It's time to (re)Watch the "God & Country" Movie
The film helps explain the religious elements of this political regime.
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Last Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a screening of the documentary film, “God & Country.”
I was one of the people interviewed in the film, and I also got to do a question and response session with the audience after the viewing. (Thanks 2BCLR!)
This was my first time screening the film since before the November 2024 presidential election, and one element of the experience stuck out to me more than any other.
Every single thing we said was going to happen has happened or is happening.
We did not exaggerate, overstate, or inflate the dangers of this regime in the least. If anything, we could have gone even further in our assertions.
In the trailer of the film, Anthea Butler, a professor at Penn and author of White Evangelical Racism, makes a brief, powerful statement.
“I’m afraid we are going to lose democracy as we know it.”
Then, off camera, the interviewer asks her, “Do you really think that’s possible.?”
With a completely serious face and flat tone, Dr. Butler simply answers, “Yes.”
And she was right.
At this moment we are seeing democracy crumble before our eyes. This regime is firing federal workers indiscriminately. They are taking a wrecking ball to the rule of law. They are inebriated with authority and on a crusade to dismantle the government as quickly as possible.
What we can often miss, however, in the deluge of destruction is the religious element at work.
Many of the most senior officials in this regime are unrepentant white Christian nationalists.
Pete Hegseth, the patently unqualified Secretary of Defense, has ties to the ultra far-right Communion of Reformed Evangelical Church (CREC) founded by Douglas Wilson of Moscow, Idaho.
Russell Vought, in my opinion the most dangerous person in the capital right now, is not only the architect of Project 2025 and head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is also and avowed white Christian nationalist.
Even Trump himself, hardly a religious person in general, has gleefully hawked the so-called “God Bless the USA” Bible which features a King James Version of the sacred text translation together with pages that include the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Pledge of Allegiance.
White Christian nationalism was behind the January 6, 2021 insurrection attempt and white Christian nationalism is behind the internal coup going on with the current Trump regime.
You may be wondering: “What good will watching the “God & Country” movie do? Trump is already president. People didn’t listen. What’s the point in examining white Christian nationalism when it’s already in power?”
First, watching the “God & Country” film reminds us of the horror of January 6, 2021, and why we must not let anyone rewrite that history. It was a violent attack on actual people and our democracy.
Second, the movie does a masterful job of showing what white Christian nationalism looks like in action, so we can see it and counteract it. We hear the this ideology preached in sermons, spoken at keynotes during conferences, and written on signs and manifestos.
We have to be able to spot white Christian nationalism in the world so we can warn others and resist its influence.
Third, people may be more receptive to the messages in “God & Country” now that they see the reality.
Even though the producers of the film intentionally released it before the election so we could avoid the political calamity we’re now in, it is still valuable to watch in this post-election season.
Before Trump won, many people struggled to see how white Christian nationalism operated or what danger it presented.
Now they are living it.
Post-election, people can see in real-time what we tried to warn them about in the documentary.
Some viewers will need much less persuading now that they can see the ramifications of this regime for themselves and others. They may be willing, now, to be part of the solution.
The great news is that “God & Country” is available to watch on most streaming platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, AppleTV, YouTube, and Tubi.
Watch it with a group and discuss it afterwards. Watch it with your church.
Here’s a trailer for the film.
Have you seen “God & Country”? What messages or themes continue to be relevant post-election? Share your thoughts below.
We talk about topics of white Christian nationalism and the Christian response every week at The Convocation. Check out our latest episode!
Rewatch and then "Go Home and tell them your story".
https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathanbrownson/p/tell-them-your-story?r=gdp9j&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
"Every single thing we said was going to happen has happened or is happening." And it's horrifying to watch. Thanks for the reminder that this film exists--and gave us all accurate forewarning of what would happen, if Trump were elected again. Thank you for all the work you do, Jemar! I can't imagine the depth of your exhaustion and exasperation. Please know I am praying for you and your ministry!
I can't help but seize upon your statement here, too, that "Russell Vought...is the most dangerous person in the capital right now" as "the architect of Project 2025 and head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as well as an "avowed white Christian nationalist." Vought, of course, is an alumnus of Wheaton College in Illinois. The CCCU's long allegiance to the GOP's right wing/Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority has also been an allegiance to Christian nationalism before it was dubbed as such. We who have taught at CCCUs (and I count myself in that number because when I first started out at Cedarville U, I was still beholden to that right wing) are reaping what we've sown.
I pray often the prayer of Daniel in Daniel 9, confessing the sins of my nation, substituting "The United States" for Israel in the verses: "Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, 'O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame..." How fitting these verses are!