Christians and Political Authority in a Democratic Society

Last updated on: May 12, 2025 at 9:28 am By John San Nicolas

Throughout Christian history, many have struggled to understand government. What is government? What is its purpose? And what are the limitations of its political authority? Theologians, pastors, and rank-and-file Christians often cite passages like Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17. These passages offer clear descriptions of the Christian’s relationship to government, at least during Christianity’s very earliest days. However, there is difficulty in relating biblical precepts to current contexts. The political possibilities available to us today, and I especially focus... Read more

What Election Data Might Show About Christianity’s Divide

Last updated on: April 6, 2025 at 1:21 am By John San Nicolas

0 Comments

The Cooperative Election Study (CES) for 2024 is now available. And their election data shows some foreboding signs about how American Christians are being split along party lines. There have already been some interesting headlines drawing from the 2024 dataset. Two days ago, Tessa Gervasini writing for the National Catholic Register reported that the growth of the so-called “nones” (those who do not identify with any particular religion) has now stopped. The fact that this halt of the growth of the... Read more

The Gender Gap: Women’s Religiosity Continues to Decline

Last updated on: March 8, 2025 at 11:11 pm By John San Nicolas

0 Comments

There is a growing trend in American religion: women are leaving organized religion. According to data analysts, this trend is quite new. Some point to 2016 or 2018 as its starting point. Given that today is International Women’s Day, I thought it proper to open up the conversation on gender and religion. The data published on this topic has generated massive amounts of discussion. And commentators have offered a variety of explanations for why this trend is happening. Traditionally, women... Read more

American Christianity Is No Longer in Decline

Last updated on: March 2, 2025 at 9:33 pm By John San Nicolas

0 Comments

The narrative of decline has a strong hold on American Christians, particularly Protestants. The narrative goes like this. For decades, Christianity has been on the decline in the US. This steady decline indicates that America has given into nihilism, relativism, and has entered an era of post-Christianity. In Nietzschean fashion, believers themselves declare the death of God in American society. I want to argue that this narrative is untrue. Christianity is not declining any longer, nor has it declined enough... Read more

Romans 13:1 and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp

Last updated on: February 9, 2025 at 8:37 pm By John San Nicolas

0 Comments

Romans 13 is an often cited passage when Christians think about faith and politics. The very first verse of the chapter reads: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God (Romans 13:1, ESV). As St. Paul argues in his epistle to the Roman church, whoever disobeys these authorities disobeys God. Government is intended to encourage the doing of good and punish those... Read more

Was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a Heretic?

Last updated on: January 19, 2025 at 11:02 pm By John San Nicolas

0 Comments

I’ve been wanting to write this article for a couple of years. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a widely misunderstood figure in American history. Dominant histories cast King as a moderate, passive, colorblind peacemaker. Today, we will not consider ourselves so much with the “historical King,” if I may. Rather, we will address the surging accusations that King was a heretic. I first saw this claim leveled by a former colleague of mine, and our collegiality ended sometime after.... Read more

Mexican Humanism and Liberation Theology

Last updated on: January 18, 2025 at 11:05 am By John San Nicolas

0 Comments

Mexico’s first woman president, Claudia Sheinbaum, delivered an address in Mexico City on January 13. Sheinbaum’s speech centered on the international relationships between Mexico, the US, and Canada. Sheinbaum assured the nation that Mexico will continue the political project developed by former president Armando Manuel López Obrador: la Cuarta Transformación (the Fourth Transformation). Part of this transformation is what Sheinbaum called Mexican humanism. We examine one of the core tenets of this model of humanism: “por el bien de todos,... Read more

Christian Theology Rejects Violence… Except for James Cone

Last updated on: January 5, 2025 at 9:15 pm By John San Nicolas

0 Comments

From Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Stanley Hauerwas, Christian theologians reject violence as a dogma of Christian social engagement. Indeed, there are several denominations that have enshrined nonviolence (or Christian pacifism) in their distinctives, formally or informally. The Mennonites, the Amish, and other Anabaptist traditions are prime examples of this. But those familiar with history will know that there have been many Christians (who apologists are likely to euphemize as “people who claimed to be Christian”) who enacted violence... Read more

O Holy Night and Political Theology

Last updated on: December 24, 2024 at 1:04 pm By John San Nicolas

0 Comments

O Holy Night is an indisputable Christmas classic. It is one of those songs which awakens a sense of peace, solemnity, and dozing by the fireplace. And like all pieces of great art, its lyrics and melody are better known than its story and meaning. It feels like I experience Christmas differently each year. The Christian calendar seems to be designed that way. Our lives are constantly shaped by the Word and the world. This constant flux reorients and reforms... Read more

Quick Violence vs. Slow Violence: Luigi Mangione

Last updated on: December 16, 2024 at 1:56 am By John San Nicolas

0 Comments

This article follows the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The murderer, Luigi Mangione, has received condemnation from the corporate media, Ben Shapiro, and some of the American public. Mangione, however, has more broadly received sympathy, tacit approval, and even celebration from most of the American people. For those curious as to why, or for those strongly disgusted by this approval of violence, we set out in this article to explain the underpinnings of Mangione’s support. How could people... Read more