Joshua Mitchell on Identity Politics and the Search for Atonement

In this episode, we interview Dr. Joshua Mitchell about his book American Awakening: Identity Politics and Other Afflictions of Our Time. Is our current political climate the result of secularism, or is it actually indicating a deep religiosity – even the merging of religion and politics? Joshua takes us through the distinction between the visible and invisible economy, innocence-signaling (as distinct from virtue-signaling), and the current political quest for atonement, purity, and innocence. Far from being a secular phenomenon, identity politics is a Christian heresy that can only be answered by a superior account of Original Sin, Divine Judgment, and true atoning Mercy - centered on the Divine Scapegoat: The Word Who Became Flesh. Only then will there be space and time for “the Liberal Politics of Competence”.  

Some books by Dr. Mitchell: 

American Awakening: Identity Politics and Other Afflictions of Our Time 

Tocqueville in Arabia: The Anxieties of the Democratic Age 

Not by Reason Alone: Religion, History, and Identity in Early Modern Political Thought 

Video Essay - Identity Politics: Guilt and Scapegoat