Sociology

RELIGIOUS LANGUAGE IN PROGRESSIVE POLITICS: From Civil Religion to Moral Redistribution

Document Type

Book Chapter

Abstract

Despite a few scholars’ and journalists’ best efforts, most political commentary in the United States assumes that the right is religious and the left is not. White Christian nationalism’s emergence as an organizing agenda for the Trump-era Republican Party has understandably entrenched many liberals’ and moderates’ mistrust of religion in politics. Meanwhile, the absence of much religious messaging from the national-level Democratic Party makes it easy to infer that faith matters little for voters or movements on the left. Combined, these patterns have entrenched the perceptions that religion’s chief role in politics is supporting the Republican agenda and that people who object to this agenda should oppose religion influencing politics at all.

Publication Title

Understanding Christian Nationalism: Perspectives on the Political Religion of Trump's America

Publication Date

2026

ISBN

9781003645634

DOI

10.4324/9781003645634-14

Keywords

US politics, religion, Christian nationalism, religious language

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