On the continuing rise of Christian nationalism

I see Christian nationalism (CN) as a powerful aggressive, anti-democratic theocratic political movement. Its core goals are (i) more power and wealth for elites, (ii) subservience of everyone to wealthy White, heterosexual Christian males, and (iii) overt, legalized oppression of hated groups such as non-Christians, the LGBQT community and racial and ethnic minorities. Most conservatives and few radical right and hyper-radical right people (mostly Republicans and libertarians) see little or no significant threat to democracy, civil liberties, pluralism and secularism the CN movement constitutes.

As more people become aware of the staggering power the CN movement has and is now ruthlessly using, e.g., CN judges control the US Supreme Court, more attention is being paid. NPR writes on some alarming poll data about the breadth and depth of the CN movement in the US. The movement can no longer be dismissed as fringe and little or no threat: 

Long seen as a fringe viewpoint, Christian nationalism now has a foothold in American politics, particularly in the Republican Party — according to a new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institute.

Researchers found that more than half of Republicans believe the country should be a strictly Christian nation, either adhering to the ideals of Christian nationalism (21%) or sympathizing with those views (33%).

Robert P. Jones, the president and founder of the nonpartisan PRRI, has been surveying the religious world for many years now. Recently, Jones said his group decided to start asking specifically about Christian nationalism.

"It became clear to us that this term 'Christian nationalism' was being used really across the political spectrum," he said. "So not just on the right but on the left and that it was being written about more by the media."

Christian nationalism is a worldview that claims the U.S. is a Christian nation and that the country's laws should therefore be rooted in Christian values. This point of view has long been most prominent in white evangelical spaces but lately it's been getting lip service in Republican ones, too.

During an interview at a Turning Point USA event last August, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said party leaders need to be more responsive to the base of the party, which she claimed is made up of Christian nationalists.

"We need to be the party of nationalism," she said. "I am a Christian and I say it proudly, we should be Christian nationalists."  

While a majority of Republicans currently either adhere to or sympathize with Christian nationalism, the survey found that this remains a minority opinion nationwide.

According to the PRRI/Brookings study, only 10% of Americans view themselves as adherents of Christian nationalism and about 19% of Americans said they sympathize with these views.  

Tim Whitaker, founder of The New Evangelicals, grew up in the church and now spends his life trying to detangle these kinds of views from the evangelical faith.

"We need to understand that the world of Christian nationalism largely rejects pluralism, which this study shows," he said. "Most Christian nationalists — either adherents or sympathizers — either agree or strongly agree with the notion that they should live in a country full of other Christians."  

According to the survey, adherents of Christian nationalism say they will go to great lengths to impose their vision of the country. Jones with PRRI said they found adherents are far more likely to agree with the statement: "true patriots might have to resort to violence to save our country."

"Now is that everyone? No. It's not everyone," Jones said. "But it's a sizeable minority that is not only willing to declare themselves opposed to pluralism and democracy — but are also willing to say, 'I am willing to fight and either kill or harm my fellow Americans to keep it that way.'"

As time passes, evidence the radical CN movement threat presents to democracy, civil liberties, pluralism and secularism continues to mount. It is easy to dismiss 10% as CN adherents and 19% as sympathizers as harmless pipsqueak. But pipsqueak could be potent sneak up and enough to kill our secular democracy. 

Think about it

Is that true?

What did Christianity start from?

Q: What are Christian values and how would they change the law, e.g., (i) require status as a Christian in good standing, whatever that means, as prerequisite for holding any elected office, and/or (ii)  impose a requirement that tax dollars pay for mandatory Christian public education?[1]

Footnote: 

1. CN dogma holds that White Christians should hold essentially all political power and secular public education should be 100% replaced with taxpayer funded fundamentalist Christian education.