From Purity to Power: Sex, Innocence, and the Legacy of White Christianity

In this episode of Where Do We Go From Here?, Jess is joined by scholar and author Sara Moslener to discuss her latest book, After Purity, and the deeper political, racial, and theological forces behind evangelical purity culture.

Sara argues that purity culture was never only about sex. It was about power. Drawing on years of academic research and firsthand stories from the After Purity Project, she traces how purity culture trained white women to equate obedience, self-denial, and innocence with moral authority, patriotism, and faithfulness. These ideals, she explains, are inseparable from Christian nationalism, white supremacy, and the politics of "innocence" in the United States.

Together, Jess and Sara unpack how purity culture relied on the myth of innocence while simultaneously hyper-sexualising girls and young women. They explore how evangelical movements claimed their work was "not political" while actively shaping national policy, sexual norms, and racial hierarchies. The conversation also examines the limits of white feminism, the problem of disembodiment, and why healing from purity culture requires more than reclaiming sexuality alone.

This episode is for listeners who want to understand why purity culture caused so much harm, how it intersected with race and power, and what it means to reckon honestly with faith, feminism, and national identity after deconstruction.

Topics include:

• Purity culture as a political and racial project

• Innocence, power, and Christian nationalism

• White feminism and its limits

• Disembodiment and bodily shame

• Evangelicalism, race, and sexual ethics

• The After Purity Project and lived experience

Core Readings Referenced in This Episode

• After Purity — Sara Moslener

• Pure — Linda Kay Klein

• Making Chastity Sexy — Christine J. Gardner

• Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl — Harriet Jacobs

• White Tears / Brown Scars — Ruby Hamad

• The Myth of Colorblind Christians — Jemar Tisby