American Christian Nationalism and Its Impact on Democracy

Join the AFN community for a 75 to 90-minute webinar series engaging with a number of National and Local Faith Leaders, Historians, Museums, and Movement workers to explore the impacts of American Christian Nationalism and its impacts on this great democracy.

Between February and October 2024, this particular webinar series is broken down into 75 to 90-minute webinars that include some of the following: history, exegesis of scripture, historical analysis of its impacts on our democracy, the psychology of nationalism, an exploration of rituals, liturgy, music, and more - followed by a Q&A and group discussion.

May 15 Title: Distorted Discipleship: Christian Nationalism's Mission of Dominating the Nations

Most commentary on Christian nationalism assumes it is just right-wing white supremacy cloaked in a religious veneer, but not enough attention has been given to the way Christian nationalists read the Bible. One of the key passages they use to support their position is the Great Commission in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus tells his followers to "make disciples of all nations." This talk will show how this misreading came about and how the passage ought to be understood by people today.

David W. Congdon is Senior Editor at the University Press of Kansas and instructor in theology at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, including most recently, Who Is a True Christian? Contesting Religious Identity in American Culture (Cambridge, 2024)