6 Months after the Capitol Insurrection, A New Resource for Fighting Christian Nationalism

Christian Nationalism is the greatest threat to the witness of the church in the U.S. Here'a new resource from the BJC for fighting it.

On January 6, 2021, residents of the United States attempted an insurrection based on a life that the presidential election of November 2020 had been stolen and instead of President Joe Biden, Donald Trump had actually won the election.

At this horrendous incident, we saw haunting symbols of Christianity—a wooden cross, people holding bibles, signs saying “Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president, even an a prayer said in Jesus’ name as the insurrectionists invaded the chambers of Congress—all enlisted in the cause of lawlessness, nativism, and racism.

The insurrection at the capital put Christian Nationalism on public and notorious display.

Many have decried Critical Race Theory, the 1619 Project, Marxism and the like as the most direct threats to the church today. This is wrong. The greatest threat to the witness of the church in the United States today is Christian Nationalism.

According to sociologist and author, Andrew Whitehead, “Christian Nationalism is a cultural framework that idealizes and advocates a fusion of Christianity with American civic life.”

Now there’s a new resource to help you fight Christian Nationalism.

It’s called “Responding to Christian Nationalism” and it’s a free study guide to help you take action against this pernicious ideology.

“Responding to Christian Nationalism” was compiled by the Baptist Joint Committee (for Religious Liberty) and they describe it as:

a 3-lesson curriculum that corresponds with the “Democracy and Faith Under Siege: Responding to Christian Nationalism” webinar. The curriculum informs a deeper dive into the dangers of Christian nationalism and is intended for churches and other small discussion groups.

Their website also describes the urgent, and age-old, threat of Christian Nationalism.

The threat of Christian nationalism is not new. But this movement, which promotes the idea that to be a real American you must be Christian, is growing with a dangerous intensity. It’s not only behind the push for bills that advance a revisionist historical view of the United States and promote government-sponsored religious exercise; it also has inspired religious hate crimes, arson and deadly attacks on houses of worship. The same thing is happening abroad.

There’s no time to waste. We need a strong response from the Christian community. We must loudly denounce Christian nationalism as a distortion of our faith and a divisive force in our country — one that poses a threat to religious freedom for all.

The guide includes references to video clips, definitions and characteristics of Christian Nationalism, discussion questions, Scripture references, the “Statement of Christians against Christian Nationalism” and more.

I was also honored to be interviewed as part of the BJC podcast series called “Responding the Dangers of Christian Nationalism.” You can listen here.

I encourage you to explore the entire section on Christian Nationalism on their website.

Informing ourselves is essential, but the need to take action is urgent. If you want to take action against the threat of Christian Nationalism, then the BJC’s “Responding to Christian Nationalism” study guide is the place to start.

Take the next step with my book How to Fight Racism.