Chapter 6: Dangerous Christian Nationalists
Media portrayal:
“Christian nationalism is one of the greatest and most terrifying threats to American democracy”
-Christian nationalism is a problematic merging of Christian and American identities
-Christian nationalism is a cultural framework that blurs distinctions between Christian identity and American identity
-What does it mean to “merge” identities and “blur distinctions” and for whom is it problematic?
-Christians who believe America was founded on predominantly Christian values and seek to maintain a society based on those values?
-Christians who believe they’re called to influence today’s public square based on their convictions?
-Christians who want to make Christianity an established state church contrary to the 1st Amendment?
***no one defines the threat in the same way except that it is one of the biggest threats to our country today
-culture has a broad disdain for Christian nationalism
Media’s “dangerous “ narrative:
-Christians are imposing their ‘conservative’ values on others through the political process
-Christians imposing their ‘conservative’ values are racists
-Christian imposing their ‘conservative’ values are xenophobic (fear of people from other countries)
Imposition of conservative values:
-Christian nationalists advocate for policies associated with culturally disdained conservative positions.
-Christians who vote in politically conservative ways want to impose their religiously informed and unpopular views on everyone else.
-Religiously informed views aren’t supposed to be brought into the public square in a “secular” society.
-These people are therefore antidemocratic and/or theocratic and pose a dangerous threat to our pluralistic democracy.
-We will call them Christian Nationalists for wanting to impose Christian values on the whole nation when a pluralistic society holds many different beliefs.
Two-underlying assumptions:
-that it’s an antidemocratic imposition of values for any given segment of people to advocate for their views in the public square
-that it’s theocratic if a person or group advocates for views that are religiously informed
1st-in every matter of policy, someone is imposing their view on someone else
2nd-advocating for policies based on your views is not antidemocratic, but is using the democracy exactly as it’s intended to be used
***the United States is technically a constitutional federal republic
-to be antidemocratic would be to seek another form of government or to attempt to skirt proper procedures within our current system
3rd-secular only means the United States is not committed to the authority of any particular religion in public life
-individuals are free to advocate for policies that follow from their convictions–religious or otherwise
-advocating for views that happen to be religiously informed is therefore not theocratic
***A theocracy is an entirely different form of government, in which God or deity is formally recognized as the supreme civil ruler.
-calling Christians who advocate for their religiously informed views theocratic may make for powerful rhetoric but is inaccurate
-if no one could advocate for views of morality based on biblical or other religious teachings, we would have virtually no laws
Ex. nearly everyone wants laws against behaviors like rape, murder, and theft
-if a Christian happens to advocate for a progressive position then that is not labeled Christian nationalism
Topics that are rightly debated in a democracy:
-abortion
-biological men(boys) in women’s(girls) sports
-trans people using non-biological bathrooms, dressing rooms, etc…
**these are all public policy but only conservative positions are unpopular and therefore labeled Christian Nationalism
-Christian nationalism could lead to politicians passing laws that supporters believe reflect specific Christian values
***presupposed is what exactly are "specific Christian values”
-we have the right to advocate Christian values in the bills that are passed or rejected
The Problem:
-secularists know that Christians believe that our authority comes from God
-Christians do not believe that authority doesn’t come from human beings, congress, or the supreme court but from God
-conservative Christians are labeled as extremists on issues on abortion, marriage, gender ideology, etc…
Racism allegations:
-white Christian nationalists are all racist
-Christians who reject Critical Race Theory-based initiatives are all racist
-Christian nationalists have white supremacy tendencies
-faulty survey has classified Christian nationalists as evidence for revealing the as antiblack racism (PRRI research)
Problem:
-a person’s views may have a relationship to racism
-measuring a person’s perception of the degree to which white supremacy and discrimination remain a problem today
-just because a person disagrees in other’s perceptions is not a conclusion the person is racist
-racism can certainly be found in America and should be condemned, but to label all perceived racism as blatant racism is dangerous to society as a whole
Zenophobia:
-Christian nationalists have been labeled as zenophobic–fearful of immigrants
-Christian nationalists fear immigration because they will lose their cultural dominance
-Christian nationalists want to exclude group membership so are anit-immigrant
****progressives do not like using the language “invading” because it has a strong connotation, but for ex. Sharia law is not compatible with American Constitution of freedom so when it strives to take over and replace than that is an invasion
Problem:
-just because you believe that unfettered immigration will lead to undesirable cultural changes doesn’t make you Zenophopic
-Christian Nationalists are in favor for stricter forms of immigration control because they do not want to lose American patriotism
-when immigrants expect the country to bow to them and not to assimilate then the American way of life will diminish to be America no more
-we should be concerned about uncontrolled immigration
-Christian nationalists are being portrayed as zenophobic just based on differing opinions on immigration policy and the impact of immigration on culture—not an irrational or dangerous fear of others
***America should be concerned about the impact of uncontrolled immigration and its impact on national security, sex trafficking, economic strains, crime, and national debt.
