Karen Swallow Prior and the Evangelical Imagination: Faith, Culture, and the End of an Era

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Faithful Dissent, James and Brian sit down with author and scholar Karen Swallow Prior to trace the story of American evangelicalism—from its idealistic roots to its current identity crisis. Drawing on her own journey through fundamentalism, academia, and activism, Karen reflects on how the movement that once shaped her faith has fractured under the weight of politics, celebrity, and cultural power. Together, they explore: Karen’s early life in New England and her path into evangelicalism.The legacy of missions, activism, and moral reform in the evangelical imagination.How movements like the Moral Majority and the “evangelical industrial complex” reshaped the church.What the Trump era revealed about faith, power, and the limits of charity.Why literature, beauty, and truth still matter for spiritual renewal.How believers might reclaim calling and culture without losing the gospel in the process.This conversation is part memoir, part cultural history, and part theological reflection—an honest look at what evangelicals built, what broke, and what might come next.Here are some LINKS to Karen's Substack, and her books on Amazon.