===andrew whitehead===
Andrew Whitehead is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). He has been interviewed on NBC News, NPR, and the BBC. He has also written for the Washington Post, Time, NBC News, and the Religion News Service, where he examines Christian nationalism, religion and American culture, and childhood disability and religion. His work has won several awards including the 2021 Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion for his book Taking America Back for God. He has also won distinguished article awards from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Association for the Sociology of Religion. In 2017, he was awarded an Excellence in Research award from the College of Behavioral, Social, and Health Sciences at Clemson University. Whitehead is also a Project Director at the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at IUPUI, and a co-Director of the Association of Religion Data Archives (theARDA.com), the world's largest online religion data archive.
American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church: A conversation with Andrew L. Whitehead
Andrew L. Whitehead’s accessible book American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church raises difficult but necessary questions about the influence of Christian nationalism in America. What is it? Why is it dangerous for our faith, our churches, and our country? How can Christians see through Christian nationalism as a false god that twists the good news of Jesus away from his call to “love your neighbor as yourself”? (Jim Denison/Denison Forum)
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Andrew L. Whitehead’s accessible book American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church raises difficult but necessary questions about the influence of Christian nationalism in America. What is it? Why is it dangerous for our faith, our churches, and our country? How can Christians see through Christian nationalism as a false god that twists the good news of Jesus away from his call to “love your neighbor as yourself”? (Jim Denison/Denison Forum)
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Andrew Whitehead
"....nationalism is this desire to see the United States elevated above any other country or people to the detriment of those others. And so it's less like a patriotism of cheering for your fellow countrymen or women. And wanting now to actually to see the U. S. dominate. And be the only people that can compete, right? And so it isn't just, cheering them on and then, cheering on other folks from other countries, or at least, representing them well. But now it should be just us on the stage. It should be only us to have an access to winning a medal or whatever else. And this idea of nationalism is wanting to see the U. S. elevated over and above everyone else, whereas patriotism is wanting to see people around us flourish as a part of a healthy community. And so when we're talking about Christian nationalism, again, seeing this particular expression of Christianity elevated over and above any other type of Christian over and above any other type of religious other, religious minorities or people who are not religious, wanting to see only the quote unquote us the in group benefit from American society. And so I think that's where it leads us away from the gospel. And it also leads us away from a healthy patriotism of wanting to see America do well and do better. And to see those around us do well and do better. And yeah, that's how we can distinguish between patriotism and nationalism
--Andrew Whitehead; Denison Forum; American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church: 10.30.23
--Andrew Whitehead; Denison Forum; American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church: 10.30.23
Churches are breaking the law and endorsing in elections, experts say. The IRS looks the other way.
Andrew Whitehead, a sociologist at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, who studies Christian nationalism, said the ramping up of political activity by churches could further polarize the country. “It creates hurdles for a healthy, functioning, pluralistic democratic society,” he said. “It’s really hard to overcome.”
(Jeremy Schwartz/Texas Tribune 10/30/22)
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Andrew Whitehead, a sociologist at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, who studies Christian nationalism, said the ramping up of political activity by churches could further polarize the country. “It creates hurdles for a healthy, functioning, pluralistic democratic society,” he said. “It’s really hard to overcome.”
(Jeremy Schwartz/Texas Tribune 10/30/22)
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I was a Christian nationalist
Reading sociologist Andrew L. Whitehead’s new book, American Idolatry, I had the distinct feeling of being back at my childhood church. Whitehead and I met during our freshman year of high school in the youth group of a large rural evangelical church in northern Indiana. This is the church where we learned to love and follow Jesus. Where we learned to read the Bible. Where we found Christian community and made lifelong friendships, including with each other. And it is where we were unwittingly formed into ambassadors of (white) Christian nationalism. (David C Cramer/Anabaptist World)
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Reading sociologist Andrew L. Whitehead’s new book, American Idolatry, I had the distinct feeling of being back at my childhood church. Whitehead and I met during our freshman year of high school in the youth group of a large rural evangelical church in northern Indiana. This is the church where we learned to love and follow Jesus. Where we learned to read the Bible. Where we found Christian community and made lifelong friendships, including with each other. And it is where we were unwittingly formed into ambassadors of (white) Christian nationalism. (David C Cramer/Anabaptist World)
Read More>>>>>
Andrew Whitehead
“Christian Nationalism is not just a problem ‘out there,’ but is something that we have to take ownership of and educate ourselves about and resource our leaders in order to confront and oppose. Christian Nationalism betrays the gospel and threatens the church..............What I later came to recognize, study, and define as Christian Nationalism, was — and for many people still is — taken for granted. I didn’t question the tenets of Christian Nationalism, and more importantly, how they differed from various expressions of the Christian faith............It is so encouraging to see the denomination grappling with Christian Nationalism, committing to having the hard conversations, and equipping its clergy and congregations to respond to the current cultural and political moment. The church is setting a wonderful example!”. --Andrew Whitehead; Word & Way; Disciples Confronting Christian Nationalism 8.8.23
Feb 23, 2023: Rolling Stone: The Christian Nationalist Machine Turning Hate Into Law
Long a shadowy force in American politics, Christian Nationalism is having a coming out party. The movement seeks a fusion of fundamentalist theology with American civic life. “They believe that this country was founded for Christians like them, generally natural-born citizens and white,” says Andrew Whitehead, author of Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States. Whitehead emphasizes that the danger of Christian Nationalism to democracy is that the movement “sees no room for compromise — their vision must be the one that comes to pass.”
Long a shadowy force in American politics, Christian Nationalism is having a coming out party. The movement seeks a fusion of fundamentalist theology with American civic life. “They believe that this country was founded for Christians like them, generally natural-born citizens and white,” says Andrew Whitehead, author of Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States. Whitehead emphasizes that the danger of Christian Nationalism to democracy is that the movement “sees no room for compromise — their vision must be the one that comes to pass.”