Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States

Andrew L. Whitehead, Samuel L. Perry

Oxford University Press, Feb 3, 2020 - Social Science - 320 pages

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.

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Argues that Christian nationalism is a distinct entity from religiosity in the US. So, for example, Christian nationalists see serving in the military as important to being “a good person,” while ...

Contents

• A House Dividing: 1
• 1 Four Americans: 23
• 2 Power: 55
• 3 Boundaries: 89
• 4 Order: 121
• One Nation Under What?: 151
• Data and Methods: 165
• Tables: 179
• Interview Guide: 213
• Notes: 217
• Bibliography: 249
• Index: 263

About the author

Andrew Whitehead is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Clemson University and Assistant Director of the Association of Religion Data Archives. He is the author of numerous articles on Christian nationalism and religion in the modern world. Samuel L. Perry is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author of over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and two books, Addicted to Lust and Growing God's Family.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States
• Authors: Andrew L. Whitehead, Samuel L. Perry
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2020
• ISBN: 0190057890, 9780190057893
• Length: 320 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Religion, Politics & State; Social Science / Sociology of Religion