A History of Christian Governance

A History of Christian Governance

A Look at Christianity vs Civil Political Rule

by ChatGPT 4.0 & R.E. Slater

Below is a short but comprehensive look at Christianity's track record when it comes to people and governing. It consists of three sections with the third and last section speaking specifically to process philosophy and theology in relationship to people and governance.... 

To date, any processual systems I am aware of have generally been positively applied into societal structures with positive outcomes moving towards moral principles of justice and equality. However, there have been many Judeo-Christian political pacts and governances which have been processually abusive, oppressive and harmful to society.

Here then, is what AI and I have decided upon when it comes to Christianity and political power with a final display in Part III and emphasis towards processual governmental leadership structures that are free, cooperative, participative, communal, and healing.

R.E. Slater

March 5, 2025

*Please be aware that AI will spit out anything I ask it. As usual, I am trying not to qualify it's answers while also attempting to ensure any statements given are as correct as I understand them to be. Where AI may be drifting from inaccuracy or shading the question I will re-correct it and re-establish a new line of thought. However, this necessity has proved to be very seldom in my experience with AI. Usually it's myself which needs the oversight and correction. - res

* * * * * *

I

Hi. Historically, what kinds of political philosophies has Christianity been associated with? Remembering that a lot of Christianity is based in the Western Hemisphere, thus perhaps prejudicing the historical record from its fuller experience of Christian governance.

ChatGPT said

Christianity has historically been associated with a wide range of political philosophies, largely shaped by the cultural, economic, and philosophical contexts of different periods. While much of the historical record is Western-centric, there have been diverse expressions of Christian governance beyond Europe and the Americas. Below is a broad overview of key political philosophies associated with Christianity:

1. Theocratic and Monarchist Christianity (4th–18th Centuries)

• Constantinianism (4th century): With Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan (313 AD), Christianity transitioned from a persecuted sect to an imperially endorsed religion.
• Under Theodosius I (Edict of Thessalonica, 380 AD), Christianity became the state religion of Rome, integrating with Roman imperial authority.
• Caesaropapism (Byzantine Empire): The emperor was considered both a secular ruler and a divinely appointed religious overseer, influencing Orthodox Christianity.
• Divine Right of Kings (Medieval Europe–17th Century): Rooted in Catholic and Protestant traditions, monarchs claimed direct authority from God (e.g., James I of England, Louis XIV of France).
• Augustinian Political Thought (5th century): St. Augustine’s City of God distinguished between the earthly city (human governance) and the City of God (divine rule), shaping medieval Christendom’s politics.
• Holy Roman Empire (800–1806): Attempted to unite Christendom under a Christian emperor, with tensions between papal authority and imperial rule.

2. Medieval and Early Modern Christian Communitarianism

• Monastic Governance: Christian monastic communities (e.g., Catholic Benedictines, Franciscans) developed their own political structures, emphasizing communal ownership, work ethics, and moral authority.
• Theocratic Protestantism: Some Reformed communities (e.g., Calvin’s Geneva) experimented with church-led governance based on biblical law.

Note: John Calvin's Geneva was a city in Europe that became a model of Protestant ideology and moral uprightness. Calvin established a council to enforce morality and integrated the church and civic life. He also emphasized education and created strict rules to govern everyday life. 

• Radical Reformation Movements (16th century): Groups like the Anabaptists rejected state-church integration, forming communal societies based on voluntary discipleship, pacifism, and economic sharing.

*3. Christian Liberalism and Democracy (18th–21st Centuries)

• Catholic Social Teaching (19th–20th centuries): Encyclicals like Rerum Novarum (1891) promoted social justice, workers’ rights, and subsidiarity, influencing Christian democracy movements in Europe and Latin America.
• Christian Democracy (20th century): Political parties like Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) blended social conservatism with welfare policies, opposing both communism and radical capitalism.
• Social Gospel Movement (late 19th–early 20th century): Protestant movement in the U.S. and Canada advocating for economic justice, labor rights, and public welfare. [Known as Christian Humanism as written here several years ago - re slater]
• Liberal Protestantism and Human Rights: Many Protestant traditions [large mainstream Protestant denominations? - re slater] championed individual rights, religious freedom, and democratic governance, leading to alliances with liberal political movements.

