FOR OUR DAUGHTERS: A Film About Resistance

“When my own daughter approached the same age I had been, I just couldn’t. I couldn’t live with knowing how things were. So that was the start of it.”

That’s part of what I said about my own path toward resistance in this new documentary short film called For Our Daughters. I hope you’ll watch it; I’m proud to be in it.

The film is a product of the mind of

Kristin Du Mez

and it was directed by award-winning filmmaker Carl Byker.

It presents “stories of abuse, betrayal, and resistance in the evangelical church,” and it packs a wallop.

That word “resistance” is particularly important because that’s where the hope lies.

Du Mez explains:

“There are dark moments in the film, but in the end, this is a story of hope—of women speaking truth to power and calling on other women to do the same.”

I believe that resistance against oppressive forces is energy in the universe that is never wasted. And I think that’s especially true when the oppressive force is the power of religion gone wrong.

That’s also what the film is about—religion gone wrong.

It shows the impact of a theology that subjugates women, and it connects the patterns of abuse and coverups in evangelical churches with the patterns of evangelicals’ pursuit of political power. The way faith has been used in churches to prop up clergy abusers and attack survivors parallels the way faith is being used in the political arena to legitimize authoritarianism.

Du Mez summarizes:

“It may seem surprising that a self-professed moral majority would end up supporting a candidate who has bragged about assaulting women. But if you look inside their own communities, you can see how for decades they have propped up men who have abused power and have excused all kinds of harm, all kinds of abuses, for the sake of that power. The ends justifies the means.”

The title—For Our Daughters—came from conversations Du Mez had with some evangelical women after publishing Jesus and John Wayne, a book that critiques the kind of toxic masculinity that prevails in many evangelical settings. The women thanked Du Mez for her book and told her of how they wanted better for their daughters.

The film tells of terrible things but it also looks to the future. Together—in resistance—we can build a better future for our daughters. And really… for all our children.

With thanks to Du Mez and Byker and to all who participated in the making of FOR OUR DAUGHTERS. Here’s where you can read more about the people behind the film.

My new book, Baptistland, is now available (and it’s on the film’s Recommended Reading list)!