001: It's Time to Leave American Exceptionalism Behind

Religious Nationalism is Global - So is the Resistance 

In this first episode, Dr. Matthew D. Taylor and the Rev. Susan Hayward make the case that we in America need to listen to and learn from those who’ve been resisting religious nationalist movements in other contexts. By showing humility, and leaving American exceptionalism behind, we will better understand what’s happening here at home and how to respond. American Christian nationalism is not a singular phenomenon. It's part of a family of religious nationalisms that mutually reinforce each other. That means there is a global network of resistors with strategies, skills, and lessons to teach Americans in our own fight.

This episode introduces the framework, key terms, and overarching questions that will guide the series. We are introduced to our hosts Dr. Matthew Taylor and Rev. Susie Hayward, their backgrounds and experiences/expertise, and why they wanted to examine the phenomenon of US Christian Nationalism through this global approach. Matt and Susie offer an overview of the rise of exclusionary forms of religious nationalisms worldwide associated with democratic backsliding – setting that alongside the rising influence of anti-democratic Christian Nationalism in the US. They point to ways in which these global movements are related to one another, including their common drivers, narratives, and tactics, and to some of their trans-national connections.

Additional Resources:

Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation (2023) Written and narrated by Matthew D. Taylor. Produced by Brad Onishi. Engineered by Scott Okamoto.

The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy. Matthew D. Taylor. Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2024.

Scripture People: Salafi Muslims in Evangelical Christians’ America. Matthew D. Taylor. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists. Matthew D. Taylor. Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, forthcoming in October 2026.

Women, Religion, and Peace – Illuminating the Invisible. Susan Hayward and Katherine Marshall, eds. Washington, DC: U.S. Institute of Peace Press, September 2015. 

“Religions, Peace, and Conflict.” Susan Hayward and Erin Wilson. In The State of the Evidence in Religions and Development, edited by Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI). Washington, DC: JLI, 2022, 55-60.

Hayward, Susan. “Religion and Peacebuilding: Reflections on Current Challenges and Future Prospects.” Special Report 313. Washington, DC: USIP Press, August 2012.   

Dr. Matthew D. Taylor is the senior Christian scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, where he specializes in American Christianity, American Islam, Christian extremism, and religious politics. His book, The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy (Broadleaf, 2024), tracks how a loose network of charismatic Christian leaders called the New Apostolic Reformation was a major instigating force for the January 6th Insurrection and is currently reshaping the culture of the religious right in the U.S. Taylor is also the creator of the audio docuseries Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation.

Rev. Susan Hayward: was until recently the lead on the US Institute of Peace’s efforts to understand religious dimensions of conflict and advance efforts engaging religious actors and organizations in peacebuilding. She has conducted political asylum and refugee work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Advocates for Human Rights. Rev. Hayward studied Buddhism in Nepal and is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.

www.axismundi.us

Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi

Producer: Andrew Gill

Original Music and Mixing: Scott Okamoto

Production Assistance: Kari Onishi

Funded through generous contributions from ICJS, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the ICRD.

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