Does Christian nationalism threaten Democracy?
-there is not standard term or definition that is a blanket for all people labeled as Christian nationalists
-people have a confused understanding of the proper constitutional relationship between church and state
-the term “Christian Nationalist” is ambiguous
-Christians are being labeled as the problematic “Christian Nationalist” even if they are not associated with the group who say they are Christian Nationalists
-media coverage drives the impression that any person or group is problematic when advocating for righteousness in the public square
-media uses intimidating labeling like Christian nationalist as a way to make society believe we shouldn’t mix our faith and political views
***that if we bring our religiously informed values into the public square, we’re problematic blurring distinctions between our Christian and American identities
-spiritually speaking, you can problematically put your identity in something other than Christ, but make not mistake; the media doesn’t care about your spiritual health
-democrats inflate that Christian and American identities can’t mix as you are imposing unpopular values on others
-it’s advocating for your views exactly as is intended within a democracy
***American Christians should mix politics with our faith in the public square
-we are grateful to live under a form of government that gives us the opportunity to advocate freely for the common good out of our love for both God and others
***do not relinquish that God-given opportunity just because the media wants you to fear being part of a “dangerous” movement
Truth:
-Christians advocate for policies according to their values, that’s in some way more problematic than when other people advocate for policies according to their values
-voting according to your religious convictions is no way comparable to seeking a completely different form of government
-in a democracy, everyone is welcome to vote according to their moral convictions, regardless of whether they happen to be religiously motivated or not
-in every matter of public policy, someone’s views will be imposed on someone elese
-the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment ensures that the government will not establish a state-supported church and will not force individuals to practice a specific religion
-the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment doesn’t dictate how individuals should or should not use their religious beliefs to inform their participation in the political process
-America never had a federally established state church, but most people are not advocating for that to change today
-Christians advocate for their values in the public square just like any other citizen, but that doesn’t mean we’re seeking to make Christianity an established national religion in some way
-we are just participating in the democratic process that already exists
***There is no reason to chastise any particular group for seeking the power necessary for public influence.
***Christians with political power, like anyone else, should steward that power well in advocating for the common good.
What to do:
-Educate yourself on issues of political relevance for Christians
-Get to know your Representatives and Senators are in both the US and state governments
-take advantage of your right to vote
-take time to be informed about each issue and candidate on the ballot
-follow, donate, and pray for Christian legal advocacy
-follow organizations on social media who will keep you current on legal battles: Protect religious freedoms, free speech, marriage, family, parental rights, and sanctity of life
-pray for God-honoring outcomes
-support nonprofit organizations that advocates politically for specific issues
-know and get involved with your local school board and hold them accountable to the community as they make critically important decisions about policies affecting every public school in their district
-help equip those in your church community with a better understanding of the role of public Christian influence
***the body of Christ must be politically involved as it is our way to advocate for the common good out of our love for God
***advocate for what is good, love what God does, and hate what God hates