American Unexceptionalism: Global Lessons on Fighting Religious Nationalism
Global Lessons in Fighting Religious Nationalism
American Unexceptionalism is a limited-series podcast from Dr. Matthew D. Taylor and the Rev. Susan Hayward about what Americans can learn from people around the world who have resisted religious nationalism and authoritarianism.
The series turns the idea of American exceptionalism on its head, asking: What can we learn from others about protecting democracy when the stakes are high? How have Buddhists in Sri Lanka, Muslims in Turkey, and Christians in South Korea confronted religious nationalism in their own contexts—and what lessons can we draw from their struggles to restrain its power?
Through conversations with scholars and activists, we explore how these movements unfolded, how they mirror or differ from the American experience, and what practical insights they offer for those working to defend pluralism and democratic life in the United States today.
Episodes
Episode 1: It’s Time to Leave American Exceptionalism Behind
In this first episode, Dr. Matthew D. Taylor and the Rev. Susan Hayward argue that Americans must learn from those who have confronted religious nationalist movements elsewhere. Setting aside American exceptionalism opens space to see our own challenges more clearly. U.S. Christian nationalism is not unique—it’s part of a global family of religious nationalisms that influence and reinforce one another, which means there’s a worldwide network of resistors with lessons for us.
Episode 2: Brazil: Twinsurrections
The parallels between the U.S. and Brazil are striking. In both countries, powerful Christian movements have aligned with right-wing populist figures, challenged democratic norms, and appeared prominently in attempted insurrections. In both, former presidents backed by these movements now face prosecution—and their leaders have even coordinated across borders. But the stories diverge: Brazil has prevented former president Bolsonaro from returning to power, while the U.S. has not done the same with President Trump. Has Brazil succeeded where the U.S. hasn’t in curbing an authoritarian leader and the Christian movement behind him? Matt and Susie explore these questions with two Brazilian scholars of religion based in the U.S.: Raimundo Barreto and João Chaves.
Episode 3: South Korea: K-Pop Demon Hunters IRL
Most Americans weren’t paying attention to the fact that Korean democracy was startlingly challenged less than a year ago when the president at the time (President Yoon) declared martial law and tried to have his political enemies arrested. That attempt at autocratic takeover was unsuccessful, because Koreans took to the streets to protest and even Yoon’s own party helped overturn his martial law decision and then impeach him. What can we in the United States learn from Korean activists and religious communities about how to resist wannabe tyrants? We get help on this question from two of the foremost experts on the interchanges between Korean religion and American religion: Helen J. Kim and Ray Kim.
Episode 4: Sri Lanka & Myanmar: Gen Z Resisters, Rogue Monks, & the Power of Decentralized Protest
In this episode, the hosts delve into the recent political upheavals in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, focusing on the unique aspects of the resistance movements in each country. In order to break down the dimensions of these political movements, they welcome scholars David Moe (Yale) and Geethika Dharmasinghe (University of Toronto).
About the Podcast Hosts
Matthew D. Taylor, Ph.D., is the Christian scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, where he examines the intersections of American Christianity, Islam, extremism, and religious politics. His books include The Violent Take It by Force (Broadleaf, 2024), on the Christian movement threatening U.S. democracy, and Scripture People (Cambridge, 2023). His current work explores how communities resist religious nationalism. Taylor holds a Ph.D. from Georgetown University and an M.A. from Fuller Seminary.
The Rev. Susan Hayward is a minister in the United Church of Christ and a specialist on religion, peace, and human rights. She is a research fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. From 2007 to 2021, she worked with the U.S. Institute of Peace, partnering with faith-based actors to transform violence in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Colombia, and to advance religious literacy in U.S. diplomacy. More recently, she helped establish Harvard Divinity School’s Religion and Public Life program, developing training for ethically engaged, religiously literate leadership.