#356: Christian Nationalism and Worship: Faith, Politics, & Identity with Dr. Lester Ruth

Today’s conversation is with Dr. Lester Ruth, a research professor of Christian Worship at Duke Divinity School. If you go back in the archives you’ll see I interviewed Lester and Swee Hong Lim around the time they released their book A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship. Lester is a worship historian. The subject of this interview is about Christian Nationalism and Worship, a new course that Lester has been teaching.

I wanted to interview Lester about this because I believe it has so much relevance to our current political climate, the church, and our worship practices. Now…I know anything political tends to bring out some tensions. And this may cause some frustration for you. But the goal here is not to be partisan or take sides. We’re merely looking at the history of Christian nationalism today and even around the world. We talk about the three strands of Christian nationalism in the US today. We talk about the intersection of worship and christian nationalism and how that influences the kinds of songs we sing. We also talk about how we can have healthier dialogue together, no matter our political differences. We even end the podcast with some Civil War history and Lester’s reading habits/suggestions.

Topics Covered:

• The 3 Strands of Christian Nationalism in the United States today
• The global nature of religions nationalism
• How worship can be co-opted by Christian nationalism
• The surprising religious beliefs of our nation’s founders
• Civil War history and how it relates to Christian Nationalism
• Worship Industry tensions

Resources Mentioned:

• Show Sponsor: Planning Center
• Beatitudes Through The Ages by Rebekah Eklund
• The Violent Take it By Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy by Matthew D. Taylor
• The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, & Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
• And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle by Jon Meacham
• Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America by Garry Wills
• April 1865: The Month that Saved America (Civil War Sagas) by Jay Winik
• Upon the Altar of a Nation: A Moral History of the Civil War by Harry Stout

Show Sponsor: Planning Center

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