Course Goals:
- Define and analyze White Christian Nationalism from historical, theological, and political perspectives.
- Explore the role of race in shaping Christian identity and practice in the United States.
- Examine the resistance of the Black church to WCN and its ongoing prophetic witness.
- Equip students with practical strategies to challenge WCN in their own faith communities and contexts.
This course with Episcopal Divinity School is being offered on a pay-what-you-can basis and we’re anticipating that we’ll exceed the course cap very quickly. To keep things as equitable as possible, enrollment will be via a lottery system.
This course is not for credit (students do not need to be enrolled in an educational institution) and designed for those who are ready to commit to:
- Weekly participation in a live, 2 hour virtual class
- Completing weekly readings
- Reflecting on study questions shared in advance
- Engaging deeply with the instructor and peers via our online learning platform and during class
- Putting your learning into action — through an op-ed, direct action, sermon, blog post, or other project
The pay-what-you-can tiers are $300 / $150 / $75 and financial aid available if you are selected for the course and unable to pay.
EDS Colloquium
Dr. Tisby is hosting three free public events with EDS this fall highlighting the course themes:
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How White Christian Nationalism Undermines Democracy with Robert P. Jones
💻Virtual Event
This event took place on September 18Robert P. Jones, author of White Too Long and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), will explore how survey data and historical analysis reveal the deep entanglement between white Christianity and American racism. He will help us see how White Christian Nationalism is not a fringe ideology but a powerful cultural force shaping politics and religion today.
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How the Black Church Resists White Christian Nationalism with the Rev. Dr. Dwight Radcliff
💻Virtual Event
Thursday, September 25
1pm Eastern / 10am PacificRev. Dr. Dwight Radcliff, pastor and Director of the Pannell Center for Black Church Studies, will draw on his dual perspective as scholar and practitioner to highlight how the Black church has historically resisted white supremacy. He will also show how congregations today can cultivate a prophetic witness that speaks truth and pursues justice in the face of White Christian Nationalism.
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What Do We Do About Democracy? with Dr. Anthea Butler
💻Virtual Event
Thursday, October 9
1pm Eastern / 10am PacificDr. Anthea Butler, historian and author of White Evangelical Racism, will address the urgent question: "What do we do about democracy now?" She will connect the history of racism in American evangelicalism to our present democratic crisis, showing how White Christian Nationalism undermines both faith and civic life. Her insights will help us consider how we came to forfeit many fundamentals of democracy and what faith looks like under authoritarianism.
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Dr. Jemar Tisby
Jemar Tisby is a New York Times bestselling author, historian, and the founder and creative director of Tisby Media—a visionary studio creating a moral, imaginative, and creative counterculture to disinformation, social injustice, and the politics of fear. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Mississippi and is the author of multiple books, including The Color of Compromise, How to Fight Racism, The Spirit of Justice, as well as several children's books. As a nationally renowned public scholar, Dr. Tisby's work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, PBS, NPR and TIME Magazine among others. He is an educator who has taught students from middle school through graduate school. He is an international speaker on the topics of faith, history, and justice, equipping audiences with clarity, competence, and courage to pursue transformative change. You can follow Dr. Tisby's latest thought leadership through his top ranked history publication at JemarTisby.Substack.com.
Registration for this course was open from July 21 through August 1 and is now closed. If you entered the lottery system, please monitor your email for an update from EDS. Thank you for your interest!