When the Access Hollywood “locker room talk” tape hit the mainstream on October 7, 2016, both Russell Moore and historian Kristin Du Mez were horrified. But while Moore felt surprised by the evangelical response—or lack of response—to the video, Du Mez saw it as a predictable outcome of militant masculinity within evangelicalism. In their conversation, and in her book Jesus and John Wayne, Du Mez explains why.
On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore and Du Mez talk about the overlap of history, politics, and Christianity when it comes to understanding American evangelicalism’s relationship to gender. Moore and Du Mez discuss the centrality of sexual purity in much of American Christianity in the past few decades and the specific devastation of leaders who purported those messages later acting as predators. They share their thoughts on the parallels between changes in the Republican party and evangelicalism over the past few years, and what it means to realize that what you once saw as a fringe group within your tribe was, in fact, more of a core than you had ever imagined.
Listen in for an episode filled with great questions, thoughtful answers, and mutual engagement on challenging topics.
“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today
Chief Creative Officer: Erik Petrik
Executive Producer and Host: Russell Moore
Director of Podcasts: Mike Cosper
Production Assistance: CoreMedia
Coordinator: Beth Grabenkort
Producer and Audio Mixing: Kevin Duthu
Administrators: Christine Kolb and Pam Vodenova
Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton
American evangelical Christianity has lost its way.
Only when we see how lost we are, we can find our way again. Only when we bury what’s dead can we experience life again. Only when we lose our religion can we be amazed by grace again.
About Russell Moore
Russell Moore is Editor in Chief of Christianity Today and is the author of the forthcoming book Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America (Penguin Random House).
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