FBI and Religion: White Nationalism's Secret Connection Revealed!

FBI and Religion: White Nationalism's Secret Connection Revealed!

On June 18, 2025, the renowned James W.C. Pennington Award given to honor outstanding scholarly achievements that address significant issues such as slavery, emancipation, and intercultural understanding. This year the award goes to Lerone A. Martin, an expert on U.S. religious history whose research on the FBI's support of white Christian nationalism under J. Edgar Hoover attracted widespread attention. Martin covers this topic in detail in his recent publication, “The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover,” which is based on newly declassified documents and highlights this collaboration between the FBI and religious figures. Loud University of Heidelberg Martin is also director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Institute at Stanford University.

The cooperation between the FBI and religious actors was complex. In addition to attending church services, FBI agents were portrayed as “soldiers of Christian America.” These partnerships included sharing information for sermons and strengthened the political norms of modern white evangelicalism. Still, the FBI's role in monitoring religious groups deemed potentially subversive remains a contentious issue. As early as 1917, the Bureau began infiltrating religious communities known for their oppositional stances, such as pacifist groups that opposed the war. This historical relationship between the FBI and religion is the subject of the book "The FBI and Religion," which highlights many key moments in this development, from the founding of the FBI to the challenges to religious freedom in modern society, such as Penn University describes.

The price and its meaning

The James W.C. Pennington Award, which is being presented for the 13th time this year, honors scientists who deal with topics that were important to Pennington. The prize includes a one-month research stay in Heidelberg and is financed by a generous donation from the Manfred Lautenschläger Foundation. James W.C. Pennington himself, born in 1807 and escaping slavery, was a pioneer in university education for Black Americans and was later awarded an honorary doctorate in theology from Heidelberg University.

Prof. Dr. Jan Stievermann from the Heidelberg Center for American Studies highlights Martin's extensive expertise in his research. Martin will give a lecture on June 24 titled “The Young King: How a Faithless Teenager Became an Iconic Man of Faith.” This will provide an opportunity to deepen his insights into Martin Luther King Jr.'s formative period and his calling, a topic also central to Martin's upcoming book project.

The connection between religion and race is increasingly revealed and forms an important aspect of the issues that need to be discussed in the context of contemporary debates about domestic terrorism and the influence of faith communities on political trends. Martin's research is a telling example of the intersection of religion, politics and society in the USA and shows how historical representations and real political developments are closely linked.