Far Right Craziness: Peddling "Christian Nationalism" as New GOP Policy

Three advocates pushing this wild topic

This story from MSNBC is startling and concerning as well as timely and critical for national discussion at this time in our election history:

“Christian nationalism is a racist, ahistorical ideology of violence”

In a word: Christian “nationalism” twists the scriptures and the Constitution regarding religion in America (the First Amendment).

The article highlights (formatted to fit the emphasis of blog):

One of the longest-standing principles of American democracy — the separation of church and state — is under attack by people embracing Christian nationalism. 

That ideology says that the U.S. is and should remain a Christian nation and that Christianity should be prioritized by the state. Even when it is not stated, Christian nationalism implicitly calls for the U.S. to be a white Christian nation.

By definition, Christian nationalism is incompatible with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the government from imposing or endorsing a particular religion. But Christian nationalists would prefer that we ignore that founding document.

Examples:

Doug Mastriano (R-PA) running for governor called the separation of church and state: “A myth” in April. 

Dan Cox (R-MD) also running for governor and also in April told a crowd that his platform: “Recognizes the creator, and we have rights that supersede government.”

Quick Note: Christians who run for office on a platform that denies the separation of church and state are dangerous to our democracy. Even if they don’t win, their views become more normalized, sick, misguided, and dangerous.

For example, Michael Peroutka (R-MD), a long-shot running for AG says that if elected, his decisions as AG general will follow from his interpretation of Christianity, adding: “I will not support already-enacted laws if they don’t align with my understanding of God’s law.” His interpretation of Christianity includes: No same-sex marriage, all abortions are illegal, and public schools are a threat to a Christian worldview.

It’s not just those three, either. A growing number of Republicans in office espouse that same Christian nationalism view. 

Here are three well-known examples:

1. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) argued in June: “The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church.”

2. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) put it more bluntly in July saying: “I’m a Christian and I say it proudly. We should be Christian nationalists.”

3. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) earlier this year quoted from the New Testament Book of Ephesians to a crowd warning them: “To put on that full armor of God and stand firm against the left’s schemes. You’ll be met with flaming arrows but the shield of faith will stop them.”

Illustrating that Christian nationalist ideas are moving further and further into the mainstream, a September poll by Politico found that 61% of Republicans and 17% of Democrats believe the U.S. should declare itself a Christian nation.

The poll also found that “white grievance is highly correlated with support for a Christian nation.” 

The “Christians Against Christian Nationalism” website explains, Christian nationalism: “Often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation.”

The even more dangerous aspect of Christian nationalism is its acceptance of the inevitability of violence.

Christian nationalism argues that Americans are an exceptional, chosen people who will eventually face an apocalyptic end-times battle. This us-versus-them thinking positions the “other” as a dire threat that has to be defeated out of a moral duty to defend Christian values and prevent the nation from falling into darkness.

That “other,” increasingly, is the other major political party, the Democrats, or as some Republicans now call them, “demon-crats.”

This twisting of the scriptures to make partisan arguments is classic Christian nationalist rhetoric. It consistently emphasizes a battle between good and evil and between purity and contamination. More and more, Americans are being called on by Christian nationalists to join the so-called righteous fight against degradation and degeneracy, which they argue is coming from the morally bereft or perverse left.

Three years ago, the journalist Anne Nelson described standing at a Fort Worth rally for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) while nearby supporters referred to Democrats as “demons” and who called then-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) (now running for governor) the “son of Satan.”

American conservatives aren’t the only ones who’ve adopted such language. In a speech last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched an unprovoked attack against Ukraine in February, described the entire Western world as Satanists.

Whether here or abroad, this constant juxtaposition of good and evil is dangerous. As many people now show, partisan moral disengagement, which means “seeing the other party as evil, less than human, and a serious threat to the nation,” (ergo: A predictor of pro-violence attitudes).

We’ve already seen how this kind of rhetoric has mobilized violence against the LGBTQ community. Christian nationalist groups have helped introduce anti-LGBTQ legislation in states across the nation, often based on false arguments about harm that fly in the face of what the medical field knows, for example, about the importance of trans people’s health and well-being.

As those efforts have ramped up, so have violent threats and attacks against medical providers who offer gender-affirming care and treatments.

Last month, after false claims about its gender-affirming care circulated on Twitter, Children’s National Hospital in Washington was threatened with violence.

Those threats followed bomb threats against Boston Children’s Hospital and other violent threats against hospitals Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Nashville, and Akron, OH all because of their gender care programs.

Christian nationalism is not Christianity. Nor is it ordinary patriotism or mere pride in being American. It is a perversion of both. 

That is why over 24,000 clergy, church leaders, and lay people from across the U.S. have signed a statement of “Christians against Christian Nationalism,” which argues that Christian nationalism is: “Distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy.”

At this moment of democratic crisis, it’s critical to remember that our nation’s founders sought to create a country whose government would not interfere with anyone’s religious choice, or promote any single religion. In this sense, Christian nationalism is not just undemocratic, it’s also profoundly un-American. 

And, BTW: There is no “Great Replacement Theory” (NPR here) just more crazy GOP hype running amok.

My 2 Cents: Not only is the above “movement” of sorts dangerous by those already in office, but from those seeking office and all levels of government, but the promises key GOP leaders are and have made regarding what they will do if they regain power is just as serious. 

I posted about those GOP plans here, here, here, and with this kind of candidate to help them. 

It’s a lot to read and comprehend I know, but also a serious topic. 

Please enjoy the research and then help get out the vote to stop all the extreme and 2020 denier radicals seeking power from actually gaining power, for any cost and surely at this rate, it will be very costly for all of us. That is hyperbole, either.

Thanks for stopping by.