Separation of Church and State – A Series of Articles
This is the 2nd in a series of articles on the Separation of Church and State and its relation to Christian Nationalism.
Jefferson Humanists has received a grant from the American Humanist Association to host two programs on Christian Nationalism. The first is on September 22nd when we will hear a detailed discussion of this topic by our special speaker, Nichole Shea Niebler, an officer of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The title of her program is: Preserving Church-State Separation Amidst Christian Nationalism and Project 2025.
The second is on October 20th. Americans United for Separation of Church and State editor, Bruce T. Gorley will offer his talk, Christian Nationalism: Historical Perspective and Effective Responses.
See www.jeffersonhumanists.org for more details
What Is Christian Nationalism?
In our first article, we discussed the origins of Christian Nationalism. Early settlers of America, beginning with Christopher Columbus, came with Papal bulls to kill or convert “savages” to Christianity. It was an act of courage for our early leaders to include the separation of church and state in our constitution.
In this article, we want to try to define Christian Nationalism. In defining the term, it is critical to keep some caveats in mind. As Humanists, we are passionate about the separation of Church and State, and as Humanists equally passionate about respecting people’s right to believe, or not believe, what they choose. We want that respect in return. Not all Christians are Christian Nationalists and should not be assumed to be so. Christians have many, many different belief structures, on a spectrum from liberal to deeply conservative and there are many issues on which we agree with the more liberal Christians, including the importance of the separation of church and state.
In defining Christian Nationalism, at its most basic, we can use the definition of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), a non-partisan, non-profit research and education organization. According to their research, most recently done in 2024, almost 100% of Christian Nationalist adherents agree with the following statements:
- The U.S. government should declare America a Christian nation
- S. laws should be based on Christian values
- If the U.S. moves away from our Christian foundations, we will not have a country anymore
- Being Christian is an important part of being truly American
- God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society
A major difference between Christian Nationalism and more traditional Christians is their approach to who and how being saved occurs.
Amanda Tyler in How to End Christian Nationalism puts it this way. In Christian Nationalism the “terms Christian and American (italics hers) are synonymous, and every American should be a Christian because that’s what the founders intended. America was, is, and always should be a Christian nation, they say—and many are willing to use their guns to enforce or defend that idea.” She goes on to say that these Christian Nationalists have abandoned the true message of Christ—to love one’s enemies, to care for the poor, sick, orphaned, and those on the margins, to love one another as oneself.
Another difference is that traditional Christians accept Jesus as their personal savior, living a life according to his principles, and expecting to be rewarded with heaven when they die. Christian Nationalists, on the other hand, feel God has specifically chosen them as special and expect to find their reward here on earth along with others who believe as they do, and this will be reflected throughout all American society. In contrast, those who do not believe as they do will be punished here on earth as well as in the afterlife.
Most Christian Nationalists have left traditional mainline churches whose names we would recognize and formed megachurches with charismatic leaders. These leaders often “speak” directly to God and receive prophesies from God which they share with their huge congregations. While there is no overall Christian Nationalist hierarchy or leader, there is a vast network of these mega-churches that work together and share common goals and prophesies, worshiping America almost as much as God and making America a Christian nation in their definition of Christianity. Theirs is a vengeful God rather than a loving Jesus. A God condemning all who have sinned against him and thus Christian men (yes, men) are justified in taking up arms to fight the battle ahead. This is easier to do if those not sharing this belief are defined as possessed by “demons”, particularly if these “demons” do horrible acts, such as sucking the blood of children. Conspiracy theories run wild and when pushed by social media and charismatic church leaders, are believed.
For example, at the Jericho March on December 12, 2020, the Rev. Kevin Jessip of Global Strategic Alliance said “Some have said this is not a Christian nation. I’m telling you this is a Judeo-Christian nation…Today, I call this the warrior mandate, a battle cry, a call to arms. … In the spiritual realm, this is a mobilization of God’s men made holy by the blood of Jesus Christ and empowered by the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This battle cry is a Christian call to all Christian men… as we prepare for a strategic gathering of men in this hour to dispel the Kingdom of Darkness.”
White Christian Nationalism and Project 2025
There are Christian Nationalist people of color, particularly in the Latino community. Depending on which research poll you read, between 55 and 60% of Latino Christians identify as Christian Nationalists and the Latino community is being actively recruited. By the same token, some of the mega-churches are led by couples where leadership is equal. And many women are Christian Nationalist leaders.
