En Route: Journeys in Faith and Modern Life

Fifty years ago, the wider culture looked at American evangelicals with curiosity. Today it often looks with contempt. Is that picture fair, and is there more to the story than a single statistic?

Dennis Sanders talks with Bonnie Kristian, author of In Defense of Evangelicalism. She is a former deputy editor at Christianity Today and a fellow at Defense Priorities. She grew up on Awana and now worships in an Anglican church after years in a Mennonite one.

Bonnie argues that the question is not whether evangelicalism has faults, but whether the accusations against it are fair and coherent. Together they look at how evangelicalism became so tied to politics, what the famous 81 percent number leaves out, and why the media rarely covers “Joe in the pew.”

In this episode:

• Why defend evangelicalism now
• What the 81 percent statistic gets wrong, and what it still means
• Why “white” so often comes before “evangelical”
• Billy Graham’s regrets on race
• A message for Mainline Protestants, from the Precious Moments chapel to why tackiness is not a sin

Links

• In Defense of Evangelicalism by Bonnie Kristian
• Bonnie's website
• Bonnie's Substack
• •  

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/churchandmain) | Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/churchandmainpod/) | Threads (https://www.threads.net/@churchandmainpod) |  Website (https://churchandmain.org/) | YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@churchmainpodcast) | Substack (https://churchandmain.substack.com/)

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Church and Main on your favorite podcast app, leave a review, and visit churchandmain.org or churchandmain.substack.com to read more and support the show. Send an email to [email protected].