Reality in Ruins

“The impassioned debut study from theologian Stacy explores white American evangelicals’ dangerous devotion to conspiracy theorizing and proposes a faith-based route away from insular paranoia… An empathic rumination on the evangelical community’s inner workings.” — Publishers Weekly”An eye opening, a must-read book for our time, a time marked by what Jared calls the ‘disreality’ of our making. Reality in Ruins identifies our blindspots, whether the reader is a conservative or liberal, or dispossessed and numb, all breathing in the culture war fumes. In order to remove the toxins in our cultural soil, we need to be truly set free by Jesus’s greater love and truth, and we need a guidebook and map toward future thriving—Jared provides exactly that in this illuminating book.” — Makoto Fujimura, artist and author of Art Is: A Journey into the Light and Culture Care“Jared Stacy wants to let you in on a secret: at least since Great Awakening, American Protestants have had a deforming affair with conspiratorial thinking. The historical story he has to tell is one that every American who identifies as an evangelical should know. But what is truly groundbreaking is the fearless gospel he offers his readers as a theological alternative.” — Dr. Brian Brock, professor of theology, University of Aberdeen“In this era of disreality and conspiracy, we must all think deeply and purposefully about the forces shaping how we experience the world around us. Reality in Ruins is just the book for this journey. As Christian nationalism continues to dominate our existence, Jared shows us how to be claimed by the truth instead of always trying to wield a twisted version of it. Only then can we begin to tell a better story, one marked by love and liberation.” — Andrew Whitehead, scholar and award-winning author of American Idolatry“Much ink has been spilled on ways MAGA’s religious project has damaged American political life, but Reality in Ruins shows us how it has blighted American Christianity. In this acute yet heartfelt work, Jared Stacy grounds his story in his experience as a pastor who has resisted disinformation and discord, and offers a path to redeem the faith as well as the nation.” — Anne Nelson, award-winning author of Shadow Network and lecturer on human rights”Written with both compassion and hard-won experience, Reality in Ruins delves deep into the crisis of “holy paranoia” that has gripped an increasingly large part of evangelical Christianity in America over the last century. Having been part of this world, Jared Stacy innately grasps how conspiracy theories and extremism offer both false hope and false idols to their evangelical believers. This is a vitally important book about a subject that has invited a great deal of media sneering and liberal derision, but little in the way of understanding or empathy. “ — Mike Rothschild, journalist and author of Jewish Space Lasers”Jared Stacy is an eminently trustworthy voice on conspiracism within American evangelicalism. He brings to the topic a rare combination of expertise, empathy, and lived experience. Reality in Ruins will challenge, enlighten, and encourage readers from across the political and religious spectrums. This is not only a timely book, but it is an urgently needed one.” — Karen Swallow Prior, author of The Evangelical Imagination

Jared Stacy is a theologian and ethicist. He is a former pastor to evangelical churches in New Orleans and the Washington, DC, metro area. He received a PhD in Moral & Practical Theology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.