The Theology That Drives White Christian Nationalism

 Why Aren't We Talking About the Theology That Drives White Christian Nationalism

The link will take you to an excellent article by Rick Pidcock, in Baptist News Global.  My own view is that white, Christian Nationalism, along with other forms of Christian nationalism, and other expressions of white supremacy, all have their roots in the same culture that allowed the church to be co-opted and controlled by the state, going back to at least the time of Constantine, and the various interpretations of Christianity that developed and pushed the church away from the gospel that Jesus preached and taught.  

The statement that caught my eye in the article was this one, by Diane Butler Bass, an American historian of Christianity and author, who said, 

"I'm in near despair that the critical narratives of white, Christian nationalism (which is primarily a problem of white evangelicalism) are largely being controlled by the writers and scholars who are themselves evangelicals." she tweeted. 

She is specifically referencing a February 8 webinar held by the Brookings Institution about how white, Christian nationalism is threatening American democracy.  

"No Jews on this panel talking about white, Christian nationalism?  No liberal Protestants without the conservative presuppositions of evangelicalism?  Someone who is actually NOT religious? "  

To be honest, I never really gave that much thought.  I'm not a Christian nationalist, and not sympathetic to it, though I have an evangelical theological background, I can see exactly how white, Christian nationalism is an aberrant theology, even with a conservative interpretation of the Christian gospel.  Or, perhaps, I am not as evangelical as I thought, since I also see that this is something which is as much a danger to the Christian church as it is to American democracy.  

"These alternative narratives (liberal Protestants, Jews, those who are not religious) have intellectual tools to speak to analysis of white, Christian nationalism.  I realize that part of the problem is that Anthea Butler isn't there today.  But honestly, white Evangelicals are mostly controlling the critique of the problem that that their own theology has largely created.  And so many of these 'analyses' wind up sounding like evangelism to the right form of Christianity or apologetics," said Bass.  

A Defining Statement

Chrissy Stroop, self-defined as an ex-evangelical and co-author of the book Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church, helps me put some definition to white, Christian nationalism by claiming that a core principle is the implementation of a theocratic political agenda, because evangelical Christians apply the Bible and their interpretation of Christian faith to every aspect of their lives, so they must apply it to their politics as well because they believe that this is the way for our nation to be "blessed" because of its obedience to God's authority.  Those who stand in the way, because they hold different beliefs and don't connect politics to their belief in God, then become obstacles or enemies to the nation, in their view.  

This is why Christian nationalism, and the racism that goes with it, is so dangerous to democracy.  Democracy allows divergent views, different religious perspectives and non-religious practice, which, in the minds of those who believe the nation can only be blessed by adherence to Christian practice, prevents it from receiving the blessing.  

There is absolutely no evidence, either in the Bible, in Christian history and tradition or in world history in general, to support this belief.  It is not Biblical theology, it is a theology that has been influenced and developed by a Christian faith and practice that is part of an internally structured culture.  That more or less nullifies the "no true Scotsman" argument that some critics of Christianity itself make when confronted with what is a real difference in Christian practice.  

A Matter of Identity

I stopped calling myself, or considering myself an evangelical a couple of decades ago.  Through the evangelical educational institutions where I received my higher education, amazingly, professors did not go this direction, though many of those individuals would very likely not be allowed to teach in those schools now.  Christianity loses its essence and identity when its values and moral principles are enforced as the law of the land.  In my opinion, that subrogates conversion as an intellectual and spiritual transformation and abandons spiritual conviction.  The definition of "blessing" in this context is always, always material prosperity for the nation, or military and political dominance of the world, something that the Bible itself never says.  

If you look closely at the American politicians who push this perspective, it appears that they are simply using the Christian name, there's no real conviction, no evidence that their Christian experience is anything more for them than a means to identify with a segment of the population that can produce enough votes to keep them in office.  It's hard to advocate for national obedience to Christian principles when the one doing the advocacy is divorced, or has cheated in business or on their taxes, or supports rebellion and insurrection against the "God established" government.  

Peter Wehner, a former Presidential speech writer, a contributing writer for the New York Times and vice-president at the Ethics and Public Policy Center says ,"It would be hard to find a figure in human history less likely to be a Christian nationalist than Jesus.  I just think the cognitive dissonance of that is extremely powerful."  

I think Jesus would be horrified to see what has happened to Christian churches through the centuries that became nothing more than political tools of the state, institutions rather than the "ecclesia" kinds of fellowships that those who believed in him formed in the first and second centuries of church history.  With his words in response to a question intended to trap him, when Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's," he became the originator of the principle of separation of church and state.  When he refused to give in to the temptation to allow Satan to give him rule of the earth in exchange for bowing down and worshipping him, he rejected the idea that Christian faith had a political identity but that the church would function as a "body of Christ," or a group of his followers doing something to help others in his name, which is the essence of Christianity, not white supremacy or nationalism.  

Top Recommended Reading 

I highly recommend reading through Pidcock's piece.  It is informative of a subject with which people need to be familiar in order to be able to cast ballots for politicians who see that white Christian nationalism is part of a bad past, not the near future.