Scholars use different definitions and measures of Christian nationalism as a political ideology, but here’s a simplified way to think about it: Christian nationalism in the United States is the exclusionary idea that this country was founded by and for certain kinds of Christians and should remain that way. It can include the belief that being Christian is an essential part of what it means to be an American—and that only certain kinds of Christians should serve as political leaders. Some Christian nationalist political activists believe the U.S. has a national mission to promote Christianity—and they reject the separation of church and state, which protects liberty and equality for all Americans no matter what their religious beliefs.
Christian nationalism has been weaponized into a political movement by religious-right leaders over the past half century and is deeply grounded in the history of racism and white supremacy in our country and specifically in white evangelical churches--and resistance within White evangelicalism to progress toward racial equality.
Pollster and author Robert Jones describes white Christian nationalism in the U.S. as rooted in the idea that this nation was intended by God to be a promised land for European Christians. He and other researchers have documented that while some Christian nationalist beliefs are embraced by people of different racial and religious backgrounds, among white Christians there are specific ways those beliefs show up alongside toxic attitudes toward racial equality and immigrants—along with increased support for authoritarianism and political violence.
That’s why many scholars refer to white Christian Nationalism as a specific phenomenon that threatens American ideals. People For the American Way Foundation has partnered with political analyst and influencer Kat Abughazaleh to produce a new video series on white Christian nationalism. Abughazaleh explains what it means for our freedoms when white Christian nationalists get the power to turn their ideas into law—censoring our history, criminalizing abortion, reversing steps toward full equality for LGBTQ Americans, and more.
In recent years, some white Christian nationalists have become more aggressive about promoting extreme agendas, such as denying women the right to vote and insisting that only certain kinds of Christians should be allowed to serve in elected office or on the Supreme Court.
This doesn’t mean everyone who promotes dangerous forms of Christian nationalism is white. One prominent Black elected official has declared that anyone who disagrees with his view that the U.S. is a Christian nation should get out of the country. It’s important to note that millions of American Christians reject that kind of thinking. That’s why groups like Christians Against Christian Nationalism actively challenge the use of their faith to promote it.
Religious-right groups that promote white Christian nationalist ideology have tens of millions of dollars at their disposal to lobby for reactionary social policies and elect politicians who are willing to write their agendas into our laws. Their political impact is heightened by their close political alliance with another control-seeking religious and political movement, the New Apostolic Reformation—that’s a topic for another blog post.