4. Christian Socialism and Left-Wing Christianity

• Christian Socialism (19th–20th centuries): Figures like Frederick Denison Maurice (UK) and Dorothy Day (U.S.) advocated for economic justice, wealth redistribution, and workers’ cooperatives.
• Liberation Theology (1960s–present): Latin American Catholic theologians (e.g., Gustavo Gutiérrez, Óscar Romero) fused Christian ethics with Marxist critique, emphasizing the "preferential option for the poor".
• African and Latin American Indigenous Christian Movements: Integrated communitarian governance, eco-theology, and post-colonial critiques into Christian political thought.

5. Christian Conservatism and Authoritarianism

• Integralism and Catholic Corporatism (20th century): Supported authoritarian regimes like Franco’s Spain and Salazar’s Portugal, opposing liberal democracy.

NOTE: A liberal democracy is a good thing... sic, America's Constitution al governance was established as a liberal democracy which is associated with political stability, including economic growth, and robust state institutions that guarantee free elections, the rule of law, and individual liberties. - re slater

• American Christian Nationalism (21st century): A blend of evangelical conservatism, capitalism, and political populism, often tied to the Religious Right.

Note. Similar to Calvin's Geneva theocracy known as Dominionism or Reconstructionism, Theonomy. - re slater

• Eastern Orthodox Christian Nationalism: Countries like Russia, Serbia, and Greece have integrated Christian Orthodox identity with nationalist politics.

6. Process Thought and Progressive Christianity

• Whiteheadian Process Political Thought: Some progressive Christian theologians (e.g., John Cobb) integrate process philosophy with political ethics, advocating for pluralism, environmental justice, and non-coercive democracy.
• Postmodern and Postcolonial Christianities: Engage in deconstructing Western hegemonies in Christian governance, exploring more fluid, community-driven models of participation.

Global Variations

• African Christianity: Blends traditional tribal governance with Pentecostal and charismatic influences, often with an emphasis on moral conservatism and communal decision-making.
• Asian Christianity: In places like South Korea, Christian governance has merged with capitalism, economic development, and anti-communist sentiment.
• Latin American Christianity: Has been deeply involved in both right-wing military dictatorships (e.g., Chile under Pinochet) and leftist social movements (e.g., Sandinistas in Nicaragua).

Conclusion

Christianity’s political expressions have ranged from monarchy to socialism, from democracy to nationalism. While much of the historical record reflects Western Christian governance, non-Western Christianities have developed their own indigenous and hybrid political models. The key challenges today remains balancing ethical governance with evolving global realities, whether through democracy, socialism, or new process-based approaches.

Would you like to explore any specific era or tradition in more depth?

II

You said:

When reviewing the historical record which shows a potpourri of social contracts between people and their leadership, is there anything helpful, harmful, or remarkable that stands out?

ChatGPT said

Reviewing the historical record of Christianity’s involvement in governance reveals a potpourri of social contracts—from theocratic empires to democratic republics, from socialist experiments to authoritarian nationalisms. Several key helpful, harmful, and remarkable patterns emerge:

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HELPFUL Contributions of Christian Political Thought

1. Moral and Ethical Foundation for Justice

   • Christian ideas of human dignity, charity, and justice (rooted in Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions) have influenced social contracts emphasizing compassion, fairness, and the common good.

   The ancient Greek City-States were known for tyranny and oligarch until 507 BCE when under Cleisthenes, the citizens of Athens began to develop a system of popular rule they called democracy which lasted nearly two centuries. - re slater

   • Catholic Social Teaching (e.g., Rerum Novarum, 1891) inspired labor laws, fair wages, and economic justice in industrial societies.
   • The abolition of slavery was championed by Christian reformers like William Wilberforce, the Beechers of Boston, and Quakers, who framed it as a moral imperative. - (I am related to Harriet Beecher of Uncle Tom's Cabin fame. - re slater)

2. Christianity and Democracy

   • Many democratic movements (e.g., Magna Carta, 1215; the American Revolution, 1776; the European Christian Democratic parties) were influenced by Christian principles of individual rights, accountability, and moral leadership.
   • The Protestant Reformation (16th century), with its emphasis on individual conscience and decentralized religious authority, indirectly encouraged political self-governance.
   • The Civil Rights Movement (1950s–60s), led by Christian figures like Martin Luther King Jr., connected Christian ethics to racial justice and democratic participation.

