Uncovering the how and why of Christian nationalism

LOUISVILLE — Amanda Tyler says it’s the duty of Christians to face Christian nationalism. Before we can do that, the executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty said Wednesday during a talk at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church and to those listening online, we must understand what Christian nationalism is and what it threatens to do.

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Christian nationalism is “a fusion of national and religious identities and goals. It is a recurrent problem throughout history and around the world today,” Tyler said. It’s present in Russia, India, Hungary, Zambia, Nigeria, Ethiopia and other place. “It is not uniquely an American problem,” she noted.

Tyler’s “Christians Against Christian Nationalism” talk was part of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church’s McClendon Scholar Program. Her presentation, and a question-and-answer session with the program’s executive director, Theo Brown, can be seen here.

The organization Christians Against Christian Nationalism, for which Tyler is the lead organizer, defines Christian nationalism as “a political ideology and cultural framework that seeks to merge American and Christian identities.”

“Christian nationalism suggests that to be a real American, one has to be a Christian — a Christian who espouses and holds certain fundamentalist beliefs that align with conservative political priorities,” she said. “In the U.S. context, we cannot think about Christian nationalism without thinking of racism and white supremacy.”

“The ‘Christian’ in ‘Christian nationalism’ is less about theology and more about an ethno-national identity. In the U.S., that is whiteness,” Tyler said. “Christian nationalism is not new. It is a new term for an old problem in the U.S. context.”

While we now “thankfully” think of the Ku Klux Klan as a fringe group, Tyler noted the KKK once marched and rode on horseback down Pennsylvania Avenue in the nation’s capital.

Calling the United States a “Christian nation” is “an exaggerated form of American exceptionalism,” Tyler said. John’s gospel says “God so loved the world, not just the United States, but that’s essentially what this mythology says, that the U.S. is the apple of God’s eye.” It also claims that God inspired the Constitution, or at least part of it, and that the framers were divinely inspired. Tyler looks to the Constitution itself to refute that idea. “The framers barred religious tests from the beginning,” she said.

Christian nationalism is also “a gross distortion of the teachings of Jesus, who was always on the side of the marginalized and oppressed,” Tyler said, adding that Jesus was executed by the empire. “This Jesus, the Jesus of the gospels, bears no resemblance to the white Jesus who is the mascot” of Christian nationalists, who use “the language and symbols of Christianity, and to the casual observer, it’s the same thing.”

Tyler distinguished between patriotism and Christian nationalism.

Patriotism, she said, is love of country and is freely chosen. “There are lots of ways to be patriotic,” Tyler said. Nationalism is “allegiance to country that demands supremacy over all other allegiances, including Jesus.” A good litmus test is this: If our patriotism causes us to sacrifice religious convictions, it’s no longer patriotism. “It has drifted into the unhealthy and dangerous area of nationalism,” she said.

Polling by the Public Religion Research Institute shows 29% of Americans reject Christian nationalism and 37% are skeptics. 1 in 10 adheres to Christian nationalism, and 20% are sympathizers. Those who embrace it strongly agree with these statements:

• “The U.S. government should declare America a Christian nation.”
• “If the U.S. moves away from our Christian foundations, we will not have a country anymore.”
• “U.S. laws should be based on Christian values.”
• “Being Christian is an important part of being fully American.”
• “God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society.”

While adherents and sympathizers amount to just 30% of the population, “the problem is they hold a disproportionate amount of political power right now,” Tyler said. “They are using their power to try to destroy democratic institutions.”

Together with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Christians Against Christian Nationalism provided a report to the Select Committee investigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021. But “if you look at the Select committee’s [845-page] report, there are no references to Christian nationalism,” Tyler pointed out. “They lacked the political courage to call out Christian nationalism.”

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Tyler cited links to Christian nationalism in anti-immigration legislation and anti-transgender policies, among others. It’s also showing up in public education. Some states and school districts are posting “In God We Trust” and the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Other public schools have replaced school counselors with school chaplains.

“It is incumbent for those of us who are Christians to speak out against Christian nationalism,” Tyler said. Here are some ways to do that.

• Sign the Christians Against Christian Nationalism statement.
• Get connected to groups working for religious liberty and pluralism.
• Take action to educate others — online, in your community and in your church.

Last fall, Tyler published her book “How to End Christian Nationalism.” “It was written to be read and acted on,” she said. “We are trying to organize people to take action in their local communities.”

After her talk concluded, Tyler sat down with Brown to answer a few questions. She said Christian nationalism has had “high tides” throughout American history, including the Civil War, the 1920s and the 1950s. “I mentioned ‘God bless America’ in my talk,” she said. “Almost every politician uses it at the end of almost every speech. What is being reinforced? Religious permission for whatever came before. Those of us who pay attention need to call that out for what it is.”

Supporters of strengthening Christian nationalism in public schools have at least two strategies, she said. One is Christianize public schools, and the other is to privatize public education, “which has been done by underfunding public schools.”

“But vouchers for public schools are incredibly unpopular,” Tyler said. “Most people like and support the public schools.”

Even steps like considering the removal of flags in sanctuaries can be complicated, she said.

Churches with large immigrant populations often locate their flags in the sanctuary “because their sense of being a true American has been questioned,” Tyler said. “Because of white Christian nationalism, they have been accused of not being fully American. It varies by particular community.”

“This is a huge problem. It can feel too big for any one person to do much about it,” Tyler said of Christian nationalism. “But if we do one small thing all together, that’s huge … I am grateful to be in this work with all of you.”