Gale L. Kenny, "Christian Imperial Feminism: White Protestant Women and the Consecration of Empire" (NYU Press, 2024)
Amidst the global instability of the early twentieth century, white Christian American women embraced the idea of an \u201cempire of Christ\u201d that was racially diverse, but which they believed they were uniquely qualified to manage. America\u2019s burgeoning power, combined with women\u2019s rising roles within the church, led to white Protestant women adopting a feminism rooted in religion and imperialism.\nIn\xa0Christian Imperial Feminism: White Protestant Women and the Consecration of Empire\xa0(NYU Press, 2024), Dr. Gale L. Kenny examines this Christian imperial feminism from the women\u2019s missionary movement to create a Christian world order. She shows that this Christian imperial feminism marked a break from an earlier Protestant worldview that focused on moral and racial purity and in which interactions among races were inconceivable. This new approach actually prioritised issues like civil rights and racial integration, as well as the uplift of women, though the racially diverse world Christianity it aspired to was still to be rigidly hierarchically ordered, with white women retaining a privileged place as guardians.\nIn exposing these dynamics, this book departs from recent scholarship on white evangelical nationalism to focus on the racial politics of white religious liberalism. Christian Imperial Feminism adds a necessary layer to our understanding of religion, gender, and empire.\n\nThis interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose\xa0new book\xa0focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies