Confronting Christian Nationalism
With the political divisions in our nation growing wider all the time, the church has experienced a great deal of conflict and tension regarding the intersections of faith and government. With the 4th of July coming up quickly, in the midst of an election year- it is important that faith communities wrestle with hard conversations that confront Christian Nationalism and the misuse of scripture or theological concepts for political gain. This issue of Table Topics will present questions and resources for faith communities to explore together in this complicated, yet critical discussion.
Question #1: How is Christian Nationalism shaping the views of individuals?
Christian Nationalism is a complicated social perspective with many layers of belief, theology, and political application. In order to fully understand the movement and how it is impacting and dividing our nation, our states, our communities, and our churches, we must do the research to fully understand its many building blocks.
The Public Religion Research Institute explored the nuances of Christian Nationalism views and the breakdown of those who share those perspectives. (1) Faith leaders should be aware of the data surrounding these specific views so that they can have specific conversations within their faith community about each area and recognize their presence locally.
It is also important to note that these issues are not new; they have deep, historical roots in the ideology of our nation as it has grown and developed its identity over time. One of the best available resources to help understand our current events in a historical context is the book Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. This book makes an EXCELLENT book for discussion in a faith community. We have created a detailed book discussion guide for faith communities that can be found in our member resource library.
Question 2: How is Christian Nationalism viewed and interpreted?
Many faith communities are grappling with declining attendance and lower levels of engagement… it is important that we name and explore the role that Christian Nationalism may have in that struggle. In the image below, the Pew Research Center found that most people have a poor view of Christian Nationalism and the policies and practices that it represents. (2) These national data trends are important for us to pay attention to as faith leaders because the rhetoric, headlines, and polarization on the macro level often can create barriers to engagement on the micro (local church) level.
If people do not know if they will be exposed to this type of teaching- many would rather stay away than risk finding themselves in a nationalistic environment. One critical question for your faith community to wrestle with is: Do people in your community who are not engaged in your faith community have a way to know your faith community’s view on Christian Nationalism?
Question 3: What are ways that Christian Nationalism is impacting our community on a local level?
National-level politics around Christian Nationalism have also filtered down into state and local politics. Numerous states are becoming battlegrounds over value-based issues like abortion and the death penalty while others are enacting laws and policies that challenge the separation of church and state in overt ways. At the local level, many communities are seeing greater levels of division and conflict rooted in conflict over values and policies at city council and school board meetings.
The heat map below from the Public Religion Research Institute (3) shows the levels of Christian Nationalism by state. However, even in the states that fall in the light green category, elements of this ideology are still present in certain areas.
Here are some more specific questions to wrestle with in this area to help identify your local issues:
What are some ways that Christian Nationalism is impacting the politics and polarization of your community?
Does your faith community have a platform for safe conversation and discussion of these issues that impact their lives and the lives of their neighbors?
If people do not feel safe to process questions, emotions, and reactions to local expressions of Christian Nationalism in the context of your faith community- why not?
Are these issues framed as expressions of faith, justice, love, and spiritual expressions in the lives of individuals in your faith community?
Question 4: Does Christian Nationalism reflect the teachings of Jesus?
Is your faith community having this conversation? Are they willing to have it? Below are some great resources that will help your faith community explore this question deeply. This is an important theological conversation that the church should not avoid at any point in time, especially in an election year.
Have this hard conversation as an act of discipleship, love, and justice.
Question 5: How is our faith community complicit in the existence and growth of Christian Nationalism?
Often faith communities will be quick to defend themselves by saying, we do not believe that way or teach that way when speaking about Christian Nationalism. However, not teaching or perpetuating harmful theologies is only one part of the solution.
The bigger and more difficult question is how are you actively correcting nationalist teachings and narratives and speaking out against these views in with members of your faith community and with your wider community of context? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once quoted Edmund Burke in saying that, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Not teaching from this perspective is one thing… but allowing these teachings to go unquestioned, unaddressed, or unchallenged is a form of complicity that also must be named. We cannot be afraid of the consequences of hard conversations on our attendance, our tithing, or participation because the consequences of silence are far greater to not only OUR faith community but also to our community and our country.
Are we willing to stand up for what is right, even if we stand alone? (Which the research presented above shows us that we are not alone). There are many ways to take a stand:
Hold a public panel conversation on the topic of Confronting Christian Nationalism.
Preach a sermon confronting the weaponized theologies that are often used in this framework of faith.
Host a book club on one of the resources listed below for your community to engage in conversations around Christian Nationalism.
Watch one of the documentaries listed below in the resource section and host a conversation about it afterwards.
Write a Op-Ed or Letter to the Editor as a faith leader speaking out against Christian Nationalism on a local and national level.
Brainstorm other ways to engage in education, advocacy, and conversation in your community around this critical topic.
Resources to Explore: