One Year of Baptizing America

NOTE: This piece was originally published at our Substack newsletter A Public Witness.

One year ago, we gathered online with historian Diana Butler Bass, sociologist Andrew Whitehead, and Rev. Adriene Thorne of The Riverside Church during the official launch event for Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism. It’s hard to believe our little book is already getting a candle on its birthday cake.

Left: Brian Kaylor finds Baptizing America in a bookstore. Top Right: Beau Underwood’s son sells books at an event Beau spoke at. Bottom Right: Brian sets our one-day record by signing 118 copies of Baptizing America during an event in Washington, D.C.

It really has been quite a year — and one that, unfortunately, showed how important it is for Christians to address Christian Nationalism in society and our churches. We’ve been thankful to see Baptizing America helping with this important work of offering an alternative witness to Christian Nationalism. The embrace of the book by churches across the country has been encouraging. It was the bestselling book in 2024 for Chalice Press and it topped the nonfiction list in Oklahoma. It also won two top book awards from organizations of religious journalists and communications professionals.

It’s also been exciting to see the book reviewed and mentioned in numerous places online and in print. About two dozen publications have written about Baptizing America, along with many blogs and newsletters. This has included positive reviews in prominent mainline publications like The Christian Century, Disciples News Service, The Living Church (Episcopalian), and The Presbyterian Outlook. We’ve also received nice coverage from Baptist News Global, Church & State, Kansas City Star, Religion News Service, and Sojourners.

Additionally, it’s been encouraging to see praise for the book from amazing scholars and writers, including:

• Randall Balmer: “With deep historical research and trenchant analysis … Baptizing America is an important book.”
• Kristin Du Mez: “Important new book … This book will give much food for thought.”
• Sandhya Jha: “Incredibly accessible for mainline Christians to examine our role in propping up or pushing back against Christian Nationalism.”
• Robert P. Jones: “A fantastic book. It’s got a really original angle.”
• Rachel Laser: “I highly recommend. … It makes a tight and compelling case.”
• Bradley Onishi: “This is a really important book because in an age where we talk a lot about Christian Nationalism …. they contribute something that I’ve not seen anywhere else.”
• Amy Pagliarella: “The book is easily organized for a small group study, and would be an excellent choice for churches.”
• Mitch Randall: “The book is absolutely remarkable. … You’re not going to want to put it down once you begin reading it.”
• Jim Wallis: “This book shows how all of White Christianity, including mainline Protestants, has fallen victim to American nationalism.”
• Andrew Whitehead: “Anyone interested in confronting and opposing Christian Nationalism must read this book.”

We’ve also appeared on 28 podcasts to talk about Baptizing America. This has included shows like Crackers & Grape Juice, Homebrewed Christianity, Straight White American Jesus, and The State of Belief. We also have one coming out soon for some normal people. Those conversations have been fun and have pushed us to think about issues of politics and religion in new ways.

All of this has been energizing and encouraging. Even in a time when it can be easy to give in to discouragement about the state of affairs, people are seeking to learn more and discover what they can do to make a difference.

We hope you’ll join us in this effort to offer an alternative witness to Christian Nationalism. Buy Baptizing America. Tell others about it on social media. Write a positive review on Amazon. Invite us to speak to your church, Bible study, or organization. We are looking forward to several upcoming events and would love to speak to your church or group (in-person or virtually) as we all work together to challenge Christian Nationalism.

As a public witness,

Brian Kaylor & Beau Underwood