evangelicalism

When a Leading Evangelist Held a Revival to Thwart Labor

by Matt Bernico

The events surrounding the 1886 Haymarket Affair, when a Chicago general strike for the 8 hour day became violent, revealed tensions present in Christianity today: what happens when Christians side with the bosses? 

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. 

The Threat of Christian Nationalism

by Kristin Du Mez

"Because Christian nationalists believe that God is on their side and that the fate of Christian America is at stake, among staunch adherents there is no space for compromise."

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. 

My Course Examines Why God and Guns Go Together in America

by Joseph P. Slaughter

Although there are many "peace church" traditions in American Christianity, there are many other historical strains that view violence as an appropriate and necessary means of securing the divinely sanctioned destiny of the nation. 

Why Can't the US Press Name the Bad Faith in Evangelical Politics?

by John Stoehr

Head-scratching accounts of "conflicted" evangelicals voting again and again for manifestly ungodly candidates would vanish if the media consulted (or hired) ex-evangelicals, who would explain the movement seeks power, not piety. 

Broken Faith: What Must Christians Do About the White Nationalists Among Them?

by Anthea Butler

"Three major forces have combined to lead us perilously close to disaster: conspiracy theories, racial and historical panics, and the increasing language of spiritual warfare."

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? 

Church-State Separation is Alien to Many Americans' Faith

by Caleb Gayle

The "classical" Christian curriculum pushes a historical vision that America was conceived by God as a beacon of righteousness, and that Christian duty is to eliminate secularism and religious pluralism. 

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.

Buffalo Shooting Reflects Deeply Rooted American Ideas

by Jesse Curtis

Labeling the so-called "Great Replacement" a conspiracy theory obscures how closely it hews to commonplace American ideas about race, nation, and who is entitled to rule. 

What Binds Some American Evangelicals to Putin's Regime and War?

by Bethany Moreton

Russia's embrace of both religious nationalism and gender traditionalism makes many American evangelicals feel that Putin is their ally in a war against spiritual degeneracy. 

Capitol Attack Pushed Christian Nationalism to Center of Shifting Far-Right Movement

Christian nationalism, particularly the sense that America's white, Christian identity is threatened, is a force uniting disparate strains of the far right and a potential bridge between extremists and millions of American Evangelicals, say scholars Kelly J. Baker and Anthea Butler. 

A Beautiful Mess: On “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”

by Emily Suzanne Johnson

"The people who made this film seem to care about its subject, but the film does not know itself well enough to be itself and love itself. Tammy Faye’s heart and soul just aren’t in it."

Megachurches like John MacArthur's Led Evangelical Resistance to COVID Mandates

by John Fea

Historian John Fea rounds up recent writing on the role of star pastors in directing some evangelical churches toward resistance to pandemic measures while other churches engaged with meeting their members' health needs. 

What We Believe About History

by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

"Understanding that beliefs have a history does not preclude a commitment to truths outside of history. But it does prompt believers to consider how historical forces and cultural allegiances may have shaped their own deeply held convictions."

Breaking Evangelical Resistance to Coronavirus Vaccines will be Hard

by Matthew Avery Sutton

COVID vaccination documents are the latest phenomenon that Evangelicals have integrated into an apocalyptic reading of scripture. This means up to a quarter of the US population may need extensive convincing to take the vaccine. 

The Post-Trump Crack-Up of the Evangelical Community

Anthea Butler and Kristin Kobes Du Mez offer insight into how racial double standards within evangelical religion and the willingness of "insider" historians to craft a selective picture of evangelical political action has made it difficult to understand how many of today's evangelical leaders have made peace with (or even embraced) white supremacy.

Resolution of the Conference on Faith and History: Executive Board Response to the Assault on the U.S. Capitol

The global organization of scholars of the relationship between Christian faith and history has issued a statement condemning the Capitol riots as "a gross violation of the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

The Capitol Riot Revealed the Darkest Nightmares of White Evangelical America

by Matthew Avery Sutton

Many observers have speculated that American evangelicals have had a transactional relationship with Donald Trump. But his messages of "American carnage" and warnings of dire consequences if he is defeated mesh perfectly with their end-times outlook and have helped tie evangelicals to the far right coalition.