In the aftermath of the Capitol insurrection on 6 January 2021, increased media attention to Christian nationalism and its relationship to right-wing politics entered public discourse. Yet mainstream media sources frequently portray extremism among white Christians in broad strokes and rely on narratives of backlash to progressive mid-twentieth century social movements, with particular focus on the expansion of national abortion rights in Roe v. Wade (1973). Such a framework is incomplete and, in The Radical Mind: The Origins of Right-Wing Catholic and Protestant Coalition Building, Chelsea Ebin's archival research offers a more nuanced account of the strategic fusion of religious and social interests that political entrepreneurs adopted toward the well-organized New Christian Right (NCR) that exists today. The historical contribution of this book is the critical context for scholars of contemporary politics, journalists, and members of the public who wish to be informed about structures of political power affecting us today.

As the author carefully traces how rising political leaders—especially Catholic Paul Weyrich and Protestant Jerry Fallwell—translated theological beliefs into social issue positions over time, one of her core contributions is the demonstration of differences across Christian traditions in terms of (1) thei