Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretly spied on Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, and Unitarian Universalist churches in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. This came after months of clergy helping lead the resistance against federal agents targeting immigrants and killing U.S. citizens in the streets.
So in a city that has lived through some of the devastating impacts of Christian Nationalism, it’s appropriate that in early October two events in Minneapolis will feature experts on understanding and combating this ideology.
Minneapolis-based journalist and Lutheran minister Angela Denker will moderate two upcoming book talk events, the first with Kristin Kobes Du Mez on Oct. 6 and the second with Brian Kaylor on Oct. 12. Both events will be held at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church and are cosponsored by Magers & Quinn Booksellers and the Minnesota chapter of Christians Against Christian Nationalism.
In addition to the five churches that DHS sent undercover agents into earlier this year, Hennepin Avenue UMC also showed up in the investigation’s reports. As DHS agents surveilled someone, they tracked the individual to the church’s parking lot and took photos (but did not go inside the church). Although not preemptively targeted, Hennepin Avenue UMC leaders had previously been outspoken against DHS’s violent actions in the Twin Cities, even hosting a “singing resistance” event.
Continuing that public witness, the church will host the upcoming book talks to help unpack and push back against Christian Nationalism, toxic masculinity, political abuse of Scripture, and more.
On Tuesday, Oct. 6, Du Mez will give a talk about her brand new book, Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made. In her previous book, Jesus and John Wayne, Du Mez explored how White evangelicals recast Jesus as an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian Nationalism. In her new book, she explores the roots of today’s White Christian femininity and how it is marketed. A professor of history at Calvin University, Du Mez is also a senior democracy fellow with the Public Religion Research Institute. Denker, author of Disciples of White Jesus, will join Du Mez on stage for the conversation.
You can register for the free event with Du Mez and Denker here.
On Monday, Oct.12, Kaylor will give a talk about his newest book, The Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power. This book unpacks ways the Bible is misused in politics today and how these misinterpretations distort the teachings of Jesus. With his humor and sarcasm, Kaylor takes seriously the threat Christian Nationalism poses to the Christian witness and democracy. Denker, who is also a Word&Way board member, will moderate the Q&A.
You can register for the free event with Kaylor and Denker here.
DHS spying in mainline Protestant churches shows us that even Christian churches, institutions, and individuals can find themselves targeted by a Christian Nationalist government because they aren’t considered to be the “right” kind of Christians. This ideology truly threatens us all. And if Christians won’t challenge it, then we’ll surrender our witness to the extremists claiming to be God’s agents on Earth.
We hope that those in the Twin Cities will be able to make it to these two events to learn from three leading voices pushing back against Christian Nationalism. But if you can’t make it, you should at least grab copies of Live Laugh Love, Disciples of White Jesus, and The Bible According to Christian Nationalists because the dangers of Christian Nationalism aren’t going away.
Register here to join Du Mez and Denker at Hennepin UMC on Oct. 6.
Register here to join Kaylor and Denker at Hennepin UMC on Oct. 12.
