Due to the extensive protest activities planned for the next few days and the suspension of teaching activities at the Hebrew University, Christopher Brittain's lecture this Wednesday is cancelled.
"The Stigmata of Democracy: Freedom, Race, and Identity in American Evangelicalism."
In the 2016 American presidential election, 81% of White evangelicals voted for Donald Trump despite the obvious fact that he had little knowledge or interest in Christianity. This puzzled many commentators, as has the ongoing influence of right-wing populism and racism among Evangelicals in movements such as anti-Woke campaigns and QAnon. This lecture will analyse these developments by drawing upon sociological studies of right-wing populist movements conducted by Theodor W. Adorno in the 1940s-60s, as well as on political theology, which explores the relationship between notions of political sovereignty and religious concepts. The discussion will explore the interrelation between economic and cultural factors fuelling such protest movements, as well as how freedom is conceptualized within them.
The event is held in collaboration with the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism.
Christopher Craig Brittain is Dean of Divinity and Margaret E. Fleck Chair in Anglican Studies at Trinity College in the University of Toronto. His research includes work in the areas of church conflict, disaster studies, Anglican theology, and Political Theology. His publications include: “Racketeering in Religion: Adorno and evangelical support for Donald Trump,” Critical Research on Religion 6.3 (2018), The Anglican Communion at a Crossroads: The Crisis of a Global Church (Penn State, 2018), Religion at Ground Zero: Theological responses to times of crisis (Continuum, 2011), and Adorno and Theology (T&T Lark 2010).
הסטיגמטה של הדמוקרטיה: חירות, גזע וזהות באוונגליזם האמריקאי
איך קרה ש80% מהאוונגליסטים הלבנים הצביעו לטראמפ, למרות חוסר העניין המובהק שלו בנצרות? ההרצאה תדון בפופוליזם ימני וגזענות בקרב אוונגליסטים לאור מחקריו של תיאודור אדורנו על הימין הפופוליסטי, כמו גם לאור חקירה תיאולוגית-פוליטית של היחסים בין מושגי ריבונות למושגים דתיים.