Category: American Politics

Just Released: On Christian Nationalism: Critical and Theological Perspectives

In late November 2025, Routledge just released the edited volume, On Christian Nationalism: Critical and Theological Perspectives, edited by David M. Gides and Joan Braune. In it, I have a chapter entitled, “Messianic Ruscism: Christian Nationalism and the Lure of Putin’s Russkii Mir,” which discusses why certain American Christian Nationalists look to palingenetic Russia, with its reversal of Soviet theomachism for the resurgence of Orthodoxy and autocracy, as a model of what they’d like to do in America. The “symphonia” of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Putinist state is a template for a renewal of “Christian America” for many self-avowed Christian Nationalists, who see “shared values” in the conservative values of the anti-West politics of Putin (and Alexander Dugin). Obviously, I’m deeply critical of this vision for America as well as for Russia. Get yourself a copy of this book. Joan and David did an excellent job!

You can find the book at Routledge’s website: On Christian Nationalism.

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Discussing the “Magic Helper” at the Self & Society Symposium – Chicago

On August 7th, I had the wonderful opportunity to discuss my book, The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump: Political Psychology and the MAGA Movement, at the Self Society Symposium (SSS) at Loyola University in Chicago. The SSS is coordinated by the great scholar, Lauren Langman, of Loyola University. I was joined by many other sociologists, psychologists, theologians, and philosophers to discuss ongoing issues in our society, especially the U.S. drift towards authoritarianism. In my presentation, I used Erich Fromm’s notion of the “Magic Helper,” found in his seminal 1941 book, Escape from Freedom, to highlight how Trump’s most submissive devotees perceive him as a national messianic force. We had a wonderful dinner and discourse the night before our symposium at Lauren’s house in Lincoln Park, for which Lauren was the most gracious host.

If you are interested in my book, The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump: Political Psychology and the MAGA Movement, it is available three different ways: Ekpyrosis Press Website; Amazon; Lulu.

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“Critical Theory in an Age of Social Disintegration” – ICST Conference in Bristol, UK

On July 17-19, the Institute for Critical Social Theory hosted their inaugural conference at the University of Bristol, UK. I was a great honor to welcome so many scholars to the ICST event. We had thirteen presentations, two plenary addresses, and a round table discussion about critical theory during times of war (See the schedule below). We are looking forward to our next conference in 2026, with Istanbul being the agreed upon destination. Keep an eye out for that Call for Papers.

ICST 2025 Conference ScheduleDownload

If you’d like to listen to my plenary address, wherein I discuss what it means to be critical in an age of social disintegration, you can find it on YouTube:

For more information on the Institute for Critical Social Theory, please visit our website: ICST

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“Terribilis Occidentalis: A Dialectical Critique of Oikophobia,” just released:

My latest article, “Terribilis Occidentalis: A Dialectical Critique of Oikophobia,” was just published in Critical Perspectives (Vol. 1, no. 1). This is the new journal of the Institute for Critical Social Theory, of which I am the founder and co-director. In this article, I deal with the problem of Leftist oikophobia, the pathological hatred for all things “ours” (Western), arguing that this pathology is extremely dangerous, as it forecloses on that which is still salvageable, rescuable, and good within Western civilization, especially its intellectual tradition. Additionally, I argue that once the Left abandons the West via “abstract negation,” as opposed to “determinate negation” (Aufheben) they leave a powerful tradition and legacy in the hands of the far-right, who will use it as a weapon against all those they deem “other,” i.e., those they view as not belonging to the West. The new journal will be published bi-annually, so consider submitting your work!

Critical Perspectives Vol 1 No 1Download
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Discussing the life and legacy of Pope Francis with Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert

On May 31st, 2025, I sat down with the critical theorist and Catholic theologian, Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert, to discuss the life, work, and legacy of Pope Francis. We discussed the Pope’s life before the papacy, the twelve years of his papacy, and the numerous ways in which he “changed the tone” of the Catholic Church, making it more inclusive and open to the world. Elected in 2013, Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, 2025. To the end, he maintained his positions against Russia’s war on Ukraine, Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, and the need to address Global Climate Change before it is too late. In many ways, Pope Francis was a force unto himself, as he, as Dr. Siebert says, put the poor at the forefront of faith, as the church should be a “field hospital” as opposed to a bunker. Our discourse was sponsored by Ekpyrosis Press and the Institute for Critical Social Theory.

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Baccalaureate Speech at The University of Olivet

On Friday, May 16th, I had the distinct honor to address The University of Olivet’s 2025 graduating class during their Baccalaureate ceremony. Nominated by my student Lily Rozeveld and voted upon by the senior class, I was chosen to give a speech that would embody the theme of their event: “New Beginnings.” In my speech, entitled “From Catastrophe to New Beginnings,” I discussed the dialect of history using the 1946 “blinding of Isaac Woodard” as the animating subject. From the horror of the racist attack on Sgt. Woodard came the desegregation of the public schools throughout the United States. Woodard never knew that his case created the reverberations that changed history. Thank you Joylyn Stover for the audio recording and the Dr. Linda Logan for the picture. To hear the speech, see the YouTube link below.

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Remembering Malcolm X in an Age of Crisis

On February 21st, 2025, we remembered the anniversary of Malcolm X’s 1965 assassination at The University of Olivet, at my annual Malcolm X Lecture Series. For an audience of students, faculty, and administrators, I gave a presentation entitled, “Remembering Malcolm X in an Age of Crisis: 5 Lessons from a Revolutionary Life.” In this presentation, I focused on what we can learn from Malcolm X’s own life in a time of social disintegration, racial and religious antagonisms, and political-economic strife, and how we can apply those lessons to our own time, as we experience the rise of populist parties and figures, attempting to negate the progress that has been made in Western society. This event was sponsored by the Department of Arts and Humanities at UO.

Some years ago, Seyed Javad Miri and I edited a volume of essays on Malcolm X, which is available through Haymarket Books: Malcolm X: From Political Eschatology to Religious Revolutionary. Get your copy now!

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The Authoritarian threat to Democracy: a discussion with Rudolf J. Siebert

On February 1st, 2025, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert, critical theorist of religion and society, and Professor Emeritus at Western Michigan University, to discuss the ongoing threat to democracy posed by right-wing authoritarian movements and figures. Dr. Siebert is not optimistic, seeing that – at least in America – we’ve already moved into an authoritarian stage of development, and that “anocracy,” the combination of democracy and authoritarianism, is not possible. This discourse was sponsored by the Institute for Critical Social Theory and Ekpyrosis Press.

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The Fromm Connection: A Discourse

On December 7th, 2024, I had the wonderful opportunity to join Rudy Leal McCormack and Maior Levitin on “The Fromm Connection,” wherein we discussed a variety of topics as they related to my recent publication, “Can Religion be Rescued in the 21st Century: On Erich Fromm’s Religious Humanism in an Age of Authoritarian Populism” (Journal of Psychosocial Studies). I deeply appreciate their invitation to discuss Erich Fromm and his continual relevance to today’s society.

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