John Anderson - Conservative Christian Politics in Russia and the United States: Dreaming of Christian Nations

Conservative Christian Politics in Russia and the United States

This book explores the politics of conservative Christian churches and social movements in Russia and the United States, focusing on their similar concerns but very different modes of political engagement.

Whilst secularization continues to chip away at religious adherence and practice in Europe, religion is often, quite rightly, seen as an influential force in the politics of the United States, and, more questionably, as a significant influence in contemporary Russia. This book looks at the broad social movement making up the US Christian Right and the profoundly hierarchical leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church as socially conservative actors, and some of the ways they have engaged in contemporary politics. Both are seeking to halt the perceived drift towards a more secular political order; both face significant challenges in handling the consequences of secularism, pluralism and liberal individualism; and both believe that their nations can only be great if they remain true to their religious heritage. In exploring their experience, the book focuses on shared and different elements in their diagnosis of what is wrong with their societies and how this affects their policy intervention over issues such as religious and ethnic belonging, sexual orientation and education.

Drawing on political, sociological and religious studies, this work will be a useful reference for students and scholars of religion and politics, Russian politics and American politics.

John Anderson is Professor of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. His research and teaching interests lie in the fields of religion and politics, and post-Soviet affairs.

Routledge Studies in Religion and Politics

Edited by Jeffrey Haynes

This series aims to publish high quality works on the topic of the resurgence of political forms of religion in both national and international contexts. This trend has been especially noticeable in the post-Cold War era (that is, since the late 1980s). It has affected all the world religions (including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism) in various parts of the world (such as the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, South and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa).

The series welcomes books that use a variety of approaches to the subject, drawing on scholarship from political science, international relations, security studies and contemporary history.

Books in the series explore these religions, regions and topics both within and beyond the conventional domain of churchstate relations to include the impact of religion on politics, conflict and development, including the late Samuel Huntingtons controversial yet influential thesis about clashing civilizations.

In sum, the overall purpose of the book series is to provide a comprehensive survey of what is currently happening in relation to the interaction of religion and politics, both domestically and internationally, in relation to a variety of issues.

Politics and the Religious Imagination

Christianity and Party Politics

Keeping the faith

Religion, Politics and International Relations

Selected essays

Religion and Democracy

A worldwide comparison

Religious Actors in the Public Sphere

Means, objects and effects

Politics and Religion in the United Kingdom

Politics, Religion and Gender

Framing and regulating the veil

Representing Religion in the European Union

Does God matter?

An Introduction to Religion and Politics

Theory and practice

Religion in International Relations Theory

Concepts, tools, debates

Religion in the Context of Globalization

Essays on concept, form, and political implication

Religion and the Realist Tradition

From political theology to International Relations theory and back

Cosmopolitanism, Religion and the Public Sphere

Religion, Identity and Human Security

Christians and the Middle East Conflict

Conservative Christian Politics in Russia and the United States

Dreaming of Christian nations

Conservative Christian Politics in Russia and the United States

Dreaming of Christian nations

John Anderson

First published 2015
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2015 John Anderson

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ISBN: 978-1-138-81271-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-74862-7 (ebk)

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This is a book based upon many years of reading, writing and thinking about conservative Christianity, initially focusing on the former Soviet Union but also more recently on the United States and elsewhere. It comprises a set of connected essays that look at politicized conservative religion in two countries that lie beyond the boundaries of post-Christian or old Europe. In some senses, and despite their large physical spaces, these are in-between countries, positioned on the edges of a variably secularized Europe and a burgeoning and dynamic Christianity in the global south. They have been subject to extensive secularization, of an often violent and forced nature in Russia and, whatever the critics of secularization theory may say, have undoubtedly been affected by these processes albeit less so in the United States. Yet religion remains a vital part of their landscape and key religious actors continue to make claims on public space and policy, with conservative voices generally the loudest and often the brashest of those seeking political influence. What I mean by conservative Christians will become clearer in the opening chapter, whilst later chapters will unpack some of their engagements in the political sphere. Several themes will emerge as we follow communities attempting to come to terms with the challenges of secularization, pluralism and liberalism, and pursue their dreams of recreating, preserving or building Christian nations that will enjoy God's blessing in the future. Yet, simultaneously, there is a sense of urgency in their struggles, as some seem resigned to fighting a last battle, albeit one in which they will go down fighting, whilst others are seeking to find new agendas which will enable them to realize the dream of living in nations shaped by their particular Christian world-views. Whether this is a legitimate comparison is for the reader to decide. It is certainly an unusual one insofar as it seeks to compare an institutional church with a social movement. So if the formal justifications fail, all I can say is that as I have spent many years reading about both countries and talking to some of those involved, I though it worth exploring my very imperfect understanding of the nature and purpose of religious interventions in the public spheres of both countries.