Did Jimmy Carter say that Christianity had been hijacked by people willing to “give the boot to Jesus himself”?

Claim:

Former US President Jimmy Carter once said or wrote: “Christianity has been hijacked by people who would give the boot to Jesus himself if he knocked on their door.” »

Rating:

Context

The quote is a paraphrase of statements Carter made to a Star-Tribune reporter as part of a November 11, 2005 article promoting his book “Our Values ​​in Danger.” The statement appears without quotation marks in this Star-Tribune article, and the book in question does not include the phrase.

A popular quote about alleged hypocrisy in far-right evangelical Christian circles is often attributed to former US President Jimmy Carter in even form:

The origin of this statement is dated November 11, 2005. article in the Star Tribune. At the time, Carter was promoting his recently published book “Our Values ​​in Danger: America’s Moral Crisis.” A Tribune reporter interviewed Carter for the story, paraphrasing the broader point of his book (emphasis added):

Taking on the role of alarmed prophet in “Our Values ​​in Danger: America’s Moral Crisis,” the 81-year-old former president is promoting the book, which implores Americans to reject the fundamentalist values ​​that now permeate domestic politics and foreign.

Often referencing his own brand of evangelical Christianity, Carter said he could no longer remain silent about the Christian far right and its influence on the government. Evangelical Christianity has been hijacked, he says, by people who would give Jesus himself the boot if he knocked on their door.

This is not a direct quote from Carter. If so, it would be contained in quotation marks. Rather, it is a colorful paraphrase by the journalist of the opinions contained in Carter’s book.

According to his editor Simon and Schuster, Carter’s book “offers a passionate defense of the separation of church and state, warning that fundamentalists deliberately blur the lines between politics and religion.” This bookand importantly, does not contain a statement that evangelicals theoretically give Jesus “the boot.”

Because the words in the meme come from a journalist and not Carter, and because there is no documented evidence that Carter said or wrote these words, Snopes concludes that this quote has been falsely attributed to Jimmy Carter.

Sources