2025/09/11 by Joel Day · 2 voices · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Religion and Society Interactions
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/09546553.2025.2555222
This paper examines the role of prayer as a central social practice within Christian nationalist movements, particularly in the context of violent protests and contentious political mobilizations. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic capital and practice theory, it argues that prayer functions not merely as an expression of faith but as a performative mechanism that organizes bodies, structures political space, and sacralizes political grievances. Using qualitative analysis of events, including the January 6th Capitol insurrection, Proud Boys protests, police blessings, and school demonstrations, the paper demonstrates how prayer operates as a disciplinary tool that consolidates group identity, legitimizes leaders, and marks in-group and out-group boundaries, rather than de-escalating conflict, prayer functions to intensify political struggle by framing it as a divinely mandated battle, lowering the moral barriers to violence, and embedding political aggression within a sacred framework. By sacralizing nationalist objectives and providing ritualized legitimacy to militant action, prayer becomes a critical technology of power in Christian nationalist mobilization. Ultimately, the study highlights how prayer not only reflects ideological commitments but actively produces, orders, and sustains the political and cultural force of Christian nationalism in the contemporary United States.