The Political Thought of 21St Century Evangelicalism
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 6-2017 Thine Is the Kingdom: The Political Thought of 21st Century Evangelicalism Joanna Tice Jen The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1989 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] THINE IS THE KINGDOM: THE POLITICAL THOUGHT OF 21ST CENTURY EVANGELICALISM by JOANNA TICE JEN A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Political Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2017 ii © 2017 JOANNA TICE JEN All Right Reserved iii Thine is the Kingdom: The Political Thought of 21st Century Evangelicalism by Joanna Tice Jen This manuscript has been read and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in Political Science in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _____________________ __________________________________________ Date Corey Robin Chair of Examining Committee _____________________ __________________________________________ Date Alyson Cole Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Uday Mehta Paisley Currah Bryan Turner Matthew Scherer THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv ABSTRACT Thine is the Kingdom: The Political Thought of 21st Century Evangelicalism by Joanna Tice Jen Advisor: Professor Corey Robin ABSTRACT: Despite renewed attention to religion and ethics in political theory, there is a notable absence of inquiry into evangelicalism. Social scientists have studied Christian right policy in the late 20th century, but how has the movement shifted in the new millennium and what are the theoretical beliefs that undergird those shifts? By reading popular devotional writings as political texts, this dissertation distills a three-part evangelical political thought: 1) a theory of time in which teleological eternity complements retroactive re-birth; 2) a theory of being wherein evangelicals learn to strive after their godly potential through a process of emotional self- regulation; and 3) a theory of personhood wherein identity develops concurrently within the evangelical subculture and today’s (neo)liberal ethos. Ultimately, this dissertation argues that for the last fifteen years, an evangelical revival has been transforming the movement from a policy- driven politics to an ontologically driven politics—innovatively pivoting it away from the Christian right. Whereas most secular observers focus on the internal contradictions of evangelicalism, my close reading and interpretation of devotional texts instead describes a series of creative tensions that work to strengthen religious belief, support a strategic revivalism, and catalyze evangelicalism as a new kind of socio-political movement. v For my mother, Kathleen Amelia Tice (1950-2003), for being brave enough to believe and for loving me, no matter how much I questioned & for my father, Steven Kern Tice, for giving me a passion for justice, writing, and teaching. Your inter-faith, cross-partisan marriage inspires me and inspired this work. vi Acknowledgements: "I wonder why you care so much about me – no, I don't wonder. I only accept it as the thing at the back of all one's life that makes everything bearable and possible" – Gertrude Bell There are many to thank for helping make this dissertation possible, but first and foremost, I must acknowledge my husband, David Jen, without whom I would not be possible. Without your partnership, sense of adventure, mutual dreams, love, and support, I would be but a shell of a human being. We have created the good life together and I am grateful for every day. I am unspeakably grateful to those in my family and chosen family who listened to every detail of my life, checked in, cheered me on, provided support, and sometimes a shoulder to cry on—whose wisdom, intellect and editorial eye have accompanied me through the highs and lows of graduate school life: Without John McMahon as a reader, co-conspirator, sounding-board, co-author, and other half of the goofy superhero bent on world domination, JoJo McTice, I think I would have quit long ago. Without Amanda Liebenhaut as the LoveBot who is as funny as she is wise, I would basically be dead. Without Amy Hatch I would forget who I am, and never reach for those mountaintops (both spiritual and literal). Without Jesse Nasta I might never have gotten into this mess in the first place—you have been there from the beginning of Joanna-as- scholar and we have angsted it out in style. Without Jon Keller’s humor, generosity, and all- around mensch-ocity, I would not be the writer, thinker, and Corey-Robin-advisee-survivor that I am today. Without Eran