3. Social Welfare and Public Good

   • Christianity has historically been a major driver of public education, healthcare, and social services.
   • Monastic communities (e.g., Benedictines) and Christian charitable organizations pioneered hospitals, schools, and relief programs.
   • Liberation Theology in Latin America empowered grassroots movements for social justice, advocating for the poor and marginalized.

4. Checks on Absolute Power

   • Medieval Christianity played a role in limiting absolute rule, as seen in the Investiture Controversy (11th–12th centuries), where the papacy challenged monarchs, promoting a balance of powers.
   • The idea of "just war theory" (developed by Augustine and Aquinas) provided ethical guidelines for war and governance, ensuring power was exercised with moral restraint.

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HARMFUL Patterns and Consequences

1. Theocratic Authoritarianism and Religious Persecution

   • The fusion of state and church often led to intolerance and oppression, such as:
     • The Spanish Inquisition (15th–19th centuries), which persecuted Jews, Muslims, and suspected heretics.
     • The execution of dissenters (e.g., Joan of Arc, executed in 1431 for religious-political reasons).
     • Puritan rule in England (1650s) and Calvin’s Geneva, which enforced rigid religious laws.
   • In Orthodox Christianity, Caesaropapism (e.g., Byzantine and Russian traditions) placed the church under direct state control, suppressing religious freedom.

2. Support for Colonialism and Imperialism

   • The Doctrine of Discovery (1493) legitimized European Christian empires’ colonial conquests, often justifying enslavement, forced conversions, and genocide.
   • Christian missionary activity, while sometimes altruistic, was often entangled with colonial exploitation (e.g., Spanish conquests in the Americas, British rule in Africa and India).
   • The Apartheid regime in South Africa (1948–1994) was partly justified by Dutch Reformed Church theology, linking Christianity to racial segregation.

3. Opposition to Scientific and Social Progress

   • Christianity, when intertwined with state power, has sometimes resisted social and intellectual progress:
     • Galileo’s condemnation (1633) for heliocentric theory.
     • Opposition to women’s rights movements (e.g., suffrage, reproductive rights).
     • Resistance to LGBTQ+ rights, especially in evangelical and Catholic traditions.
   • Reactionary Christian politics in some regions (e.g., American Christian Nationalism) have fueled polarization and anti-intellectualism.

4. Nationalism and Religious Extremism

   • Christianity has been co-opted by nationalist and fascist regimes:
     • Nazi Germany had state-supported Christian movements that fused Christianity with Aryan ideology.
     • Franco’s Spain (1939–1975) and Salazar’s Portugal (1932–1968) used Catholicism to suppress dissent and enforce totalitarianism.
     • Modern Orthodox Christian Nationalism in Russia (under Putin) and Serbia has fueled ethno-religious conflicts.

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REMARKABLE Trends and Paradoxes

1. Christianity as Both an Oppressor and a Liberator

   • Christianity has been used both to justify oppression and to resist it:
     • Pro-slavery theologians argued that slavery was divinely ordained, while abolitionists used the Bible to condemn it.
     • Colonial Christian missionaries imposed Western cultural dominance, yet some indigenous Christian movements resisted colonial rule.
     • Evangelical churches in the U.S. historically defended segregation, yet Black churches were central to the Civil Rights Movement.

2. Christianity’s Enduring Political Adaptability

   • Unlike rigid political ideologies, Christianity has demonstrated remarkable adaptability, aligning with:
     • Medieval feudalism
     • Absolutist monarchies
     • Democratic liberalism
     • Socialist movements
   • The ability to shape-shift has helped Christianity survive and thrive in dramatically different political landscapes.

3. The Ongoing Tension Between the Individual and the Collective

   • Christianity has alternated between communitarian and individualist ethics:
     • Medieval Christendom emphasized communal identity (e.g., parish-based life, sacramental participation).
     • Protestant Reformation and Enlightenment Christianity pushed for individual rights and conscience.
     • Modern Pentecostalism thrives on personal salvation, while Catholic Social Teaching stresses collective social responsibility.

4. Process-Based Theological Innovation as a Potential Future Path

   • Process Theology (e.g., Whiteheadian thought) provides a non-coercive, relational view of governance, emphasizing:
     • Democratic participation
     • Ethical decision-making as an evolving process
     • The interconnectedness of all beings, moving beyond hierarchical or nationalist paradigms.
   • This could offer a way forward in rethinking governance for a globalized, interdependent world.

