Call for Abstracts: Christian Nationalism

Call for Abstracts

On Christian Nationalism: Critical and Theological Perspectives, Eds. David M. Gides and Joan Braune

Christian nationalism has attracted growing concern among scholars and activists over the last 5-10 years in the United States. In fact, many scholars and online contributors have declared Christian nationalism as “the biggest threat to democracy.” Yet the concept often remains unclearly defined.

The phenomenon has been approached from both the social sciences and from theological perspectives. From the social sciences perspective, some scholars have used sociological data to explore various aspects of Christian nationalism, trying to establish what it is using surveys or locating what sociological markers are most likely to be present in those who are considered Christian nationalists (based on a combination of other sociological markers). Sociological factors that have been connected to Christian nationalist adherence in studies include perceptions of the threat of COVID, race and immigration considerations, denominational adherence, level of education, and others. However, more research on Christian nationalism today in relation to far-right political movements in historical and contemporary context is needed. Some theologians have advanced useful critiques of Christian nationalism, but more work remains to be done, since other theologians defending or sympathetic to Christian nationalism continue to attempt to define Christianity as inherently connected to racism, notions of masculinity, the quest for power, and certain conceptions of church-state relations (as examples).

What sociological and theological analyses of Christian nationalism suggest, among other things, is that a primary problem is the extent to which ideas or concepts not traditionally or prudently associated with Christianity are employed or connected to Christianity. Christian history and traditions show both liberatory and oppressive potentials. While not all contributions to this volume will be by theologians or written from Christian perspectives, this project in part seeks to find a way forward that is critical of Christian nationalism while exploring potential to resist it, including from within Christian theology and practices. We also see a need for greater conceptual clarity and contextualization of trends.

The purpose of this edited collection, then, will be to approach the phenomenon of Christian nationalism with a critical stance towards how it has been defined in some existing scholarship and move past oversimplifications found in popular discourse or in the popular imagination. Implicit here is the idea that defining Christian nationalism as accurately and cogently as possible is crucial for a variety of reasons – the most important one, arguably, is that a clear and nuanced definition is necessary in order to not only understand the phenomenon, but also to offer any ameliorative or otherwise effective theological or other responses.      

We welcome abstracts that engage with one or two of the following questions:

1. Definitions: How do we define Christian nationalism? Is there a way to define Christian nationalism that avoids conflating it with factors that are arguably tangential to any more refined definition?
2. History and Current Trends: What are the origins of today’s Christian nationalist movements, and what is the current “lay of the land” of Christian nationalist movements, including their strategy and tactics? How does Christian nationalism operate in power (including global phenomena), and how does it operate as a social movement seeking power?
3. Racism and settler colonialism: What does “white” add to “Christian nationalism,” in the phrase “white Christian nationalism”? Not all Christian nationalists are white or consciously focused on race, and many white nationalists are not Christians, yet Christian nationalism often partakes in white supremacist ideas and practices. How and where do Christian nationalist and white nationalist movements overlap? How does Christian nationalism partake in white supremacist ideas when it is not explicitly white nationalist or white supremacist? What is the relationship of Christian nationalism to settler colonialism? Anti-immigrant sentiments? Racist approaches to policing, crime, and military intervention?
4. Antisemitism and Islamophobia: How does Christian nationalism deploy antisemitism and/or Islamophobia? How can this be effectively challenged? What could be learned from Jewish and Muslim faiths to challenge Christian nationalism?
5. Christian nationalism and Gender: How does Christian nationalism conceive gender, and how does it mobilize misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia? How can these be challenged? What role do women and gender or sexual minorities play in Christian nationalist movements?
6. Threat Assessment: How dangerous is Christian nationalism? What is the nature of the danger?
7. Denominational Specificity: What is the relationship of Christian nationalism to particular Christian denominations? What differences in history, politics, and theology are there between Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox variations of Christian nationalism? What denominations are white nationalists and fascists converting to or promoting? How are far-right appeals to “tradition” connected to Christian nationalists in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox spaces?
8. International Perspectives: Is what we are experiencing as Christian nationalism in the US something that we see in other nations? Is it perceived similarly in these places? What can we learn for example from resistance to Christian nationalism globally, such as against Bolsonaro in Brazil?
9. Theological critiques of Christian nationalism: How have those who call themselves Christian nationalists used or misused factors tenuously related to Christianity in forging their positions or political movements?  What are some ways theologians can respond and address the theological errors present in some forms of Christian nationalism? How does or should Christianity conceive such core themes as place, social belonging, the state, power, violence, rationality, democracy, and the potential of human beings to make change, and how do Christian nationalist projects conceive these differently?
10. Faith Community Responses: Are there any practical ways churches and other faith communities, religiously affiliated schools and universities, and interfaith groups can address Christian nationalism?

The edited book is co-edited by David M. Gides (University of Providence) and Joan Braune (Gonzaga University). Potential contributors should submit an abstract of 250 words to David M. Gides at david.gides@uprovidence.edu or Joan Braune at braune@gonzaga.edu, alongside their name, a short (50 word) biography, and an indication of which of the above questions their abstract addresses (it might address more than one). The deadline for abstract submissions is 15 September 2023.

Contributors will be notified of the editors’ decision within a month of submission. Successful abstracts will inform the book proposal.