How an Intra-Protestant Theological Divide Has Shaped U.S. Policy toward Israel

While most American Jews tend to see their country’s relationship with the Jewish state as motivated by attitudes toward Jews and Judaism, Michael Doran argues that underlying this and other foreign-policy debates is a division between Protestant “modernists”—who wish to perfect the world through charitable works, social reforms, and international institutions in an ecumenical spirit—and Protestant “fundamentalists”—who favor American exceptionalism and doctrinal orthodoxy while believing mankind’s fallen state makes social perfection unachievable. The modernists, as Doran wrote in a recent essay, tend to be hostile toward Israel and Zionism, while the fundamentalists tend to be sympathetic. Even in our secular age, this intra-Christian divide often lurks behind debates over Middle East policy. (Interview by Jonathan Silver. Audio, 36 minutes. Options for download and streaming are available at the link below.)