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FINAL THOUGHTS: LESSONS FROM HISTORY

• Christianity’s fusion with power is always dangerous—whenever it has been too closely tied to political authority, it has harmed human dignity and progress.
• Christianity’s ethical core can be a force for good—when focused on compassion, justice, and human dignity, it has contributed to progressive social change.
• The future of Christian political engagement depends on rejecting coercion—a process-based, relational approach that respects diversity, democracy, and planetary well-being may be Christianity’s best path forward.

Would you like to expand on any of these themes in greater depth?

III

You said:

Perhaps as a final summation, how might processual philosophies assist global faiths and religions towards justice and equality?

ChatGPT said

Processual Philosophies and Their Role in Advancing Justice and Equality in Global Faiths

Process philosophy, particularly in its Whiteheadian form, provides a relational, dynamic, and evolving framework that can help faith traditions move toward greater justice and equality. Unlike static metaphysical systems that anchor religious thought in fixed dogmas or hierarchical structures, process-based philosophies emphasize becoming over being, relationality over absolutism, and participation over coercion. Below is a final summation of how process-oriented thought can aid global religions in their pursuit of justice and equality.

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1. A Theology of Relationality and Interdependence

• Process philosophy insists that all entities are in a constant state of relational becoming—no being exists in isolation.
• This decentralizes hierarchical power structures within religions, fostering participatory ethics where faith communities listen, evolve, and respond dynamically to human needs.
• Practical Outcome: Instead of top-down theological decrees, faith traditions would emphasize inclusive dialogue, mutual flourishing, and shared decision-making, making justice a lived, collective practice.

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2. Moving Beyond Dualisms and Exclusive Truth Claims

• Traditional theological systems often rely on dualistic binaries: sacred/secular, good/evil, believer/non-believer. These have historically been used to justify exclusion and inequality (e.g., colonial Christianity, caste-based religious systems, religious nationalism).
• Process thought deconstructs rigid oppositions and instead sees reality as a continuum of experiences, possibilities, and perspectives.
• Practical Outcome: A shift from "one true way" theology to an open-ended, evolving faith that respects multiple pathways to truth and fosters interreligious cooperation rather than competition.

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3. Ethics as a Dynamic, Evolving Process

• Process philosophy does not treat ethics as static (e.g., divine command theory) but as a responsive, adaptive engagement with the world.
• Justice is not a fixed decree but a continuous moral negotiation informed by lived experience, changing social conditions, and deeper wisdom traditions.
• Practical Outcome: Religions could move away from legalistic or retributive ethics (e.g., rigid moral codes) and embrace restorative, context-driven justice systems that prioritize healing over punishment.

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4. Expanding Divine Presence from Hierarchy to Immanence

• Process panentheism (the idea that God is in all things and all things are in God) allows for a non-coercive, participatory divine presence that works with creation rather than ruling over it.
• This removes the justification for religious authoritarianism—if God is immanent in all beings, then all beings possess inherent dignity, making oppressive hierarchies illegitimate.
• Practical Outcome: A theology of cosmic equality that could dismantle patriarchal, racial, caste, or class-based religious structures, replacing them with a deep commitment to shared human dignity.

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5. Decentering Power and Rethinking Leadership

• Many religious institutions have centralized power structures (e.g., the Papacy, Islamic caliphates, evangelical megachurch hierarchies) that reproduce inequalities.
• Process theology suggests that power should not be monopolized but relationally distributed in ways that foster co-creation and mutual empowerment.
• Practical Outcome: Faith traditions could adopt more democratic, decentralized governance models, ensuring women, marginalized communities, and lay participants have a voice.

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6. Interfaith Solidarity and Pluralism

• If reality itself is open-ended and processual, then no single religious tradition can claim an absolute, unchanging grasp of divine truth.
• This makes dialogue, cooperation, and pluralism not just ethical imperatives but ontological necessities.
• Practical Outcome: Faith traditions could unite around shared concerns—climate justice, human rights, economic fairness—rather than doctrinal differences, shifting from conversionist mindsets to co-liberation.

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7. The Ethical Imperative of Ecological Justice

• Process thought expands moral consideration beyond humans, recognizing the interconnectedness of all life forms.
• A process-based theology rejects anthropocentrism and calls for a deep ecological ethic that respects planetary systems.
• Practical Outcome: Religious traditions would prioritize environmental responsibility, moving from dominion-based stewardship to cooperative, reciprocal kinship with nature.

