Christian nationalism

A prominent political commentator says Hollywood and the media are attempting to divide the church with the debate over Christian nationalism -- and she is urging believers to pray for one another and “unite in our faith.”

The subject of Christian nationalism has been debated often within mainstream media, even though the phrase does not have an established definition. For the PRRI survey, a person was deemed a Christian nationalist adherent if they believed in five statements...

We are coming up on Holy Week, which traditionally begins with Palm Sunday, marking the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. It’s a seemingly tame, innocuous day filled with symbolism but little significance. It would be easy to think of it as an event distant from the day’s headlines and debates.

The relationship between Church and state and culture is and has always been contentious. The recent cultural debate about the term “Christian nationalism” is confusing because participants in the debate tend to use mutually exclusive definitions of the term. For some, it’s idolatry and a confusion of Gospel mission. For others, it’s faithfulness– and the only thing remaining to prevent our children’s co-option into an increasingly immoral culture. There are many questions that must be answered, for example:

Bible-believing Christians and Christian nationalists are more likely than the general population to embrace conspiracy theories, according to a new study that asked individuals their beliefs on eight conspiracy theories, including ones related to 9/11 and mass shootings.

Advocates of Christian nationalism do often accurately describe the problems Western societies face: protecting the beauties of tradition and transcendence and the vital importance of allowing our faith to influence public life. They are also right about the shortsightedness of Christians who are allergic to any cultural application of Christianity.  We are not to be of the world, but we’re certainly to be in it. 

Partly right can still be partly wrong. The best aspects of Christian nationalism are, in fact, the common inheritance of Christian theology and conservative ideals, that of Edmund Burke, Abraham Kuyper, Winston Churchill, and William Wilberforce. The innovations of Christian nationalism, on the other hand, should give us pause.

The Texas legislature has passed a bill allowing schools to hire chaplains in addition to school counselors.

Joe Rigney, a Twin Cities seminary president at Bethlehem College and Seminary, resigned Monday after what the school board called a “divergence of vision.”

A new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution found that fewer than a third of Americans qualify as Christian nationalists, and of those, most identify as white evangelicals.

Christian leader and author Beth Moore is going viral for a tweet she made this week about Christian nationalism.