Jesus and John Wayne — How Institutions Quietly Reshape Identity

How can a community preserve its core beliefs on paper while gradually transforming the identity that gives those beliefs meaning?Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world.Using Kristin Kobes Du Mez's *Jesus and John Wayne* as our lens, this episode investigates how institutions can gradually reshape collective identity without necessarily changing official doctrine. Rather than viewing white evangelical support for Donald Trump as a sudden political shift, Du Mez traces decades of cultural development through publishing, Christian media, celebrity ministries, consumer culture, and political alliances that transformed the movement's understanding of leadership, masculinity, and national identity.Viewed structurally, the deeper investigation asks how institutions become engines of identity formation. As media ecosystems, markets, and organizations reinforce particular values over generations, culture can begin to influence communities more powerfully than the beliefs those communities originally set out to preserve.Watch on YouTube:https://youtu.be/4QCeC9tmGCESupport the project on Patreon:https://patreon.com/CrisisInPerceptionAuthor SupportIf these ideas resonate, consider reading the work yourself or borrowing it from your local library. Supporting authors and libraries helps keep critical inquiry accessible.If you value systems-level analysis like this, please follow, rate, and share the project.AI Use DisclosureThis content was created using AI-assisted tools for research synthesis, structuring, and narration support. All analysis, framing, and editorial decisions are guided by human judgment as part of the Crisis in Perception project.