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8. Eschatology as Transformation, Not Escape

• Many traditional religious eschatologies focus on apocalyptic finality (heaven/hell, end-times judgment, divine intervention).
• Process theology envisions an open future, where divine action is persuasive rather than coercive, working through human and ecological participation to bring about justice.
• Practical Outcome: This would inspire long-term activism and commitment to improving the world rather than resigning to fatalistic end-times thinking.

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Final Vision: A Process-Oriented Global Faith Ecology

• Rather than seeing religious traditions as competing dogmas, process theology invites faiths into a larger, evolving cosmic narrative where they co-create justice, equality, and sustainability together.
• Justice becomes not a rigid law imposed from above, but a creative, relational unfolding of harmony among all beings.
• Instead of seeking certainty, religions would embrace participation in the Great Becoming, knowing that truth emerges through shared, ongoing co-creation with the divine.

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Concluding Thought

A processual framework provides global faiths and religions with a non-coercive, relational, and pluralistic path toward justice and equality—one that moves away from exclusivity and dominance and instead embraces interconnectedness, transformation, and mutual flourishing.

Would you like to explore practical applications of these ideas in specific religious or political contexts?

You said:

Wow. Love it. Thank you. Pls save as "Christianity and Political Philosophy." Cya

ChatGPT said

You're very welcome! I've saved the discussion under "Christianity and Political Philosophy." Looking forward to our next conversation. Take care!

A History of Christian Governance

A History of Christian Governance <-- the capstone to all below (esp read part III)

Part 2 - Jesus' Empire of Love v Maga's Empire of Hate <--Examining Maga Beliefs, Part 2

Part 1 - Maga-Evangelicalism's Unloving Doctrines of God and People <--Examining Maga Beliefs, Part 1

The Evolution of God: From Polytheism to Monotheism <-- Divine Revelation in Process

The Rise of the Catholic Right

The Christian Right of the 1980s

Constitutional Democratic Governance Using Whitehead's Process Approach, Part 5 (Conclusion)

Constitutional Democratic Governance - Connolly and Process, Part 4

Constitutional Democratic Governance - 5 Dissenting Political Voices, Part 3

Constitutional Democratic Governance vs Maga-Trumpism's NeoLiberal Rule, Part 2

Constitutional Democratic Governance vs Maga-Trumpism's NeoLiberal Rule, Part 1

Christian Nationalism and the Death of Democracy

MAGA Fanatics Reach Their Death Cult Finale

Christian Nationalism and

the Death of Democracy

By way of update I am listing several more references

to countering the perversion running rampant through

the evangelical church. Here, I am giving special

attention to Andrew Whitehead further below

- re slater

MAGA = Death

Violence, Chaos, Oppression

by R.E. Slater

Only dictators talk about executing people they don't like or imprisoning their perceived enemies. Of course, this isn't how a democratic rule of law works. It’s how a dictatorship works lead by venial characters protecting themselves, their power, and their money.

However, one might begin to understand why Christians allow for such venality to go on in America's political environment when believing this is how the Christian Jesus comes back to revenge himself against his enemies.

Can this be the reason people are not decrying Trump and his Trumpian minions? That they would rather impose anarchy and dictatorship by this idolized tin god? If so, the church has chosen a very poor idol to follow.

Myself, I am choosing to stand for everyone's liberty including the strengthening of our democratic government's Constitutional purposes and promises to be continually implemented towards daily practices of social equality and justice.

I also choose to stand against all miscreants who run after their failed tin gods declaring evil good and good evil.

Trump is the scion of death and hell, not the Savior of the bible. Trump completely shows himself to be a type of antichrist willing to destroy the world and to preach deceiving beliefs of oppression, hate, and evil as good. Such beliefs I would describe as apartheidism or white supremacy.

Conversely, the "second coming" of Christ spotlights the self-destruction these false faiths and gods bring upon themselves by their own lying hands which are given to chaos and mischief.

As Christ's own, we stand against all would-be gods and lying beliefs.

God is Love.

Love decries hate and false teaching.

MAGA is not love but is hate and false teaching.

MAGA teaches hate and oppression and supports all who would divide and harm the innocent.

MAGA is a false faith as much as it's evil leader is a false teacher.

MAGA is not Christ nor Christian nor acts Christianly.

