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In this chapter Kurtis R. Schaeffer and Vincent L. Wimbush debate the political uses of religion. Schaeffer, in his original definition, defined religion as (1) “a discourse that claims transcendent origins, authority, and impact”; (2) “institutions governed by and governing that discourse”; (3) “communities ruling and resisting those institutions”; and (4) “practices personal and political that bring that rule, that resistance, to life in mundane and epic ways.” Wimbush responds by wanting to introduce aspects such as the personal and the racial into the conversation. Though he agrees with Schaeffer on the importance of understanding the political, he puts a much bigger emphasis on it, especially in light of the rise (and fall) of Donald Trump and the continued legacy of racism in America.

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