Month: August 2024

Christian fundamentalists have become associated with the political movement led by former President Donald Trump. The fundamentalist “mindset” has also been closely associated with the evangelical movement as they play a major role in his supporter base. 

Yet, David French has a broader understanding of the fundamentalist mindset in the United States. For instance, many people have trouble understanding how certain religious voters have stood by the former president despite all his personal scandals. David French’s broader understanding provides insight into this apparent contradiction in his remarks to Baptist News. 

In response to Professor Carl Trueman’s engagement with “Confident Pluralism,” John Inazu shares some of his concerns about hot debates such as the Obama administration’s overreach in the transgender debate about locker room use. However, Inazu cautions that Trueman’s dismissive language towards opposing views does not foster constructive dialogue. Instead, he suggests acknowledging the complexity of transgender policy issues and our conflicting moral commitments. 

Inazu also believes that some of Trueman’s critiques of the Left apply to the Right. He notes that some conservatives focus on unsubstantiated fears rather than the realities faced by their neighbors and acknowledges that accusations of bigotry, while sometimes off the mark, are not always unfounded. On the broader aspirations of “Confident Pluralism,” Inazu agrees with Trueman that pluralism relies on a healthy culture of diversity and that local-level interactions are crucial. Despite Trueman’s skepticism about the public square, Inazu remains hopeful that many people are willing to engage in serious discussions about coexistence and common ground. He wishes Trueman had highlighted more of the “confidence” in confident pluralism, emphasizing optimism and hope as virtues. 

John Inazu’s full response can be freely accessed here.

Conservative evangelical writer David French shared his concerns about the dangers of Christian nationalism in an interview with the Washington Post. While he condemns recent nationalist trends within the evangelical movement, he also remains firm in his religious beliefs as an evangelical and provides much-needed context to understand our current moment in the aftermath of the Jan 6 insurrection. 

Speaking more broadly, French emphasizes that “we are superheating our political rhetoric at home out of proportion to the stakes of our political controversies. And that’s dangerous.” However, not all rhetoric is created equal. French also sees room for nuance, pointing out that “one of the misnomers about White evangelicals is that their churches are deeply political. That is by and large not true.” 

You can access the entire interview through the Washington Post.