MAGA never can be, nor never will be, Christian. MAGA is Death.

True biblical greatness is shown in loving "selfless sacrificial service" to the other....

But cannot be found in MAGA's death, ruin, and hate of the other.

These MAGA attitudes are from the wicked heart shown by its harming deeds.

MAGA does not make a nation "great again."

MAGA's very banner depicts its own lies and deceptions.

As true Christians we follow Jesus and love. Not MAGA. Not it's MAGA leaders. And not Death.

Christians are healers. We are life restorers. We are forgiving, compassionate, and actively working in the world rather than limiting ourselves to the isolationist church.

R.E. Slater

September 28, 2023

How traditional Christian doctrine understand the Second Coming of Christ:

Judgment Day and the Coming of Christ.

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How Do We Confront White Christian Nationalism?

article link

While it’s only one feature of the authoritarianism increasingly

on vivid display in this country, it’s critical to understand.

Rev. DrR. Liz Theoharis

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Is Christian Nationalism Turning Christianity Into A Religion of Hate?

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amazon link

Power. Fear. Violence. These three idols of Christian nationalism are corrupting American Christianity.

Andrew Whitehead is a leading scholar on Christian nationalism in America and speaks widely on its effects within Christian communities. In this book, he shares his journey andreveals how Christian nationalism threatens the spiritual lives of American Christians and the church.

Whitehead shows how Christians harm their neighbors when they embrace the idols of power, fear, and violence. He uses two key examples--racism and xenophobia--to demonstrate that these idols violate core Christian beliefs. Through stories, he illuminates expressions of Christianity that confront Christian nationalism and offer a faithful path forward.

American Idolatry encourages further conversation about what Christian nationalism threatens, how to face it, and why it is vitally important to do so. It will help identify Christian nationalism and build a framework that makes sense of the relationship between faith and the current political and cultural context.

 

ANDREW L. WHITEHEAD

Andrew Whitehead is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Association of Religion Data Archives (theARDA.com) at the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at IUPUI.

Whitehead is one of the foremost scholars of Christian nationalism in the United States. He is the lead author of Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States (Oxford University Press, 2020)—along with Samuel Perry—which won the 2021 Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. His next book, American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church, will appear August 15, 2023 from Brazos Press.

Whitehead is a sought-after speaker and has shared his work with diverse audiences: academic and public, religious and secular. Whitehead’s research on Christian nationalism has been featured across several national outlets including The New York Times, NPR, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, CNN Today, The Economist, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian. He has been interviewed on NBC News, National Public Radio, and the BBC, among others, and is routinely contacted for perspective on religion and politics from national and international news media. He has also written for The Washington Post, Time, NBC News, and the Religion News Service, among other outlets. Along with his work on Christian nationalism, Whitehead’s research also explores childhood disability and religion.

He is the author of fifty peer-reviewed journal articles. In 2019, his co-authored article “Make America Christian Again: Christian Nationalism and Voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election” (Sociology of Religion, 2018) won the Distinguished Article Award for both the Association for the Sociology of Religion and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.

Over his career, Whitehead has served as Principal Investigator or co-Principal Investigator on external research grants totaling over $5.2 million.

Whitehead serves as co-Director of the Association of Religion Data Archives (theARDA.com). The ARDA is the world’s largest online religion data archive and is currently funded through generous support from the Lilly Endowment and the John Templeton Foundation. Whitehead serves on the Board of Directors of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI.org) and the Religion Research Association.

From 2014 to 2020 Whitehead was a faculty member in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice at Clemson University. While there he was awarded early promotion, with tenure, in 2019. He also received the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences Award for Excellence in Research, Emerging Scholar (2017) and the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences Associate Dean’s Recognition of Scholarship in Journal Publications (2018).

Professor Whitehead earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Purdue University. He completed his Ph.D. in Sociology at Baylor University in 2012.

Andrew Whitehead’s CV can be found here.

Amazon link

Why do so many conservative Christians continue to support Donald Trump despite his many overt moral failings? Why do many Americans advocate so vehemently for xenophobic policies, such as a border wall with Mexico? Why do many Americans seem so unwilling to acknowledge the injustices that ethnic and racial minorities experience in the United States? Why do a sizeable proportion of Americans continue to oppose women's equality in the workplace and in the home?

