Kingdom of Rage Quotes

“was an evolution aided and abetted by a church that has lost its soul: living in fear, glorifying false notions of our country’s past, idolizing earthly tools of power as the source of their salvation, and actively contributing to dehumanizing and apocalyptic narratives inciting violence.”
― Elizabeth Neumann, Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace

“Our representatives are acting unserious because the exhausted middle have checked out and an extreme and loud minority is dominating the conversation. We need responsible citizens modeling constructive disagreement (without contempt!) and allowing the competition of ideas to return to our country.”
― Elizabeth Neumann, Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace

“Our angry words are causing the other side to dig in and not hear us. Lots of studies have been done on this going back six decades. When we slander the other side, it actually causes them to intensify their opposition to us. This is known as the boomerang effect. One study showed that “If people change their views at all, the odds are more than three-to-one that they will become more extreme in their original position.”
― Elizabeth Neumann, Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace

“Experiences of awe offer tremendous emotional and health benefits. Awe reduces stress.31 People with dispositions to experience “higher” awe are happier than those with lower tendencies of experiencing awe.32 Awe increases generosity, ethical decision making, willingness to volunteer,33 and tolerance of others’ norm violations.34 It also decreases entitlement.”
― Elizabeth Neumann, Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace

“Proximity to those different from ourselves cultivates gratitude and humility and protects us from “othering.”15 It rehumanizes individuals who are otherwise labeled, painted with a broad brush, or, worse, made the enemy by your community of origin.”
― Elizabeth Neumann, Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace

“Find ways to check the assumptions your in-group makes about their narratives—particularly when the narratives involve others. We can do this by finding ways to build proximity to people outside of our bubble, reading or listening to people from other groups, and maintaining a posture of curiosity. Seek out people who are curious and want to learn. Seek friends and perspectives that offer charity to other perspectives (giving them the benefit of the doubt) and exhibit self-control in responding to people with different opinions. Also, we can seek out real-life connections that have nothing to do with politics or other polarizing conversations. We can gather merely for the purpose of enjoying a hobby or benefiting our local community. Meeting and interacting with people from different perspectives and working together on common goals can help us rehumanize each other.”
― Elizabeth Neumann, Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace