What do you think?
Rate this book
Christian America and the Kingdom of God
The idea of the United States as a Christian nation is a powerful, seductive, and potentially destructive theme in American life, culture, and politics. Many fundamentalist and evangelical leaders routinely promote this notion, and millions of Americans simply assume the Christian character of the United States. And yet, as Richard T. Hughes reveals in this powerful book, the biblical vision of the "kingdom of God" stands at odds with the values and actions of an American empire that sanctions war instead of peace, promotes dominance and oppression instead of reconciliation, and exalts wealth and power instead of justice for the poor and needy._x000B__x000B_With conviction and careful consideration, Hughes reviews the myth of Christian America from its earliest history in the founding of the republic to the present day. With extensive analysis of both Christian scripture and American history, Hughes investigates the reasons why so many Americans think of the United States as a Christian nation. Timely and thought-provoking, Christian America and the Kingdom of God illuminates the devastating irony of a "Christian America" that so often behaves in unchristian ways.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 13, 2014
One of my all-time favorites. When I think about how modern Christianity abuses the original movement, I refer to this book.
February 12, 2019
An exploration of the Christian nationalist ideology ascendant in the days of the Bush 43 administration, its historical antecedents, and a contrast with the ideology of the Kingdom of God in Scripture as understood through the prism of many modern theologians.
The book's cover jacket picture well encapsulates the picture of "Christian America": the cross and the flag intertwined in a pin on a business jacket. The author is at his best and incisive in his exploration of the Christian nation ideology, its origins in the Constantinian compromise, how it is informed by Reformed conceptions of God's sovereignty and the Puritan goal of theocracy, and its primarily white Protestant impulses toward exclusion. The author spends much time unpacking its influence in the Bush 43 administration and its triumphalist decisions: the myths of innocence and a task to spread the gospel of democracy, etc. He also does well at showing how whereas many of the Founders believed in Christian principles, many were Deist, and all rooted American democracy in a more deistic, Enlightenment concept of nature's God and inalienable rights.
The author's discussion of the Kingdom of God and relevant texts in the Old and New Testaments are more of a mixed bag. He sets forth many important principles of the nature of how God would have His people ruled according to the prophets and does establish the countercultural, upside down values of the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus. Yet he anchors and grounds it in the most liberal of scholarship, quite enraptured by Crossan, and will not allow the Biblical evidence to get in the way of a good theory. As in far too many theologians of this bent, whatever in the New Testament does not align with his particular view of the Kingdom is itself evidence of corruption and is to be discarded as the influence of society and the powers. He would have been able to ground the discussion of the Kingdom just as effectively for his rhetorical purposes without the baggage by a good study of N.T. Wright and many others who do well at showing the challenges with Crossan et al and their presentation.
It is also very interesting to return to this book a decade after its publication, both to revisit the way things appeared and felt in the aughts and to see how much has changed (and how much has not). In the meantime "Christian America" has gone from ascendance to fear; it has abandoned principle in the name of clinging onto some vestige of power. The white supremacist undertones of American "Christian nation" ideology have become more apparent (and the author has revised another one of his works to address the subject), as has the folly of American nation-building as the Iraq and Afghanistan debacle became apparent for what they were. Perhaps no subject is more telling about what has gone on over the past decade than gay marriage: the book was written in the wake of many states banning gay marriage in some way or another, and it was successfully used as a wedge issue against the Democrats in the 2004 election; now almost all religious conservatives have conceded the fight on gay marriage is almost completely lost, the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional right of gay marriage, and the Christian nationalists have been reduced to striving to carve out space to maintain their own viewpoints in their own spheres in church and in the workplace. This would have been utterly unexpected in 2008, let alone 2004, and shows how the whole time the strength of the Christian nationalist enterprise was never very deep.
Not to say, of course, that various theoretically "Christian" forms of influence are not pervasive in the political arena, or will somehow cease to be in the near future, and generally not in alignment with the Kingdom of God as the author well established.
There are better works out there on the same theme. Go there instead.
The book's cover jacket picture well encapsulates the picture of "Christian America": the cross and the flag intertwined in a pin on a business jacket. The author is at his best and incisive in his exploration of the Christian nation ideology, its origins in the Constantinian compromise, how it is informed by Reformed conceptions of God's sovereignty and the Puritan goal of theocracy, and its primarily white Protestant impulses toward exclusion. The author spends much time unpacking its influence in the Bush 43 administration and its triumphalist decisions: the myths of innocence and a task to spread the gospel of democracy, etc. He also does well at showing how whereas many of the Founders believed in Christian principles, many were Deist, and all rooted American democracy in a more deistic, Enlightenment concept of nature's God and inalienable rights.
The author's discussion of the Kingdom of God and relevant texts in the Old and New Testaments are more of a mixed bag. He sets forth many important principles of the nature of how God would have His people ruled according to the prophets and does establish the countercultural, upside down values of the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus. Yet he anchors and grounds it in the most liberal of scholarship, quite enraptured by Crossan, and will not allow the Biblical evidence to get in the way of a good theory. As in far too many theologians of this bent, whatever in the New Testament does not align with his particular view of the Kingdom is itself evidence of corruption and is to be discarded as the influence of society and the powers. He would have been able to ground the discussion of the Kingdom just as effectively for his rhetorical purposes without the baggage by a good study of N.T. Wright and many others who do well at showing the challenges with Crossan et al and their presentation.
