She received an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Irvine, a doctorate in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a law degree from Hastings College of Law. Her dissertation was entitled Right-Wing Movements in the United States, 1945-1992. She is the author of four books on the political and religious right in the United States, including Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right, Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements and Political Power in the United States,, Facing the Wrath: Confronting the Right in Dangerous Times, and Not by Politics Alone: The Enduring Influence of the Christian Right.