Toward a Cultural Analysis of Christian Nationalism: Examining U.S. Christian Nationalism as Racialized National Mythology

• In Event: Sociology of Religion Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 1. Christian Nationalism

Abstract

Many scholars have been sounding the alarm that U.S. Christian nationalism (CN) is on the rise and threatens democracy, leading to a burgeoning field of research in this area. With this exponential growth of scholarship has come ambiguity regarding the operationalization of Christian nationalism as a concept. This theoretical paper seeks to address this ambiguity by 1) examining three of the main ways CN has been conceptualized in the literature—as an ideology, cultural framework, and identity—and their respective limitations and 2) placing CN scholarship in conversation with whiteness and nationalism literatures. Doing so leads to my argument that Christian nationalism should be defined as a (racialized) national mythology, “a narrative weaving together different myths of the nation” (Zubrzycki 2011:22). Analyzing Christian nationalism through the lens of national mythology provides much needed theoretical clarity that includes yet moves beyond the three conceptions above, as national mythologies—by definition—both unite a system of beliefs into a cohesive narrative and form collective identities. Since national mythologies work in tandem with cultural understandings of nationalism (Smith 2003), I conclude by positing that cultural tools of analyses, à la Lizardo’s (2017) view of culture in action, should be used to understand how Christian nationalism as a national mythology works in society.

Author

• Megan Whitaker, Northwestern University