It is also very interesting to return to this book a decade after its publication, both to revisit the way things appeared and felt in the aughts and to see how much has changed (and how much has not). In the meantime "Christian America" has gone from ascendance to fear; it has abandoned principle in the name of clinging onto some vestige of power. The white supremacist undertones of American "Christian nation" ideology have become more apparent (and the author has revised another one of his works to address the subject), as has the folly of American nation-building as the Iraq and Afghanistan debacle became apparent for what they were. Perhaps no subject is more telling about what has gone on over the past decade than gay marriage: the book was written in the wake of many states banning gay marriage in some way or another, and it was successfully used as a wedge issue against the Democrats in the 2004 election; now almost all religious conservatives have conceded the fight on gay marriage is almost completely lost, the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional right of gay marriage, and the Christian nationalists have been reduced to striving to carve out space to maintain their own viewpoints in their own spheres in church and in the workplace. This would have been utterly unexpected in 2008, let alone 2004, and shows how the whole time the strength of the Christian nationalist enterprise was never very deep.
Not to say, of course, that various theoretically "Christian" forms of influence are not pervasive in the political arena, or will somehow cease to be in the near future, and generally not in alignment with the Kingdom of God as the author well established.
There are better works out there on the same theme. Go there instead.
February 27, 2025
Excellent assessment of how 'Christian America' so often looks very different than the Kingdom of God described in the Bible. In the 15 years since this was published, 'evangelical Christianity' has only continued to race away from the faith that is described within Scripture, and now that the pagan hordes of MAGA are in charge (with 82% of the evangelical Christian vote in the 2024 election!), things will only get worse. Important read, but also discouraging in the present situation.
August 2, 2017
Great idea, love the premise of it. Hard read execution.
August 6, 2010
This books is a must read for anyone who lives in the United States and claims to be Christian. Hughes sets the issue straight regarding the biblical teaching of Jesus' concept of the Kingdom of God. Jesus taught a kingdom of peace, hope for the poor, and help to those who were in need. But this message has been sabotaged by Christian fundamentalists in the United States and changed to a message of war and a need to control those who they declare are a threat to their agenda to promulgate America as God's established kingdom.
First, this idea—from the American Christian fundamentalists—is anti-biblical and does not reflect the real teaching of Jesus and the Kingdom of God. Hughes does a great job of proving this in this work. Second, the Christian fundamentalists in the U.S. are hell bent on promoting the downfall of what they think is evil, namely the religion of Islam. However, prior to the events of September 11th, 2001, American Christian fundamentalists still rested in the idea that the U.S. was God's chosen nation. Hughes gives a succinct history of this thinking and how it has affected the landscape of the United States since the Puritans arrived in North America. This book is well worth reading for nothing else except Hughes historical account of Christian nationalism.
Hughes begins with European exploration to North America and ends with 21st Century America and the Presidency of George W. Bush. Throughout this history, Hughes details how certain Christians have promulgated a nationalism that was (and is today) believed to be "Christian" when in reality it is far from the teaching of Jesus.
This book is a much needed correction to various dangerous ideas among American Christian fundamentalists. These same fundamentalists who I think are as dangerous as Islamic fundamentalists. Both sides wanting to destroy the other in a useless and misguided religious war.
First, this idea—from the American Christian fundamentalists—is anti-biblical and does not reflect the real teaching of Jesus and the Kingdom of God. Hughes does a great job of proving this in this work. Second, the Christian fundamentalists in the U.S. are hell bent on promoting the downfall of what they think is evil, namely the religion of Islam. However, prior to the events of September 11th, 2001, American Christian fundamentalists still rested in the idea that the U.S. was God's chosen nation. Hughes gives a succinct history of this thinking and how it has affected the landscape of the United States since the Puritans arrived in North America. This book is well worth reading for nothing else except Hughes historical account of Christian nationalism.
Hughes begins with European exploration to North America and ends with 21st Century America and the Presidency of George W. Bush. Throughout this history, Hughes details how certain Christians have promulgated a nationalism that was (and is today) believed to be "Christian" when in reality it is far from the teaching of Jesus.
This book is a much needed correction to various dangerous ideas among American Christian fundamentalists. These same fundamentalists who I think are as dangerous as Islamic fundamentalists. Both sides wanting to destroy the other in a useless and misguided religious war.
November 4, 2016
This book will change your perception of Christianity and patriotism. I can't recommend it enough to all fellow believers, to secularists who despise fundamentalists and their political machines, and to anyone curious as to whether Christianity has anything to do with being American. Definitely a breath of fresh air.
November 16, 2010
Very Scriptural refute to the idea of the United States as a Christian Nation and how the idea of a Christian Nation and the Kingdom of God is an oxymoron. Extremely well written and well documented.
I'm buying this book as a gift for everyone in my Evangelical, Republican family.
I'm buying this book as a gift for everyone in my Evangelical, Republican family.
August 9, 2011
Though book could have been organized a little better (shorter chapters, perhaps?), I really learned a lot by reading this book. Hughes articulated thoughts brewing in my head and also left me with some more questions as to our duties as disciples in America.
November 23, 2010
AMAZING book and look at the history and actions of America and whether it lines up with our Christian faith.
I need to come back and write more but definitely recommended
I need to come back and write more but definitely recommended
December 14, 2015
A great book that shows how Christian Americans have a twisted understanding of how God is on their side.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews