What to read about America’s culture wars

JAMES DAVISON HUNTER, an American sociologist, popularised the term “culture wars” in his book of the same name (its subtitle was “The Struggle to Define America”). It appeared in 1991, during a period of heated disagreement over cultural and social issues. Although Americans have become less religious, polarisation between conservatives and progressives on issues such as abortion and sexual mores has increased. This suited politicians: it is easier to whip up anger and fear about cultural issues than it is to fix problems. Social media have deepened divisions even as the issues under dispute have changed. These days gay marriage is barely controversial. But Donald Trump thinks there are votes to be gained from saying that parents who drop off their sons at school in the morning risk driving home daughters in the afternoon. One battle—between “wokeness” and its critics—may be dying down, but woke attitudes are still strong in schools and universities. And other fights are flaring up. America’s arguments about immigration, guns and climate change are in part clashes between identities. We recommend four books that explain why Americans’s biggest battles are culture wars.