By the Rev. Erin Jones, Communications and Advocacy Engagement Manager, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania
A deep exploration of the signs and dangers of Christian nationalism, and ways we as disciples of Jesus are called to confront and counter
those forces, took place on March 7-8, 2025, co-hosted by Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa), an ELCA-affiliated state public policy office (SPPO). LAMPa was delighted to co-host “Hope in a Divided World: A Faithful Response to Christian Nationalism” alongside Kindling Faith at United Lutheran Seminary at the Gettysburg Campus with nationally renowned scholars and speakers such as Dr. Lori Brandt Hale of the International Bonhoeffer Society – English Language Section and Amanda Tyler of the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty.
Tyler, who is also the lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism*, opened the Saturday gathering with an overview of Christian nationalism and how it manifests itself in our current context in the United States. Drawing on Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) surveys, she illustrated how the tenants of Christian nationalism are often antithetical to the U.S. Constitution, and therefore it is “neither Christian, nor patriotic.” She also cautioned against calling individuals “Christian nationalists,” as that is “not an immutable identity marker, and doing so can shut down conversation.” Instead, she suggests the best way to confront a person espousing Christian nationalist sentiments is to approach with curiosity, grace and a willingness to enter into relationship.
This call to deeper relationship segued well into Dr. Brandt Hale’s lecture on the lessons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in this work. Brandt Hale
worked with LAMPa in 2024 to produce and share a congregational curriculum on Bonhoeffer’s theology and legacy, in which she emphasizes that the question to address is not, “Is this a Bonhoeffer moment?” but rather Bonhoeffer’s own question, “Who is Christ for us today?” Brandt Hale called on participants to understand relationality more deeply, because by seeing our neighbors, especially as Bonhoeffer emphasized “the outcasts, the suspects, the maltreated, the powerless, the oppressed and reviled, in short from the perspective of the suffering,” we can more fully see God at work in real people. Bonhoeffer himself, she noted, knew that “Christ loved real people.”
The day closed with worship in word and sacrament, presided over by the Rev. Amy Reumann, Senior Director of ELCA Witness in Society. ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton preached, using the lectionary texts for the First Sunday in Lent. Reflecting on the difference between the power the Devil offers Jesus in the wilderness and the power of the cross, Bishop Eaton said, “The Cross is an instrument of death, meant by the Roman Empire to humiliate and crush anyone who rose up against empire. But instead, God made this the very entrance to the beginning of life.”
By trusting in this new life, the work ahead of us will not be easy, but Bishop Eaton reminded the congregation, “God has placed us in community” and the work is not done in isolation. “We are a part of a movement; a movement of truth, a movement of freedom, a movement of love.”
The entire weekend was an example of that movement in action. By gathering in hope, learning from experts and scholars, and being called into action, participants left feeling more ready for the work of building relationships and speaking truth to power. Opportunities to engage with LAMPa and ELCA Advocacy were at the top of the list for action. Local groups and new relationships were also forged. And visions for the church’s place in response to harmful forces and policies were focused in new ways.
You can watch the recording of Saturday’s events here.
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*The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton is an originating endorser of this campaign, as are many other Lutherans.
