Dangerous Christian Nationalists?
What to think of documentaries and "news" warning of such things.
A new documentary movie by Rob Reiner is now out on the topic of Christian Nationalism. Wikipedia says that Christian Nationalism “primarily focuses on the internal politics of society, such as legislating civil and criminal laws that reflect their view of Christianity and the role of religion/s in political and social life.” It “supports the presence of Christian symbols in the public square, and state patronage for the practice and display of religion, such as Christmas as a national holiday, school prayer….[etc].” Followers assert that “the US is meant to be a Christian nation and want to "take back" the US for God.”
Politico and other secular media make many other false associations and assertions regarding the topic. There are well over 50 books on Christian Nationalism just in the last several years (see here) that try to claim all this activity of Christians in politics is new and dangerous. An earlier post of mine on Dec 14, 2023 listed a few books on the impact of Christianity on history and culture, including America. There is plenty of evidence of Christian political activism throughout America’s history. Just a few old books in my library on America’s Christian influence are: The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States (1864, Morris), The History of the Great Republic Considered from a Christian Standpoint (1868, Peck), The Religious Background of American Culture (1930, Hall), Church and State in the United States (1950, Stokes). You are welcome to recommend many more.
Someone who they might call a Christian Nationalist is below. This real person (who I will leave un-identified for now) is a government leader who attends, funds and helps in various ways in a non-denominational Evangelical all-white church in the South, and who brings his beliefs into the political arena in the following ways:
public messages and writings frequently mentioning God and religious beliefs. He sometimes claims that our nation’s history and government were uniquely favored and shaped by God and the Christian religion - and still should be.
frequent meetings with pastors and preachers seeking their support, and likewise his advocacy for some of them and their church members to be active in politics.
personal donations to many Christian pastors, churches, and their causes, but also his use of government funds and other patronage for support of pastors, churches and religious causes.
special legal defense of their beliefs by proposing laws and using courts to protect their religious activity (even when contrary to the well-established precedents and “settled” law) and to impose penalties on those who undermine those beliefs.
granting privileges and even empowering government to sponsor faith leaders’ religious gatherings and ceremonies in public buildings, etc. He openly helps bring religion into the arena of political and social affairs.
The media would describe some of these things as dangerous to democracy and America’s secular constitutional founding. Basically anything liberal/progressives find in opposition to their political and cultural agenda is portrayed as the work of Christian Nationalists, and then is associated with something or someone extreme in order to make it look dangerous and out of the mainstream customs of America.
But the problem they have is that these are not policies or activities that are new. Almost any of America’s Founders believed that way and today would be called Christian Nationalists.
Do you know who the un-identified person was that did the list of five actions above? Not Speaker Mike Johnson. Not Pence. Not Trump. Who was it: Thomas Jefferson.
[Documentation of some is found in the subscribers section below, or you can get full context and analysis in the book Doubting Thomas? The Religious Life and Legacy of Thomas Jefferson, co-authored by myself and Jerry Newcombe. Also get its companion volume of source documents: The Selected Religious Letters and Papers of Thomas Jefferson. It has over 50 letters and docs never published anywhere before. Order here.]
Yes, the real Jefferson would be perceived as dangerous today if alive and politically active in this same way. Christians have always been involved in politics and tried to shape culture in the context of democratic pluralism. None have led a coup or taken away the rights of others.
So don’t let modern “documentaries” and social media intimidate you. You are standing in the mainstream of American history. I do not identify with so-called Christian Nationalism, but I am unashamed to be a Christian activist.
We just observed President’s Day. Almost every one of our Presidents have promoted Christian beliefs in their capacity as President. I recommend that you read all their Inaugural Addresses. Even Jefferson who, after taking the oath to be President, knelt and kissed the Bible, and said:
“I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with His providence and our riper years with His wisdom and power, and to whose goodness I ask you to join in supplications with me that He will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils, and prosper their measures that whatsoever they do shall result in your good, and shall secure to you the peace, friendship, and approbation of all nations.”
Was Jefferson a Christian Nationalist? Not the modern caricature invoking theocratic coercion. But Jefferson was truly a leader who did religious-informed policy-making and brought his values and beliefs into the public square. We should welcome more like him today in American politics.
[For some examples of Jefferson’s actions in the five items above, subscribe and keep reading.]
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