BRUCE T. GOURLEY: CURRENT PROJECTS
Books
Occupied Nation: Understanding, and Responding to White Christian Nationalism. Christian nationalism is an extremist movement that denies the reality of the United States’ secular and inclusive democracy, embraces authoritarianism, and is steering America toward a theocratic state. The January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist assault on the U.S. Capitol was, thus far, the most visible expression of Christian nationalism in modern times. Yet the ideology and movement remains mysterious to most Americans. This book exposes and helps readers understand the historical context and existential danger of this increasingly violent ideology and movement, and offers guidance for protecting congregations, communities, and the nation’s democratic institutions from authoritarianism in the guise of Christianity. Scheduled for release in the summer of 2023.
Rediscovering Wonderland: Yellowstone National Park and the Great Depression (tentative title). The Great Depression years shaped Yellowstone anew, creating the framework of the modern Yellowstone experience: the decline of rail travel, increased accessibility to the general public, economic and social equity, natural science-based educational opportunities for visitors, science-driven administration, and the inherent inspirational and aesthetic values of park landscapes. Publication anticipated in 2024/25.
Religion and American Presidents. Due to the pervasive presence of theocratic colonies in the Colonial Era, the religious landscape of the United States of America, a secular nation, has impacted each and every president. Few presidents during their lives and while in office expressed personal religious sentiments. On the other hand, inclusive, perfunctory nods to providence and/or an impersonal and nationalistic divine force have been common throughout presidential history. Even so, presidents throughout the 18th and 19th centuries uniformly affirmed the Constitutional separation of religion and state. More recently, presidential homages to nationalist Protestant, evangelical Christianity have been common since the 1890s. Some recent administrations have advocated against the separation of religion and state and for special privileges and favoritism of white, evangelical Christianity. Finally, religious pressures directed toward presidents have garnered a wide variety of responses from office holders throughout American history, the specific circumstances often reflecting larger national or regional currents. Publication anticipated in 2024/25.
A Man of Frontiers: The Lives and Legacies of Green Clay Smith (tentative title). A biography of Green Clay Smith, nineteenth century Kentucky politician, U.S. Congressman, Emancipation advocate, Lincoln pallbearer, second governor of Montana, first presidential candidate of the National Prohibition Party, and religious leader. This project is in the research stage.
Journals
Yellowstone History Journal