Theopolitical Authorization: 脫scar Romero, Far-Right Christianity, and a Contest for the Soul of the Americas
Kevin Coleman
University of Toronto
Date:听Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Time:听3 - 5:30pm
Location:听Boisi Center, 24 Quincy Road, Conference Room听听
听
Co-sponsored with The Institute for the Liberal Arts, The Jesuit Institute, and the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Office
This talk examines the assassination of Archbishop 脫scar Romero and the subsequent contestation over his legacy as manifestations of a transnational theological and political struggle in and beyond Cold War El Salvador. Drawing on previously unexamined beatification documents, particularly the听Positio Super Martyrio, Coleman will reconstruct how conservative forces constructed theological justifications that portrayed Romero as a communist dupe rather than as an authentic religious authority. He will introduce the concept of听theopolitical听doppelg盲ngers听to explain the mirroring through which Christian nationalists created permission structures for violence.
Kevin Coleman is an associate professor of history at the University of Toronto. A historian of capitalism, photography, and political conflict in modern Latin America, he is the author of听A Camera in the Garden of Eden听(2016) and co-editor of听Capitalism and the Camera听(2021) and听Coups d鈥櫭﹖at in Cold War Latin America听(2025). He wrote and directed听Stolen Photo听(Se帽al Colombia, 2024), a documentary exploring the 1928 massacre of banana workers in Colombia. His research has been awarded prizes from the American Historical Association听and supported by the ACLS/Mellon Foundation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
脕lvarez, Daniel Orlando. "Revolutionary Saint: the Theological Legacy of 脫scar Romero, by Michael E. Lee." Pneuma 40, 4 (2018): 563-565, https://doi.org/10.1163/15700747-04004006.听听
Baldwin, Eric A. 鈥淩adical Faith and White Masculinity: Political Extremism in Modern American Christianity.鈥� Political Psychology 46, no. 4 (2025): 903鈥�6, https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.13080.听听
Cangemi, Michael. "Saint 脫scar Romero, Liberation Theology, and Human Rights in El Salvador." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History. 23 Dec. 2019; Accessed 28 Jan. 2026. https://oxfordre.com/latinamericanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.001.0001/acrefore-9780199366439-e-610.听
Clark, Serena, and Chelsea Wilkinson. "Chapter 8: Authoritarianism and Theocracy in the 21st Century: Far-Right Christianity and Social Counter-Movements in America". In Social Justice in a Turbulent Era (Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023), https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803926155.00013.听
Day, Joel. 鈥淐hristian Nationalism as a Social Practice: Prayer, Violence, and the Politics of Public Ritual.鈥� Terrorism and Political Violence (2025): 1鈥�16, https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2025.2555222.听
Roberts, Stephen. 鈥淭he Claim to Christianity: Responding to the Far Right, Written by Hannah Str酶mmen and Ulrich Schmiedel.鈥� International Journal of Public Theology 15, no. 2 (2021): 293鈥�95, https://doi.org/10.1163/15697320-12341659.听
Van Der Tol, Marietta. 鈥淐hristian Nationalism and the Far Right: A Transnational Entanglement.鈥� Political Insight 16, no. 2 (June 2025): 40鈥�43. https://doi.org/10.1177/20419058251351499.听听听
Hannah Allam wrote an article for The Washington Post titled 鈥淧,鈥� which discusses how Christian Nationalists use scripture to justify violence against their political enemies to reclaim the 鈥渟oul鈥� of America. This extreme branch of Christian nationalists believes that America鈥檚 Christian identity is under attack, which calls for a revolution to put the faithful back in charge of the country. They paint the democratic party and other political rivals as demons, using biblically charged language to justify retribution. A militant faction of Christian nationalist Trump supporters believes that Christians must engage in an armed battle over the 鈥渟oul of America,鈥� citing Bible verses that permit the use of violence. Such groups commonly use Matthew 18:6 (which calls for lethal punishment for anyone who harms the young) to threaten groups like teachers, librarians, and abortion providers who promote ideas that the Christian nationalists believe oppose Christian teaching. They frame the current situation in America as a fight against those on God鈥檚 side and those working for the devil. However, the scripture they rely on to justify this call to violence is literalist and taken out of context, used to falsely claim that violence is a biblically justified response to threats to faith or country. In reality, these calls to violence are mere political tools and are far from the peaceful example of Jesus. The strength of this group will depend on Christians鈥� ability to fight off such rhetoric by countering these distorted biblical justifications for violence. At his lecture, Kevin Coleman will discuss how conservative forces in El Salvador constructed theological justifications that portrayed 脫scar Romero as a communist dupe rather than as an authentic religious authority. He will introduce the concept of theopolitical doppelg盲ngers to explain the mirroring through which Christian nationalists have created permission structures for violence.