This summer I am researching the responses of mainline Protestant clergy in red states to rising levels of white Christian nationalism in the United States. My research will consist of a historical analysis of mainline Protestantism and the rise of the Religious Right, a literature review of scholarship on liberal Christianity and responses to white Christian nationalism, and interviews with progressive Protestant clergy on their perspectives.

Over the past three weeks I have been working on my literature review, constructing an interview guide, contacting clergy to set up interviews, and narrowing the scope of my research. 

While I initially wanted to interview subjects who represented a large range of regions, I’ve decided to instead focus on one region due to time constraints. My research will now center interviews with clergy in Iowa, a state that swung more heavily Republican than any other state between 2012 and 2020. According to sociologists Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry, identification with political conservatism is one of the strongest predictors for Christian nationalism, so I look forward to discussing strategies for confronting Christian nationalism with pastors in a state where it is a more immediate concern. Furthermore, during my literature review process I have discovered that increased political polarization in the United States has started to become reflected in church communities as well, especially in red and purple states. Focusing my research on Iowa will allow me to hear the often overlooked perspectives of progressive faith leaders in conservative states.  

Familiarizing myself with the existing literature and history of liberal Christianity has also been an extremely enlightening process, mostly because it has made the purpose of my research even more clear to me. In scholarship on American Christianity, there is a huge gap when it comes to liberal Christianity. Much of American religious studies have been disproportionately focused on evangelical history, leaving religious liberals out of the picture. Even now, scholars understandably spend a lot of time grappling with the rise of the Religious Right, yet many overlook the important contributions of ecumenical Protestants. As outlined in Gene Zubovich’s book Before the Religious Right, ecumenical Protestants played a key role in the formation of the United Nations, the civil rights movement, and the passing of the New Deal. Through my research I hope to shed light on how progressive Protestants are confronting issues in this current political moment such as white Christian nationalism.

I have started conducting interviews this week and my plan going forward is to create a framework for analyzing the data from my interviews.