===christian Nationalism===
Christian nationalism is a political ideology that seeks to merge Christian and American identities, contending that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation and that the government should advocate Christian values and policies. It is distinct from patriotism or the Christian faith itself and is viewed by critics as a threat to American constitutional democracy and religious pluralism. Christian nationalism advocates for a legal fusion of the Christian religion with the national character, implying that to be a "true" American, one must be Christian. Adherents believe the federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation, advocate Christian values, and that U.S. laws should be based on Christian principles. The ideology often rejects the constitutional principle of the separation of church and state, viewing it as a mistake to be corrected. Supporters often feel their values and religion are threatened and marginalized, believing a "cosmic war between good and evil" is unfolding where they must fight to "take back" the U.S. for God. The ideology is often associated with and provides cover for white supremacy, nativism, authoritarianism, patriarchy, and anti-immigrant views. According to academic studies and research, Americans who embrace Christian nationalism are more likely to hold certain views and support specific policies: Approval of authoritarian tactics, Fear and distrust of religious minorities, including Muslims and Jewish people, Belief that racial inequality is due to the personal shortcomings of minority groups, Anti-immigrant views and support for "replacement theory", Belief in traditional gender roles, where the husband is the head of the household, Support for political violence to "save the country", Prioritization of gun rights and states' rights over other constitutional rights.
Surveys by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Brookings Institution have found that approximately three in ten Americans qualify as Christian nationalism adherents or sympathizers. Support is particularly high among white evangelical Protestants and is strongly correlated with Republican party affiliation and a favorable view of Donald Trump.
Surveys by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Brookings Institution have found that approximately three in ten Americans qualify as Christian nationalism adherents or sympathizers. Support is particularly high among white evangelical Protestants and is strongly correlated with Republican party affiliation and a favorable view of Donald Trump.
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MAGA claims of 'massive religious revival' meticulously debunked Christian nationalist themes were alive and well at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest 2025 gathering at the Phoenix Convention Center, which found Vice President JD Vance declaring that the United States "always will be a Christian nation." But that claim was debunked by MS NOW's Steve Benen, who noted what the Founding Fathers had to say on the subject — for example, John Adams, in 1797, writing that "The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion," and Thomas Jefferson saying, in 1802, that the U.S. Constitution created "a wall of separation between church and state." Another prominent Christian nationalist theme at AmericaFest 2025 is that the U.S. is seeing a widespread evangelical renaissance, which is also what the Moral Majority's Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr. claimed during the 1980s. But Salon's Amanda Marcotte, in an article published on January 7, counters that the U.S. is moving in a more "secular" direction — not converting to evangelical Christian fundamentalism in huge numbers (Alternet; 1.7.26) READMORE>>>>> |
January 12, 2025: CNN reported: White Christian nationalists are poised to remake America in their image during Trump’s second term, author says. There’s an image that captures the threat posed by the White Christian nationalist movement — and how it could become even more dangerous over the next four years. Taken during the Jan. 6 insurrection, the photo
shows a solitary White man, his head pressed in prayer against a massive wooden cross, facing the domed US Capitol building. An American flag stands like a sentinel on a flagpole beside the Capitol under an ominously gray sky. The photograph depicts a foot soldier in an insurgent religious movement trying to storm the halls of American power. What’s unsettling about the photo four years later is that much of the religious zeal that fed the insurrection is no longer outside the gates of power. Many of that movement’s followers are now on the inside, because their Chosen One, Donald Trump, returns this month to the Oval Office. January 16, 2025: Faith On View reported: Not a Single Senator Probed the Most Dangerous Part of Pete Hegseth’s Background: His Ties to White Christian Nationalism. It’s hard to find strong enough adjectives to describe the unmitigated disaster the senate hearing on Pete Hegseth truly was. Even the few Republicans who had expressed previous concerns about his nomination for Secretary of Defense handled him with kid gloves. There were some strong challenges by Democratic senators focused on the important issues of Hegseth’s disparagement of women in the armed forces; his alleged drinking on the job; allegations of sexual assault and misconduct; his poor performance in his only management positions running two small nonprofit veterans organizations; and lack of any relevant experience for the massive responsibilities of the job for which he is being considered. But not a single senator from either side of the aisle probed the most dangerous part of Hegseth’s background: his support for Christian nationalism, a set of beliefs that undermine the bedrock principles of a racially and religiously pluralistic democracy.
February 17, 2025: Baptist News Global reported: In the wake of the election of Donald Trump with the strong support of white evangelical and other conservative white Christians, PRRI, released last week their annual update of the largest ongoing study of Christian nationalism ever conducted. Based on interviews with more than 22,000 adults each year as part of the PRRI American Values Atlas, the new study examines the connections between support for Christian nationalism and voting for Trump, support for political violence, religious affiliation and church attendance, and more. With Trump’s return to political power completing the MAGA takeover of the Republican Party, with avowed Christian nationalists such as Pete Hegseth being confirmed to head the Department of Defense, and with conservative white Christians providing moral and theological cover for clearly illegal and unconstitutional activity, it can feel like a wave of white Christian nationalism has crashed over the entire nation.
February 18, 2025: Baptist News Global reported: It can be overwhelming to consider that there won’t be a presidential election for nearly four years, or even the possibility of winning either the House or Senate away from the control of Christian nationalists for another two years. One recent CNN headline said,
“Democrats confront their powerlessness as Trump flexes authority.” The level of powerlessness at least half the population feels borders between helpless and hopeless. To be clear, the issue here is not even a complete divide between conservatives and liberals. As I wrote recently, conservatives with a more libertarian bent should share many of our concerns about the authoritarian instincts of Trump and his Christian supremacist supporters. Feb 20, 2025: The AlterNet reported: President Donald Trump was able to be elected president a second time partly by mobilizing his base of Christian nationalists. This anti-Democratic group has an “us vs. them” mentality, believing that America is on the verge of an apocalypse and that they are being persecuted. In her new book, "Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy," journalist Katherine Stewart investigates this voter base. This subculture, Stewart argues, believes America should move past democracy. “They believe the U.S. is not founded on principles, but on a specific religious and cultural heritage,” she said. “They argue America is on the brink of an apocalypse, owing to the rise of equality and what they call ‘wokeness.’ They argue democracy, as a system, isn't sufficient to meet the ‘challenges’ of feminism and equality. They believe the democratic rules no longer apply, because we're facing this absolute apocalypse of equality. They want an authoritarian leader who puts himself above the law, who's going to seize the reins of power and scrap the rule of law in favor of the iron fist.” |
