Masculinity ideology realigned evangelical foreign loyalties toward Putin

Evidence

American evangelicals have also forged ties with Vladimir Putin, who is known for flaunting his bare-chested masculinity, and with conservative elements in the Russian Orthodox Church; in 2014, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Decision magazine featured Putin on its cover, and Franklin Graham praised the Russian president for standing up to the “gay and lesbian agenda.” The next year, Graham met with Putin in Moscow, an occasion that prompted him to praise Putin as a defender of “traditional Christianity” while accusing President Obama of promoting atheism. In foreign policy as in domestic politics, the cult of masculinity can transform loyalties and reshape alliances. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 680

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the reader’s ‘Complaints About Immodesty’ piece — moral-panic framing flipping geopolitical alliances based on a shared values script.