Against Christian Nationalism
A reading list for America's 250th
Because it was a holiday weekend, we took a break from our series about A Secular Age. Instead, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we wanted to share the reading list below from The Englewood Review of Books.
Catch up on the last A Secular Age post while you wait:
Deism + Nova (More on A Secular Age)
Welcome back to our series on the book A Secular Age by philosopher Charles Taylor.
I’m sure by now, you, too, have the seen the photo of a woman on a bus in D.C., surrounded by members of a white nationalist group. I can’t help but think that this photo will be a significant marker in American history. It drives home the fact a great many cultural forces that are contrary to the way of Jesus are alive and well. Those of us who live in the United States and consider ourselves Christians must take seriously our call to be disciples of Jesus, not formed according to the culture around us. Sometimes, that requires engaging with our history with honesty, curiosity, and a willingness to repent.
Christian Nationalism, the mixing of Christianity and American nationalism, has been problematic both theologically and politically since its emergence in the 1950s. As a movement, it began to accelerate in the wake of 9/11, but has only grown in fervor and influence since the first election of Donald Trump in 2016. A number of important books exposing and challenging Christian nationalism have been published in recent years, and there are also classics that remain well-worth our time and attention.
Although we have good reasons to love the geography and human cultures of our nation, those sorts of patriotism too easily get conflated with nationalism. How do we balance our biblical call to love, care for, and seek the welfare of our neighbors with our identity as followers of Jesus, whose reign was not of this world?
The titles below1 have proven helpful for wrestling with questions of faith, politics, and nation. Let’s continue to strive to be a faithful community of Christ’s followers.
1. Resident Aliens: A Provocative Christian Assessment of Culture and Ministry for People Who Know that Something is Wrong
by Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon
[Amazon | Bookshop]
Originally published in 1989, this is an accessible yet challenging introduction to the theological idea that a Christian’s primary identity is to the people of God and not a geographical nation. (Used copies are also widely available; here’s a preview on Google Books.)
2. Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
by Kristin Du Mez
[Amazon | Bookshop]
A book that probably needs no introduction here on Substack! It is a sweeping history of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, revealing how evangelicals have worked to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism. This book will help you see how closely intertwined many American evangelical ideas about patriotism and politics have nefarious origins.
3. The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church
by Gregory Boyd
[Amazon | Bookshop]
In 2007, long before the rise of Trumpism, Boyd outlined how the fusing of political power with Christianity would spell disaster and decline for the American church. Here’s what Christianity Today said about it at the time:
Boyd's intervention into the discussion is welcome. He is bold, ... passionate, and discerning, while still attempting to be charitable. Boyd doesn't pull punches, denouncing the nationalistic "idolatry" of American evangelicalism, which often fuses the cross and the flag. Boyd also calls without apology for a renewed Christian commitment to nonviolence, citing the Anabaptist refrains of John Howard Yoder, Stanley Hauerwas, and Lee Camp. But Boyd's claims can't be dismissed as mere ranting of a Christian leftist. Rather, one senses that his are the expressions of a pastor's broken heart which, every once in a while, bubbles over into a kind of restrained, low-boil anger.
4. Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God
by Kelly Brown Douglas
[Amazon | Bookshop]
A striking theological exploration of how the American empire has been built with violence, particularly violence against black bodies. Douglas’s deconstruction of American exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny are extraordinary!
5. How to End Christian Nationalism
by Amanda Tyler
[Amazon | Bookshop]
This is the newest book on our list, published in October 2024. In our review of the book, reviewer Karen Altergott Roberts said this:
The book is grounded in Amanda Tyler’s understanding of the message of Jesus, her work in law and politics, and her community organizing for religious freedom. Heading the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and organizer of Christians against Christian Nationalism, she is a guide to the actions that are required of us now, if we seek to support freedom of religion in this country. This book is packed with historical and practical insight and is clear in its powerful recommendations.
Bonus: What to the Slave is The Fourth of July?
by Frederick Douglass
If your holiday weekend passed without an opportunity for much reflection, it is not too late to spend some time and thoughtful reflection with this seminal speech from one of America’s most important historical figures.
Or, I highly recommend watching and listening to this version from NPR, in which some of Douglass’s descendants read the speech aloud.
For 4 more titles, check out the rest of the original list over at The Englewood Review of Books.
What are your go-to reads and resources when it comes to learning about Christian Nationalism?
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