Hello my friends,

I wanted to look at a topic together today that I have been thinking about for a long time now and that is how anti-intellectualism impacts both our country and our faith today. This is also a dynamic many of you have written to me about, so I hope you find it helpful and productive in someway.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

​-Anti-Intellectualism in American Life by Richard Hofstadter. This is one of those books I read in my late 20s that I still think about today. It brilliantly traces the historical developments that have brought American culture to where it is today. Although it was published in the 70s, it is still just as relevant today.

​-The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark A. Noll. On the theological and historical side, scholar Mark Noll traces the intellectual tradition, or lack thereof, in American Evangelical Christianity. Noll does this as an insider to Evangelicalism himself. It is a deeply insightful book and sheds so much light on the makeup of Evangelical Christianity today.

​-The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 5: Christian Doctrine and Modern Culture (since 1700) by Jaroslav Pelikan. I highly recommend this 5 volume set on church history by Pelikan, but this volume is particularly relevant to our topic today. Pelikan traces the history of how the enlightenment impacted the formation of Christian doctrine and Modern Culture. It is very illuminating.

​-The Democratization of American Christianity by Nathan O. Hatch. I first encountered this book in seminary and it is another one I think back to often. It is a reassessment of religion and culture in the early days of the American republic. In it Hatch argues that during this period, American Christianity was democratized and common people became powerful actors on the religious scene. Hatch examines five distinct traditions or mass movements that emerged early in the nineteenth century—the Christian movement, Methodism, the Baptist movement, the black churches, and the Mormons—showing how all offered compelling visions of individual potential and collective aspiration, mostly to the unschooled. It is a fascinating read.

Okay, onto today's topic.

Anti-Intellectualism Is Not a Fruit of the Spirit.

Anti-intellectualism is the distrust of, or hostility toward, intellectuals, expertise, and critical thought. It is often accompanied by the belief that “common sense” or personal conviction is a more reliable guide than the careful study of complex realities. It shouldn’t be confused with healthy skepticism, which asks questions in order to find what is true. Anti-intellectualism rejects expertise altogether, often preemptively, because it sees learning as elitist, threatening, or unnecessary.

I grew up in a world where voices outside my family quietly taught me that thinking too much was dangerous. In my Evangelical spaces, I often heard phrases like, “Don’t let your head get in the way of your heart,” or, “Be careful that education doesn’t pull you away from God.” These are themes you can clearly see play out in movies like all the “God’s Not Dead” films. Pastors warned me about professors who might try to “shake your faith” if I went off to college. I learned early on that being credentialed, being educated, being an expert, even in theology, was seen with suspicion at best, and at worst, treated as a spiritual liability. It was made clear to me, sometimes subtly, sometimes outright, that too much learning could make me less receptive to the voice of the Spirit or worse, cause me to reject God completely.

I’ll never forget one of the most stark examples of this I witnessed. I went to attend a local non-denominational church here in Boise one evening with some friends during my time in college. I was studying to be a pastor and was two years into my four year degree. As the service neared the end in that packed church, they wanted to introduce a young man who would be a new pastor they were bringing on staff. As they introduced him, they made it clear that one of the main reasons they were hiring him was that he had received a call to be a pastor just two weeks earlier and they loved the fact that he made it clear to them that he would be "following the Holy Spirit" and getting right to work rather than "wasting time" with theological education, which was, as they called it, “the ways of man.”

Rejecting theological education was not just presented as a badge of honor, but evidence of righteousness.

This idea that faith and reason are somehow opposed to one another is something I have witnessed my entire life within ministry. it has led many to believe that those who are truly qualified to speak about God are the ones who had “heard from God directly,” not those who had spent years studying Scripture, languages, history, or theology. I have seen this view make many incredibly vulnerable to charismatic leaders who had no training at all but spoke with confidence while they resisted voices who actually had the tools to help us see reality more clearly. After receiving my theological education, I have had this suspicion and resistance directed at me as well, especially by fellow Christians.

One of the first quotes I remember reading from Charles Wesley as I was stepping away from Christian fundamentalism in my theological education was from a prayer he wrote in 1748, where he prayed to God, "Unite the pair so long disjoined, knowledge and vital piety." It was a plea to combine intellectual understanding with sincere, active religious devotion, recognizing that both are essential and often separated aspects of a complete spiritual life. It has become a prayer of mine as well to this day.

Present and Past

Anti-intellectualism is not just a problem in the church. We are seeing its effects across American life today. When folks like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a man with no training in medicine, epidemiology, or public health, can become the Secretary of Health and Human Services, all while publicly rejecting science on vaccines and other public health issues, we are seeing anti-intellectualism at work. When Christians trust politicians and social media influencers to teach them about public health, climate change, or theology, when such figures are not trained in those fields, and then reject the words of epidemiologists, climatologists, and theologians, we are seeing anti-intellectualism bearing bitter fruit.

The historian Richard Hofstadter wrote about this very dynamic in his landmark book Anti-Intellectualism in American Life. He traced the roots of this phenomenon through American history, noting how our nation’s populist and revivalist impulses often glorified “common sense” over expertise. Similarly, historian and theologian Mark Noll, in The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, lamented that “the scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.” He argued that evangelicalism, while passionate and activist, has often neglected serious intellectual engagement with faith, culture, and society.

Work done by the likes of Hofstadter and Noll show that some of the main reasons that have led us here today are:

• Revivalist religion in America prized personal experience over careful thought.
• Populist politics rewarded the “plainspoken man” over the trained intellectual.
• Mass media and now social media have given platforms to anyone with charisma, whether they are informed or not.
• Distrust of institutions has made many suspicious of universities, scientists, and journalists, often for understandable reasons, but has left us vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation.

