The Missionary Kids: Unmasking the Myths of White Evangelicalism with Holly Berkley Fletcher PhD

About this episode

Holly Berkley Fletcher discusses the impact of white evangelicalism on missionary kids and the broader implications for American society.

Missionary kids often carry the weight of their parents’ choices. They are inculcated into the faith without opportunity for independent thought, according to author, historian, and former intelligence analyst Holly Berkley Fletcher, PhD. Her parents were Evangelical Christian missionaries in Kenya, and she speaks about that and the experiences of other children with similar backgrounds through her book, The Missionary Kids: Unmasking the Myths of White Evangelicalism. “The mission field has long been the rugged frontier in a grand evangelical narrative, the ultimate proof of the American church’s virtue, rightness, and importance,” she writes in the book’s introduction.Holly’s unique first-hand knowledge of missionary work has enabled her to explore the role of missionaries as “Super Christians” in the eyes of the church. Likewise, she has been able to write about the more devious aspects of mission culture, including physical or sexual abuse, neglect of children, and other crimes often not prosecuted due to jurisdictional gaps in the legal relationships between nations. Holly would eventually return to the United States, go on to teach at universities, and work for 19 years as…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Steve Hassan

Guest: Holly Berkley Fletcher PhD

Topics covered

• missionary kids
• white evangelicalism
• religion
• childhood experiences
• abuse
• American church

Keywords

• missionary kids
• white evangelicalism
• Holly Berkley Fletcher
• CIA
• Trump
• MAGA
• abuse
• religion

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Central Intelligence Agency

Books & works: The Missionary Kids: Unmasking the Myths of White Evangelicalism

More episodes of Cults, Culture & Coercion with Dr. Steve Hassan

• The War on Trans Healthcare Is Not About Science What a study of 957 detransitioners revealed, and why Washington gets it wrong, with Dr. Kinnon Ross MacKinnon · June 8, 2026 · 1h 6m
• He Was Ordained by the Mormon Prophet: Former Mormon Bishop Ian Wilks on 37 years inside the LDS authoritarian cult · June 1, 2026 · 1h 5m
• Smart People Fall For The Cult Of Trump With Journalist Virginia Heffernan · May 25, 2026 · 1h 9m
• He Was 18. Scientology Put Him in Charge. A former Scientology executive in Scotland on recruitment, control, and getting out with Amir Essalhi · May 18, 2026 · 1h 2m
• Why filmmaker Deeyah Khan sits with extremists demonstrating how listening matters! · May 11, 2026 · 1h 7m
• The Cult That Helped Shape Christian America: The Community of Jesus child abuse and Christian Nationalism with Ewan Whyte · May 4, 2026 · 54 min