In keeping with the 2026 presidential theme FUTURE/S, CARV invites submissions for a session exploring the global rise of religious nationalist movements. Recent news headlines attest to the growing influence of religion on national policies and electoral campaigns in various countries, something confirmed by surveys from the PEW Research Center and other bodies. Clearly, “religious nationalism” (the view that a country’s historically dominant religion should be central to its identity and policymaking) is a driving force in our world, encouraging civil unrest as well as armed conflict with neighboring nations. Such developments presage a future few of us could have imagined at the beginning of the 21st century.
CARV encourages submissions that explore the phenomenon of religious nationalism from various perspectives. Submissions may examine specific examples of “religious nationalism,” compare populist movements led by charismatic figures, or highlight effects of climate change, mass immigration, etc. on such movements. Other possible themes include the place of violence in group formation, the role of narratives of grievance, the function of “race” in such narratives, and the technological mediation of religious nationalisms along with new social imaginaries.
The global resurgence of religious nationalism is increasingly shaped by digital communication environments that transform how collective identities are produced and mobilized. This paper examines the emergence of digital sacred communities—online networks where religious symbols, narratives, and political grievances converge to construct new forms of national belonging. Drawing on insights from political science and Islamic legal thought, the study explores how digital media platforms amplify emotionally charged narratives that redefine religion as a marker of national identity. While classical Islamic legal discourse conceptualized political community primarily through the universalistic framework of the ummah, contemporary digital environments enable decentralized interpretations that merge religious symbolism with modern nationalist ideologies. This transformation challenges traditional structures of religious authority while generating new forms of political mobilization. By analyzing the interaction between technological mediation and Islamic normative concepts such as maṣlaḥa and fitna, the study contributes to interdisciplinary debates on religion, violence, and the future of religious nationalism.
This paper analyzes the dynamics of identity development and civic participation among second-generation Muslims in the United States, and how these processes enhance the resilience and sustainability of the Muslim community within a multicultural context. This study employs segmented assimilation theory as its primary analytical framework, emphasizing the negotiation of hybrid identities that merge Islamic heritage with American norms in the context of sociopolitical challenges, including post-9/11 Islamophobia, the 2017 "Muslim Ban" policy, and the persistent Gaza conflict.
This study employs a qualitative methodology, utilizing literature review and content analysis to address the primary inquiry: How can the civic engagement of second-generation Muslim Americans enhance the well-being (resilience and development) of the Muslim community in the United States? The results show that civic engagement is an important way for second-generation Muslims to adapt. It helps them assert their identity, fight discrimination, and change policy.
Christian nationalism has become an influential force in American political and religious life, shaping debates about national identity, culture, and belonging. While scholarship has examined the narratives and rhetoric animating these movements, less attention has been given to the digital environments through which such narratives circulate and acquire social force. Drawing on insights from the sociology of algorithms, this paper examines how algorithmic media platforms participate in the circulation of Christian nationalist discourse in the United States. Social media infrastructures do not simply distribute nationalist ideas; they shape the conditions under which claims of cultural decline, religious marginalization, and civilizational threat become visible and emotionally persuasive. Through podcasts, livestream ministries, and short-form platform media, users encounter frameworks portraying the nation as morally endangered. The paper argues that algorithmic media platforms have become key infrastructures through which Christian nationalist identity circulates and mobilizes.
Religious nationalism is often presented as a modern political phenomenon, yet many of its elements are derived from older theological frameworks that fused religion, sovereignty, and territorial domination. This paper argues that the Doctrine of Christian Discovery provides a crucial historical template for understanding contemporary religious nationalist movements, particularly white Christian nationalism in the United States. Originating in fifteenth-century papal bulls that authorized Christian rulers to seize non-Christian lands, the doctrine sanctified enslavement, exploitation, and extraction. These theological assumptions later became embedded in legal systems and national mythologies, shaping modern ideas of sovereignty and sacred territory. By comparing the historic logic of Christian dominion with contemporary religious nationalist narratives, this paper shows how grievances about lost cultural authority, racialized identity, and divine mandate continue to animate movements that fuse religion with national destiny. Understanding these continuities clarifies how religious nationalism mobilizes sacred history to justify exclusion, violence, and territorial control.
| John M. Thompson | john.thompson@cnu.edu | View |