Craig R. Myers

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Apr 18 2025

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Saint AugustinesCity of Godis a foundational document in International Relations, analyzing historical eventsin this case the sack of Romethrough the lens of the Christian faith. This spring, Christian scholars gathered in Tennessee seeking a revival of this time-honored and influential worldview in IR writing, research, and teaching. The Christianity and International Relations Conference was held in March at Lee University in Cleveland. It just became really apparent to me that there really isnt a Christian perspective within International Relations, the discipline as we teach it right now. So, the perspective exists, but I didnt learn it at graduate school, said participant Associate Prof. Peter Campbell of Baylor University. This article chronicles some of the proceedings of the conference.

Other participants included Profs. Michael McKoy (Wheaton College), Katherine Bryant (Westmont College), Ana Shippey (Lee University), Chan Shin (Gordon College), Sukwon Lee (New York University), Justin Clardie (Northwest Nazarene University), Susan Haynes (Lipscomb University), and Tim Taylor (Wheaton College). A session was devoted to reviewing a draft of Christ and His Leviathans: A Christian Introduction to International Relations,by Prof. Robert Joustra of Redeemer Universityin Ontario, Canada. Joustra hopes the book, set to be published by end of year, will help fill the void of Christian IR scholarship. Historically it does exist. It just hasnt been recovered or updated or put in a contemporary way, Joustra said of Christian IR theory. I was able to find lots of stuff that very explicitly drew on Christian foundations, of theological concepts in terms of the building of international order, of what we mean by justice, and what are the roles of states within that.

Joustra said the topic began to dwindle in the 1970s, with some notable exceptions likeJim SkillenandPaul Marshall. Joustra said his work is not intended to be a textbook, but a primer on how to view the world system in the context of the Christian faith. How would a Christian approach the question of justice in international relations, and what might the Christian social and political tradition furnish us with, theologically and conceptually to apply and interrelate the Good News of the Gospel to the work of international politics? Joustra said.

Christian IR theory sprang from Augustine, while its most influential modern practitioner is Reinhold Niebuhr. The related field ofClassical Realismfeatures a pantheon of philosophers of varying religious perspective, including Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, E.H. Carr and Hans Morgenthau, and practitioners such as U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and George Kennan. Both views start with a view of human nature as corrupted. But Christian IR is distinct because it calls for morality over ideology in foreign policy. It holds that while states are driven by self-interest due to original sin, they are capable of good if they eschew utopianism in favor of proximate gains.

Christian IR theorists see this principle in the biblical story of the Tower of Babel in Gen. 11:1-9, in which the world comes together in unity, but their work displeases God:

Without a Christian foundation, individuals are sovereign of themselves, leading to self-worship,Leesaid.

Christian IR is generally divided into: (1) Christian Realism that teaches because there is no law over nations before the Second Coming, there is only law between nations. So, it sees state capabilities as the priority in great power competition; and (2) Christian Liberalism which emphasizes the role of state preferences not just capabilities. It sees potential for cooperation and interdependence among states. A key principle is Democratic Peacethat democracies dont go to war with each other.

McKoysaid another familiar name should be part of the Christian IR traditionthe Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He saidKings 1963 sermon Antidotes for Fearoffers a twist on the IR concept of a security dilemma, which explains how a states moves to protect itselfsuch as seeking to join an alliancespark conflicts. King wrote:

McKoy said King questioned how states sought to deal with the fear:

McKoy used the example of Civil Rights leaders who faced violence against themselves and their families, but didnt respond in kind. King opposed the militant tactics of groups like the Black Panthers. IR theorists have treated the security dilemma as a failure of empathy, and therefore view empathy as the solution. King, grounded in a Christian anthropology, goes further arguing that sacrificial love is necessary to overcome the security dilemma, McKoy said.

Campbellsaid he incorporates Christian IR in the classroom by teaching classical realism before structural realism, which doesnt factor in human nature. The Christian perspective on war, and probably politics generally, is best summed up by C.S. Lewis in the Weight of Glory that from the perspective of the materialist individual, human beings are a flash in the pan and institutions and states are those things that last, Campbell said. But for the Christian, the state and institutions are but the thing of a moment, and individuals last forever.

The conference also focused on how Christian IR can guide research and teaching.Haynespresented her research on how faith-based groups were historically overlooked in international aid and development. That began to change after the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. At the same time that security started focusing a lot on non-state actors and terrorism, the development literature started really acknowledging the role of faith-based actors in delivering aid, Haynes said. There is an incredibly robust research agenda in this area, and its completely omitted in all IR textbooks. So, both reality as well as the present-day research just isnt brought down to our classroom.

More recently, organizations like the World Bank created offices for faith-based initiatives, Haynes said. They did a huge report on poverty, and did a global survey and found that a lot of people in developing countries trust faith-based actors more than they trusted states, more than they trusted the international organizations, Haynes said.

Taylor presented researchdocumenting the growing abortion rate based on Down Syndrome around the world, compounded by state censorship of opposing views. The U.S. has the highest Down Syndrome non-termination rate of the developed world at 67% terminated. Thats actually the best rate. Denmark has the highest rate at 98%. Denmark also has universal screening, Taylor said, adding that his research found Christian parents have a higher non-termination rate. Taylor advised caution when using disability as a measurement of the flourishing of states. I think that our measures are descriptive, but become prescriptive over time, he said. I guess my encouragement for all IR Scholars is to be very careful what measurements theyre pushing. Its good looking at income inequality. But a lot of times theres things I think are really important that go utterly unmeasured.

Lee said educators seeking a way to introduce Christian IR to their classes can focus on the faiths impact in shaping liberal democratic traditions:

Further Reading on E-International Relations

• Hunger Strikes, Iran and Universal Human Rights
• Civilization as an Alternative Unit of Analysis in International Relations
• International Political Sociology Contributions to International Relations
• Re-situating the Buffer State in International Relations: Nepals Relations with India and China
• Through the Eyes of Love: Looking at International Politics Differently
• Fear as Driver of International Relations

About The Author(s)

Craig R. Myerswas a reporter and editor for newspapers in Alabama and Florida for more than 25 years. A graduate of Troy University, he earned a masters in International Affairs in 2022 from Middle Tennessee State University, where he writes full time and teaches journalism classes part-time. Myers holds a degree in Russian language and over the past 20 years has regularly travelled to Moldova and Ukraine with Christian NGOs.

Christian IRChristianity