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Mendenhall Lecture to address Christian nationalism
A symposium will highlight the issue of Christian nationalism in public life for this year’s Mendenhall Lecture Series event on Wednesday, May 1.
The event is free and open to the public and will take place at 7 p.m. at Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church.
A panel will feature Andre Henry, Brian Zahnd, Pamela Cooper-White and Andrew Whitehead. Bringing together insights from a range of specialties and experiences, they will discuss questions about the role of Christian nationalism in political discourse, and also how its appeal and influence can be understood.
Henry is an artist, activist and author of the bestselling book “All the White Friends I Couldn’t Keep.”
Zahnd is the founding pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Mo. He has written 11 books, including “Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God,” “When Everything’s on Fire” and “The Wood Between the Worlds.”
Cooper-White is a professor, priest and licensed psychotherapist. She is also a prolific and award-winning author, most recently of “The Psychology of Christian Nationalism: Why People Are Drawn In and How to Talk Across the Divide.”
Whitehead is a sociologist and a leading voice on Christian nationalism in the United States. He has written “American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church” and co-authored “Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States.”
“The conversation about Christian nationalism is both timely and pressing,” said Maureen Knudsen Langdoc, university chaplain and associate dean. “These four panelists bring a depth of expertise and a breadth of perspective – from sociology, psychology, theology, art and activism – to help us understand and engage this present moment.”