In this episode, Barney & Austin stage a head-to-head on whether Christian nationalism is a good thing or not!

It’s time to gather the insights from our past episodes together and see which argument is strongest. Barney takes the “pro-Christian Nationalism” side and Austin takes the “anti-Christian Nationalism” position. Who is going to win?

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: views expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent the real views of the speakers.Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue (University of Notre Dame Press, 2007).
• Alasdair MacIntyre, Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry (University of Notre Dame Press, 1994).
• Luke Bretherton, Christianity and Contemporary Politics (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010).
• Hugo Rahner, Church and State in Early Christianity (Ignatius Press, 1992).
• N. T. Wright and Michael Bird, Jesus and the Powers (Zondervan, 2024).
• Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum.

• Ha-Joon Chang, 23 Things They Don’t Tell You about Capitalism (Bloomsbury, 2012).

Thanks to Jamie Maule for the post-production!

Is Christian nationalism the proper term for what is happening in Russia? What is unique about Putin's claims of civilizational superiority compared with western nations? What does orthodox theology offer into this mix that is distinct from Catholic or Protestant theologies? We talk with Cyril Hovorun to consider these and other questions in the next installment in our series on Christian nationalism.

Stretchy definitions of ‘Nationalism’ can be a useful political tool, says Nick Spencer, senior fellow at Theos Think Tank. People can give a ‘thin’ definition while their actions suggest something ‘thicker’ and more like 19th century definitions. But all Christians want their country run according to Christian values, and no government can avoid having a coercive dimension. Nick gives us a vision of Christian engagement in politics that navigates through the tricky waters of coercion vs. persuasion and offers some much-needed wisdom in the conversation.

"It is a Catholic axiom that in order to lead someone away from error, you must recognize the truth that gives power to the error."

Thus writes Professor Colt Anderson in Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy (University of Notre Dame Press, 2021). In this episode, we ask him how we can take that insight and use it to understand nationalism, especially Catholic nationalism. Anderson is clear that he thinks it is an error. But it also teaches us important things about the priority of the local. Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering!

The power of the cross is weakness, according to the apostle Paul. How does that idea translate into the dog-eat-dog world of politics?

In this episode we interview Dr. Mike Gorman, Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology at St. Mary's Seminary and University. He shares the content of a forthcoming book which explores, among other things, what the apostle Paul might say to the christian nationalist movement. This is a link to the article by Barney mentioned in the episode:

• Love is Not an Executive Order.

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Thanks for listening!

In this episode we have the privilege speaking with Prof Stanley Hauerwas. He challenges the typical categories used in conversations about 'christian nationalism' and pushes us to redefine what it means to be political.

What is the difference between patriotism and nationalism? Is one of them acceptable (even desirable) from a Christian point of view?

In this episode we interview James Walters, Professor at the London School of Economics. As an ordained priest in the Church of England, he is the first person we've interviewed who belongs to an established state church. This gives him a perspective somewhat different from the American one in which separation of church and state is the assumed norm.

Not every Christian agrees on what a “Christian government” should look like. Whoever is in power will have to decide what form of Christianity to implement, and they are likely to claim it is the only valid kind.

In this episode we chat with Elizabeth Bruenig, journalist for The Atlantic, on Christian Nationalism in the US. Does it really represent the values shared by all Christians? Does it have the right to speak in the name of “Christianity”?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering!