An Introduction to the Christian Nationalism Project at the CCE

Welcome to the first What Matters Most podcast that is also offered in video form on YouTube. This episode introduces our Christian Nationalism project and our plans for the next few years in terms of podcasts, webinars, and lectures, culminating with an international and ecumenical conference in 2028. You will also find links here to the podcast episodes that have already started to examine Christian Nationalism. We hope to offer forthcoming episodes on our YouTube channel also.  What Matters Most is a podcast focused on listening to people and what is on their minds, particularly dealing with the big questions of religion and spirituality. It emerges from the Centre for Christian Engagement, a Centre at St. Mark’s College, the Catholic college at UBC, but our programming is intended for all interested parties, Catholic or not. In the What Matters Most podcast, we talk to people, some well-known, some not so well-known, some Catholic, some Christian, some not affiliated with any religion, some affiliated with other faiths (Muslims, Sikhs) to find out what matters to them. It is a podcast focused on spirituality and faith, but truly focused on listening to others, to learning from those connected to the Church and to those who are not. In this episode I begin to define what I mean by the term “Christian Nationalism”? For me, it reflects the desire by some Christians in Europe, the USA, and in Canada, and perhaps elsewhere, to have the roles of the state and Church connected in some fundamental way so that the desires of the state and the Church are formally acknowledged and pursued by each. One of the ways we can think about the relationship is a return to some form of Christendom or a type of theocracy.  I take Christian nationalism as a particular, specific threat, separate from nationalism, which presents its own threats, and to my mind Christian nationalism needs to be defined on its own terms. A previous guest on the podcast, Bill Cavanaugh, sees nationalism itself as the threat and I cite from a recent article of his Nationalism as Idolatry: Why We Must Choose Between Elevating Religion or Country  as an important consideration. Please do check out the podcast episode he was a guest on cited below.  I also cite data from the Public Religion Research Institute, particularly “A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture,” as important to understanding the nature of Christian Nationalism. This data comes from the USA, though, and there is little Canadian data to consult. One book worth consulting, though, is Lydia Bean’s 2010 book The Politics of Evangelical Identity: Local Churches and Partisan Divides in the United States and Canada, in which she shows similarities in Canadian and American churches with respect to theology, but great differences in terms of their political identities.  Our goal here is to understand the phenomenon and to understand how to stand against it, both from a political point of view and from a religious point of view. It does not offer the authentic face of Christianity, although it is definitely a face of Christianity that cannot be ignored or wished away.  Part of our task too is to understand its attraction: what does it point to? What are the positives that people who desire Christian nationalism want? What does it offer them that they are missing? Why did it emerge now? Also, how does this impact people of other faiths? How is their place in a democracy understood by Christian nationalists? What do Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, indigenous peoples, and those with no particular faith, inclusive of all others, feel about Christian nationalism?  So, where are we at right now in terms of our project? Right now, there are podcasts that introduce a variety of ideas and the history of Christian nationalism in North America on the podcast.  Let me give you a list of episodes that touch on or discuss the topic in depth.  The Rise of Christian Nationalism in the 1930s and Today in the USA: A Conversation with Charles Gallagher, S.J. on October 31, 2023 Listen here (Apple Podcasts) The Uses of Idolatry, or Many Old Gods: A Conversation with Bill Cavanaugh on October 22, 2024 on Christianity and nationalism, particularly the idolatry of nationalism. Listen here (Apple Podcasts) Reconsidering John Calvin: A Conversation with Ruben Rosario Rodriguez, January 16, 2025 examines Calvin’s view of the proper relationship between church and state and the authority due each of them.  Listen here (Apple Podcasts) Becoming a Catholic Peace Church: A Conversation with Gerald Schlabach January 30, 2025 In which Gerald reflects on the anabaptist understanding of the role of the church in the world and how the Catholic church can become a peace church. Listen here (Apple Podcasts) Reading the Bible in the Kingdom of Love: A Conversation with Tom Bolin June 25, 2025 In which Tom reflects on his new book, An Inspired Word in Season: Reading the Bible Responsibly in a Polarized World, which seeks to reduce polarization in a divisive political world by seeking out ways in which the Bible can reduce tension by interpreting responsibly together.  Listen here (Apple Podcasts) “The Way We Exercise Dominion is Through Justice:” A Conversation with Dr. Steven W. Tyra on Christian Nationalism, October 22, 2025 Listen here (Apple Podcasts) Finally, I think Elizabeth Castelli’s fits in the context of our discussion of Charlie Kirk and his murder and how that fits in martyrdom narratives. Who is a Martyr? A Conversation with Dr. Elizabeth A. Castelli, November 19, 2025 Listen here (Apple Podcasts) Coming up is Ruth Braunstein, who will discuss evangelical Christian nationalism. And following that Matthew Cressler who will discuss Catholic integralism, a specifically Catholic form of Christian nationalism. There is more to come including an in person lecture with Pavlo Smytsnyuk on March 17, 2025.  More to come, so stay tuned! And please follow us on your favourite podcasting platform, rate and review the podcast, follow us on Instagram at @stmarkscce, or drop us an email at [email protected] or @[email protected]. Thanks for listening and remember what matters most. John W. Martens