God's Law and Order: The Politics of Punishment in Evangelical America

There is more to the story of mass incarceration than civil rights backlash politics. It is also a religious story. Aaron Griffith points to the key role played by evangelical Christians, who worked for conversion of prisoners and pushed an anticrime agenda that, while ostensibly colorblind, exacerbated racial inequality in the justice system.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 10 November 2020
Publisher: Harvard University Press

Winner of a Christianity Today Book Award, this groundbreaking book delves into the profound impact of evangelical Christianity on the American criminal justice system. Despite recent reforms, the United States continues to incarcerate a significant number of individuals, disproportionately poor and nonwhite, for extended periods, offering limited opportunities for restoration. In his insightful exploration, Aaron Griffith unveils a crucial factor in the origins of American mass incarceration: the influence of evangelical Christianity.

In the postwar era, evangelicals embraced crime as a significant religious concern and sought new avenues to shape public discourse through punitive politics. Religious leaders such as Billy Graham and David Wilkerson capitalized on fears of lawbreaking and compassion for offenders, amplifying appeals for Christian conversion. This laid the foundation for evangelicals who later advocated for tough-on-crime policies in the 1960s. Building upon earlier religious campaigns for public safety, some preachers and politicians pushed for "law and order," advocating for harsh sentences and expanded policing. Meanwhile, other evangelicals saw crime as a missionary opportunity, pioneering innovative ministries that reshaped the practice of religion in prisons.

From the 1980s onward, evangelicals played a pivotal role in popularizing criminal justice reform, making it a central cause within the compassionate conservative movement. However, their efforts were often framed as colorblind, masking racial inequality in incarceration and delaying genuine change. Today, evangelicals occupy a complex position in reform, advocating for reduced imprisonment while supporting law-and-order politicians.

God's Law and Order underscores the indispensable role of evangelical Christianity in understanding the criminal justice system. It compels us to recognize that we cannot fully comprehend the complexities of this system without accounting for the profound influence of evangelical beliefs and practices. This book offers a valuable perspective on the intersection of religion, politics, and social justice, shedding light on the ongoing challenges and opportunities for reform in the United States.

Weight: 692g
Dimension: 242 x 166 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780674238787