Is Christianity inherently colonial in nature?

In this episode of Fractured Faith, Joshua Hopping — Cherokee author and lay-theologian — examines the question: Is Christianity inherently colonial in nature? With nuance and candor, he explores what is meant by both “Christianity” and “colonialism,” tracing the faith from Genesis through Jesus and Paul while acknowledging its historical entanglement with empire. Offering a “no, yes, maybe” response, Hopping considers the biblical mandate to proclaim Christ, the painful reality of Christianity being used to dominate Indigenous peoples, and the scriptural witness that portrays God at work among all nations (Amos 9:7). He also reflects on how European-American Christianity often developed alongside imperial power and argues that decolonizing the faith is not about abandoning Christ, but disentangling the gospel from empire. Drawing on Trinitarian theology, early church voices, and marginalized theologians, he invites listeners to imagine a shift from control to communion — and to consider what it would mean for Christianity to look more like Jesus himself.