To answer these questions, Taking America Back for God points to the phenomenon of "Christian nationalism," the belief that the United States is-and should be-a Christian nation. Christian ideals and symbols have long played an important role in American public life, but Christian nationalism is about far more than whether the phrase "under God" belongs in the pledge of allegiance. At its heart, Christian nationalism demands that we must preserve a particular kind of social order, an order in which everyone--Christians and non-Christians, native-born and immigrants, whites and minorities, men and women recognizes their "proper" place in society. The first comprehensive empirical analysis of Christian nationalism in the United States, Taking America Back for God illustrates the influence of Christian nationalism on today's most contentious social and political issues.

Drawing on multiple sources of national survey data as well as in-depth interviews, Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry document how Christian nationalism shapes what Americans think about who they are as a people, what their future should look like, and how they should get there. Americans' stance toward Christian nationalism provides powerful insight into what they think about immigration, Islam, gun control, police shootings, atheists, gender roles, and many other political issues-very much including who they want in the White House. Taking America Back for God is a guide to one of the most important-and least understood-forces shaping American politics.

* * * * *

Photo by Maria Oswalt/Unsplash/Creative Commons

White Christian nationalism isn’t pro-life. It’s pro-order.

article link

By Andrew Whitehead, Samuel L. Perry

January 19, 2023

In the Christian nationalist vision, abortion is not a choice

but a violation of a collective moral fabric.

(RNS) — When the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in June 2022, United States abortion policy reverted to a time 50 years ago when a woman’s access to abortion and certain forms of contraception depended on where she lived, as individual states quickly moved to either enshrine the right to abortion or further restrict it.

But the court’s decision also returned abortion politics back to the 1970s and early 1980s, when the then-emerging religious right leveraged the debate over abortion to spread not only its biblical view of when human life begins, but its Christian nationalist view of the United States.

“Our great nation was founded by godly men upon godly principles to be a Christian nation,” said Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell Sr. in 1981. He also wrote, “If we expect God to honor and bless our nation, we must take a stand against abortion.”

From Falwell’s day to the present, Christian nationalism, or the desire to see a particularly conservative and ethnocentric expression of Christianity fused with American civic life, has played a vital part in the fight over Roe v. Wade. It has also permeated the Republican Party, which quickly adopted Falwell’s stance to bring millions of Americans who support the Christian right and abortion bans into its fold.

RELATED: Who are the Christian nationalists?

A taxonomy for the post-Jan. 6 world

As we have written elsewhere, seeing Christianity as central to being truly American is powerfully associated with strong opposition toward abortion. This opposition tends not to consider whether the pregnancy is the result of rape, whether it has a strong chance of resulting in a serious birth defect or the mother’s health or financial ability to support a child. Americans who embrace Christian nationalism seek to ensure that all Americans abide by their anti-abortion views, regardless of circumstance.

In our work on Christian nationalist views, we have found, as Falwell’s views suggest, that Christian nationalists are motivated by a particular moral traditionalism, one that seeks to ensure that abortion is not defined as an expression of bodily autonomy. They view abortion instead as a violation of a collective moral fabric that, if frayed, will further degrade American culture and society.

Now, new data sheds further light on what motivates Christian nationalist thinking on abortion, by allowing us to measure Americans’ attitudes toward punishing women who seek abortions.

In a national, random sample of American adults surveyed by YouGov in October 2022, 56% of white respondents said the label “pro-life” describes them somewhat or very well. As we might expect, 75% of whites who identified as “pro-life” also said they supported overturning Roe v. Wade. Similarly, roughly three-quarters of whites who either identify as Christian nationalist by name or believe the government should declare the U.S. a Christian nation also support the SCOTUS decision.

That shouldn’t be surprising, since pro-lifers and Christian nationalists are often the same people. Roughly half of whites who strongly identify as pro-lifers affirm Christian nationalism as a label or policy preference, and more than 90% of those who identify as “Christian nationalist” also identify as “pro-life.”

Anti-abortion activist Doug Lane uses a ladder to peer over the covered fencing as he calls out to patients entering the Jackson Women’s Health Organization clinic in Jackson, Mississippi, moments after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade was issued, June 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

But these two groups are not identical in their beliefs. When asked whether they would support state governments arresting women who have abortions, fewer than 18% of whites who said “pro-life” described them “very well” would support such a move. But among white Americans who identified as Christian nationalists, more than 25% were in favor. That went up to 27% among those who strongly agree with declaring the U.S. a Christian nation.

