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Minneapolis Church Hosts Talks on Christian Nationalism
Confirmed
In Short: Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis will host two events in early October to discuss Christian Nationalism, a topic gaining increasing attention in the United States.
Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis will host two events in early October to discuss Christian Nationalism, a topic gaining increasing attention in the United States. The events, cosponsored by Magers & Quinn Booksellers and the Minnesota chapter of Christians Against Christian Nationalism, aim to unpack and push back against the ideology.
On October 12, Kaylor will give a talk about his newest book, 'The Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power.' The book explores how Christian Nationalists manipulate religious texts to justify their political agendas.
The following week, Kyla Smith will discuss her book 'Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made.' This book delves into the roots of White Christian femininity and how it has been marketed and shaped over time.
Both events will take place at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, which was recently involved in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigation into Christian Nationalism. The church's involvement highlights the broader issue of Christian Nationalism within mainline Protestant churches.
Kyla Smith's book builds on her previous work, 'Jesus and John Wayne,' which examined how White evangelicals recast Jesus as an idol of rugged masculinity. Her new book shifts focus to the history and marketing of White Christian femininity.
Christian Nationalism is particularly prevalent among white evangelicals and Hispanic Protestants, with around two-thirds of white evangelicals and a majority of Hispanic Protestants qualifying as Christian nationalists, according to PRRI’s 2025 American Values Atlas.
The events in Minneapolis come at a time when Christian Nationalism is increasingly influencing political discourse, particularly within conservative religious groups. However, the involvement of Hennepin Avenue UMC in these discussions underscores that opposition to Christian Nationalism can exist within traditionally conservative religious communities.
The church's decision to host these events reflects its commitment to public witness and combating the dangers of Christian Nationalism. By providing a platform for experts to discuss these issues, the church aims to educate and engage the community in understanding and resisting the ideology.
What this adds
The DHS investigation into Christian Nationalism within mainline Protestant churches highlights the broader issue of government surveillance and the targeting of religious institutions that do not align with certain political ideologies.
What's confirmed
- 6, Du Mez will give a talk about her brand new book, Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made.
What's still developing
- In addition to the five churches that DHS sent undercover agents into earlier this year, Hennepin Avenue UMC also showed up in the investigation’s reports.
- DHS spying in mainline Protestant churches shows us that even Christian churches, institutions, and individuals can find themselves targeted by a Christian Nationalist government because they aren’t considered to be the “right” kind of Christians.
- Source: Mapping Christian Nationalism Across the 50 States: Insights from PRRI’s 2025 American Values Atlas The states with the highest levels of support for Christian nationalism are Arkansas (54%), Mississippi (52%), West Virginia (51%), Oklahoma (49%), and Wyoming (46%).
- Source: Mapping Christian Nationalism Across the 50 States: Insights from PRRI’s 2025 American Values Atlas 79% of Christian nationalism Adherents score high or very high on the Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale.
- ACCESS DATA Search Survey Questions Search for specific questions asked in PRRI surveys.
- In 2025, 49% of Latter-day Saints nationally identified as Republican, another 30% as independent, and 61% as conservative.
- As Christian nationalist sentiment has grown among Republican leaders in recent years, conventional wisdom holds that conservative religious groups would back its calls for policies favoring right-wing Christian values and elevating white Christians’ status over other Americans.
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- (RNS) — By some measures, Utah is the most conservative state in the country, with 55% of its residents identifying as conservative.
- It also places it above every other state in the country.
- Utahns are also tied for third in their propensity to identify as Republicans.
- That puts Utah’s population a close second behind white evangelicals as the country’s most politically conservative religious group.