What is Christian Nationalism and why should I care about it?  

Christian Nationalism is the belief is  “a political ideology that seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy.” It perpetuates the myth that the United States of America was founded as a Christian nation and that all of the founders of the USA were Christians.  Further, it is a belief system that holds that the symbols of our faith and our country are meant to serve the political and democratic ideals of Christianity.  Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry wrote The Flag and the Cross, explaining Christian Nationalism this way: “…it is a constellation of beliefs — that the founding of the United States was “divinely inspired” or that God is invested in the success of the U.S. — that manifest in political goals.”

My week began in Kearney, Nebraska, with an annual event that brings all the appointed clergy of the Great Plains Conference together for education and fellowship.  This week, we had the opportunity to learn from Brian Kaylor about the recent rise of Christian Nationalism and its effect on our public and political lives.  Brian’s recent book, The Bible According to Christian Nationalists–Exploring Scripture for Political Power, is a deep dive into how CNs have weaponized Scripture to distort the message of Jesus.  

Brian’s presentation put into perspective my own feelings of despair around how Christianity is portrayed by some of our elected officials and in the media.  Christianity is not monolithic in its theology or beliefs.  We see this in how some interpret the Scripture around hot-button issues like abortion,  marriage, and the role of women in the church. Groups will judge the “rightness” of one’s belief system or decide whether someone is a real Christian.  (Like a couple of weeks ago, when I was featured in the editorial section of the Kansas City Star about the trouble I was having getting a Covid-19 vaccine.  I received a few emails saying I was a product of the devil because a woman could not be a pastor.)  

The danger of Christian Nationalism is that it promotes a political system that rewards those with the correct beliefs and punishes those with different beliefs.  Christian Nationalism wants us to see every act of the government as an extension of God’s will, and that questioning or protesting our government is a punishable act.  There are good reasons that our nation’s founders wanted to separate the church from the state. No one can act as though they have the ear of God and the only right revelation from God.  The Hebrew and New Testaments are full of warnings about false prophets.  The bottom line for judging a false prophet is whether the speaker will personally gain financially, in political power, or in influence. 

In the coming weeks, I hope to write more about the dangers of Christian Nationalism.  Looking at why it is a vital issue for all Christians to know about, how to spot it in our daily lives, how liberal Christians have their own moments of blending politics and religion, and what we can do about it.