296: Scott M. Coley | Exposing the Propaganda of the Religious Right
Preacher Boys Podcast
Eric Skwarczynski
4.6 • 701 Ratings
🗓️ 7 April 2024
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Scott Coley exposes the inner workings of the religious right’s propaganda—and how Christians can resist it.
Good evangelical Christians are Republican. It seems like it’s always been this way.
That means the propaganda is working.
Scott Coley trains a critical eye on the fusion of evangelicalism and right-wing politics in Ministers of Propaganda. This timely volume unravels rhetoric and biblical prooftexting that support Christo-authoritarianism: an ideology that presses Christian theology into the service of authoritarian politics. Coley’s historically informed argument unsettles evangelical orthodoxy on issues like creation science or female leadership—convictions not as unchanging as powerful religious leaders would have us believe.
Coley explains that we buy into propaganda because of motivated reasoning, and when we are motivated by perceived self-interest, the Christian message is easily corrupted. But if we recover Jesus’s commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves, right-wing propaganda will lose its power. Any reader troubled by American evangelicals’ embrace of racism, misogyny, and other unchristian views will find answers and hope in these pages.
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Resources Mentioned:
– Try Audible Premium Plus and Get Up to Two Free Audiobooks: https://amzn.to/4adt2nS
– Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right: https://amzn.to/3vOKdNm
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If you or someone you know has experienced abuse, visit courage365.org/need-help
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Coming up. |
| 0:00.9 | I find it totally unsurprising that people would appropriate the teachings of Jesus. |
| 0:05.7 | People will appropriate anything that might advance their own interests. |
| 0:09.0 | So it's just not surprising. |
| 0:11.6 | Trigger warning. |
| 0:13.0 | This podcast contains descriptions of various abusive situations. |
| 0:17.4 | Listener discretion is advised. |
| 0:19.8 | You are listening to the Preacher Boys podcast, |
| 0:22.7 | a podcast shedding light on decades of mental, physical, and sexual abuse within the |
| 0:28.0 | independent fundamental Baptist movement. The testimony shared on this podcast are told from |
| 0:33.6 | the personal experience and perspective of the survivors. Not all legal outcomes are known or final. |
| 0:40.4 | Any suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. |
| 0:44.9 | Now, here is your host, Eric Squarsinski. |
| 0:49.0 | Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Preacher Boys podcast. |
| 0:51.6 | Today's guest is Scott Coley. |
| 0:53.9 | He's the author of Ministers of Propaganda, |
| 0:56.5 | which is an absolutely amazing book that dives into some of the most dangerous propaganda |
| 1:01.5 | that is spread not just behind fundamentalist pulpits in America, but also behind the |
| 1:07.5 | alt-right podiums in conservative politics. It's a really fascinating book and one that |
| 1:12.8 | is continuing a conversation that's been somewhat ongoing, both privately and in a public way, |
| 1:18.8 | from me about the nature of politics and how that links in to religious fundamentalism. |
| 1:24.3 | For those of you adverse to political conversations, as always, you may want to |
... |
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