“Well-funded Christian Nationalist movements tap into their ideology for political action that directly threatens US democracy. And I believe, it’s also a threat to Christianity itself,” said attorney Amanda Tyler at a recent live event that attracted hundreds of attendees at the Loft Cinema in Tucson.
Christian Nationalism is an unholy blend of fundamentalist religious beliefs and right-wing political action:
- It unified the insurrectionists who stormed the US Capitol on January 6.
- It caused disruptions at Tucson-area school board meetings.
- It is the force behind laws for mandatory bible classes and religious emblems in public schools.
“Christian nationalism often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation,” Tyler added. “The KKK is an example of white Christian nationalism from the past with its toxic mix of white supremacy, Christian nationalism, and violence. It’s pervasive and touches every aspect of our culture.”
Local examples include the Christo-national Bridge church in Tucson that forced Bookmans to cancel a drag story hour in March. The Bridge church also teamed up with the Pima County Republican Party to disrupt a Catalina Foothills School Board meeting in April, where attendees ranted about bathroom rules.
“Christian nationalism, from my perspective as a Christian, is idolatrous. It makes an idol of power. That distracts from the gospel of love. It is a gross distortion of the teachings of Jesus,” Tyler said. “The ‘Christian’ in Christian nationalism is more about ethnonational identity than it is about theology or religion, and it carries with it assumptions about nativism, white supremacy, authoritarianism, patriarchy, and militarism.”
Tyler is the Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC), which has sponsored the campaign Christians Against Christian Nationalism for 18 months. The event where she spoke was an ecumenical and community collaboration between Secular AZ, Arizona Faith Network, the Poor People’s Campaign and the BJC.
How to recognize Christian nationalism
This malignant movement is defined as a fusion of national and religious identities and goals, according to Tyler. It has been a recurrent problem throughout history, starting with Emperor Constantine’s use of Jesus’ teachings to exert power over the Roman Empire in 312 AD.
Christian nationalism has three markers:
- The myth that the US was founded as a “Christian” nation. Tyler said, “The framers of the Constitution made a deliberate choice to form a secular government. Religion is mentioned exactly once in the original US Constitution in Article Six and its prohibition against religious tests for public office.”
- The idea that to be a true American, one must be a fundamentalist Christian with conservative political positions.
- The fable that God loves the United States more than any other country in the world. “John’s gospel tells us, ‘for God so loved the world.’ It doesn’t say ‘for God so loved the United States.”
Christian Nationalism “is deeply unpatriotic. To attack American democracy or to attack the foundational ideas of religious freedom for all — that everyone belongs, no matter what we believe — strikes at the very heart of that American ideal, she said.
Project Blitz the Legislatures
The Nation Congressional Prayer Caucus, which is not part of the government, released a 116-page legislative guide to implementing Project Blitz, which includes 20 model legislative bills. In 2018, over 70 Project Blitz-related bills were introduced in state legislatures nationwide, and a greater number are expected in 2019. Bills covered:
Measures include:
- Force religion upon public school children. This is the aim of the Bible Literacy Act, the Student Prayer Certification Act, the Teacher Protection Act, and the Preserving Religious Freedom in School Act.
- ‘National Motto’ Display Laws – forcing In God We Trust and the 10 Commandments to be displayed in taxpayer-funded schools. Mandatory display laws have already been passed in seven states: Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.
- Religious Refusals in Health Care. This bill would allow hospitals, doctors, nurses to deny a patient standard medical care based on their personal beliefs, not based on what is best for the patient.
Taking action
“Show up at the school board, go to the state legislature, show your elected officials that to oppose Christian nationalism is not to be anti-Christian. In fact, it is a Christian calling to oppose Christian nationalism that can provide important political cover. For legislatures, for other elected officials who are asked to take some of these votes and that you can encourage them to do something different,” Tyler said.
She urged fellow Christians to sign, tweet and email her group’s statement, Christians Against Christian Nationalism.
“We think it is vital that people of faith, along with people of no faith, to take their rightful place in the public square. For too long, the people on the right have been taking up all the space for religion in the public square. We think it’s important for people of all faiths and none to also show up in the public square and advocate against Christian nationalism. And so I’m excited to be in conversation with you all tonight,” Tyler said.