“To Exist is to Resist” - The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land as a case of politics of presence as faith-based decolonial resistance

Abstract

In this thesis, I explore how the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) engages in faith-based decolonial resistance against Israeli settler colonialism in occupied Palestine. Applying a qualitative case study methodology that is grounded in interpretivist epistemology and decolonial ontology, my research draws on five semi-structured interviews with ELCJHL clergy and Finnish NGO staff, conducted in April 2025, alongside textual analysis of ELCJHL publications and advocacy materials. My central argument is that the ELCJHL’s practices constitute a form of politics of presence through five distinct pathways of resistance: institutional resilience (sumud), diaconal work, youth and education, gender justice, and environmental conservation. I contend that these five pathways of decolonial resistance are all manifestations of the ELCJHL’s politics of presence. By writing this thesis, I am contributing to a theoretical discussion on the concept of politics of presence by including faith-based actors and by bridging theological and nationalist discourses. Empirically, I demonstrate how everyday practices of care, education and advocacy can become acts of resistance, prioritising local, Palestinian voices in my analysis. In doing so, I challenge representations of religion as a depoliticised phenomenon and offer new insight into the role of the ELCJHL in the wider Palestinian liberation movement.