White Christian Nationalism in Batavia and Beyond ‍

October 30 - 6 PM First Presbyterian Church, 300 E Main St, Batavia, NY

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In the summer of 2022, The Reawaken America Tour which strongly propagates Christian nationalism came to Batavia because they thought they would find a sympathetic audience in Western New York. Many local faith leaders spoke up to counter the exclusivist rhetoric of Christian Nationalism.

On the surface, Christian Nationalism may seem to be harmless. You may wonder, what is wrong with loving God and loving our country? If you are interested in exploring this question, please join us for this seminary. We will show the movie, Bad Faith, followed by reflections. Light supper will be served.

‍Speakers include: The Reverend Neal Christie, Principal Religious Nationalisms Project and Executive Director of the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America; The Reverend Peter Cook, Principal of Religious Nationalisms Project and Executive Director, New York State Council of Churches.Rashida Tyler, Deputy Executive Director, New York State Council of Churches; The Reverend Jim Ketcham, Chaplain Coordinator and Criminal Justice Policy Team Co-Chair, New York State Council of Churches; The Reverend Michael Bell, Pastor, Durham Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Buffalo; and Garnell Whitfield, Jr. Former Buffalo Fire Commissioner and son of Ruth Whitfield who was one of ten victims in the TOPS Supermarket Shooting.

Panel will be moderated by the Reverend Dr. Roula Alkhouri, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Batavia.

‍Register here.

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Join The Religious Nationalisms Project on its tour of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York as we reflect on the scourge of religious nationalism in our politics. In this election and post-election season, we are witnessing expressions of Christian Nationalism at a fever pitch. How is Christian nationalism and religious nationalism in general manifesting itself in your family, your community and the nation as whole? How is religion used to welcome immigrants or demonize them? What is the relationship of Christian Nationalism to democracy? This tour comes under the auspices of the Religious Nationalisms Project which seeks to engage congregations of all faiths to reflect critically on the role of religion in our political life as we embrace the central affirmation that all people are created in the image of God and must be treated equally. To learn more, contact The Reverend Peter Cook, pcook@nyscoc.org or 508-380-8289 or The Reverend Neal Christie, nealchristie@fiacona.org or 202-285-4544.