Ungrievable: Theorizing white Christian nationalist rhetorical practices in education

The religiopolitical movement of White Christian nationalism has increasingly impacted policy and practice in public education in the United States. This theoretical paper examines how White Christian nationalist ideologies and rhetoric are influencing the discourse of schooling and education. We use Butler's (2016) definition of frames, grievability, and precarity in order to describe two underpinning ideologies of White Christian nationalism–namely, dominionism and colonialism. Then, we draw on sociological, historical, journalistic, and theological descriptions of White Christian nationalism to identify rhetorical practices utilized by this growing religiopolitical movement, and also draw on practitioner texts written by Christian teachers as illustrative examples of the ways that White Christian nationalist rhetorical practices might find expression in classrooms and schools. We argue that identifying how ideologies and rhetorical practices of White Christian nationalism influence and affect teachers and students is an important step in considering how educational researchers, policymakers, and teachers might purposefully grapple with how White Christian nationalism is shaping American classrooms.