Christian Nationalism is Dangerous to Christians

Survey after survey shows Americans increasingly walking away from religion entirely, particularly among the younger generations.  Indeed, the so-called "Nones" - those with no religious affiliation - now represent the largest religious category if you will in America.  What's driving the exodus?  Largely the negative view of religion thanks to the toxic evangelicals and Christofascists - all of who want to force their beliefs on all citizens - who have defined Christianity to be religion of hate, division and the mistreatment of others.  In many ways, this has always been the true history of Christianinity over the centuries as indiginous peoples were enslaved or slaughtered by Europeans in the New World and Africa and other belief systems stamped out.   Add to that the wars of religion that brought wide scale death and suffering in Europe and the picture os very ugly.  Too often Christ's gospel message has been nowhere to be seen over the last two millennia.   Belatedly, some Christians who actually put that gospel message first over power and control are speaking out and calling out those on the so-called Christian Right for the harm they are doing.  A piece by Rev. Jennifer Butler is one such example.  Here are highlights:

The breadth of the January 6th hearings will tell Americans a lot about the substantive threats to our democracy, if we are willing to listen. I hope Christians, in particular, will heed the substantive threat Christian nationalism played in priming insurrectionists to storm the Capitol with crosses, Christian flags and banners that proclaimed “Jesus Saves”. 

 As a pastor, I fear this movement is not only a danger to our democracy, it is a threat to Christianity itself.

 Christian nationalism is not Christian. In fact, it is idolatry, violates God’s commandments, breaches freedom of religion, and claims innocent lives. Eighteen months later, despite what certain Members of Congress may claim, the Christian nationalist movement that helped fuel the Capitol Hill insurrection continues to kill. The white supremacist who slaughtered ten Black people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, is merely the latest to be driven to mass murder based on his belief in the “great replacement theory” which has strong roots in Christian nationalism. 

Christian nationalism leads Christians in the wrong direction, separating us from God’s vision of a world where all are treated with dignity. It is a heretical violation of the two greatest commandments in the Christian faith: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39 NRSV) 

Christian nationalism is a form of idolatry, placing one so-called ethnic group, race and nationality ahead of God’s love for all of us. Scripture and the real Christian vision is bigger than the interests of our class, religious, national or ethnic group.

Instead, Christian nationalists advocate for laws that denigrate and roll back the rights of people who are not white, Christian, heterosexual or cisgender. They dare to cloak cruel policies in the guise of religious freedom when in reality these laws have nothing to do with religion or freedom. These laws codify hatred and deny God’s love for all humanity. And to be clear, these laws also violate the founding American principle of religious freedom itself for millions of Americans whose religious values, like Christianity, teach them to value each and every human being. 

Christian nationalism refuses to take a clear-eyed view of history so that our children can learn from our mistakes and build a nation where all can flourish in all of our God-given diversity. It ignores the full story of the systematic exclusion of people of color, Native Americans, women, LGBTQ people and religious minorities from the benefits of our so-called democracy and our call in Matthew 22. Its propaganda leads to electing racist leaders to “make America great again” and claiming elections are stolen when voters of color turn out in record numbers to vote their values. 

 In the face of this clear and consistent warping of Christian faith, messages and values, it’s no wonder many are tempted to throw out faith altogether.

For people of all faiths and no faith we have an opportunity to dig deeper into our values, affirm the human dignity of each person and build a multi-faith, multiracial democracy where everyone has the freedom to thrive no matter where they were born, what they look like or how they worship. 

More Christians must step up. We must do more than just watch the January 6th hearings aghast. We cannot allow our faith to continue to be hijacked by white supremacists covered in religious language. For the sake of our faith and our democracy, we must denounce Christian nationalism and reclaim a faith that values and affirms the human dignity of all people. Including our own.