Christina Littlefield

Books:

• Richard Hughes and Christina Littlefield. Christian America and the Kingdom of God: White Christian Nationalism from the Puritans to Donald J. Trump. University of Illinois Press, 2025.
• Christina Littlefield. Chosen Nations: Pursuit of the Kingdom of God and its Influence on Democratic Values in Late-Nineteenth Century Britain and the United States. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013.

Book Chapters:

• “Sowing Seeds: How Walter Rauschenbusch’s Failed Newspaper For the Right Germinated His Later Muckraking Work” in In the Shadow of a Prophet: The Legacy of Walter Rauschenbusch, edited by William Brackney and David Gushee, Mercer University Press, 2020.
• “Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918): Providing a Road Map for Social Critique” in Words and Witnesses: Communication Studies in Christian Thought from Athanasius to Desmond Tutu, edited by Robert H. Woods and Naaman K. Wood. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2018.
• “Harry Potter as a Metaphor for Struggling with God” in World Wide Influence of Harry Potter, edited by Diana Patterson. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009.

Articles:

Journal Articles:

• Christina Littlefield, “Christianizing America: School Board by School Board.” History of Science Journal (ISIS) "Focus Section: The Culture Wars at 100,” forthcoming June 2025, edited by Dr. Ed Larson, of Pepperdine University, Dr. Christopher White, of Vassar University, and Dr. Stephen Welden, of the University of Oklahoma.
• Bruce Evensen, John Ferré, Christina Littlefield, and Julie Williams. “How Faith Informs the Work of a Journalism and Mass Communication Historian.” Historiography in Mass Communication 9(4) 2023. https://jmc-history.com/Home.html
• Christina Littlefield. “Quizzes or Editing Exercises? In Teaching AP Style, Both Methods Work Equally.” Journalism and Mass Communication Educator 77(1), 61-73. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077695821999281. First published online March 17, 2021.
• Christina Littlefield, Theresa de los Santos, Patrick J. Rear, and Savannah Janssen. “Patriotism and a Free Press: A Content Analysis of Civil Religion in Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing and The Newsroom.” Journal of Media and Religion, 17, No. 2 (2018).
• Christina Littlefield. “Upping the Ante at Small Colleges: Utilizing Class Websites as Journalism Teaching Clinics.” Journalism and Mass Communication Educator 73, no. 3 (2018), 308-321. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077695817720761. First Published online, July 27, 2017.
• Christina Littlefield and Falon Opsahl. “Promulgating the Kingdom: Social Gospel Muckraker Josiah Strong.” American Journalism, 34, no. 4 (2017), 289-312. DOI: 10.1080/08821127.2017.1344060.

Editorial Board Essays

• Forthcoming: Christina Littlefield. "Exploring Faith’s Power to Corrupt or Uplift: The 2024 Journalism Awards of the American Academy of Religion." Religious Studies Review.

• Christina Littlefield, “Historian Interview.” Historiography in Mass Communication, Vol. 11 (2025), No. 2. https://history-jmc.com/Home_files/vol.%2011.2%20Historiography.pdf.

• Bruce Evensen, John Ferré, Christina Littlefield, and Julie Williams. “How Faith Informs the Work of a Journalism and Mass Communication Historian.” Historiography in Mass Communication 9(4) 2023. https://jmc-history.com/Home.html

• Aug. 8, 2025, “Live Streaming Christian Nationalism: How Charlie Kirk Launched Turning Point Faith,” AEJMC national conference, Religion and Media Group

