While Trump distracts us with his usual clown show, Christian nationalism is the guy in the background quietly changing the locks on the Constitution. It’s not a takeover with tanks, it’s Bible verses
These are exactly the dangers I feared when writing my series on Evangelicalism & Trump just before the election last year. When Constantine succeeded in his similar preferment in 313 it neutered true and beneficial Christian influence founded upon the life and teaching of Jesus. As a Brit, I also bemoan the link of the State church to aspects of national and political life, although there are checks on that relationship. For MAGA it seems to be all about power and control.
Christopher Hitchens often said that the reason he came to America was because we had something no other country had: the First Amendment. The right to believe, or not believe—without state interference or persecution. For generations, we upheld that promise by fiercely defending the wall between church and state.
What frustrates me now is hearing people claim we’ve always been a Christian nation, when in truth, each generation, even among the devout, once understood the danger of theocracy. My grandmother was a committed Christian, but she was unwavering in her belief that America should never be ruled by religion. She saw the First Amendment not as a threat to faith, but as its greatest safeguard.
The Constantine comparison is apt, and troubling. It reminds us how easily religion can be co-opted by empire, and how often history is ignored in real time. Every crumbling society insists 'it can’t happen here' right up until it does. The arrogance lies in thinking that our institutions will hold simply because they’ve stood this long, without realizing they’ve only endured because people kept showing up to defend them.
Well that is just typical Hitchens! He enjoyed the same right in the UK and exercised it freely.
Abusive people will fill whatever space they inhabit, twisting it for their own ends. Voltaire said: "God made us in his own image and we have repaid the favour", which describes this all too human tendency perfectly. It is why I no longer call myself a Christian so I can freely explore the life and example of Jesus. I studied the life and writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer last year, and he was executed by the Nazis for making exactly the same points in wartime Germany.
You describe it perfectly - the spirit of Empire will overwelm everything that is not valued and defended if it is allowed to do so..
Well technically they are, because the label 'Christian' describes the religion that flourished under the preferment of the Emperor Constantine from the early 300s onwards and flew in the face of everything the early church practised,.It is what we refer to as Christianity that now has so little to do with the teaching and example of Jesus.
Yes the faith has been severely adulterated by ignorant men who know nothing of what they proclaim. The most recent example seems particularly glaring but maybe because we’re living through it. I’m a disciple of Christ, and so disillusioned and angry with the church as it manifests now that I’m loathe to engage with it. The church stands aside with hands folded and heads bowed while satan runs rampant deceiving and destroying. True Christians, followers of Christ, should be out there as a body proclaiming the kingdom of God at hand and speaking truth to power. But the church is either beholden to this regime or too comfortable to leave its safe space.
"But getting them to the polls on election day could be a real struggle. Gregory Smith, who was a lead researcher of the Pew study, points out that nones are less civically engaged than those who identify with a religion – meaning they’re less likely to vote and volunteer in their communities.
Nevertheless, the religious right has taken notice of the fact nones identify more as Democrats. Robert Jeffress, a Dallas pastor who has close ties to former President Trump, accused Democrats of being a “godless party.” This was hardly a new argument — for years, conservative Christian leaders have been repeating similar claims, warning that the U.S. is being led down an “evil path.”"
One other thing - there is nothing in your piece addressing the detrimental effects of religion on women, and how the US government has been systematically destroying women's civil rights. We're moving backward, and along with losing abortion rights there is, among other things, a concerted effort to pressure women into giving birth to more children.
These are exactly the dangers I feared when writing my series on Evangelicalism & Trump just before the election last year. When Constantine succeeded in his similar preferment in 313 it neutered true and beneficial Christian influence founded upon the life and teaching of Jesus. As a Brit, I also bemoan the link of the State church to aspects of national and political life, although there are checks on that relationship. For MAGA it seems to be all about power and control.
Christopher Hitchens often said that the reason he came to America was because we had something no other country had: the First Amendment. The right to believe, or not believe—without state interference or persecution. For generations, we upheld that promise by fiercely defending the wall between church and state.
What frustrates me now is hearing people claim we’ve always been a Christian nation, when in truth, each generation, even among the devout, once understood the danger of theocracy. My grandmother was a committed Christian, but she was unwavering in her belief that America should never be ruled by religion. She saw the First Amendment not as a threat to faith, but as its greatest safeguard.
The Constantine comparison is apt, and troubling. It reminds us how easily religion can be co-opted by empire, and how often history is ignored in real time. Every crumbling society insists 'it can’t happen here' right up until it does. The arrogance lies in thinking that our institutions will hold simply because they’ve stood this long, without realizing they’ve only endured because people kept showing up to defend them.
Well that is just typical Hitchens! He enjoyed the same right in the UK and exercised it freely.
Abusive people will fill whatever space they inhabit, twisting it for their own ends. Voltaire said: "God made us in his own image and we have repaid the favour", which describes this all too human tendency perfectly. It is why I no longer call myself a Christian so I can freely explore the life and example of Jesus. I studied the life and writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer last year, and he was executed by the Nazis for making exactly the same points in wartime Germany.
You describe it perfectly - the spirit of Empire will overwelm everything that is not valued and defended if it is allowed to do so..
Yes!!!
One of the most comprehensive, clear and compelling accounts of the threat of Christian Nationalism. Kudos and keep up the good work!
Can we please stop referring to them as “Christian”?They are anything but..
Well technically they are, because the label 'Christian' describes the religion that flourished under the preferment of the Emperor Constantine from the early 300s onwards and flew in the face of everything the early church practised,.It is what we refer to as Christianity that now has so little to do with the teaching and example of Jesus.
I get your point though.
Yes the faith has been severely adulterated by ignorant men who know nothing of what they proclaim. The most recent example seems particularly glaring but maybe because we’re living through it. I’m a disciple of Christ, and so disillusioned and angry with the church as it manifests now that I’m loathe to engage with it. The church stands aside with hands folded and heads bowed while satan runs rampant deceiving and destroying. True Christians, followers of Christ, should be out there as a body proclaiming the kingdom of God at hand and speaking truth to power. But the church is either beholden to this regime or too comfortable to leave its safe space.
Superbly written. Thanks.
Ironic that as Americans move away from religion, the government has begun to embrace it.
https://katiecouric.com/entertainment/why-religion-christianity-decline-america/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Public%20Religion,Political%20Environment%20Shape%20Religious%20Identity.
However, herein lies the rub:
"But getting them to the polls on election day could be a real struggle. Gregory Smith, who was a lead researcher of the Pew study, points out that nones are less civically engaged than those who identify with a religion – meaning they’re less likely to vote and volunteer in their communities.
Nevertheless, the religious right has taken notice of the fact nones identify more as Democrats. Robert Jeffress, a Dallas pastor who has close ties to former President Trump, accused Democrats of being a “godless party.” This was hardly a new argument — for years, conservative Christian leaders have been repeating similar claims, warning that the U.S. is being led down an “evil path.”"
One other thing - there is nothing in your piece addressing the detrimental effects of religion on women, and how the US government has been systematically destroying women's civil rights. We're moving backward, and along with losing abortion rights there is, among other things, a concerted effort to pressure women into giving birth to more children.
These fucking Pharisees are not Christian
Well done! Religious pluralism was the goal. E Pluribus Unum. Religion, but centrally religious liberty. We should get back.