The Power Worshippers

The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism.

Katherine Stewart begins The Power Worshipers by saying this is a book she couldn't have imagined writing a dozen years earlier. 

She tells us that In 2009 an older couple from another town attempted to set up a Bible club at her daughter's public elementary school in southern California.

The purpose of the club was to convince children as young as five that they'd burn in hell for eternity if they failed to conform to the strict interpretation of Christianity they were teaching.

As she finished her first book, The Good News Club, on this subject she realized there was something larger and more important going on in American political culture. She then begins to investigate the movement that is intent on changing the United States into a country ruled by "Biblical laws."

I know something about this movement. I spent about three years in a church that was a part of it. In the decades since I left, I've watched them gain control.  Especially now, since they have decided that 'God wants Trump to be president.' 

How people who call themselves Christians can support him, or anyone like him, is a mystery to me.

I am so thankful for books like The Power Worshippers that warn us of potential dangers and expose the people who work to gain power over all of us. They intend to rule over every part of our lives, including our healthcare and our most personal life choices, right down to the books we read. We cannot let this happen.

As of this writing, we are closer than ever to losing more of our freedoms. Christian nationalism is on the rise. We must stay up to date on this subject.

* * *

As I add to this page in 2025, Donald Trump is president for the second time. And now we are in real trouble. 

Laws are being ignored on a daily basis. We are losing our rights faster than we ever imagined possible. And the longer this goes on, the more difficult it will be to turn it around.

How have we let this happen? If we can understand that, perhaps we can avoid a repeat in the future.

The Power Worshippers will give you some important information on this subject.

God and Country, the documentary based on this book can be seen for free on Tubi or Amazon Prime Video.

From the Amazon sales page:

For too long the Religious Right has masqueraded as a social movement preoccupied with a number of cultural issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

In her deeply reported investigation, Katherine Stewart reveals a disturbing truth: this is a political movement that seeks to gain power and to impose its vision on all of society. America's religious nationalists aren't just fighting a culture war, they are waging a political war on the norms and institutions of American democracy.

Stewart pulls back the curtain on the inner workings and leading personalities of a movement that has turned religion into a tool for domination.

She exposes a dense network of think tanks, advocacy groups, and pastoral organizations embedded in a rapidly expanding community of international alliances and united not by any central command but by a shared, anti-democratic vision and a common will to power. She follows the money that fuels this movement, tracing much of it to a cadre of super-wealthy, ultraconservative donors and family foundations.

She shows that today's Christian nationalism is the fruit of a longstanding antidemocratic, reactionary strain of American thought that draws on some of the most troubling episodes in America's past. It forms common cause with a globe-spanning movement that seeks to destroy liberal democracy and replace it with nationalist, theocratic and autocratic forms of government around the world.

Religious nationalism is far more organized and better funded than most people realize. It seeks to control all aspects of government and society. Its successes have been stunning, and its influence now extends to every aspect of American life, from the White House to state capitols, from our schools to our hospitals.

The Power Worshippers is a brilliantly reported book of warning and a wake-up call. Stewart's probing examination demands that Christian nationalism be taken seriously as a significant threat to the American republic and our democratic freedoms.

Available from Amazon

My book, SAVING KATY, is about a young family split apart when Katy follows her mother into a non-denominational church that turns out to be more like a cult. As Katy's husband learns more about the beliefs of the church, he tells Katy he will not have their children exposed to such teachings. He vows to do whatever is necessary to see that it doesn't happen.

Available from Amazon

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