contextual differences in making his argument about "cultural warriors" who battle secularism and pluralism in order to restore the US to a divine purpose. Conservative Christians do indeed co-opt modern culture in order to subvert it, but the book's grand attempt at synthesis largely fails due to Cavalcanti's sweeping claims that not only ignore many exceptions and nuances, but also sacrifice needed depth of discussion on religion and social change. The unnecessarily bitter tone (including calling conservative Christianity a form of McCarthyism) takes away from a constructive explanation of dominionist aspects. Readers are better served by D. Michael Lindsay's Faith in the Halls of Power (CH, Mar'08, 45-3733), Andrew Greeley and Michael Hout's The Truth about Conservative Christians (CH, Feb'07, 44-3246), Gerardo Marti's A Mosaic of Believers (CH, Jan'06, 43-2867), and Christian Smith's American Evangelicalism (CH, Apr'99, 36-4441). Summing Up: Optional. Most levels/libraries. G. Marti Davidson College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
