Christian Nationalism and the Birth of the War on Drugs

The War on Drugs has its religious roots in the temperance movement and Christian Nationalism, which saw drug use as linked to immorality and sought to protect "child races" from harmful influences.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 18 July 2023
Publisher: New York University Press

Many individuals perceive the War on Drugs as a relatively recent phenomenon originating from the Nixon administration. However, as this groundbreaking new book reveals, the roots of this conflict trace back more than a century, when American Protestants initiated the temperance movement and associated drug use with immorality.

Christian Nationalism and the Birth of the War on Drugs delves into the profound religious undertones of this early drug war. While scholars commonly acknowledge the Protestant origins of Prohibition, it is less frequently recognized that the War on Drugs shares similar religious motivations. This perspective is obscured, in part, by the predominant focus on racism in discussions about the drug war. Antidrug activists have often expressed blatant white supremacist and nativist intentions. Nevertheless, this book contends that racism and religious impulses were intertwined. Reformers embarked on a comprehensive "civilizing mission," aimed at safeguarding "child races" from detrimental influences while reshaping their cultures to emulate Europe and the United States. Many reformers viewed Christianity as a vital component of civilization, and missionaries believed that banning drugs would foster religious conversion and progress.

This groundbreaking work of scholarship offers a transformative reinterpretation of one of the longest and most detrimental conflicts in modern American history. By illuminating the religious origins of the War on Drugs, it sheds light on the complexities and nuances of this complex issue. It underscores the importance of understanding the historical context and motivations behind this conflict in order to develop more effective and compassionate approaches to drug policy and addiction treatment.

Weight: 474g
Dimension: 152 x 230 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479817924