Ruth Braunstein, associate professor of sociology, has built her career exploring opposing political forces.
His first book, “Prophets and patriots: faith in democracy beyond political divisions“, compared a conservative section of the Tea Party to a faith-based progressive group, examining how each saw themselves as “carrying the promise of the American democratic project.” His 2023 opinion pieces in Religion News on House Speaker Mike Johnson And pluralist resistance to Christian nationalism attracted public attention for the Meaning of the democracy laboratory she directs at UConn.
Today, Braunstein brings his work on resistance movements formed in opposition to Christian nationalism into the digital sphere with a $300,000 grant of the Henry Luce Foundation. In addition to maintaining a database of individuals and organizations involved in this resistance movement, his lab will produce a documentary-style podcast following “some of the strange bedfellows involved in this resistance work.”
The podcast will be complemented by an interactive web platform that will allow users to explore the comprehensive database of resistance efforts and highlight even more individual stories.
“This will help people get a sense of what these groups are actually doing on the ground, to think critically, to educate themselves about what Christian nationalism is, where it might manifest in their communities, if they think it is problematic and to what extent. ways, and what might be a different vision of the role of Christianity in American public life,” Braunstein says.
Christian nationalism has remained rooted in American soil since the country’s founding and continues to flourish.
“Essentially, it is a mythological story about the United States… that at its founding, the country was perfect, sacred, and created for and by Christians – and that in the years since the founding, the country has slowly moved away from the initial promise. of the country,” says Braunstein. It also includes the idea that “this decline is both the fault of people within society and attacks from people outside.”
The proliferation of this worldview is a source of dismay to many people across the political spectrum, including Braunstein herself. Although she notes that the country has not always lived up to its pluralistic ideals, she believes that these ideals call on Americans to create “a democracy where people of all religious faiths and of no religious faith are welcome to live as they wish – and not just welcome.” , but also being part of the group of people who create this company.
The resurgence of Christian nationalism in American politics has received widespread media coverage, particularly its role in violent events like the 2017 Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally and the 2021 Capitol insurrection. But Braunstein urges us instead to turn to more discreet coalition building across the country, as people join forces to fight the spread of this ideology.
“I noticed that as Christian nationalism gained power and influence in American politics, it also sparked a wave of resistance,” she says.
This included the “usual suspects” – “liberal religious groups, legal advocacy groups” – who have resisted Christian nationalism for decades, “but also new actors, including many conservative white Christians who worried that Christian nationalism meant for both. American Democracy and American Christianity.
Her work explores the importance of this resistance for people from all walks of life. Everyone has a stake in determining the influence of Christian nationalism in American public life and policymaking, she says.
“It’s not really a partisan battle either, because there are people across the political spectrum who are concerned about it for different reasons,” she says, pointing to the well-documented links between Christian nationalism and racism, misogyny and Islamophobia. , and nativism.
Members of churches and faith communities across the country “want to think seriously about some of these questions., about their own privilege as white Christians, or about their own barriers to inclusion as non-Christians or non-white Christians. They want to be able to think about the appropriate role of religion and Christianity in our politics, our public life and policymaking,” Braunstein says.
“These are difficult conversations to have, but which, in my opinion, are essential and which are led by the people who are doing this resistance work,” she continues. “I hope that by presenting them as diverse models of how to do this, other people can better understand how they might do it themselves.”
Funding for this project comes from the Henry Luce Foundation. Religion and Theology Programthrough an initiative to “advance public knowledge about democracy, race, and religion in America.”
THE Henry Luce Foundation seeks to deepen knowledge and understanding in pursuit of a more democratic and just world. Established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time, Inc., the Luce Foundation advances its mission by nurturing knowledge communities and institutions, fostering dialogue across divides, enriching public discourse and amplifying diverse voices. and invest in leadership development.
