The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover, Lerone A. Martin
The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover, Lerone A. Martin
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The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover
How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism

Author: Lerone A. Martin

Narrator: Langston Darby

Unabridged: 12 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/07/2023

Synopsis

The shocking untold story of how the FBI partnered with white evangelicals to champion a vision of America as a white Christian nation.

Lerone Martin draws on thousands of newly declassified FBI documents and memos to describe how, under J. Edgar Hoover's leadership, FBI agents attended spiritual retreats and worship services, creating an FBI religious culture that fashioned G-men into soldiers and ministers of Christian America. Martin shows how prominent figures such as Billy Graham, Fulton Sheen, and countless other ministers from across the country partnered with the FBI and laundered bureau intel in their sermons while the faithful crowned Hoover the adjudicator of true evangelical faith and allegiance. These partnerships not only solidified the political norms of modern white evangelicalism, they also contributed to the political rise of white Christian nationalism, establishing religion and race as the bedrock of the modern national security state, and setting the terms for today's domestic terrorism debates.

Taking listeners from the pulpits and pews of small-town America to the Oval Office, and from the grassroots to denominational boardrooms, The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover completely transforms how we understand the FBI, white evangelicalism, and our nation's entangled history of religion and politics.

About Lerone A. Martin

Lerone A. Martin is the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. He is the award-winning author of Preaching on Wax: The Phonograph and the Shaping of Modern African American Religion.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Clif on September 19, 2023

Near the beginning of this book the author shares a bit of history that seems strange in light of today's sensibilities. In 1966 a stained glass window at the Capital Hill Methodist Church was dedicated in honor of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, recognizing the “Christian stature and national leaders......more

Goodreads review by Morgan on January 25, 2023

The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover is a fascinating account of how Hoover (and the FBI) partnered with white evangelicals and how they influenced each other. The documents/memos Martin included add a nice touch and I found them interesting. Definitely a book for anyone interested in history or history of......more

Goodreads review by Esther on March 24, 2023

This book did an absolutely incredible job of showing how intricately linked Christian Nationalism was with the FBI. I enjoyed getting a detailed history on Hoover. Anyone who wants to understand why evangelicals overwhelming voted for Trump should read this book.......more

Goodreads review by Jody on February 13, 2024

This book was very surprising to me. I had one image of the FBI but learned alot from reding this book. Hoover really emphasized faith, the importance of upholding Christian ideals among his men. The FBI was a truly patriarchal organization filled predominately with white, Christian men. I knew he d......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on February 20, 2024

"I sued the FBI to write this book." Thus begins the Prologue, in which Martin describes his efforts to get the FBI records on Billy Graham, a years-long "game" of litigation, "a saga of hide and seek, lost and found" (x). In the end, Martin was unsuccessful, and Graham's archives have been moved to......more

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