Downers Grove church to host lecture on dangers of Christian nationalism

Although theologian and author John Dorhauer has much to say on Christian nationalism, it’s a topic he doesn’t relish.

“It’s not that I dislike it,” said Dorhauer, a former president of the United Church of Christ. “But if you were to ask me what I’d really like to be doing, I’d rather live in a set of circumstances where this wasn’t necessary. And yet it is necessary. I feel more proud about the call to speak and to fight for democracy than I would say I enjoy it.”

At the invitation of the Downers Grove First United Methodist Church’s Mission, Justice and Community team, Dorhauer on Saturday will discuss his research on how Christian nationalism has dedicated itself to infiltrating churches and politics.

The community is invited to attend the program, which is set for 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday with refreshments, at First UMC, 1032 Maple Ave., and stay for an informal discussion from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Joy Doran, who co-leads the church’s Mission, Justice and Community team, learned about Dorhauer through a friend who saw him speak at Elmhurst University in the spring of 2023.

His lecture “Christian Nationalism: A Threat to Both Democracy and Christianity” was part of the Religious Literacy Project at the university.

During Dorhauer’s talk, he explored the challenge of faithfulness in the face of Christian nationalism and the need for religious leaders and people of faith to openly discuss and confront it.

Doran was able to watch a recording of Dorhauer’s lecture on YouTube.

“And it was a powerful message,” she said.

This will be the second workshop coordinated by the Mission, Justice and Community team. Last fall’s “In Solidarity” anti-racist workshop drew more than 80 attendees.

“We felt like it was hugely successful considering we’d never done anything like that,” Doran said. “After the success, I started thinking ahead to 2024 and thought this would be a good next project.”

Doran said the presentation is especially timely as the country heads into an election year.

“There is so much at stake this year. … There’s a lot of controversy,” she said. “It just lined up so well in my mind and the minds of our committee.”

Dorhauer, who served as the ninth general minister and president of the mainline Protestant denomination, received a masters of divinity from Eden Theological Seminary in 1988 and a doctorate in ministry from United Theological Seminary in 2004. He is the author of “Beyond Resistance: The Institutional Church Meets the Postmodern World.”

Dorhauer defines Christian nationalism as “a movement to make Christianity the official religion of the U.S.”

“And to rewrite the Constitution to model strict interpretations of Old Testament law,” Dorhauer said.

His lecture will focus on how long the movement has been around, what its end game is and why people should be aware of it.

“As a Christian, I try to state as clearly as I can that the U.S. Constitution guarantees free expression for all religions and the right to have no religious affiliation,” Dorhauer said.

Dorhauer said in any election year “it is going to be important to defend democracy.”

“There is never a bad time for that. Why this year it is most important is because we have already seen the threat to democracy that the previous administration was,” he said. “If we were to put [Donald Trump] back in power, not only would we anticipate a repeat of that, but the candidate himself is talking about taking it exponentially further. My great fear is if that happens we may be watching over the end of democracy as we have known it.”

Dorhauer acknowledges there are some who might see that as an overreaction.

“But I’m very passionate about this and I am persuaded this is not an overreaction. We have a choice between preserving democracy or watching someone preside over the erosion of our democracy,” Dorhauer said.

For information on the program, call 630 968-7120 or visit www.dgfumc.org or follow facebook.com/dgfumc.