Prize-Winning Historian to Speak on Christian Nationalism at St. Stephen’s
Randall Balmer, who holds the John Phillips Chair in Religion at Dartmouth College, will present a forum, open to the public, on “The Perils of Christian Nationalism” at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Sunday, July 28, at 1 p.m. in North Hall. He will also be a guest preacher at the church’s 10 a.m. service. This will be a homecoming of sorts, as Dr. Balmer attended St. Stephen’s in the early 2000’s when he lived in Ridgefield. Christian Nationalism has been defined by the Brookings Institute as an “ethno-cultural ideology that uses Christian symbolism to create a permission structure for the acquisition of political power and social control.” Dr. Balmer wrote on Christian Nationalism in his book Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right. His book inspired the title of the 2024 documentary “Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy,” which St. Stephen’s screened in May. Dr. Balmer appears in the documentary along with other religious leaders, historians, journalists and activists.
Dr. Balmer received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and is an ordained Episcopal priest. He taught at Columbia University before going to Dartmouth and has been a visiting professor at Princeton, Yale and Northwestern Universities, as well as the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Yale Divinity School. He has served as rector of two parishes in Connecticut. Dr. Balmer has published more than a dozen books, including Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter, and his op-ed articles have appeared in newspapers across the country. He is regularly asked to comment on religion in American life and has appeared frequently on network television and on NPR. In 2024 he received the Martin E. Marty Award for the Public Understanding of Religion from the American Academy of Religion.
“We look forward to welcoming Dr. Balmer to St. Stephen’s to continue our conversation about how Christian Nationalism differs from the Christian faith,” said The Rev. Dr. Whitney Altopp, the church’s rector. “Our aim is to facilitate learning what it truly means to ‘love your neighbor’ by caring about the neighbor’s concerns. This draws us into the complexity and diversity of being human and unites us in Love’s purpose.” To attend the 1 p.m. public forum, please register on the St. Stephen’s website, https://ststephensridgefield.org/st-stephens-youre-invited/ or at the door.