When Faith Becomes Power: The Spiritual Crisis Behind Christian Nationalism

Growing up in apartheid South Africa, Reino Gevers witnessed how religion can be distorted to sanctify power, exclusion, and cruelty. In this episode, he reflects on those memories and explores the unsettling parallels he sees today in Christian Nationalism and its social-Darwinist logic. Drawing on the Christian mystical tradition—from Paul to Meister Eckhart— Reino contrasts faith aligned with dominance and identity against a spirituality rooted in humility, compassion, and the radical dignity of every human being. This is an invitation to resist coercive religion and to practise a faith made visible through loving care, tenderness, and courageous compassion. Useful Information: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Books: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sages, Saints and Sinners⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Deep Walking for Body Mind and Soul⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Walking on Edge: A pilgrimage to Santiago⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to When Faith Becomes Power: The Spiritual Crisis Behind Christian Nationalism online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

When Faith Becomes Power: The Spiritual Crisis Behind Christian Nationalism is an episode from Living to Be: A podcast by Reino Gevers by Reino Gevers.

This episode is 00:07:56 long.

This episode was published on Feb 5, 2026.

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