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Christian: The Politics of a Word in America
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Religious diversity has long been a defining feature of the United States. But what may be even more remarkable than the sheer range of faiths is the diversity of political visions embedded in those religious traditions. Matthew Bowman delves into the ongoing struggle over the potent word “Christian,” not merely to settle theological disputes but to discover its centrality to American politics.
As Christian: The Politics of a Word in America shows, for many American Christians, concepts like liberty and equality are rooted in the transcendent claims about human nature that Christianity offers. Democracy, equality under the law, and other basic principles of American government are seen to depend upon the Christian faith’s sustenance and support. Yet despite this presumed consensus, differing Christian beliefs have led to dispute and disagreement about what American society and government should look like. While many white American Protestants associate Christianity with Western Euro-American civilization, individual liberty, and an affirmation of capitalism, other American Christians have long rejected those assumptions. They maintain that Christian principles demand political programs as wide-ranging as economic communalism, international cooperation, racial egalitarianism, and social justice.
The varieties of American Christian experience speak to an essentially contested concept of political rights and wrongs. Though diverse Christian faiths espouse political visions, Christian politics defy clear definition, Bowman writes. Rather, they can be seen as a rich and varied collection of beliefs about the interrelationships of divinity, human nature, and civic life that engage and divide the nation’s Christian communities and politics alike.
Religious diversity has long been a defining feature of the United States. But what may be even more remarkable than the sheer range of faiths is the diversity of political visions embedded in those religious traditions. Matthew Bowman delves into the ongoing struggle over the potent word “Christian,” not merely to settle theological disputes but to discover its centrality to American politics.
As Christian: The Politics of a Word in America shows, for many American Christians, concepts like liberty and equality are rooted in the transcendent claims about human nature that Christianity offers. Democracy, equality under the law, and other basic principles of American government are seen to depend upon the Christian faith’s sustenance and support. Yet despite this presumed consensus, differing Christian beliefs have led to dispute and disagreement about what American society and government should look like. While many white American Protestants associate Christianity with Western Euro-American civilization, individual liberty, and an affirmation of capitalism, other American Christians have long rejected those assumptions. They maintain that Christian principles demand political programs as wide-ranging as economic communalism, international cooperation, racial egalitarianism, and social justice.
The varieties of American Christian experience speak to an essentially contested concept of political rights and wrongs. Though diverse Christian faiths espouse political visions, Christian politics defy clear definition, Bowman writes. Rather, they can be seen as a rich and varied collection of beliefs about the interrelationships of divinity, human nature, and civic life that engage and divide the nation’s Christian communities and politics alike.
280 pages, Hardcover
Published April 1, 2018
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About the author
Matthew Bowman
23 books10 followersMatthew Bowman teaches American religious history at Hampden-Sydney College, and serves as associate editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon thought. He’s interested in evangelicalism, fundamentalism, religion and American culture and occasionally dabbles in Mormon history, noir, and the movies. He’s published in Religion and American Culture: a Journal of Interpretation, The Journal of Mormon History, the John Whitmer Journal, and the Journal of the Early Republic.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 3, 2019
Pretty good overview, but ends before we really get into the most contemporary developments of Christianity in the 21st century American political landscape. Most fascinating were the chapters on Victoria Woodhull, Dorothy Day and John Ryan, and the chapter on how Columbia University's John Erskine created a western civilization course that heavily influenced liberal arts education nationwide and shaped Americans' concept of Christianity in a democratic system of government.
I wish the book ended a bit more wholistically. The chapters all function semi-independent of one another, without an overarching thesis that I could readily discern.
I wish the book ended a bit more wholistically. The chapters all function semi-independent of one another, without an overarching thesis that I could readily discern.
September 15, 2021
Really great topic and if it were not so boring could have been a great book. I hung on to the end but it was tough. It is tough to be a scholar and entertaining and if I had to pick one I would pick scholar but it wouldn't help book sales. Read it if you are really bored but don't expect much.
October 15, 2018
Lots of good information and interesting ideas but the writing style was very academic- somewhat like reading a textbook.
December 30, 2018
Interesting but a little bit dry at times.
January 3, 2023
Full disclosure, I know Matt Bowman and think he is a brilliant scholar. I had the opportunity to be with him for several hours not long after I read this book. I asked him some detailed questions about a couple of footnotes and his grasp, recall and intelligence were on full display. It was quite a treat.
