Christianity

David Hollinger on Christianity's Place on the Right—and the Left

The historian discusses his new book on Christianity in America and the changes that have made the religious more conservative as the society became more secular. 

How "Christian" is Christian Nationalism?

Historian Kathryn Gin Lum, among other scholars, helps to shed light on the paradox that those who believe America is a "Christian nation" hold that view with greater militancy even as religious observance declines. 

WDJD (What Did Jesus Do)?: Do Evangelicals Care?

by Adam Jortner

While American leftists could find much to embrace in the Gospels, the political actions of many white Evangelicals is likely to push them away. Is it too late to reverse the merger of evangelicalism with conservative movement politics? 

The Common Evangelical Roots of Insurrection in America and Brazil

by Raimundo Barreto and João B. Chaves

A century of international evangelical network-building and theological development have brought militant Christian nationalism to the forefront of right-wing politics in both nations. 

Who Is a Christian Nationalist?

by Samuel L. Perry and Andrew L. Whitehead

New survey data says that the growing Christian Nationalist movement is broader than previously believed, and a potential political force in many places. 

The Past and Present of Christian Nationalism in America

by Eric McDaniel

"Christian nationalism is a religious and political belief system that argues the United States was founded by God to be a Christian nation and to complete God’s vision of the world. In this view, America can be governed only by Christians, and the country’s mission is directed by a divine hand."

Christian Nationalism Debates Show Multiple Views of Society – and History – Among US Christians

Historian John Fea and other scholars discuss how the idea of Christian nationalism evokes different understandings of religion in history and how that history should guide the future. 

What Does It Mean to Be Baptized for Trump?

by John Fea

100 Trump supporters were baptized last week in Pennsylvania, at a rally featuring a who's who of MAGA world. A Christian historian wonders: what do we make of a spiritual commitment to Trumpism, and of the political appropriation of the conversion experience? 

"Passion Plays": The Overlap of Sports Fandom and American Christianity

by Paul Emory Putz

A reviewer notes that a new book by a leading interpreter of American evangelical culture may raise important awareness about the wonderment and faith inherent in sports fandom, but leaves out some discussion of how sports support an increasingly masculinist Christianity. 

How a Major Christian News Organization Lost its Way

by Marvin Olasky

The Christian news magazine "World" once combined a religious perspective with editorial independence and investigative reporting. Today's Christian nationalist climate has no room for that, says the former editor. 

Trump Has Mainstreamed Christian Nationalism, Despite its History of Violence

by Samuel Perry

The Trump administration and the current wave of MAGA candidates have openly embraced Christian nationalist themes that were once confined to the far-right and white supremacist fringe. It's vital that the historical violence associated with these ideas is not forgotten. 

Think You Know the Biblical Position on Abortion? You May Be Surprised

by Melanie A. Howard

Although the Bible was written at a time when abortion was practiced, it never directly addresses the issue.

The Imminent Demise of Roe Signals More Christian Nationalist Attacks on Secular America

by David Sehat

Christian conservatives are targeting not just abortion or contraception, but the broader idea of a secular American republic. 

What Everyone Gets Wrong about the Evangelical-Abortion Connection

by Gillian Frank and Neil J. Young

A widely-accepted narrative holds that conservative Christian leaders pushed their followers to oppose abortion as a galvanizing issue when their first concern, resisting school desegregation, became politically unpopular. This obscures the movement building at the grass roots as Christians considered and debated the issue.

Why American Christians "Back the Blue" so Fervently

by Aaron Griffith

Evangelicals within police forces and in the public at large have been encouraged to understand a scriptural mandate for police authority that often short-circuits consideration of other Christian obligations for justice, argues a historian of evangelical attitudes to law and order. 

How the Evangelical Movement Embraced the Abortion Issue

Kristin Kobes Du Mez discusses how Evangelical Christians came to drive the abortion debate in the US in the context of a backlash against feminism and a growing infrastructure of conservative voter mobilization.

What Makes a Conservative Christian College?

by Andrea L. Turpin

What does it mean when a self-identified "Conservative Christian" college determines that it has violated its own mission by teaching Critical Race Theory? Is the violation religious or political in nature? 

The Lesson from Republicans' Embrace of "Classical Education"

Calls for "transparency" in curriculum are working hand in hand with an agenda to divert public school funding to charter schools using a curriculum steeped in Christian nationalism. But liberals would do well to heed the connection these plans draw between education and citizenship, and parents' desire to connect them more firmly.

Why Have No Evangelical Christians Served on Supreme Court?

Evangelicals are arguably the most politically engaged religious group in America, with strong views on issues before the court. Yet Ketanji Brown Jackson could become the first nondenominational Protestant to sit on the highest court. 

John Fea Interviews David Sehat on American Secularism

"American secularism was the result of a layered religious conflict in the 20th century that played out in the courts and that left the U.S. Supreme Court with no option but the adoption of a secular order as a condition of social peace and political equality."