Black Writers on Race and the Rise of White Christian Nationalism

Описание: What exactly is white Christian nationalism? Is it actually on the rise? How does white Christian nationalism impact people of faith who are also people of color? How do people of color define religious freedom? This Black History Month, explore these questions and more in a one-hour virtual kitchen table-style conversation with two leading experts on race, religion, and American politics.

Speakers include Dr. Sabrina Dent (Center for Faith, Justice and Reconciliation), Dr. Obery Hendricks (Columbia Department of Religion and Department of African American and African Diasporic Studies) and moderator Candace Bond-Theriault (Law, Rights, and Religion Project, Columbia Law School).

This event was organized by Columbia Law School’s Law, Rights, and Religion Project and co-sponsored by the Black Law Students Association, the Secularism Society and the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life.



Speakers:

Sabrina E. Dent, D. Min., is a life-long advocate for human rights and social justice. Prior to assuming the presidency of Center for Faith, Justice, and Reconciliation, Dr. Dent served as director of programs and partnerships for the Religious Freedom Center of the Freedom Forum Institute and, most recently, as senior faith advisor for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. At Americans United, Dr. Dent served as a member of the Faith for Equality working group where she mobilized religious leaders to amplify faith voices on legislative issues such as the Equality Act to ensure and expand federal legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, people of color, women, and religious minority groups.

Dr. Dent co-hosts the Sister Act Podcast with Hurunnessa Fariad and Rabbi Sue Shankman. The podcast is dedicated to women of faith from different religious traditions and engages various topics around life, faith, and resilience.



Obery Hendricks is one of the foremost commentators on the intersection of religion and political economy in America. His recent book, Christians Against Christianity: How Right-Wing Evangelicals Are Destroying Our Nation and Our Faith (Beacon Press, 2021) has gathered wide acclaim.

Dr. Hendricks has served in the Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group at the U. S. Department of State under Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry; was a member of the Faith Advisory Council of the Democratic National Committee; and served on the National Religious Leaders Advisory Committee of the 2008 Democratic Presidential campaign. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at The Democracy Collaborative in Washington, DC and is on the Advisory Board of the Institute of Christian Socialism, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).

Hendricks’ award-winning book, The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus’ Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted (Doubleday, 2006), was declared “essential reading for Americans” by the Washington Post.

Dr. Hendricks is currently a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University in the Department of Religion and the Department of African American and African Diasporic Studies; a Visiting Professor at Union Theological Seminary; and Emeritus Professor of Biblical Interpretation at New York Theological Seminary.

February 7, 2023