The premise of the book as the title implies is who owns the word “Christian?" Who has the right to call themselves a Christian. As Lutheran pastor was said to me after a period of interfaith dialogue, “I used to think Christianity was played on an evangelical basketball court. Now I realized it is played on an interfaith soccer field.” For too long religious fundamentalists have claimed the title while condemning others who consider themselves Christians as cultists.
For some, Christianity demands an emphasis on individual liberty, free market capitalism, and the traditions of Western Europe. For others, Christianity requires social justice, equality, and a rejection of human institutions. Bowman plunges into the political tensions behind American Christianity. Bowman argues that Christianity has had changeable and politically convenient definitions from the end of the Civil War through the present day.
For example, some Americans felt that Ulysses S. Grant represented true Christianity, a force for human equality through government intervention; at the same time, others defended Horace Greely for president as the “Christian candidate” who would free government from corrupt centralized power, industrialization, and autocratic government. Unsurprisingly, it is not a new trend for Christians on both sides of political issues repeatedly refer to their opponents' views as materialistic and unchristian.
Protestants at American universities at the end of World War I established courses in Western civilization, strongly identifying their flavor of Christianity rooted in Western European history and social priorities. In time, this enables the religious conservatives to speak to the American “tradition” of Christian ethics as a lever towards their political goals. But the definitions remain elusive. In the early 1950s some liberals decried the greed and corruption of government as anti-Christian materialism.
Today, the definition of Christian is more pressing than ever, with mainstream evangelicals aligning with former President Donald Trump, a notorious hedonist who some have improbably labeled a champion of Christianity — while at the same time denying the Christianity of the very publicly Christian former President Barack Obama. This has led to an intense narrowing of the Christian definition, associating American Christianity with Jerry Falwell and Robert Jeffress, while ignoring or denying the claims of others such as Jeremiah Wright or Dorothy Day.
Bowman does not take sides in this debate. Rather, he deftly illustrates that there has always been intense public debate over the word. The future of Christian ideas remains open.
The premise of the book as the title implies is who owns the word “Christian?" Who has the right to call themselves a Christian. As Lutheran pastor was said to me after a period of interfaith dialogue, “I used to think Christianity was played on an evangelical basketball court. Now I realized it is played on an interfaith soccer field.” For too long religious fundamentalists have claimed the title while condemning others who consider themselves Christians as cultists.
For some, Christianity demands an emphasis on individual liberty, free market capitalism, and the traditions of Western Europe. For others, Christianity requires social justice, equality, and a rejection of human institutions. Bowman plunges into the political tensions behind American Christianity. Bowman argues that Christianity has had changeable and politically convenient definitions from the end of the Civil War through the present day.
For example, some Americans felt that Ulysses S. Grant represented true Christianity, a force for human equality through government intervention; at the same time, others defended Horace Greely for president as the “Christian candidate” who would free government from corrupt centralized power, industrialization, and autocratic government. Unsurprisingly, it is not a new trend for Christians on both sides of political issues repeatedly refer to their opponents' views as materialistic and unchristian.
Protestants at American universities at the end of World War I established courses in Western civilization, strongly identifying their flavor of Christianity rooted in Western European history and social priorities. In time, this enables the religious conservatives to speak to the American “tradition” of Christian ethics as a lever towards their political goals. But the definitions remain elusive. In the early 1950s some liberals decried the greed and corruption of government as anti-Christian materialism.
Today, the definition of Christian is more pressing than ever, with mainstream evangelicals aligning with former President Donald Trump, a notorious hedonist who some have improbably labeled a champion of Christianity — while at the same time denying the Christianity of the very publicly Christian former President Barack Obama. This has led to an intense narrowing of the Christian definition, associating American Christianity with Jerry Falwell and Robert Jeffress, while ignoring or denying the claims of others such as Jeremiah Wright or Dorothy Day.
Bowman does not take sides in this debate. Rather, he deftly illustrates that there has always been intense public debate over the word. The future of Christian ideas remains open.
December 10, 2018
I loved this book. It’s important for understanding some context of the United States. Well done.
Listen to my interview with the author: https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=571194...
Listen to my interview with the author: https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=571194...
May 3, 2024
I have often wondered about the close ties of Christianity and nationality in America. This book gave a decent history. It also traces the Euro-centric history of America and how it was at the expense of the Afri-centric history. Interesting read.
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February 5, 2018Review forthcoming for Publishers Weekly.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews