American Christian Nationalism

For some time there's been concern among many of our fellow citizens, especially those on the left, for what they believe is a threat to our polity from what they call "Christian nationalism." I've been perplexed by this concern, indeed for some folks it's even a fear, and have asked a few of my liberal acquaintances for a definition of this threat.

Unfortunately, "Christian nationalism" has proven to be a difficult term to define. Different people give different answers and often the definition reduces to something benign, like "patriotism" or "American exceptionalism," in which case one wonders what the concern is all about. Others define Christian nationalism as something more virulent but advocated by a relatively tiny fringe group, in which case one again wonders what the concern is all about.

Feeling the need to more deeply educate myself on this issue, I recently read Michael Austin's brief volume titled American Christian Nationalism in which he lays out five features of Christian nationalism culled from the writings of some of its proponents. He states that Christian nationalists adhere to most and sometimes all of the following five beliefs:

1. America was founded as a Christian nation
2. The American government should promote a particular kind of Christian culture
3. American Christians should pursue political and cultural power in order to take "dominion" over America
4. American Christians should prioritize American interests over the interests of other nations.
5. To be American should be identical to being a Christian nationalist

Austin is careful to point out that there are subtleties and complexities in these and that - if I can put it in my words, not his - whether there's anything wrong with any of them, particularly #2 through #5, depends a lot on how Christians go about achieving them.

I personally agree with #1 through #4, and, depending on the definition of "nationalist," maybe #5, but Austin points out that there are those who call themselves Christian nationalists who urge implementation of #2 and #3 by force, if necessary. If that's what Christian nationalism is then I want no part of it, but I doubt that those who support the use of compulsion and violence are more than a small fraction of those who, like me, think that all these beliefs are anodyne and/or desirable.

Let me explain why I think each of these admits of a perfectly innocuous or even salutary formulation.

#1 I think this statement is manifestly true in the sense that the values promoted in the founding documents were explicitly Christian values. Some of the men who founded the nation may themselves have not been Christian but the values they sought to base the nation on were derived from the Christian worldview in which they were immersed. Justice for all, equality under the law, liberty, individual rights, etc. all arose gradually in Europe in a Christian milieu, and there's little doubt that our founders, though not wishing to establish a particular religious denomination, nevertheless were operating from Christian assumptions.

#2 Of course these values - justice, equality under the law, liberty, individual rights, etc. - should be promoted by our government. They should also promote the Christian values of compassion, peacefulness, concern for the poor, honesty, etc., and the government should seek to protect its citizens from vices like greed, lust for power, and tyranny that are expressly forbidden in a Christian worldview.

#3 Christians should seek to be involved in every area of culture and society. That's what it means to be salt in the earth. Why would any Christian think that any profession that's not inherently immoral should be off limits to Christians? We need more Christian influence in the world, not less.

#4 We have obligations of loyalty to those whom God has placed us among and those obligations radiate in concentric circles. First, is our duty to our family, to protect and advance their best interests, then we have a similar but secondary duty to our communities - our neighbors, our church, then a similar duty of loyalty to our nation and then to the world. To the extent that those radiating responsibilities are acknowledged or affirmed by Christian nationalism I fail to see the problem with it.

#5 Every American should hold the values stated above and enjoined upon us by a Christian worldview. Anyone, Christian or non-Christian can hold those values and if holding them, if adhering to what I've said about #1-4 makes one a Christian nationalist then I see nothing wrong with the term.

However, if someone wants to define a Christian nationalist as someone who believes that any of this should be accomplished through compulsion or violence then we part company. If someone believes that the government should actively promote specifically Christian doctrines and that those who don't accept them must be relegated to second-class status then he and I again part company.

So, when we hear people throw around the term "Christian nationalism" as either a threat to democracy or the savior of democracy, either derogating it or affirming it, we need to ask them what they mean by it, and, if what they mean is a resort to violence or compulsion in order to transform the country Christian into a Christian nation then we should distance ourselves from it but we might also ask how many people really hold to that view.

I suspect that, among genuine, thoughtful Christians, as opposed to nominal Christians, it'd turn out to be relatively few, and if that's the case I fail to see why anyone should see it as a serious or imminent threat to our national fabric.