the christian nationalism with Dr. Andrew Whitehead (ep 3, 31).

Arkansas ranks first in the nation in support for Christian nationalism. More than half the state qualifies as supporters or sympathizers in the Public Religion Research Institute's fifty-state study, and almost six in ten white Arkansans do. This episode sits down with the scholar whose research built the scale behind those numbers. Dr. Andrew Whitehead is a sociologist at Indiana University Indianapolis, co-director of the Association of Religion Data Archives, and author with Samuel Perry of Taking America Back for God, the first comprehensive empirical study of Christian nationalism in the United States. He is also a Christian, raised in a one-stoplight Indiana town, and his second book, American Idolatry, was written from inside the faith. In this conversation he defines what Christian nationalism is and what it is not, traces its history from a fifteenth-century papal decree through manifest destiny to the present, and explains why a framework that is actually shrinking in numbers has never been louder or better positioned. The conversation stays rooted in place. What does it mean that the framework shows up in school boards, county buildings, and the state Capitol, not just sanctuaries? What should a listener listen for in a sermon, starting with the American flag at the front of the room and the edges of the word neighbor? And what does resistance look like for people of faith? Dr. Whitehead's answer begins with a sentence anyone can say and ends with a practice of democracy he compares to a muscle. The first full conversation in the show's series on Christian nationalism, and a companion to the reckoning, the episode before it. This is not a conversation against Christianity or against America. It is a conversation about power, who has it, who wants it, and what happens to neighbors when faith becomes an instrument for taking it. Recorded with co-host Monica Kumar framing the question the series carries forward. Who really is my neighbor? https://www.theunderview.com/the-white-christian-nationalism-with-dr-andrew-l-whitehead About the underview: The underview is an exploration of the development of our Communal Theology of Place viewed through the medium of bikes, land, and people to discover community wholeness. Send us a Voice Message at https://www.theunderview.com/ Website: ⁠⁠theunderview.com⁠⁠ Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠@underviewthe Host: @mikerusch