Kristin Kobes Du Mez | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Historian Author |
| Title | Professor of History and Gender Studies |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Dordt University University of Notre Dame |
| Alma mater | University of Notre Dame |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | History Gender Studies Urban Studies |
| Institutions | Calvin University |
| Notable works | Jesus and John Wayne |
| Website | www |
Kristin Kobes Du Mez is an American historian. She is a professor of history and gender studies atCalvin University inGrand Rapids, Michigan.[1][2]
Du Mez grew up in Iowa, and lived inTallahassee, Florida, during high school. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and German fromDordt College, and a Ph.D. in American history from theUniversity of Notre Dame. She worked atWilliams College and at the Five College Women’s Studies Research Center atMount Holyoke College before moving toCalvin University. She has three children.[1]
Her first book,A New Gospel for Women: Katharine Bushnell and the Challenge of Christian Feminism, traced the life and theology ofKatharine Bushnell.[1][3]
Du Mez's second book,Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, published in 2020, argued that Americanevangelicals have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism.[4] It received widespread coverage, including in secular media such asThe Washington Post[5] andThe Boston Globe,[6] as well as Christian outlets such asThe Gospel Coalition.[7] In July 2021, it reached number four onThe New York Times Best Seller list of nonfiction paperbacks.[8]
On September 12, 2024, Du Mez announced the upcoming release of the filmFor Our Daughters, directed byCarl Byker, that draws from the last chapter of Jesus and John Wayne, documenting stories of abuse within evangelicalism. The film started streaming onYouTube September 26, 2024.[9]