Explaining Christian nationalism; A new White MAGA-fomented ethno-nationalist identity

A report in Salon by Senior Writer Amanda Marcotte discusses the transition of many Republicans from mildly sort of Christian to some sort of Christian nationalist as part of a White, MAGA-fomented ethno-nationalist identity:

How Republicans convinced themselves America 

was meant to be a “Christian nation”

Most Republicans now support Christian nationalism. This was not the case during the Obama years

What has genuinely surprised me is the way a bunch of folks who were previously not very religious have become all about Jesus. Maybe not enough to go to church, mind you, but enough to start littering their social media posts and other communications with Bible verses and the sentimental religious imagery. Not too long ago, many of these folks used to mock the showy piety of the fundamentalist neighbors. I fully blame the MAGA movement, of course.

Polling data shows my experience is not unique. Despite the obviously fake Christianity of Trump, this has been an era where most Republicans have abandoned their secular impulses. Instead, being a performative Christian has become an increasingly mandatory part of having a Republican identity. Even for those who never actually go to church.

In 2010, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) polled Republicans about their views on conservative Christianity and the Tea Party movement, which we now can see was a precursor to MAGA. Back then, only 31% of Republican or Republican-leaning voters identified with conservative Christianity. Fast-forward 13 years and the landscape has dramatically shifted. PRRI polling shows that a majority of Republican voters don’t just align themselves with conservative Christianity, but with Christian nationalism. Fifty-four percent of Republicans mostly or completely agree with sentiments such as "Being Christian is an important part of being truly American" and "God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society."

These numbers likely are not the result of millions of Americans suddenly finding Jesus, but about the way that Trump and the MAGA movement have cemented the GOP as an ethno-nationalist party, instead of merely a conservative party. Which is to say, now that they’re a tribe they need ways to define their tribal identity. Religion offers one aspect of that identity. (Whiteness, too, though most will rarely, if ever, so say out loud.) This is why polls show over 40% of self-described "evangelicals" don't even go to church. "Christian" has morphed from a faith tradition to a marker of ethnic/political identity.

How did so many people go from being mildly indifferent to religion to centering Christianity in their self-conception as an American? It certainly wasn’t by accident. This is the result of decades of work by Christian fundamentalists to generate propaganda and disinformation, all to prop up the myth that the U.S. was founded to be a Christian nation. Then Trump came along with his authoritarian "us vs. them" messaging, creating a need for Republicans to define exactly what they mean by "us." Christian nationalists were ready to fill that "us" with their own notions that Christianity is a mandatory part of the American identity.

The central figure in this tale is David Barton, a Christian huckster who has made a name for himself on the right by passing himself off as a "historian." Barton got a bachelor’s in religious education from Oral Roberts University in 1976 and has no academic training in history. His "research" is a joke, to the point where even conservative Christian academics reject his claims.  

Barton’s influence is so vast in the world of Republican thought it’s immeasurable. He’s heavily promoted through right-wing media and consults with major Republican leaders, including the new speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. But even people who have never heard his name have likely absorbed his ideas through the right-wing media ecosystem, which is infused with them. When Republicans repeat false talking points, like "separation of church and state is a myth" or "the Founders envisioned a Christian nation," most of that goes straight back to Barton and his fake histories.  

That this all got supercharged under Trump is a little odd, no doubt, because Trump’s “Christianity” is as transparently false as Barton’s historical research. Perversely, however, Trump’s fake faith likely boosted the widespread embrace of an “evangelical” identity by Republican voters who previously weren’t especially religious. By waving around a Bible he doesn’t read and talking up a Jesus he doesn’t believe in, Trump has underscored how much “Christian” is a tribal identity marker more than a faith tradition, at least in the MAGA world.

Marcotte calls it a tribe. I call it a cult. But otherwise her narrative seems generally reasonable.