As a Christian who has been involved in politics for a long time, I find myself bristling when anyone mentions the phrase “Christian nationalism.” The left loves to use that phrase as a canard against any conservative who advocates for Christian values or wears his faith on his sleeve.
Whenever a conservative opens her mouth about her faith or a Christian advocates for policies that reflect biblical values, the “Christian nationalist” epithet comes out. There’s an even worse slur that leftists like to throw out from time to time: the meaningless “Christo-fascist.” Wokesters threw that one out a lot when Christians applauded the end of Roe v. Wade this summer.
The truth is that there’s nothing whatsoever wrong with Christians allowing their faith to inform their politics. Most of the policies and values that Christians advocate on the political scale are palatable to conservatives regardless of their religious affiliation. Christian values in political dialogue don’t necessarily signal a coming theocracy, no matter what the left wants you to believe.
The concept of Christian nationalism that the left wants to hang on faithful conservatives like an albatross is the idea that only Christians would have a place in government or in other spheres of influence. This is different from the idea that the U.S. was founded on biblical principles, something not many people would argue against.
There haven’t been many credible voices actually calling for an actual Christian nationalist movement — until recently. It’s easy to see why Christians could be drawn to the concept, particularly in light of an American culture that not only seems to be drifting away from Christianity but also appears to be turning hostile toward people of faith.
“We have to realize that people are scared and discouraged,” says pastor and theologian Dr. Kevin DeYoung. “They see America rapidly becoming less and less Christian. They see traditional morality—especially in areas of sex and gender—not only being tossed overboard but resolutely and legally opposed.”
Those are sentiments that many Christians (along with some others who aren’t Christians) can identify with. As such, Christians have spoken out about what’s wrong with our nation and what believers should do — how they should vote, how they should approach their leaders, and how they should educate their neighbors and family members.
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Two recent books, Christian Nationalism by Gab founder Andrew Torba and pastor Andrew Isker, and The Case for Christian Nationalism by Stephen Wolfe, argue for a more stringent idea of Christian nationalism and have resonated enough for both books to become hot sellers on Amazon.
I haven’t read either book, so I’m not going to address them directly, but I’ve read enough reviews of the books to gather that this notion of Christian nationalism is a bad idea. For starters, it makes an idol of political power.
“Of course, we should not give way to ungodly fear and panic,” DeYoung says. “We should not make an idol out of politics. We should not fight like jerks because that’s the way the world fights. But people want to see that their Christian leaders—pastors, thinkers, writers, institutional heads—are willing to fight for the truth.”
Here’s another way we can know that Christian nationalism is implausible: Christians disagree on too many political and social affairs, not to mention issues of conscience. In a Christian nationalist government, who would be in charge? Mainline Protestants, who are increasingly indistinguishable from the wokes? Teetotaling fundamentalists? Catholics? There are far too many disagreements among Christians to make an American theocracy feasible.
Last but not least, we mustn’t forget that political power is hollow and won’t necessarily sway people to faith in Jesus, the true goal of the Great Commission. Christians aren’t called to make a kingdom here on earth; God calls Christians to pave the way for His eternal kingdom.
“A Christian nation must come from the bottom up (the hearts of a converted people), not from the top down (political legislation), retired pastor Larry E. Ball points out. “Neither will it come from heavy-weight books. America must be discipled again with the gospel before we can begin to think about being a Christian nation. Jesus commanded us to disciple the nations (and not just a few elect from among the nations), and that includes America.”
Is “Christian nationalism” something we should worry about? No, although a certain strain of it that people are calling for could be problematic. But these people are on the fringes.
Making America a Christian nation isn’t about taking political power. It’s about building faithful families, strong churches, and organizations that speak for biblical values. It’s also about Christians reaching their neighbors with the life-changing truth of the Gospel. Those are the only factors that will allow Christians to turn this nation around.
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