Home
Christian America and the Kingdom of God

Christian America and the Kingdom of God

White Christian Nationalism from the Puritans Through January 6, 2021

by Richard T. Hughes and Christina Littlefield

Foreword by Randall Balmer

Published by: University of Illinois Press

Imprint: University of Illinois Press

384 Pages, 156.00 × 235.00 × 25.00 mm

Paperback
9780252088414
Published: February 2025

£18.99

Buy

Hardcover
9780252046346
Published: February 2025

£100.00

Buy

Paperback
9780252078897
Published: July 2012

£16.99

Buy

Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

The myth of a Christian America fuels a powerful political force sure of its moral superiority and intent on implementing a Christian nationalist agenda. Richard T. Hughes and Christina Littlefield draw on discussions of civil religion and forms of nationalism to explore the complex legal and cultural arguments for a Christian America. The authors also provide an in-depth examination of the Bible’s words on the “chosen nation” and “kingdom of God” that Christian nationalists quote to support the idea of the US as a Christian nation.

A timely new edition of the acclaimed work, Christian America and the Kingdom of God spotlights how the centuries-long pursuit of a Christian America has bred an aggressive white Christian nationalism that twists faith, unleashes unchristian behavior, and threatens the nation.

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part I. Coming to Terms with Christian Nationalism

Chapter 1. Resisting an Empire State of Mind

Chapter 2. Evaluating the Case for a Christian America

Chapter 3. Defining Christian Nationalism

Part II. Biblical Considerations

Chapter 4. The Witness of the Hebrew Bible

Chapter 5. The Witness of the New Testament: The Gospels

Chapter 6. The Witness of the New Testament: Paul and Revelation

Part III. A History of White Christian Nationalism from the Puritans through January 6, 2021

Chapter 7. Digging Deeper: The Early Roots of the Christian America Myth

Chapter 8. The Christian Century: The Battle for Christian America

Chapter 9. The Social Gospel: Kingdom Builders with an Empire State of Mind

Chapter 10. A Fundamentalist Vision for Christian America

Chapter 11. The Rise of the Christian Right

Chapter 12. Expanding Empire and Apocalyptic Fervor: The Christian Right under George W. Bush

Chapter 13. Obama the Antichrist: The Teavangelical Pursuit of a White Christian America

Chapter 14. A New Cyrus: Donald Trump Delivers for Christian America

Chapter 15. But at What Cost?

Chapter 16. Christian Nationalism since January 6

Chapter 17. What Now?

Notes

Index

Richard T. Hughes is a professor emeritus at both Pepperdine University and Messiah College. He is the author of Myths America Lives By: White Supremacy and the Stories That Give Us Meaning, Second Edition, and coauthor of Reviving the Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America, Third Edition. Christina Littlefield is an associate professor of communication and religion at Pepperdine University. She is the author of Chosen Nations: Pursuit of the Kingdom of God and its Influence on Democratic Values in Late-Nineteenth Century Britain and the United States.

“This very thoughtful, very thorough book describes and attacks what the authors name as white Christian nationalism. It offers both meticulous documentation of this phenomenon and its disastrous fruit, and critiques it on the basis of Scripture, notably the central biblical concept of the kingdom of God. The authors join many of us who are attempting to resist a version of Christianity and of US national identity that we believe to be both illusory and dangerous. May they find many readers for their important work.”--David P. Gushee, author of Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies "If American Christians are serious about their citizenship in the kingdom of God, they should start to think in complex and nuanced ways--both theologically and historically--about how Jesus’s Kingdom relates to the values, ideals, and yes, the sins, of the United States. Richard Hughes and Christina Littlefield’s Christian America and the Kingdom of God is a great place to start. This book is a gift to the academy and the church.”--John Fea, author of Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?: A Historical Introduction