{"product_id":"whispers-in-the-pews-evangelical-uniformity-in-a-divided-america-9781479827619","title":"Whispers in the Pews: Evangelical Uniformity in a Divided America","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eReveals how mundane social interactions in an evangelical church silence difference and reinforce right-wing conformity\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSmall talk, whether enjoyed or despised, is often thought of as trivial and largely useless. In certain situations, however, it can be surprisingly powerful. \u003ci\u003eWhispers in the Pews\u003c\/i\u003e offers a bottom-up explanation of Christian nationalism, revealing how cultural homogeneity within evangelical church communities is upheld by an active, manufactured effort to dodge reflective engagement with topics that could stir up diverging points of view. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhispers in the Pews \u003c\/i\u003eexposes how small talk is utilized to construct an appearance of social and political sameness in evangelical church communities. Based on an ethnography of a church that appeals to students, working class residents, and racial minorities alike in a politically divided Southern college town, McDowell showcases how churchgoers avoid consequential issues that could expose disagreements on border control, electoral politics, race and gender. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy confining themselves to blander topics, the church, which prides itself on inclusivity, positions itself as welcoming to all. But by creating an environment in which certain topics are discouraged from discussion, a façade is developed in which everyone is assumed to believe the same things, and any sort of debate is silenced. \u003ci\u003eWhispers in the Pews\u003c\/i\u003e shows that the presumption that everyone is of the same mind makes it difficult for churchgoers to articulate or contemplate progressive views, and by extension, advances the idea that differences of opinion are un-Christian, and therefore un-American.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAmy D. McDowell \u003c\/b\u003eis Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Mississippi.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"New York University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52127672533266,"sku":"9781479827619","price":108.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b218d46b-15b9-4405-82d2-e8d1d4cef4ba.jpg?v=1773742322","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/whispers-in-the-pews-evangelical-uniformity-in-a-divided-america-9781479827619","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}