Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
To purchase Josiah’s book:
penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/721105/on-fire-for-god-by-josiah-hesse/9780553387292
Contact:
josiahhesse.com
https://x.com/JosiahMHesse
instagram.com/jojodancer3000
From publisher’s website:
One part Educated, one part rebuttal to Hillbilly Elegy, On Fire for God explores the ways evangelical Christianity has preyed upon its followers while galvanizing them into the political force known today as the Christian right.
Exvangelical journalist Josiah Hesse grew up in the stifling working-class town of Mason City, Iowa, raised in the institutions of fundamentalist Christianity: a toxic mixture of schools, ministries, and religious camps that taught creationism, instilled sexual shame, and foretold horrific tales of the rapture. In the churches where he worshipped, pastors siphoned their flocks’ wealth while preaching a doctrine of prosperity. Meanwhile, as economic struggles grew in the community, Hesse's fellow believers lambasted organized labor and shunned the social safety net, becoming an army for God against the evils of progressivism. Only upon escaping Iowa in search of something more would he consider the possibility that the world wasn’t about to end and that he was woefully unprepared for a future he’d never believed would arrive.
Written in vivid prose, On Fire for God is both an unflinching memoir of religious trauma and survival and a stirring examination of the emotional, political, and sociological effects of the Christian right. Returning to his hometown in search of answers about his upbringing and the political forces at work in the region, Hesse calls into question prevailing theories about the disappearing working class that point to opioids, automation, or globalism as the culprits. His story of awakening and escape exposes how conservative Christian con men have, over generations, trapped working-class believers in an isolated bubble of racism, xenophobia, and self-imposed martyrdom, while stripping communities like his of their wealth and self-esteem. In On Fire for God, Hesse plumbs the depths of his own experience to illuminate, with deep feeling and piercing immediacy, what he describes as the socioeconomic tragedy of the American working class.
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https://fundiefridays.shop
✨Links &Articles:✨
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Credits:
Intro and end screen graphics: instagram.com/tamara_designing
Music: instagram.com/goodfickensounds
My stuff:
Patreon patreon.com/fundiefridays
Instagram instagram.com/fundiefridays
Tik Tok tiktok.com/@fundiefridays
Good Reads goodreads.com/fundiefridays
Articles and Podcasts: https://linktr.ee/fundiefridays
Website: fundiefridays.net
Merch: https://fundiefridays.shop
Join this channel to get access to perks:
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Chapters:
00:00 introduction
03:00 What The Book is About
07:43 Interviewing Family
19:00 The Music Man Connection
26:31 Horror Influences
33:40 Everybody Hates Carman
39:21 Poverty & The Prosperity Gospel
48:00 Pieter Thiel’s Apocalypse Sermons
53:00 Camel vs Needle
57:00 Appreciation for Christian Culture
01:02:00 Strike Force & Gender Expression
01:13:00 Family Politics
01:30:00 Campy Christianity
01:37 Advice
01:40 Conclusion
To purchase Josiah’s book:
penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/721105/on-fire-for-god-by-josiah-hesse/9780553387292
Contact:
josiahhesse.com
https://x.com/JosiahMHesse
instagram.com/jojodancer3000
From publisher’s website:
One part Educated, one part rebuttal to Hillbilly Elegy, On Fire for God explores the ways evangelical Christianity has preyed upon its followers while galvanizing them into the political force known today as the Christian right.
Exvangelical journalist Josiah Hesse grew up in the stifling working-class town of Mason City, Iowa, raised in the institutions of fundamentalist Christianity: a toxic mixture of schools, ministries, and religious camps that taught creationism, instilled sexual shame, and foretold horrific tales of the rapture. In the churches where he worshipped, pastors siphoned their flocks’ wealth while preaching a doctrine of prosperity. Meanwhile, as economic struggles grew in the community, Hesse's fellow believers lambasted organized labor and shunned the social safety net, becoming an army for God against the evils of progressivism. Only upon escaping Iowa in search of something more would he consider the possibility that the world wasn’t about to end and that he was woefully unprepared for a future he’d never believed would arrive.
Written in vivid prose, On Fire for God is both an unflinching memoir of religious trauma and survival and a stirring examination of the emotional, political, and sociological effects of the Christian right. Returning to his hometown in search of answers about his upbringing and the political forces at work in the region, Hesse calls into question prevailing theories about the disappearing working class that point to opioids, automation, or globalism as the culprits. His story of awakening and escape exposes how conservative Christian con men have, over generations, trapped working-class believers in an isolated bubble of racism, xenophobia, and self-imposed martyrdom, while stripping communities like his of their wealth and self-esteem. In On Fire for God, Hesse plumbs the depths of his own experience to illuminate, with deep feeling and piercing immediacy, what he describes as the socioeconomic tragedy of the American working class.
Our Stuff:
✨NEW MERCH STORE!✨
https://fundiefridays.shop
✨Links &Articles:✨
https://linktr.ee/fundiefridays
✨MERCH FUNDRAISERS✨
bonfire.com/store/fundiefridays
Credits:
Intro and end screen graphics: instagram.com/tamara_designing
Music: instagram.com/goodfickensounds
My stuff:
Patreon patreon.com/fundiefridays
Instagram instagram.com/fundiefridays
Tik Tok tiktok.com/@fundiefridays
Good Reads goodreads.com/fundiefridays
Articles and Podcasts: https://linktr.ee/fundiefridays
Website: fundiefridays.net
Merch: https://fundiefridays.shop
Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCxDs8x5wvKwGR4nuER6h87A/join
Chapters:
00:00 introduction
03:00 What The Book is About
07:43 Interviewing Family
19:00 The Music Man Connection
26:31 Horror Influences
33:40 Everybody Hates Carman
39:21 Poverty & The Prosperity Gospel
48:00 Pieter Thiel’s Apocalypse Sermons
53:00 Camel vs Needle
57:00 Appreciation for Christian Culture
01:02:00 Strike Force & Gender Expression
01:13:00 Family Politics
01:30:00 Campy Christianity
01:37 Advice
01:40 Conclusion