• June 5, 2025, Christian Scholars Conference, Abilene, Texas, Major Book Review on Christian America and the Kingdom of God, with Dr. Robert Williams convening, and with panelists Dr. Kelly Elliott, of Abilene Christian University, Dr. James L. Gorman, of Johnson University, and Dr. Stanley Talbert, of Pepperdine University
• May 8, 2025: Harbor: Pepperdine Bible Lectures, “How to Talk to Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor.”
• April 16, 2025, Student-run Seaver/Malibu Ecumenical Faith Panel on Christian Nationalism with Dr. Jeff Baker, Dr. Kevin Iga, and the Rev. Dr. Joyce Stickney, rector of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church
• April 4, 2025, Science and the Culture Wars, Vassar University conference, “Religion and Science in Culture and the Courts,” panelist with Dr. Ed Larson, Dr. Susan Trollinger, Dr. William Trollinger, Dr. Glenn Branch, speaking on “The Role of Right-Wing Media in Perpetuating the Culture Wars.”
• March 19, 2025, Seaver Panel on Trump 2.0, presenting on Christian Nationalism in Trump’s Second Term, with Dr. Robert Williams, Dr. Karie Riddle, Dr. Chris Soper
• Nov. 24, 2024, American Academy of Religion Evangelical Studies session, “Dancing on the Knife’s Edge: Violence in the Christian Nationalist Rhetoric of Turning Point Faith’s Founder Charlie Kirk,” with co-author Adian Imbrogno
• June 6, 2023, Christian Scholars Conference, Lanier Theological Library Convener and panelist for Christian Nationalism in Historical and Theoretical Perspective “How the Christian Left Paradoxically Spurred the Right’s Christian Nationalism”

• March 24, 2023, Symposium on the Culture Wars at 100, Pepperdine “Christianizing America: School Board by School Board.” This paper is slated for inclusion in a special ISIS "Focus Section."

• June 8-10, 2022, Christian Scholars Conference, Lipscomb University Panelist for 50-year retrospective of Sydney Ahlstrom’s A Religious History of the American People

• Aug. 9, 2020, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Virtual Conference“Quizzes or editing exercises? In teaching AP style, both methods work equally”

• Aug. 8, 2020, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Virtual Conference Moderator for Religion and Media Panel: Religious Stereotypes and Conspiracy Theories

• October 6, 2018, American Journalism Historians Association, Salt Lake City, Utah. Presented Research in Progress on Social Gospel Muckrakers book project.
• April 10, 2018, "The Legacy of Walter Rauschenbusch," Mercer University, Atlanta, An International Scholarly Conference in Recognition of the Centenary of Professor Rauschenbusch's Death. Presented paper "Sowing Seeds: How Walter Rauschenbusch's Failed Newspaper For the Right Germinated His Later Muckraking Work."
• March 24, 2018, American Academy of Religion Western Region, Institute of Buddhist Studies, Berkeley. Presented paper "F.D. Maurice and the Little Paper for Dockworkers that Inspired Future Social Gospel Muckrakers."
• April 7, 2017, American Society of Church History, Berkeley. Presented paper "For the Right: Social Gospel Leader Walter Rauschenbusch's Failed Newspaper for Working Men"
• Aug. 7, 2014, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Montreal, Canada. Presented peer-reviewed poster "Promulgating the Kingdom: Social Gospel Muckrackers Josiah Strong and Hugh Prices Hughes."
• Nov. 25, 2013, American Academy of Religion, Baltimore, Maryland, Presented paper "Pragmatism and Nationalism in the Work of Josiah Strong" for a joint session of the Liberal Theologies group and Pragmatism and Empiricism in American Religious Thought on the theme "New Approaches to Social Gospel Theology."
• March 10, 2012, American Academy of Religion Western Regional Conference, Arizona State University, Tempe. Presented paper Chosenness and Civic Patriotism in Late Nineteenth Century England and the United States.
• March 13, 2009, Ecclesiastical History Conference Postgraduate Colloquium. Presented paper Protestantism and National Identity in the Works of Congregationalists R.W. Dale and Josiah Strong at the University of Manchester.
• November 11, 2009, McMenemy Seminar, Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Presented How Would Jesus Vote? Understanding the Religious Right and the Religious Left in America
• July 25-28, 2008, Accio 2008, Magdalen College, Oxford. Presented paper Harry Potter as a Metaphor for Struggling with God. Accio is a peer-reviewed academic conference on all things Harry Potter.

