Lydia Bean
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691161303
- eISBN:
- 9781400852611
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691161303.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sociology of Religion
This chapter compares two American churches—Northtown Baptist and Lifeway Assembly of God—with two similar congregations just across the border in Canada: Highpoint Baptist and Grace Assembly of God. ...
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This chapter compares two American churches—Northtown Baptist and Lifeway Assembly of God—with two similar congregations just across the border in Canada: Highpoint Baptist and Grace Assembly of God. Both Canadian churches constructed their subcultural identity in ways that sounded similar to the two American churches. Like their American counterparts, Canadian evangelicals identified themselves as defenders of their nation's embattled Christian heritage and emphasized shared moral stances on abortion and sexuality. However, Canadian evangelicals used Christian nationalism in more broadly civic and nonpartisan ways: to draw strong subcultural boundaries, but also to express solidarity with Canadians across cultural, religious, and partisan divides. Because Canadian evangelicals drew on different narratives of Christian nationalism, they also talked differently about poverty and the welfare state in church contexts.Less
This chapter compares two American churches—Northtown Baptist and Lifeway Assembly of God—with two similar congregations just across the border in Canada: Highpoint Baptist and Grace Assembly of God. Both Canadian churches constructed their subcultural identity in ways that sounded similar to the two American churches. Like their American counterparts, Canadian evangelicals identified themselves as defenders of their nation's embattled Christian heritage and emphasized shared moral stances on abortion and sexuality. However, Canadian evangelicals used Christian nationalism in more broadly civic and nonpartisan ways: to draw strong subcultural boundaries, but also to express solidarity with Canadians across cultural, religious, and partisan divides. Because Canadian evangelicals drew on different narratives of Christian nationalism, they also talked differently about poverty and the welfare state in church contexts.
Lydia Bean
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691161303
- eISBN:
- 9781400852611
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691161303.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sociology of Religion
This chapter examines the claim that evangelical Christians are predisposed toward economic conservatism because of their individualistic theology. In the United States, white evangelicals are more ...
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This chapter examines the claim that evangelical Christians are predisposed toward economic conservatism because of their individualistic theology. In the United States, white evangelicals are more economically conservative than other Americans. Yet Canadian evangelicals are just as supportive of redistributive social policy as other Canadians, even though they share the same tools of conservative Protestant theology. To solve this puzzle, the chapter compares how U.S. and Canadian evangelical congregations talked about poverty and the role of government. In both countries, evangelicals made sense of their religious responsibilities to “the poor” by reference to national identity. Evangelicals used their theological tools differently in the United States and Canada, because different visions of national solidarity served as cultural anchors for religious discourse about poverty.Less
This chapter examines the claim that evangelical Christians are predisposed toward economic conservatism because of their individualistic theology. In the United States, white evangelicals are more economically conservative than other Americans. Yet Canadian evangelicals are just as supportive of redistributive social policy as other Canadians, even though they share the same tools of conservative Protestant theology. To solve this puzzle, the chapter compares how U.S. and Canadian evangelical congregations talked about poverty and the role of government. In both countries, evangelicals made sense of their religious responsibilities to “the poor” by reference to national identity. Evangelicals used their theological tools differently in the United States and Canada, because different visions of national solidarity served as cultural anchors for religious discourse about poverty.
Lydia Bean
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691161303
- eISBN:
- 9781400852611
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691161303.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sociology of Religion
It is now a common refrain among liberals that Christian Right pastors and television pundits have hijacked evangelical Christianity for partisan gain. This book challenges this notion, arguing that ...
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It is now a common refrain among liberals that Christian Right pastors and television pundits have hijacked evangelical Christianity for partisan gain. This book challenges this notion, arguing that the hijacking metaphor paints a fundamentally distorted picture of how evangelical churches have become politicized. The book reveals how the powerful coalition between evangelicals and the Republican Party is not merely a creation of political elites who have framed conservative issues in religious language, but is anchored in the lives of local congregations. Drawing on research at evangelical churches near the U.S. border with Canada, this book compares how American and Canadian evangelicals talk about politics in congregational settings. While Canadian evangelicals share the same theology and conservative moral attitudes as their American counterparts, their politics are quite different. On the U.S. side of the border, political conservatism is woven into the very fabric of everyday religious practice. The book shows how subtle partisan cues emerge in small group interactions as members define how “we Christians” should relate to others in the broader civic arena, while liberals are cast in the role of adversaries. It explains how the most explicit partisan cues come not from clergy but rather from lay opinion leaders who help their less politically engaged peers to link evangelical identity to conservative politics. This book demonstrates how deep the ties remain between political conservatism and evangelical Christianity in America.Less
It is now a common refrain among liberals that Christian Right pastors and television pundits have hijacked evangelical Christianity for partisan gain. This book challenges this notion, arguing that the hijacking metaphor paints a fundamentally distorted picture of how evangelical churches have become politicized. The book reveals how the powerful coalition between evangelicals and the Republican Party is not merely a creation of political elites who have framed conservative issues in religious language, but is anchored in the lives of local congregations. Drawing on research at evangelical churches near the U.S. border with Canada, this book compares how American and Canadian evangelicals talk about politics in congregational settings. While Canadian evangelicals share the same theology and conservative moral attitudes as their American counterparts, their politics are quite different. On the U.S. side of the border, political conservatism is woven into the very fabric of everyday religious practice. The book shows how subtle partisan cues emerge in small group interactions as members define how “we Christians” should relate to others in the broader civic arena, while liberals are cast in the role of adversaries. It explains how the most explicit partisan cues come not from clergy but rather from lay opinion leaders who help their less politically engaged peers to link evangelical identity to conservative politics. This book demonstrates how deep the ties remain between political conservatism and evangelical Christianity in America.
Tina Fetner and Carrie Sanders
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816672899
- eISBN:
- 9781452947174
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816672899.003.0011
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
This chapter is concerned with the Christian right movements in the United States and Canada, both of which used the same strategies yet produced different results. For instance, the parachurch ...
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This chapter is concerned with the Christian right movements in the United States and Canada, both of which used the same strategies yet produced different results. For instance, the parachurch organizations built in the United States by conservative evangelicals were more numerous, more densely networked, and had more fluid paths of communication than Canadian evangelicals. U.S. Christian right activists routinely use media institutions to reach potential supporters; while in Canada, church networks are fewer and not very organized, resulting to a much more difficult communication among leaders and constituents willing to engage in political action. Scholars have argued that this gap in movement outcomes stems from the fact that people in the United States are more religious than those in Canada, which explains the broader base of support for the U.S. Christian right.Less
This chapter is concerned with the Christian right movements in the United States and Canada, both of which used the same strategies yet produced different results. For instance, the parachurch organizations built in the United States by conservative evangelicals were more numerous, more densely networked, and had more fluid paths of communication than Canadian evangelicals. U.S. Christian right activists routinely use media institutions to reach potential supporters; while in Canada, church networks are fewer and not very organized, resulting to a much more difficult communication among leaders and constituents willing to engage in political action. Scholars have argued that this gap in movement outcomes stems from the fact that people in the United States are more religious than those in Canada, which explains the broader base of support for the U.S. Christian right.
