Christian Nationalism is almost as old as the faith it proclaims; thanks to Emperor Constantine and those who followed, the embrace of the message of Jesus turned the movement into a perverse and dangerous force. Wars were launched – people were conquered and forced to choose Jesus or death – other religions were denigrated – all in the alleged name of Jesus. Most Christians don’t even recognize their religion without it – it continued in America in the guise of our being “a christian nation” and continues still as a way of manipulating laws and common practices. The phrase “in God we trust” is plastered all over our money, a late addition to our paper money, and the addition of “under God” to our Pledge of Allegiance was added many years after it had become our motto. It seems innocuous, but it is really about domination and control.
At its core, CN is about controlling others for personal gain. Blue Laws, which are almost non-existent now, were created to control commerce on Sunday. Anger at events on the Sabbath (for Christians, Sunday really isn’t, by the way) never takes into account the fact that Jews and Muslims have always had to contend with secular events interfering with their holiest hours. The most recent iteration of CN is far worse, I think; it is hatred in disguise, masquerading as piety. Proponents of this version are trying desperately to “turn us back to God.” They want to embed the rare misogynistic passages of the New Testament that control women into our government, removing them from the armed forces and the voting booth. They don’t want non-Christians to be elected to positions of power, using fear of Islamic Nationalism and a false interpretation of Zionism as blunt force instruments. 21st Century Christian Nationalism is hatred in disguise.
There is a way to keep CN at bay, but it takes all of us working together to make it happen. It will take Christians who believe in full equality joining forces with Jews, Muslims, and all others, religious or not. It will take inactive members of our congregations coming back to active participation in our communities of faith to show that God will not be mocked by this false ideology. It will take electing people who don’t believe in this perversion of our faith. It will take a clear understanding of what the Constitution does and does not allow. This false ideology didn’t happen overnight, nor will it be dismantled quickly. If we want to continue as a democracy/republic, however, it must be done. Democracy cannot coexist with theocracy, which is what Christian Nationalism’s real goal is. I, for one, don’t want to live in a version of Iran.
Prayer – Holy God, thank You for this gift of equality, and helps us to keep it. Amen.
Today’s art is “Framework for Democracy” by Michael Crossett.