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We take up an issue that we started to explore last November. Christian nationalism is a political ideology and cultural framework that seeks to merge American and Christian identities. In this day when both American identity and Christian identity are undergoing massive shifts in definition and meaning, the reappearance and rise of Christian Nationalism (CN) is an alarming, reactionary response.

The focus of our discussion will be Tim Alberta’s article in The Atlantic, “My Father, My Faith, and Donald Trump” (November 28, 2023), adapted from Alberta’s important new book The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in the Age of Extremism (Harper, 2023).

May 10 marks the 90th anniversary of the Barmen Declaration. Written primarily by Reformed theologian Karl Barth in 1934, Barmen was the manifesto of the Confessing Church during the Nazi period in Germany. Designed to prevent the capitulation of the churches to hostile cultural forces, it has been accorded authoritative status throughout the Protestant world, including the PC(USA), for its emphasis on the centrality and all-sufficiency of Christ. We will hold Alberta’s article and Barmen in critical tension.