Yang Visiting Scholar Nilay Saiya on Expanding our Understanding of Christian Nationalism

What are your main areas of interest as a scholar?

My main areas of interest are in the field of religion and politics. I am interested both in how religion shapes politics and how politics shapes religion. A central focus of my work is understanding the causes of religious violence. My first book, Weapon of Peace: How Religious Liberty Combats Terrorism, argues that religious freedom is a vital yet often overlooked tool in countering extremism. My second book, The Global Politics of Jesus: A Christian Case for Church-State Separation, presents both a theological and empirical case for the separation of church and state, with significant attention devoted to the issue of violence within the Christian tradition.

What is “Christian nationalism,” and how did you become interested in studying it, particularly through the global lens through which you analyze it?

The simplest way to understand Christian nationalism is as an ideology of Christian supremacy in society and politics. Over the past decade, a substantial body of scholarly work has emerged on this topic. However, nearly all of it focuses on the United States or other Western contexts. I began to investigate this phenomenon—why there was no scholarly attention to Christian nationalism in other contexts. My aim has been to show that Christian nationalism is a global phenomenon. While much attention is given to “White Christian nationalism,” there are also numerous forms of Black and Brown Christian nationalism across the world. Yet we know comparatively little about how Christian nationalism functions outside the West. How should we understand global Christian nationalism? What are its political and social consequences? These are the questions I hoped to explore through the Yang Visiting Scholar position.

In a February talk at HDS, you highlighted three consequences of Christian Nationalism: that it impacts the political, social, and spiritual. Could you outline what these consequences are? How can we combat it?

Christian nationalism has a range of consequences. In my talk, I highlighted three that I consider especially significant: political, social, and spiritual. Politically, Christian nationalism undermines democracy and fosters authoritarianism. Socially, it encourages violence within society. Spiritually, it paradoxically harms the church itself. To effectively combat Christian nationalism, a compelling counternarrative must emerge from within the very spaces where the ideology is taking root.

What drew you to the Yang Visiting Scholars in World Christianity program here at Harvard Divinity School? How has this year impacted your research and scholarly outlook?

There were so many things that drew me to this program. The faculty and students are brilliant, the resources are unparalleled, and there are endless opportunities to engage with the HDS community. I especially valued the chance to design and teach the course "Global Christian Nationalism" during the fall semester, as well as to participate in a Radcliffe Institute workshop on the state of World Christianity studies in the spring. Of course, the Yang program also provided the dedicated time I needed to advance my research on global Christian nationalism.

What advice would you give to future Yang Visiting Scholars?

HDS is an ideal place to study World Christianity. I would encourage future Yang Scholars to make the most of this opportunity by expanding their networks, taking full advantage of the available resources—especially the library—and engaging deeply with the key questions and challenges facing scholars of World Christianity today. I’d also recommend exploring beyond HDS to discover how their interests intersect with conversations happening across other parts of Harvard.