The Challenge of Christian Nationalism: Religion, Politics & Pluralistic Democracy

This symposium will explore the phenomenon of Christian Nationalism at the intersection of history, politics, religious identity, and civic engagement. Scholars from a variety of disciplines will examine the role of Christian Nationalism in American history and culture, and explore how this approach connects to nationalisms in a global context. Questions include: How is Christian Nationalism defined and invoked in our public discourse?  How does Christian Nationalism challenge the ideal of pluralistic democracy? How do questions of race and ethnicity factor into the conversation? What are the implications of Christian Nationalism for civic culture in the United States and beyond?    

The symposium is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Courtney Burns at [email protected]

Schedule of Events
Friday, April 12th
UVU Clarke Building, Room 511


 

Friday, April 12th
9:00 to

9:50 a.m.

 

CB-511

Virtual Discussion
White Christian Nationalism

Anthea Butler

Anthea Butler 
Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought
University of Pennsylvania

Moderated by Roy Whitaker
Associate Professor of Religious Studies
San Diego State University

recording     

Friday, April 12th
10:00 to

10:50 a.m.

 

CB-511

Lecture and Discussion
Christian Nationalism in Global Contexts
Examining Traditionalist Catholic Movements
Lauren Griffin

Lauren Horn Griffin
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Louisiana State University

recording     

Friday, April 12th
11:00 to

11:50 a.m.

 

CB-511

Lecture and Discussion
'by the hand of wise men'
Latter-day Saints and the Paradox of Christian Nationalism 

Benjamin Park

Benjamin Park
Associate Professor of History
Sam Houston State University

recording     

Friday, April 12th
12:00 to

12:50 p.m.

 

CB-511

Lecture and Discussion
'In heaven and on earth’
Evangelicalism and the Rise of Christian Nationalism
 

Brad Oshini

Brad Onishi
Public Scholar
Author of Preparing for War 

recording     

Friday, April 12th
1:00 to

3:00 p.m.

 

CB-511
pizza will be served

Film Screening
Film Screening
God and Country



This is a special screening of the documentary film, God and Country,
directed by Dan Partland. The screening is in-person only.

for more information, contact Courtney Burns at [email protected]

Participant Bios


Anthea Butler

Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought
University of Pennsylvania

Anthea Butler is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social thought and Chair of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. A historian of African American and American religion, Professor Butler’s research and writing spans African American religion and American Religious history, race, politics, Evangelicalism, media, and popular culture.  Butler’s recent book is White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America on Ferris and Ferris/UNC Press. Professor Butler also is a contributor to The 1619 Book: A New Beginning, with a chapter entitled “Church”. Her first book is Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making A Sanctified World, also published by UNC Press.

Professor Butler is the winner of the 2022 Martin Marty Award from the American Academy of Religion. Her grant awards include a Luce/ACLS Fellowship for the Religion, Journalism and International Affairs grant for 2018-2019 academic year to investigate Prosperity gospel and politics in the American and Nigerian context. She was a Presidential fellow at Yale Divinity School for the 2019-2020 academic year. Currently Professor Butler is a co-director of the Henry Luce Foundation funded Crossroads Project for Black Religious Histories, Communities, and Cultures. She has previously served as president of the American Society for Church history and the Society of Pentecostal Studies. Prof. Butler also holds honorary doctorates from Lutheran Theological Seminary and Meadville Lombard Theological School. She was also a member of the recently concluded Mormon-Evangelical Dialogue, which started in 2000.  

Lauren Horn Griffin

Assistant Professor of History, Louisiana State University

Lauren Horn Griffin researches and teaches about religion, technology, media, and nationalism. Her first book, Fabricating Founders in Early Modern England (Brill 2023), showed how confessional debates played a critical role in the development of national identities. Her current project investigates contemporary negotiations of national, post national, religious, and racial identities in Catholic communities online. This project combines insights from science and technology studies, political science, and media studies. Her academic work has appeared in a variety journals and publications including Religion Dispatches, The Journal of History and Cultures, Religion, Race, and Democracy Lab, Uncivil Religion, New Conversations About Religion, and Key Categories in the Study of Religion: Contexts and Critiques, and Encyclopedia of Global Religion. Her current project is a volume entitled Discourses of "Crisis" in the Study of Religion. 

She teaches classes including "Fundamentalism and Nationalism," "History of Religion in the United States," "Religion and AI," "Global Catholicism Today" and "What is Religion? Dr. Griffin has received awards and fellowships from the Henry Luce Foundation, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Catholic Historical Association. 

Brad Onishi
Public Scholar, author of Preparing for War

Dr. Bradley Onishi is author of Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism - And What Comes Next. He is co-host of the Straight White American Jesus podcast and teaches at the University of San Francisco. He writes often for public outlets, including the New York Times, Huffpost, Politico, NBC News, and others. Onishi holds advanced degrees from Oxford University and L'institut catholique de Paris. He received his PhD in Religious Studies from UCSB. The co-chair of the Secularism and Secularity Unit at the American Academy of Religion, his first book The Sacrality of the Secular: Postmodern Philosophy of Religion appeared in 2018 from Columbia University Press. He is the editor or translator of three other works on philosophy of religion and Christian mysticism. 

Benjamin Park
Associate Professor of History, Sam Houston State University

Benjamin Park is an associate professor at Sam Houston State University, where he teaches courses in American history. He is the co-editor of Mormon Studies Review, editor of Blackwell’s Companion to American Religious History and DNA Mormon: Perspectives on the Legacy of Historian D. Michael Quinn, and author of American Nationalisms: Imagining Union in the Age of Revolutions. His book Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier, won the Mormon History Association’s Best Book Award and has been optioned for a feature film. Dr. Park’s most recent book, American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, was published in January 2024. It has been featured in the New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, and The Economist, among other venues.

Dr. Park enjoys wasting lots of hours with sports podcasts and exercise. He also takes any excuse to visit Utah and hike the trails, preferably once the snow melts. This will be his fourth time visiting UVU, and he always enjoys engaging with the school’s students.

Video Resources

-Anthea Butler - Christian Nationalism-
Racism and Christian Nationalism in America 
Anthea Butler
-Christian Nationalism-
What is Christian Nationalism? 
PBS Newshour
-Christian Nationalism vs. Mere Christianity-
Christian Nationalism or Mere Christianity? 
Stephen Wolfe & Doug Wilson

Readings

"People are Still Confused About Christian Nationalism"
Paul D Miller,  Christianity Today
March 3, 2023

"The Woman Who Bought a Mountain for God"
Stephanie McCrummen, The Atlantic
June 20, 2023 

"The Roots of Christian Nationalism Go Back Further Than You Think"
Robert T. Jones, Time Magazine
August 31, 2023

"Review of The Case for Christian Nationalism"
Kevin DeYoung, Gospel Coalition
November 28, 2022