“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross.” —Sinclair Lewis

Former New York Times war reporter and Harvard Divinity School alumnus Chris Hedges argues that the Christian right is a threat to American democracy. Himself a devout (progressive) Christian steeped in his faith tradition, Hedges convincingly argues that the religious right is essentially a mass movement fueled by militant nationalism and intolerance and by the deeply anti-democratic aversion to critical inquiry and freedom of conscience.

Drawing on the psychological and sociological literature of fascism and cults, Hedges draws parallels between 20th-century totalitarian movements and the highly organized, well-funded "dominionist movement," an influential sect within the evangelical population whose ultimate aim is a fundamentalist Christian state that brooks no dissent. He describes how the movement has extended its influence deep inside the U.S. government, with members in all three branches of government and all over the country, via a massive network of Christian TV and radio stations.

Based on first-hand reporting of events such as pro-life rallies and classes on conversion techniques and on interviews with current and former adherents, American Fascists investigates the origins, development and frightening potential of the dominionists and argues that another 9/11-like crisis, should it come, will spur the movement to mount an aggressive assault on American democracy.

American Fascists is a passionate brief for the open society and a fierce warning about a threat in its midst.

Chris Hedges was a foreign correspondent for nearly two decades for the New York Times, the Dallas Morning News, the Christian Science Monitor, and National Public Radio. He was a member of the team that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for the New York Times coverage of global terrorism, and he received the 2002 Amnesty International Global Award for Human Rights Journalism. Hedges is the author of the bestseller American Fascists and National Book Critics Circle finalist for War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. He is a Senior Fellow at The Nation Institute and a Lannan Literary Fellow and has taught at Columbia University, New York University and Princeton University.