Contemporary Church History Quarterly

Volume 31, Number 3 (Fall 2025)

The Weaponization of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in American Christian Culture

By Victoria J. Barnett, General Editor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works English Edition*

Readers of this journal may be familiar with “Godwin’s Law,” the theory coined by U.S. attorney and author Mike Godwin that the longer any online discussion proceeds, the higher the probability of comparisons to Adolf Hitler or the Nazis. There could be a similar corollary when it comes to American Christian conversations about political and cultural issues: sooner or later, someone will quote Dietrich Bonhoeffer. As Stephen R. Haynes (an astute observer of Bonhoeffer reception history) notes: “Bonhoeffer’s legacy has suffused American culture to the point that today cataloging it would be a full-time job.” (The Battle for Bonhoeffer (2018), p. 2)

Both insights are instructive for our present moment in the United States, especially the issue of Christian Nationalism. Matthew Taylor, author of The Violent Take It By Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening our Democracy, defines Christian Nationalism as “the tendency to conflate one’s Christian identity with one’s national identity in an effort to make those cohere.” Christian Nationalism is grounded in redemptive narratives about the unity of God and Nation. Redemptive narratives need enemies and heroes, and the Bonhoeffer story provides both: Christians fighting Nazis. A central component in the “Bonhoeffer as Christian hero” narrative is the identification of his foe: the “symbolic Nazi,” if you will. For American Christian Nationalists, that may include liberal Christians, abortion providers, vaccine advocates, “feminazis” (the late Rush Limbaugh’s epithet against feminism), and defenders of DEI (“Diversity-Equity-Inclusion” programs in education and business contexts).

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