Why the difference? Because Christian nationalism isn’t really about preserving life. It’s about order.

In a number of studies now, we and other social scientists have shown that Christian nationalist ideology, particularly among white Americans, is associated with support for political violence, the death penalty, torture, more guns, any-means-necessary policing and opposition to COVID-19 vaccines (or vaccines generally).

Christian nationalism, in other words, isn’t opposed to death. It’s opposed to disorder—specifically the disruption of established hierarchies and the traditional moral order.

We see it in Christian nationalists’ responses to other social issues. Alignment with Christian nationalism is also closely intertwined with traditional views about gender roles — specifically, “proper” roles for men and women in society. We see it in their views on democracy — they exhibit a lack of interest in collaboration or compromise and support limiting access to political participation.

It’s not surprising, then, that in the Christian nationalist vision of the United States, abortion is not available to women, or that Christian nationalists would be most in favor of prosecuting women who seek it out. Not for the sake of life, but order.

It is important to recognize that the number of white American adults who identify as Christian nationalist and support prosecuting women seeking abortions is relatively small — about 15 million people. However, many of these Americans are concentrated in a small number of states, where, as a result, we’re likely to see laws proposed, and maybe even passed, that criminalize abortion. Like in Missouri, which proposed allowing private citizens to sue anyone — in state or outside the state — who assists a Missouri resident having an abortion.

Now that the fight over abortion access has returned to the local and state levels, the influence of Christian nationalism will undoubtedly loom large.

(Andrew Whitehead is an associate professor of sociology at the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at IUPUI and author of the forthcoming book “American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church.” Samuel L. Perry is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Oklahoma and co-author (with Philip Gorski) of “The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy.” Whitehead and Perry’s award-winning book “Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States” appeared in March 2020. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

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On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy Paperback – August 22, 2023 by Lee McIntyre (Author)

A powerful, pocket-sized citizen’s guide on how to fight back against the disinformation campaigns that are imperiling American democracy, from the bestselling author of Post-Truth and How to Talk to a Science Denier.

The effort to destroy facts and make America ungovernable didn’t come out of nowhere. It is the culmination of seventy years of strategic denialism. In On Disinformation, Lee McIntyre shows how the war on facts began, and how ordinary citizens can fight back against the scourge of disinformation that is now threatening the very fabric of our society. Drawing on his twenty years of experience as a scholar of science denial, McIntyre explains how autocrats wield disinformation to manipulatea populace and deny obvious realities, why the best way to combat disinformation is to disrupt its spread, and most importantly, how we can win the war on truth.

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Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point Hardcover – September 12, 2023 by Steven Levitsky (Author), Daniel Ziblatt (Author)

America is undergoing a massive experiment: It is moving, in fits and starts, toward a multiracial democracy, something few societies have ever done. But the prospect of change has sparked an authoritarian backlash that threatens the very foundations of our political system. Why is democracy under assault here, and not in other wealthy, diversifying nations? And what can we do to save it?

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Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump Audible Logo Audible Audiobook – Unabridged by Jennifer Mercieca (Author), Suzie Althens (Narrator), Blackstone Publishing (Publisher)

Historic levels of polarization, a disaffected and frustrated electorate, and widespread distrust of government, the news media, and traditional political leadership set the stage in 2016 for an unexpected, unlikely, and unprecedented presidential contest. Donald Trump’s campaign speeches and other rhetoric seemed on the surface to be simplistic, repetitive, and disorganized to many. As Demagogue for President shows, Trump’s campaign strategy was anything but simple.

Political communication expert Jennifer Mercieca shows how the Trump campaign expertly used the common rhetorical techniques of a demagogue, a word with two contradictory definitions - “a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power” or “a leader championing the cause of the common people in ancient times” (Merriam-Webster, 2019). These strategies, in conjunction with post-rhetorical public relations techniques, were meant to appeal to a segment of an already distrustful electorate. It was an effective tactic.

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How Democracies Die Paperback – January 8, 2019 by Steven Levitsky (Author), Daniel Ziblatt (Author)

Donald Trump’s presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we’d be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, and they believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang—in a revolution or military coup—but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, and the gradual erosion of long-standing political norms. The good news is that there are several exit ramps on the road to authoritarianism. The bad news is that, by electing Trump, we have already passed the first one.

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