What is Christian nationalism, exactly?

"White Christian nationalism is a cultural framework that idealizes and advocates for a fusion of a particular expression of Christianity with American civic life." (p. 28)

amazon.com/American-Idola… "It holds that this version of Christianity should be the principal and undisputed cultural framework in the United States and that the government should
vigorously preserve that cultural framework."

Does Christian nationalism make Americans less Christ-like?

Consider some evidence:

Americans who embrace Christian nationalism are *more likely* to say political violence is sometimes necessary in order to "save our country."

(@PRRIpoll /Brookings, 2023) Americans who embrace Christian nationalism are more likely to believe immigrants "undermine American culture," "increase crime," and should be kept from coming to the US.

(Whitehead & Perry, 2020)

Why should American Christians learn about and confront Christian nationalism?

Here's just 5 reasons.

Christian nationalism in the wild!

Sent to me from a friend in east Tennessee. An evocative representation of how guns (and all they have come to represent in the US) are a key cultural icon of Christian nationalism in the United States. The redefining of the "right to bear arms" to mean that any (white) citizen should be able to access, purchase, and use almost any type of firearm with little to no oversight . . .

New Christian Nationalism Findings!

@PRRIpoll & @BrookingsInst just released the findings from a new survey of over 6,000 Americans. This report helps us know who embraces Christian nationalism, and what those folks believe. #ChristianNationalism

prri.org/research/a-chr… For instance, around 29% of Americans are at least sympathetic to Christian nationalism. @PRRIpoll labels these folks "Adherents" and "Sympathizers".

She walked up to me after I presented on Christian nationalism & the threat to American Christianity.

Quietly, but with the weight of her entire world she said, "We just want our kids to live. To be seen as our children. We just want them to grow up." "Why can't they see our Black boys and girls as children? Our children?" she asked me.

"They talked about that young man who took the gun to the George Floyd protests and killed those 2 people, they saw him as a child."

Real talk: sometimes (as a Christian) I've found it poses less risk to converse with atheist or agnostic friends when experiencing deep pain or suffering than it is with some fellow Christians.

Why? 1) I've found there's less of a chance of being bright-sided.

What's bright-sided?

It's the "often toxically positive and well-meaning attempt to offer comfort, it's the phenomena where someone insists that, no matter your situation, you look for some kind of positive."

What is white Christian nationalism?

White Christian nationalism (WCN) is a cultural framework that idealizes and advocates for a fusion of Christianity* with American civic life. It combines a number of different elements. The first is a strong sense of moral traditionalism based on creating and sustaining social hierarchies.

Oftentimes these revolve around race/ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.

Here are some links to analyses on Christian nationalism. Each are FREE TO READ.

You'll learn what CN is, how to identify it, and why it is a threat to US democracy and Christianity. Christian nationalism is strongly associated with more racist attitudes and violence toward racial minorities.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11…

Some thoughts regarding the ridiculous @CBMWorg hit piece on @bethallisonbarr, @kkdumez, & Beth's rural Baptist congregation, via Life of Pi:

"There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence, were something weak and helpless. These people walk by a widow deformed by leprosy begging for a few paise, walk by children dressed in rags living in the street, and they think, 'Business as usual.' But if they perceive a slight against God, it is a different story.

Excited to finally see this @PewResearch out today! A lot to dig into with their findings—here’s my take home story:

If you want to make sense of Americans’ political and social attitudes, you need to account for Christian nationalism.

@jackmjenkins @myaguarnieri @YonatShimron

https://twitter.com/PewReligion/status/1453724021678247946

Now, Pew doesn’t call it Christian nationalism, which I understand given various constraints, but that is definitely what they’re measuring.

Pew sorts respondents into several different groups:

Question f/ a friend:

Have you heard anyone using the "drowning person parable" (on a house, declines help from boat/copter/etc. cuz God will save) to encourage Christians to vaccinate? Is it used widely?

How have listeners responded? How have anti-vaxxers responded? Here's a version of the parable:

Christian nationalism is fundamentally about power. So every election is the most important election because power is up for grabs.

What's fun is seeing how religious leaders who embrace CN have to make this case each and every time... So, James Dobson, for instance:

2004: “[I]f you identify with the pro-life & pro-family movement, if you believe there is a right and wrong, if you believe in absolute truth, it’s all on the line tomorrow.”

This is really excellent work by one of our top religion journalists. Be sure to read.

@socofthesacred, @JoshuaGrubbsPhD, & I have a couple free-to-read studies on COVID & Christian nationalism.

Lots of Evangelicals embrace CN - we find it is CN doing the work here.
(1)

https://twitter.com/jackmjenkins/status/1415807786563383299

At start of pandemic Americans who embraced Christian nationalism were much less likely to engage in precautionary behaviors, more likely to engage in incautious behaviors.

Why? CN linked to skepticism of scientific authority. (Article free to read!) (2)

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/js…

On Father's Day in 2007 we had just moved to Waco, TX for grad school. We visited a Baptist church in town w/ friends & the pastor, who had been there for decades & oversaw the congregation's growth into 1 of the largest in town, gave a sermon on the role of men in the family. [You can guess where this is going]

Central to the message was how men are the protectors of the family. God designed men to rise up and engage in violence, when necessary, to ensure the women and children are kept safe.

When a Christian nationalist talks about "defending the family" they mean *white* families.

One common refrain w/in Christian nationalist discourse is that the downfall of the US will coincide with the downfall of "the family." For this reason, "the family" must be protected at all costs. God designed "the family" & the extent to which the US turns it's back on that design it invites God to turn away from us.

I've received some questions about the relationship between Christian nationalism (hereafter CN) and the likelihood of buying into conspiracy theories. This is especially pertinent given the reporting about how white evangelicals are drawn to QAnon. Here's what I've found. First, there is a clear association btw CN--desiring a fusion btw Christianity & American civic life--& buying into conspiracy theories.

When asked if the federal gov't is concealing what it knows about various events, more CN = agreement gov't is covering up.

Is Christian nationalism strongly associated with white supremacy?

Yes. It is *BY FAR* the strongest predictor of fear of when "whites are no long the majority in the US."

In order to address one, we must address the other too. This particular outcome isn't the only measure of racism/white supremacy we find significantly associated w/ Christian nationalism.

Check out our book for more: bit.ly/TABforG

Yes, indeed. Quest for power, seeing their form of religion privileged in the public sphere. Trump is exactly what they've wanted for decades.

And Ambassadors, those who strongly embrace Christian nationalism, will overwhelmingly support Trump in November.

https://twitter.com/jackmjenkins/status/1292444437315018752

@socofthesacred & I saw this over & over in our interviews f/ the book. Christian nationalists ascribing achievements to Trump regarding "putting prayer back in schools," "the Bible back in schools," or even "letting us say Merry Christmas again," which were never taken away.

Here are some teaching/learning resources for anyone teaching Intro to Sociology (or Politics) this fall who would like to demonstrate to their students the importance of religion (I know you've got a "religion" day--just own it) in the current context!

@ASAnews @ASATrails Here's a video you could use in class to start discussion!

Kids love multimedia!



Courtesy of @ASAnews!

All across the country there will be "celebrate America" services happening in thousands of congregations. Here's the first couple paragraphs of our book that provide provocative illustrations of Christian nationalism in the United States.