Freedom is often a contested term. It can be co-opted to align with the agenda of those in power in various spheres with the society including the religious sphere or be the means of liberation for the oppressed. In this session, the papers will examine how historical and contemporary constructions of freedom intertwines with Christian expressions in particular Latin American and Asian contexts to produce modes of empowerment, competing visions of democracy/nationalism, and transnational coalitions in our contemporary world.
Nakada Juji 中田重治 (1870–1939) was a Christian leader in Japan whose theology merged with nationalism, shaping his views on Jewish people. This paper explores his theological influences, missionary work, and advent movements, analyzing his support for nichiyu dōsoron日猶同祖論 (Japanese-Jewish common ancestry theory) and alignment with Japan’s militarization. Using emotional capital theory, it examines how Nakada’s beliefs structured religious and national identity, depicting Japan as a spiritual mediator. His case highlights how religious ideology intertwines with political ambitions, contributing to discussions on faith, nationalism, and historical discourse.
The 1934 International Eucharistic Conference in Argentina signified decades of advocacy and work by Catholic Nationalists to perpetuate the mythos of the "Catholic nation." Around these years, we can see a proliferation of Protestants combatting their Catholic opponents with rhetoric around notions of citizenry and patriotism. This period saw the pitching of nationalism from both ends, one with a rigid integralist/conservative Catholic vision and the other espousing a Protestant civic liberal position. This paper takes the period of the 1930-1940s as a critical point to understand these two positions that articulated their disparate visions through the language of patriotism and nationalism. Through a reconceptualization of the past, Catholics and Protestants sought to establish themselves as proper "heirs" to the construction of the Argentine political project. Thus, Nationalism becomes the center point of these contested visions of democratic common life.
This paper compares the works of two theologians based in Taiwan—Huang Po-ho and Chow Lien-hwa—to explore how, in the construction of contextual theology and the establishment of indigenized Christian churches, two kinds of “freedom” were pursued: a freedom concerning liberation from political and theological colonization, and a freedom concerning independence from Western cultural and religious imperialism. In the theological methods practiced or espoused in these treatises, we are able to see a tension between differing views of national ideology and visions for the church, thus nuancing two ideas in the current academic discussion: the meaning of “Taiwanese theology” and the boundaries of what counts as “Chinese theology.” Ultimately, the goal of this paper is to aid in the imagination and construction of contextual theologies that truly bring freedom to Taiwanese people and churches today as well as communities that find themselves in similar circumstances.
This paper examines Brazilian Christian Nationalist networks and their role in shaping ideological and practical engagements across faith communities and political landscapes. These networks establish complex national, transnational, and multinational coalitions that leverage faith communities as local bases while positioning representatives in federal politics. However, their strategy extends beyond politics, incorporating business leaders, military personnel, and artists to promote a vision of governance called “government of the just.” This movement aspires to dominate spiritual, cultural, economic, and political spheres. Additionally, the paper highlights the multidirectional relationships between Brazilian and U.S. Christian Nationalist networks. It uncovers evolving border-crossing alliances with reciprocal influences by mapping transnational exchanges, illuminating the operative theopolitics and strategies of transnational coalitions in contemporary contexts.