An evangelical Christian men’s group is trying to make a comeback with a new, more explicitly political agenda.
DAVID FOLKENFLIK, HOST:
The Promise Keepers are famous for their 1997 march on the National Mall in Washington. Some 700,000 evangelical men prayed there for salvation. They tearfully hugged each other and vowed to become better fathers and husbands. Now the Promise Keepers are trying to make a comeback with a new and more explicitly political agenda. Elizabeth Caldwell from member station KWGS reports.
ELIZABETH CALDWELL, BYLINE: Here, at a rally attended by about 2,000 men at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., Pastor Rob McCoy says that Christian men in his home state of California have avoided politics, with disastrous results.
ROB MCCOY: We have the highest gas tax, sales tax, income ta, corporate tax – we lead the nation in debt. We’re the authors of no-fault divorce. We have a transgender bathroom bill that’s so disgusting and a secular progressive sex education bill – you can’t even read it, it’s so awful.
CALDWELL: Though Promise Keepers once touted itself as non-partisan, it’s now platforming conservative political voices, like Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and the state’s U.S. senator, James Lankford.
JAMES LANKFORD: They’ll say, you’re a Christian nationalist. I’ll go, time out. OK, I hear your term. I’m not a Christian nationalist, but you also can’t tell me to take my faith off. I’m a follower of Jesus, and I’m going to speak about being a follower of Jesus. That should be a common thing.
MCCOY: Amen.
CALDWELL: Charlie Kirk, an activist campaigning across the country in support of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, is also a featured speaker. He doesn’t shy away from confrontational stances, and he encourages the Promise Keepers not to either.
CHARLIE KIRK: They want American men to be weak, put into corners, afraid of your own shadow, but they know that if men, and Christian men, start to recommit to the truths and the promises of the Bible that this country can and will be saved. I hope we’ll do it. God bless you guys. Thanks so much.
CALDWELL: Kirk was a vocal backer of Donald Trump’s attempts to cast doubt on President Biden’s election victory in 2020, and has been encouraging young Christians to turn out for this November’s election. Shane Winnings is the CEO of Promise Keepers.
SHANE WINNINGS: We need men who are willing to say, I don’t care what happens to me. I don’t care if I get hurt in this process. I don’t care if people think I’m crazy.
CALDWELL: Winnings says the group is the same as it’s always been. They’re just trying to adapt to a very different culture. But Kristin Kobes Du Mez, historian and author of the book “Jesus And John Wayne,” says the Promise Keepers always had political aims, even if they were under the surface. Now, they’re front and center.
KRISTIN KOBES DU MEZ: Out of principle, no doubt, and also for power. That is really the direction that conservatism is taking, and if you want to play a role in that future, you get on board.
CALDWELL: Leaders of the Promise Keepers say they aren’t certain about the future of their own organization, but the event was not a one-off.
WINNINGS: So as I lead this organization, I will platform the speakers that I believe are speaking to the issues of the day with a proper Biblical worldview, not some crazy agenda.
CALDWELL: They say details for their next event will come soon.
For NPR News, I’m Elizabeth Caldwell in Tulsa, Okla.
FOLKENFLIK: This story was produced through a collaboration between NPR and the Religion News Service.
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