However, overall, Christian Nationalists believe White people, particularly White men should remain at the top of the social, political, and economic structure. We see particularly in Project 2025, a roadmap for change in all aspects of America. It erodes the rights of women and minorities. It declares life begins at the moment of conception and forbids abortion for any cause. It condemns “subjective notions of gender identity” that “replace “biological sex.” It describes equity in sexual identity as a “destructive dogma” that ”threatens America’s fundamental liberties as well as the health and well-being of children and adults alike.” In the area of families, Project 2025 states that “Families comprised of a married mother, father, and their children are the foundation of a well-ordered nation and healthy society.” To bring this about more easily, Project 2025 goes on to say “items focusing on “LGBTQ+ equity, subsidizing single-motherhood, disincentivizing work, and penalizing marriage should be repealed and replaced by policies that support the formation of stable, married, nuclear families.” These are just examples from one section of this Mandate for our future government.
Bradley Onishi in his book Preparing for War sums it up this way, “The goal is to return to a state wherein straight, White, native-born Christian men take their rightful places of authority and leadership. Everyone else – including women, racial minorities, religious minorities, and certainly the LGBTQ community – must accept their place as either lower on the American register or outside of it altogether.”
Seven Mountain Mandate
The Seven Mountain Mandate began in 1975 with a purported message from God to three evangelicals. It did not gain traction until the publication of Invading Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate by Lance Wallnau and Bill Johnson. It calls for taking over these aspects of society: family, religion, military, education, media, arts and entertainment, business, and government. While an obscure marginalized movement until recently, through careful planning, far-right religious groups have become decision-makers in government and organizations to accomplish these goals. For example:
Family – overturning the Supreme Court decision recognizing the right to abortion, attacking access to birth control, attacking IVF, creating a ban on mifepristone in 14 states, while 14 more have imposed restrictions, and proposing restrictions on gay marriage,
Military – while there are reports of Christian Nationalism in the military, officially, the army has recognized chaplains in more religions than ever before, including Humanism,
Education – banning books in schools and libraries, threatening to jail librarians for having certain books in their libraries, 10 commandments in schools, teaching the bible in schools, taking over school boards, supporting government-funded religious charter schools,
Media – growth of radio, TV, and religious streaming services you have never heard of, a new faith-based movie released in theaters every couple of weeks,
Business – weakening laws against religious discrimination in the workforce,
Government – control of Congress and state and local government to pass laws to implement much of the above, attempting to keep abortion votes off the ballot,
Religion – ignoring the first clause of the First Amendment (Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion) and focusing only on the second clause (or prohibiting the free exercise thereof) in such a way that it intrudes on other people’s rights, with support from the US Supreme Court.
The National Day of Prayer was created by law in 1952 but has been celebrated irregularly by presidents since then. Raegan and H.W. Bush only once. Clinton not at all. Obama issued the proclamation but held no events. However, recently it has been taken over by the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a conservative Christian group. In 2024, the publicity for the Day included “Jesus, we profess our faith in You. Lead us forward to dispel the darkness and bring light throughout the Church, Family, Education, Business, Military, Government, Arts, Entertainment, and Media.”
Michael Flynn, a previous National Security Advisor, put it this way in 2021: “If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under God and one religion under God.”
Mike Johnson, the current Speaker of the House, has also made it clear that he believes that God has an interest in America and has designated certain people to lead it. When he was sworn in as Speaker, he said: “ I believe that Scripture – the Bible – is very clear that God is the one that raises up those in authority. He raised up each of you, all of us. And I believe that God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment and this time. This is my belief.” In saying this he was designating our government as a religious body, not a secular one.
What Underlies Christian Nationalism
Onishi, in his book, feels that, while Christian Nationalism has always simmered in America, it exploded in the 60s and 70s as social change erupted. What was equity to many people became a threat to others. The Civil Rights Movement mixed the races, culminating with integration in the schools and then Loving v.Virginia, allowing marriage between the races. The passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and sending it to the states for approval. Birth control gave women unprecedented freedom. They could stop pregnancies. In 1963, in Engel v. Vitale, the Supreme Court ruled that religion could no longer be taught in schools. A school could teach about religion but could not teach religion for religious purposes. Sodomy laws began to be overturned in the 60s and 70s, state by state, but not by the Supreme Court until 1986. The Stonewall Riots brought Gay Rights into prominence. As Dan Miller, cohost of Straight White American Jesus Says, “Not everyone wins through equality. Those who have benefited from inequality lose their privileged place. They don’t see a level playing field as a positive. They see it as taking away their power and influence. It feels like persecution.” I would add that for many it may also feel like taking away their safety or the safety of their children or their jobs.
Even more scary to Christian Nationalists now is the close to 30% of people who are leaving organized religion, not attending church, calling themselves atheists, or agnostics, or whatevers. Even though Christians remain the largest single religion in the US at 67%, they still feel threatened.
The next article will do a deep dive into the data of who and how many Christian Nationalists there really are.
