Mapping the End Times

In the last 25 years, Evangelicalism has become one of the most important social and political movements in modern American history. While the Manichean and austere geopolitical visions and practices of American evangelicals have received increasing attention in both the popular and academic press, there has so far been no sustained theorization on the rise and political influence of fundamentalist evangelical geopolitics and their relation to American nationalism, identity, and policy. Bringing together leading scholars such as William E. Connolly and Paul Boyer with fresh, up-and-coming voices this book critically examines these topical and important issues and, in doing so, offer useful and compelling insights on a topic (religion) that is often naturalized and treated as if it is beyond politics. Searching for signs of their forthcoming 'Rapture' through the linkage of current events and biblical prophecy, many fundamentalist evangelicals seek to influence American foreign policy to fit Biblical interpretations, make maps of the military conflagration at the end of the world, and, citing scripture, support Israel's expansion into the West Bank and Gaza Strip through organizations such as Christians' Israel Public Action Campaign (CIPAC). Their geopolitical visions have shifted over time to adapt to changing circumstances. For example, Islam has recently taken over from the Soviet Union as the prophesized Satanic 'Other' whose aim is to destroy Israel and America. In this eschatology, the United States serves God by fighting the 'War on Terror'. Of course, just as there are many Christianities, there are many forms of evangelical theology and identity that are vastly different than the eschatology described above. The ways in which the multiple geopolitical scripts of these groups compete for hegemony are equally undertheorized. By discussing such a range of ideas and practices, this book provides a unique and comprehensive understanding of the American Evangelical movement's geopolitical visions and the wider impact of these on the nation and the world at large.