and Evan Jones, I might have been homeless—you provided a literal and emotional home when I needed it most, with all the laughs, kitty cuddles, and high quality collaborative meals that basically equate to family. Without my precious aunts, Jeanne Linnes vii and Karen Donovan, I would have been lost—you’ve always known exactly what a motherless niece needs and provided it so unselfishly and so full of fun—you should both take partial credit for the woman I am today. Without Dan Blum I would never have taken the road less traveled— I will always be grateful for, impacted by, and think fondly of your chapter in my life. I am also fortunate to have those among my family and friends who regularly gave me welcome distraction from the life of a graduate student, who fed me, danced with me, adventured with me, made me laugh, provided a “home for the holidays” for so many years, and listened with interest to the cocktail party version of my dissertation: Dane, Ariana, Rhedyn, and Elodie Tice; Devonne Tice; Mommy Jen; Connie Jen and Marcus Flores; Paul, Nancy, Sophie, and Thomas Lin; Schuyler Linnes, Alexa Linnes; Lauren Ford; Kalah McCaffrey; Thomas Turnbull; Sara Hodges; Susan Marks, Kaoru Otaki, and Daisy; and of course, Galleon and Chewbacca. And in those endless days of classes, organizing, colloquiums, teaching for the first time, writing groups, peer-editing, the proposal workshop, SPTSAing, and conference trips I gained indescribable wisdom, endless support and often hilarious shows of comradeship from: Rachel Brown, Nader Sader, Patricia Stapleton, Dan Skinner, Taylor Ramsey, Flan Amdahl, Adam McMahon, B Aultman, Erika Iverson, Alex Zamalin, Rachel Gurstein, Philip Johnson, Sumru Attuk, Steve Pludwin, Alice Jones, Elan Abrell, Lizzy Eisenberg, Mike Miller, Julie Holler, André Guzzi, and Elena Cohen. I know I wasn’t physically around as much as many of you, but I appreciate your inclusion of me even as I was perpetually out of town: living on a boat, in New Jersey, and then in California. A special thanks to the rotating cast members of Corey’s dissertation writing group, who read my work when it was at its worst. You’ve helped me become a better writer and thinker and viii remained engaged with my project even when I wasn’t. Your suggestions have shaped the final product in innumerable ways: Jon Keller, Alan Koenig, Eli Karetny, Nick Robbins, Dan McCool, Joshua Sperber, Puangchon Unchanam, and Amy Schiller. It was fun, guys. Thank you also to the long list of people involved with the Committee for the Study of Religion over the years. The intellectual support of its members was even more essential than the financial support of the committee. A special shout out to: Bryan Turner, Yuri Contreras- Vejar, Anna Akasoy, Helena Rosenblatt, John Torpey, and Gordon Dale, who were steadfast. Last, but certainly not least, I have to thank the brilliant, challenging, and caring faculty that molded me as a scholar, thinker, writer, and teacher during my years at Wesleyan and the Graduate Center. My advisor, Corey Robin’s tireless work as an activist, public intellectual, teacher, scholar, and mentor inspire me continuously. This dissertation is equal testament to his brilliance and openness. Thank you for believing in me when I was literally failing. To the outstanding faculty of the CUNY Graduate Center, Brooklyn College, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Wesleyan University, and institutions near and far who believed in me, encouraged me, read my work, organized alongside me, taught me to teach, wrote me letters, and treated me as a peer. Especially, Paisley Currah, Uday Mehta, Bryan Turner, Matthew Scherer, Rifat Salam, Ken Estey, Janet Johnson, Joe Rollins, Alyson Cole, Susan Woodward, Shalini Satkunanandan, Darren Walhof, Christa Baida, Ernesto Verdeja, Elise Springer, Lori Gruen, Steven Angle, Anne Greene, Joseph Rouse, Don Moon, and Nancy Schwartz. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Epigraph…………………………………………………………………………………………...v Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..1 I: EVANGELICAL TIME Chapter 1. Temporal Tensions…………………………………………………………………...42 Chapter 2. Learning to Believe in Eternity………………………………………………………50 Chapter 3. Wrinkled Time: Retroactivity, Rebirth, and Transcendence…………………………64 Chapter 4. The Abstinence Movement as Case Study…………………………………………...90 II: EVANGELICAL BEING Chapter 5. Feeling God…………………………………………………………………………103 Chapter 6. Bodily or Cognitive Belief? ………………………………………………………..122 Chapter 7. Essence versus Action………………………………………………………………138 III: EVANGELICAL PERSONHOOD Chapter 8. Belief (Dis)embodied……………………………………...………………..………159