Christian nationalism has become a crucial pillar of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement. We will look at how Christian nationalism grew out of the white evangelical Protestant subculture, to develop into a kind of tribal identity. White Christian nationalism has a sociology of its own. It has a distinctive theology that even many traditional evangelicals do not grasp. The narrow exclusiveness of Christian nationalism can be countered by a broader, inclusive Christian patriotism.
The four lectures will develop these ideas. Each draws primarily from a specific book, with further material from many others. No prior background is necessary. The lectures will be both in person at Centre Works (Third and Main Streets), and virtually.
The suggested readings (encouraged but not required) are Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation; Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States; The Violent Take It by Force: the Christian Movement That is Threatening Our Democracy; and The Religion of American Greatness: What’s Wrong with Christian Nationalism.
This 4-part series will be offered as a hybrid course. In-person and virtual (using Zoom) learning are available. Tiered Ticket Pricing is below:
- Adults (including alumni): $12 per content hour
- Total package for 4 sessions =$48
- Students (Centre and individuals age <19) = $6 per content hour
- Total package for 4 sessions =$24
The number of in-person participants will be capped at 55
Class Session Description
The Politics of the White Evangelical Tribe
Thursday, March 19, 7:00-8:00 PM
From the beginning of the United States, Protestant Christianity thought of itself at the predominant religious culture of the American nation. In the twentieth century, as Christian culture came to include Catholics and mainline Protestants became more progressive, conservative Protestants came to think of themselves as an embattled minority in their own land. After the civil rights movement and the sexual revolution, conservative political forces shaped white evangelicals into a political movement that emphasized social hierarchies of gender and, implicitly, race.
Drawing on Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. 2020. Kristin Kobes Du Mez (Liveright/W.W. Norton)
The Sociology of Christian Nationalism
Thursday, March 26, 7:00-8:00 PM
White evangelicals have become the backbone of conservative politics in America. When social scientists parsed support for Donald Trump, they discovered that Christian nationalism was an even more precise predictor of who became MAGA. Christian nationalist support cuts across evangelical Protestant, mainline Protestant, and Catholic identity, though the most zealous “ambassadors” of that view are found among white evangelicals.
Drawing on Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States 2022. Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry (Oxford University Press)
The Religion of Christian Nationalism
Thursday, April 2, 7:00-8:00 PM
Christian nationalism in this country is part of a worldwide New Apostolic Reformation movement. Growing out of independent charismatic churches, the interlocked networks of prophets and apostles came to believe that Donald Trump, though an indifferent Christian, was God’s chosen instrument to make the government a force for the Christian reconstruction of American society. Pentecostal and charismatic churches are the most vibrant part of world Christianity, but even most conservative evangelicals are not familiar with Latter Rain theology and the mandate to take the Seven Mountains of culture.
Drawing on The Violent Take It by Force: the Christian Movement That is Threatening Our Democracy 2024 Michael Taylor (Broadleaf)
Christian Nationalism vs Christian Patriotism
Thursday, April 9, 7:00-8:00 PM
Christian nationalism has a political theory, in addition to its theology and sociological correlates. Miller, a conservative Christian political scientist, argues that Christian nationalism is an illiberal project to use the state to enforce the culture of white evangelicals on our diverse society. He offers instead an argument for a Christian patriotism which embraces the ideals of the American creed. These ideals are both a basis for criticizing the failures of the nation to live up to these ideals, and also for engaging positively with the world.
Drawing on The Religion of American Greatness: What’s Wrong with Christian Nationalism 2022. Paul D. Miller (Intervarsity)