The religious left also shapes the legislative process. Jenkins points out that President Barack Obama’s 2012 faith outreach meant that he managed to “shave off a section of the evangelical vote in the general election,” making particularly important gains among young evangelicals in swing states. In this book, religion matters in electoral politics. One refreshing aspect of American Prophets is that Jenkins does not try to portray the religious left as rising above the fray of partisan politics simply because it is religious rather, the loosely connected movement of clergy and laity is clearly aligned with the Democrats against the Republicans. Jenkins is a sympathetic chronicler of the movement, having spent time both connected with the Democratic Party and working as a religion reporter. Chapters cover immigration policies, LGBTQ rights, the environment, economics, interfaith activism, and other issues. Jenkins makes clear that he is not writing a comprehensive history instead, the book is a contemporary account that examines where the religious left has made an impact. Journalist Jack Jenkins’s American Prophets: The Religious Roots of Progressive Politics and the Ongoing Fight for the Soul of the Country is one of the rare books that explains the other pole of religion and politics: the progressive faith communities that have made up the religious left and opposed Republican policies. White evangelicals have been the most consistent supporters of Donald Trump and the Republican Party, and a cottage industry of authors has emerged to explain their thinking.

In the publication of books on the religious right, there is no end.

American Prophets by Jack Jenkins