Readers of American Prophets get a thorough introduction to the personalities and organizations that make up this rich religious movement. These players were largely responsible for framing the healthcare policy conversation in a “profoundly moral context,” one that centered “health care as a basic human right.” In the first chapter, Jenkins argues that the passage of the monumental Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 was made possible by strong alliances between faith-centered policymakers and religious activists, boldly claiming that “if it weren’t for the Religious Left, the ACA probably wouldn’t exist.” Prominent leaders, groups, and organizations connected to the effort are lifted up in Jenkins’s recounting of the events that led to the ACA, including John Podesta, President Bill Clinton’s former chief of staff and founder of the Center for American Progress (CAP) Carol Keehan, a nun in the Daughters of Charity and head of the Catholic Health Association and the Faith in Public Life project, which was created by CAP in 2005 and is now an independent organization. The religious left also shapes the legislative process. Jenkins points out that President Barack Obama’s 2012 faith outreach meant that he managed to “shave off a section of the evangelical vote in the general election,” making particularly important gains among young evangelicals in swing states. In this book, religion matters in electoral politics. One refreshing aspect of American Prophets is that Jenkins does not try to portray the religious left as rising above the fray of partisan politics simply because it is religious rather, the loosely connected movement of clergy and laity is clearly aligned with the Democrats against the Republicans. Jenkins is a sympathetic chronicler of the movement, having spent time both connected with the Democratic Party and working as a religion reporter. Chapters cover immigration policies, LGBTQ rights, the environment, economics, interfaith activism, and other issues. Jenkins makes clear that he is not writing a comprehensive history instead, the book is a contemporary account that examines where the religious left has made an impact. Journalist Jack Jenkins’s American Prophets: The Religious Roots of Progressive Politics and the Ongoing Fight for the Soul of the Country is one of the rare books that explains the other pole of religion and politics: the progressive faith communities that have made up the religious left and opposed Republican policies. White evangelicals have been the most consistent supporters of Donald Trump and the Republican Party, and a cottage industry of authors has emerged to explain their thinking.

In the publication of books on the religious right, there is no end.

American prophets by jack jenkins