A Growing Divide

Of course, it must be honestly said that resentment toward intellectualism has often been made worse by the arrogance of some intellectuals themselves. When experts speak condescendingly, act elitist, or dismiss those without formal training as unintelligent or incapable of contributing to important conversations, it deepens the divide. Scripture is clear about this danger: “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Knowledge by itself can become a source of arrogance and exclusion, but when rooted in love, it becomes a powerful gift meant to serve others.

The goal of learning should never be to dominate or belittle, but to illuminate and empower. This is why Christians must not only value knowledge, truth, and expertise, but also insist that those who possess knowledge practice humility, empathy, and a willingness to listen.

Historically, when this tension has been exploited rather than wisely addressed, it produces devastating results. The 1925 Scopes Trial is a famous example of how the clash between religious faith and science was framed in the media as “country Christians versus urban intellectual elites,” deepening the cultural divide. In the decades that followed, certain political and religious figures learned to channel this resentment, painting intellectuals as dangerous threats to faith and freedom on one side while political and elitist figures painted religious people as a threat to intellectualism and our society as a whole on the other side. This rift has only seemed to be exacerbated ever since.

What is also historically important to note is how authoritarian leaders have used anti-intellectualism as a tool repeatedly throughout history. In Nazi Germany for example, intellectuals and academics who opposed the regime were silenced, universities were purged, and “common sense” nationalism was elevated over critical inquiry. In Stalinist Russia and Maoist China, intellectuals were publicly shamed and even imprisoned in order to consolidate power and keep the masses dependent on state propaganda. Distrusting experts has always been a key tool of authoritarianism, because when people stop trusting anyone but the leader, they become much easier to control. Authoritarianism rebrands anti-intellectualism and calls it "patriotism."

We are watching this same dynamic play out today. Populist and authoritarian-leaning leaders across the globe routinely call scientists, journalists, and scholars part of a “deep state” or accuse them of conspiring to mislead the public. In the United States, some politicians and media personalities dismiss entire fields of study, like epidemiology, climate science, constitutional law, economics, and even parts of history as politically corrupt whenever they challenge partisan narratives. By labeling journalists “enemies of the people” or claiming that every expert who disagrees with them is “bought and paid for,” these figures erode public trust in shared sources of truth, intentionally leaving people vulnerable to conspiracy theories and propaganda. Anti-intellectualism is not a minor cultural debate, it is a crisis that strikes at the very foundations of democracy and the health of the Church’s witness.

Good News

Part of the good news of Jesus is that faith does not require us to leave our minds behind. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Jesus calls us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind (Luke 10:27). The apostle Paul calls us to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2), not the abandoning of it. Faith is not the opposite of reason. Faith invites us to live fully awake to reality, not to retreat into suspicion and distrust.

If anything, Christians should be the first to celebrate truth wherever it is found, whether it comes from the laboratory, the university, the newsroom, or the pulpit. We of all people should be willing to test claims, discern wisely, and seek wisdom from those who have devoted their lives to understanding complex issues, because God cannot be separated from truth, no matter where it comes from.

The way forward will require humility. It will mean collectively deciding that competence matters. That doctors, scientists, and public health experts should be trusted guides on matters of health. That anyone who expects us to abandon critical thinking should be regarded as a manipulator and be paid no attention. That careful thinking is not a threat to faith, but a way of loving God with our minds.

And most importantly, it will mean repenting from the ways we have preferred ignorance over understanding, fear over wisdom, and conspiracy over discernment.

My Pastoral Rule of Life Against Anti-Intellectualism

As a Christian seeking to resist the tide of anti-intellectualism, here are some practical steps I try to maintain in my life:

1. Cultivate Holy Curiosity: Ask questions, read widely, and see learning as an act of worship.
2. Honor Expertise: Seek out trained voices in theology, science, and history before forming strong opinions.
3. Practice Discernment Online: Fact-check before sharing, avoid sensationalism, and follow reliable sources.
4. Reform Church Culture: Encourage pastors and leaders to pursue theological education, and create spaces where doubt and questions are welcome.
5. Model Humility: Admit when I don’t know something and be willing to change my mind when presented with credible evidence. Only give my support to leaders who model humility.
6. Integrate Faith and Reason: Teach that loving God with our mind is a central act of discipleship.

If we can recover this posture, we can form communities that are both wise and compassionate, grounded in truth yet open to learning, faithful yet engaged with the real world. This is how we become a hopeful and thoughtful presence in our fractured world.

Now I'd like to hear from you! Did you find this helpful? What thoughts came to your mind as you read? Feel free to respond to this email and share your thoughts with me. I look forward to reading them. New 30 Day Devotional: I recently wrote a 30 day devotional in hopes to provide a companion for people seeking to follow Jesus in our world today. You can read more about it here: $20.00 Following Jesus In A World Obsessed With Empires: 30 Days of reclaiming the hope, compassion, and justice of Jesus. Today, our world can often feel overwhelmed by darkness, division, and despair. I created this 30-day devotional to... Read more Get it now! ​ Ways to support: If you'd like to support this project, you can do so through one-time-gift of any amount you feel is right. You can also subscribe through a $5/mo, $15/mo, or $25/mo. Several others have also asked for a recurring gift option that is different from the ones offered here, like this one. If you'd like me to set up a different option for you, please just send me an email with the word "support" in the subject line. As always, I really want to thank all of you for reading and for all the ways you support me and this project every single week. I'm thankful for the ways we are building this together and hope it creates a lasting, positive change in our world along the way! I sincerely appreciate you all, Ben Remember, you can now view this and all previous newsletters as well as invite friends to join through this link: https://benjamin-cremer.ck.page/profile.

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