Professional Journalism Works:

• “100 years ago, the Social Gospel movement pushed to improve workers’ lives – but also to promote its vision of Christian America,” The Conversation and affiliated outlets, June 10, 2025.
• “Truth, Having Nothing to Fear From Investigation, Should Be Pursued Relentlessly in all Disciplines.” Spiritual Life Blog Post, Feb. 15, 2019.
• “The Fallacy of Christian Nationalism.” Patheos Blog: Rhetoric, Race and Religion, June 7, 2020.
• Los Angeles Times, "Real Time" Breaking News Desk Contractor, July 2015. Covered national breaking news from Jared Fogle to Bill Cosby to the Chattanooga shootings, Kathryn Steinle and Cecil the Lion.
• Las Vegas Sun, October 2003 - September 2007: Covered general assignment, the Nevada System of Higher Education and, effective October 2005, religion for a 167,000 circulation daily magazine-style print newspaper and website, lasvegassun.com.
• Journalistic work included television and radio appearances; published 900-plus stories
• Investigative reporting into construction corruption at the College of Southern Nevada in 2007 led to the conviction and jail sentence of the college's construction chief on felony theft charges, with three other employees accepting plea deals
• Second Place, Investigative Reporting, 2007 Associated Press California-Nevada Newswriting and Photo contest, for the college construction corruption stories
• First Place, Freedom of Information Award, 2007 Nevada Press Association, for stories looking at University of Nevada, Las Vegas' capital campaign
• Second Place, Best News Feature, 2006 Nevada Press Association, for behind-the-scenes story on how Chancellor Jim Rogers ousted UNLV President Carol Harter
• Part of reporting team which won First Place, Breaking News Coverage, 2005 National Society of Professional Journalists, for the capture of the D.C. sniper

• Scripps Howard Foundation Visiting Professors in Social Media Program, $4,500 total grant to visit Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina and to bring Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Jennifer Berry Hawes to campus.
• American Journalism Historians Association Rising Scholar Grant, 2017

• Anders Anders Joergensen, Politiken, interviewed July 15, about research on TPUSA’s Charlie Kirk
• Carolina Lumetta, World, interviewed April 21, 2025 on President Trump and Associated Press and other steps taken against national media
• Matthew Boedy, Seven Mountains Podcast, Episode 6, April 21, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Uq7KOZ9j0M&t=1s.
• B.T. Irwin, “Christian nationalism and the Churches of Christ (Dr. Christina Littlefield), The Christian Chronicle Podcast, Episode 121, April 17, 2025, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-121-christian-nationalism-and-the-churches/id1663997645?i=1000703872615.
• Richie Steadman, Christian Nationalism with Dr. Christina Littlefield, The Cultural Hall, episode 909, March 28, 2025, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cultural-hall-podcast/id459622595.
• Laura Harbert Allen, Appalachia 100, Report 4 America, interviewed Feb. 13, 2025, background for “Mid-Ohio Valley Group Blends Religion, Politics to Affect Policy in Ohio and West Virginia.”
• Cathy Lynn Grossman, Religion Scholars Share Books—and Worries—at Annual Meeting, Nov. 27, 2024, https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/religion/article/96606-religion-scholars-share-books-and-worries-at-annual-meeting.html
• Lisa Hagen, NPR, on Charlie Kirk, interviewed June 18, 2024
• Ken Armstrong, Propublica, on right-wing takeovers of school boards, interviewed April 12, 2024
• Bobby Ross Jr, “‘Overhyped’ Christian Nationalism Label Draws Political Backlash,” Religion Unplugged, April 12, 2024
• Sara Weissman, “Christian Colleges Navigate Abortion Debates in a Post-Roe World,” Inside Higher Ed, January 19, 2024.
• Sara Weissman, “The Aftershocks of the Asbury Revival.” Inside Higher Ed, March 1, 2023
• Dawn Megli, Thousand Oaks Acorn, on Christian Nationalism and Godspeak’s Rob McCoy, interviewed in February 2022, story never published
• Dawn Megli and Isaiah Murtaugh, Ventura County Star on Christian Nationalism and Godspeak’s Rob McCoy, interviewed multiple times in 2022 for background on series on McCoy
• Michael Gryboski, Christian Post, June 2019, on presidential politics
• Michael Gryboski, Christian Post, May 2018 on Billy Graham’s legacy