Pentecostalism and the uncontrollability of the world
Why is Paula White and charismatic Christianity attractive to Trump? How has Pentecostalism in America come to be aligned with MAGA and supported by a common vision of America?
Make America Great Again is not only about a golden age of prosperity it is also about the rejection of a secular and plural nation supported by the myth of America as a Christian country when it was founded. Under Trump and through the directorship of independent charismatic preacher, Paula White, the White House Faith Initiative is an instrument to root out anti-Christian bias and to promote the dual goals of the political and the religious, to “Make America a Great Christian Country Again.”
“All things are Possible” is a subcultural narrative that generates support for the role of charismatic Christianity in the US and a new Christian nationalism. This presentation will discuss the shifting contours of religion and politics since Trump’s first presidency, Christian nationalism, the role of spiritual warfare and prophesy, claims of a stolen election, the assassination attempt, and the role of charismatic Christianity in a world that that appears to be out of control.
About the speaker
Prof Michael Wilkinson is Professor of Sociology at the Trinity Western University, British Columbia, Canada. His research and work focus on cultural analyses of religion. He has written about immigration and religion, evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, and globalization and taught courses on the sociology of religion, religion and culture, globalization, and theory.
Recent books include The Handbook of Religious Ecstasy (ed. with Alison Marshall and Rubina Ramji), The Canadian Pentecostal Experience (ed. with Linda Ambrose), The Pentecostal World (ed. with Jörg Haustein), Brill’s Encyclopaedia of Global Pentecostalism (ed. with Connie Au, Jörg Haustein and Todd Johnson) and After the Revival: Pentecostalism and the Making of a Canadian Church (with Linda Ambrose).
About this event
This extracurricular seminar is a joint event, held in collaboration with the Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide.
If you would like to audit this event online, please send an email to centre@cccw.cam.ac.uk.