Christian Nationalism is not Christian and the Church must Respond with Prophetic Boldness

I had an hour-long telephone conversation about Christian nationalism with a young colleague from another denomination. He is developing an adult ed. class for his congregation and wanted to talk things over. As it turned out, he had already done a lot of research and was way ahead of me. The best I could do was offer a few words of encouragement along with my own thoughts on the historical arc leading to today’s political effort to compel the U.S. to accept a particular brand of social norms disguised as Christianity as its state religion.

One thing led to another, and I got to wondering who and what people and organizations actively support Christian nationalism in some form. The data is easily available on the internet. There are enough sources to provide a decent sense of validity. What surprised me was how many there are. I listened to one list for an hour and did not get past ‘c’ in the alphabetical listing. A fully sighted person could scan the entire list quickly to pick out a few major players, so I’ll leave it to them and be glad to hear the results.

As for me, it was clear that the many hundreds of voices with individual grievances and agendas are not well coordinated with each other. What they have in common is the desire for the federal government to make their views the law of the land. Views on what? Quite a few are single-issue activists intent on banning all abortions, denying the reality of non-binary sex, allocating public lands to private use, and things like that. Others desire to dismantle the federal government, reducing it to defense, highway construction, and promoting business and industry. To them, social services are anathema. Still, others want the government to continue underwriting their particular interests but refrain from any form of regulation that limits their freedom to do whatever they want. The point is, they are all over the map. What gives them the appearance of cohesion is a claim of being Christian and their mutual dislike and distrust of the federal government in general and a shared desire to “stick it to liberals and bureaucrats, whoever they may be.” I suspect some of them are getting a kick out of what the Trump administration is doing. There is something emotionally satisfying about someone else suffer ingpain, watching the destruction of what they hold dear. It’s scapegoating revenge taken to the extreme. An apt metaphor might be a householder burning down his house as an act of revenge for having been required to build it to code.

If Christian nationalism is a unified movement in any sense, it is one centered on a dozen or so right-wing religious organizations in general agreement about social norms that should be imposed on the public by force of law, and who claim to be conservative, evangelical Christians. They are the descendants of the “moral majority” movement endorsed by the likes of Falwell, Robertson, and Dobson during the Reagan years. The current version may not be well coordinated for action, but individually they operate radio and television networks, internet sites, and traditional publications that reach a huge proportion of the public. Together they flood their audiences with well-rehearsed propaganda that names enemies, incites fear, and promises deliverance when the evil of secular government has been overthrown. It’s powerful stuff.

The danger, lies, and false promises of Christian nationalism are well known, documented, and cataloged in articles and news commentary. It’s only in recent months that truth appears to be making inroads among a public that has been drowning in distortions of truth for thirty years. Perhaps the complacent many are slowly awakening from their decades of moral slumber. May it be especially so among churches that have been content with prophetic pablum and uplifting entertainment as a substitute for teaching and worship, and have shied away from preaching hard truth for fear it might offend somebody.

How much support does Christian nationalism have among the general public? PRRI released an in-depth study that indicated about 10% of the public adhered to various forms of Christian nationalism and were mostly affiliated with conservative evangelical churches.¹ Another 20% were sympathetic to the idea. Two-thirds of the American public were skeptical and opposed. ² The 10 to 30% who adhered to or were sympathetic to Christian nationalism were mostly from states that vote consistently for right-wing candidates – probably not much of a surprise. The study is extensive, and if the subject is of interest to you, I encourage you to read it at https://www.prri.org/research/support-for-christian-nationalism-in-all-50-states/  

What remains to be said is that Christianity, as bequeathed to us by Jesus Christ through Holy Scripture, tradition, and reason, is antithetical to whatever Christian nationalism claims to be. In other words, nothing in it can be said to follow in the way of Jesus and the cross, nor is it consistent with God’s words spoken through the prophets. Little is known about the 2/3 of the general public who disfavor Christian nationalism. Therefore, it is incumbent on the church to proclaim loudly and boldly the good news of God in Christ Jesus that points the way toward a more just and humane society. It would be a tragic mistake to allow Christian nationalists to define what Christianity is for people who otherwise have no source of truthful information.