Who Is a True Christian?
Contesting Religious Identity in American Culture

Explores why the question of what defines Christianity has become so damagingly vexatious - and how believers might conceive of it differently.

David W. Congdon (Author)

9781009428996, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 February 2024

404 pages
23.6 x 16.2 x 2.7 cm, 0.71 kg

'Congdon's book is a detailed, erudite, and profound study of the quest for the essence of Christianity. His proposal is innovative and original. I highly recommend this thought-provoking book.' Stephen D. Morrison, sdmorrison.org

'No true Christian could vote for Donald Trump.' 'Real Christians are pro-life.' 'You can't be a Christian and support gay marriage.' Assertive statements like these not only reflect growing religious polarization but also express the anxiety over religious identity that pervades modern American Christianity. To address this disquiet, conservative Christians have sought security and stability: whether by retrieving 'historic Christian' doctrines, reconceptualizing their faith as a distinct culture, or reinforcing a political vision of what it means to be a follower of God in a corrupt world. The result is a concerted effort 'Make Christianity Great Again': a religious project predating the corresponding political effort to 'Make America Great Again.' Part intellectual history, part nuanced argument for change, this timely book explores why the question of what defines Christianity has become, over the last century, so damagingly vexatious - and how believers might conceive of it differently in future.

Introduction: The Rule of Faith in an Age of Anxiety
1. Modernizing the Rule: The Quest for the Essence of Christianity
2. Recovering the Rule: The Retrieval of 'Historic Christianity'
3. Inhabiting the Rule: How Christianity Became a Culture
4. Weaponizing the Rule: Making Christianity (and America) Great Again
5. Rewriting the Rule: Christianity without Orthodoxy
Conclusion: The Many Rules of Christianity.

Subject Areas: History of religion [HRAX]