Reviews of Faith in the Halls of Power

Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite
D. Michael Lindsay. Oxford, $24.95 (400p) ISBN 978-0-19-532666-6

Some books have the good fortune of being well timed and well written. Faith in the Halls of Power is one of those books. For those familiar with or maybe even a part of the American evangelical world, little in this book will surprise you, though its depth and breadth will impress you. For those who are not familiar with or a part of the American evangelical world, you might find the contents both jarring and comforting.

It is jarring, because Lindsay documents well the deep and successful engagement by evangelicals in the elite leadership ranks of virtually all strategically important spheres of modern society, including politics, the academy, the corporate world, and the arts. It is comforting, because most of the evangelicals Lindsay describes belie the negative stereotypical image of evangelicals held by many progressives, liberals, mainliners, and secularists. Lindsay’s evangelicals are not the narrow-minded, judgmental, backward, bellicose voices sometimes caricatured by today’s cultural elites. Rather, they are smart, savvy, and worldly, participating in and quietly trying to change the system from within, not withdrawing from the world or merely casting stones from the sidelines.

The introduction and conclusion chapters alone are worth reading to understand the arguments and the topography that Lindsay presents in the four parts that comprise Faith in the Halls of Power. Suitably, Part I starts with an exploration of the rise of evangelicals in the political sphere. An interview with President Jimmy Carter, the first openly “born again” president, is a logical place to begin the narrative. From there, Lindsay explores how evangelicals began engaging questions of faith and public policy, providing a rare view of internal infighting and disagreements within the evangelical community. Part II looks at the strategic influence and rise of evangelicals in American universities and think tanks. Where evangelicals once had the reputation of being anti-intellectual, today we find them studying at, teaching at, and playing leadership roles at some of the nation’s elite educational institutions.

In Part III, Lindsay enters the realm of artists, celebrities, and the public stage. Here he chronicles how evangelicals have moved from protest mode—simply throwing stones from the sidelines at Hollywood for movies and music deemed offensive, if not hostile to a Christian worldview—to engagement mode, where wealthy evangelicals are entering the world of arts and entertainment, bankrolling Christian production companies, artists, and distribution channels. This has not been without challenge as some of the early efforts were aimed at and ensconced in the trappings of their own evangelical subculture, and artistic quality often suffered as a result. Recently, however, musicians, movie makers, and others have found their artistic voice and are providing quality competition to secular performers and delivering attractive offerings to mainstream audiences.

Finally, in Part IV, Lindsay comes to what he calls “corporate titans and the corner office.” Here I must offer the reader full disclosure; I was a subject of Lindsay’s interviews and offered guidance on this section, as it parallels and draws on my own research and writing (God at Work, 2007). Lindsay captures well the struggle many evangelical CEOs feel, wanting on the one hand to use their position of power as a platform to advance a Christian worldview. Yet on the other hand, these executives have a deep sensitivity of not wanting to misuse their power to force or coerce beliefs on their people.

Lindsay adroitly entitles the first chapter of Part IV, “Faith-Friendly Firms,” a term I coined in 2001 at a jointly sponsored Avodah Institute–Trinity Forum CEO gathering. Many CEOs are uncomfortable with the idea of a “faith-based” company, as that privileges one religion over another. In a publicly traded corporate environment, that concept has both legal and theological problems. However, evangelical (and other) CEOs can embrace the idea of a “faith-friendly” company, as it insists on an even playing field for all religions. Faith-friendly companies embrace and welcome the role of faith in the lives of employees, clearly stating that all faith traditions must be welcome.

Lindsay interviews dozens of CEOs, offering acute insights to the variety of ways CEOs live out their own faith at work. This includes attention to their own ethical probity and behaviors, instituting policies and practices that are sympathetic to faith issues and expression, consideration of how they present themselves publicly, and ways to build an evangelical ethos into the company’s institutional culture, values, and identity.

I highly commend Faith in the Halls of Power to leaders of all religious stripes and in all spheres of culture. Lindsay brings along the reader, as if a fly on the wall, to listen in on his conversations with over three hundred self-described evangelical leaders. They range from highly visible and public figures, including U.S. Presidents and corporate CEOs, to lesser known but still culturally influential leaders in academics and the arts. Lindsay accomplished this feat by using the “leapfrog method,” where each interviewee recommended another. Lindsay also sought to take a posture of “critical empathy” where he tries to portray people faithfully, yet keep enough distance to ask hard questions and offer critique.

The book might have been improved by further analysis of and conjecture about these new cultural power brokers. Lindsay starts this conversation in his conclusion, noting the shortage of and minimal role played by women in evangelical leadership positions. He rightly raises the question of “evangelical triumphalism,” making this reader ponder whether evangelical leaders in the halls of power will fall victim to the very same secular seductions of power, pride, and over-confidence that they criticize in today’s cultural elites. Will a certain insider/outsider status emerge where non-evangelicals are not invited into the inner circles of power? Will evangelical ideological purity prevent valid social compromises and progress on shared common social objectives such education, poverty, and security?

Whether you are an evangelical or not, if you are interested in the changing face of leadership and cultural influence in modern day America, you will not want to miss Faith in the Halls of Power.  

David W. Miller, Ph.D., a Senior Fellow of The Trinity Forum, is Executive Director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture and Assistant Professor (Adjunct) of Business Ethics at the Yale School of Management.