Populism through the Lens of Religion and Race

This discussion explores the impact of religion and race on American populism across the ideological spectrum. Papers explore the interplay of religious and secular forces on the #BlackLivesMatter movement, including a theological exploration of the death of Michael Brown and an examination of how Millennial activists are blurring secular/religious boundaries. The session juxtaposes these topics with examinations of white conservative populist expressions. Papers explore populist elements within the Southern Baptist Convention that laid the foundation for white evangelicals to throw their support behind Donald Trump and among Tea Party women whose rhetoric centered around a vision of white Christianity fighting the legality of abortion.

Robert P. Jones, Public Religion Research Institute, presiding

Papers:
- "The Reproductive Politics of Evangelical Tea Party Women and the Afterbirth of Trump’s America"
Larycia Hawkins, University of Virginia

- "Populism in the Southern Baptist Convention"
Adam Hankins, DePaul University

- "Critical Complexities: Religious-Secularity or Secular-Religiosity, and #BlackLivesMatter"
Seth Gaiters, Ohio State University

- "Seeing Jesus in Michael Brown: Theological Protest as the Performance of Purity in the Black Lives Matter Movement"
Rima Vesely-Flad, Warren Wilson College

This session was recorded at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion on November 18, in Boston, Massachusetts.