“God speaks through our actions. Faith without works is dead. The GOP uses religion to expand hate,” were some of the welcoming remarks by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson during the second day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the Interfaith Council session. The central panel of the session tackled the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States and how this ideology has affected the political terrain by threatening democracy.
Panelists didn’t mince words when noting that the right wing’s push for so-called Christian values is more about obtaining authoritarian power than any sort of moral crusade.
The panel, led by author and journalist Katherine Stewart, included Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, Dr. Khyati Y. Joshi, California Rep. Jared Huffman, and Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin. Rev. William J. Barber II was set to attend but could not due to the venue’s lack of accommodations for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It was noted that he would be part of the screening of the film Bad Faith later in the week.
When opening the panel, Stewart noted that she wanted to counter the narrative that Christian nationalism is a religion. The author stated that it is instead a “deeply anti-democratic” ideology and a reactionary version of religion that is more a tool for power than faith.
This pushback comes amid a rise in Christian nationalist talking points making their way into the mainstream airwaves through elected officials, Donald Trump MAGA supporters, and other segments of the right wing in recent years. They often reference the ideology when advocating for specific legislative actions, falsely arguing that the United States is inherently a Christian country and that there should be a closer relationship between the (Christian) church and state. The Constitution, of course, stipulates strict separation of church and state.
Several political officials, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, have gone on record declaring themselves as Christian nationalists. Greene, when receiving backlash for her declaration, stated on Twitter that she was being attacked by “attacked by the Godless left.”
A 2023 research survey by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution found that more than half of Republicans believe the country should be a strictly Christian nation, with 21 percent believing it should adhere to the ideals of Christian nationalism. Thirty-one percent think it should sympathize with those views.
When asked to define Christian nationalism’s relationship to democracy, Cleaver said, “Please remember that the Founding Fathers were not Christian.” Most of them were agnostics or atheists. Referencing the recent development where Louisiana has become the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom, Cleaver remarked, “Ten Commandments on a wall is just Ten Commandments on a wall,” in that the symbolic gesture does nothing to help education. “God shall not be pimped [for political gain],” Cleaver remarked, going further to note that “nothing about God is in the Constitution” and that ultimately Christian nationalism is steeped in ignorance.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin complemented this sentiment with the quip that the Ten Commandments have been “doing just fine” outside of being displayed in public schools. The congressman stated that anyone advocating for a bill like the one passed in Louisiana was pushing something unconstitutional and blasphemous.
Raskin noted that those who advocate for Christian nationalism argue that the Bill of Rights was created with Christian values in mind. Citing the first line of the bill, which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” Raskin asserted that Christian nationalism was in direct opposition to the Bill of Rights and that the ideology was the “antithesis of our Constitution.”
Joshi stated that there is “Christian privilege” in the United States and that religious liberty is an optical illusion because religious freedom is only reserved for certain people. She noted that the word privilege should be seen as an advantage given that although there is supposed to be a separation of church and state—as indicated by the historic 1947 Supreme Court decision in Emerson v. Board of Education—many laws have been passed within the structure of the U.S. with Christian sentiments in mind.
The “godly” politics of the GOP
Climate scientists have made it clear that the temperature on planet Earth continues to rise at an alarming rate, threatening the existence of humanity and life as we know it. Yet, there have been those in the Republican party who have continued to dismiss the damning science. They have, at times, done so under the guise of religious belief. Huffman, who has been an outspoken advocate for combating global warming, spoke on the role Christian nationalism plays in bolstering this right-wing rhetoric.
The congressman explained that billionaire plutocrats who gather their wealth through the Fossil Fuel industry align with Christian nationalists to protect their profits. Huffman asserted that these billionaires aren’t “even that religious” but benefit from the right-wing’s push in treating environmentalism as a debatable “culture war” topic rather than a bipartisan issue that affects everyone.
Cleaver expounded on the topic of culture wars waged by the GOP by noting that “the power of religion is unlimitable” and that the right aims to “make their politics seem Godly.”
Raskin, in connecting Christian nationalism to fascism, stated that “fascism is a strategy for taking power” and that former president Donald Trump and his supporters lean into this strategy. “Religion in the hands of the right wing is authoritarian because they lack policy,” the congressman stated.
Joshi argued that the ideology is fueled by “white fear” and the idea of racial purity. Citing landmark legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the 1967 Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision, and the 2015 Supreme Court ruling recognizing gay marriage, the author surmised that these moments have contributed to a rise in multi-racial generations which makes white Christian nationalists feel like their country is being taken away from them.
Happenings, such as Trump holding a bible during the Black Lives Matter protests and far-right pastors preaching that God has ordained Trump to lead, seem to give some credence to Joshi’s argument in the way that the MAGA movement has infused religion with their far-right and at times white supremacist views.
A weapon for Christian nationalism
When speaking on the road forward, many of the panelists stated that Christian nationalist ideology has compromised certain branches of government and that they need to be changed.
“That appeal to Heaven flag didn’t come out of nowhere,” Huffman said about the controversy surrounding the flag flown outside of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s house that has come to symbolize that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. “The Supreme Court is in the tank. The Supreme Court is not democratic,” the congressman concluded, adding that Justice Clarence Thomas needed to be impeached.
Raskin gave a detailed response on the Supreme Court’s connection to Christian nationalism, noting that President Biden has laid out reform measures for the court but that more needs to be done. The congressman highlighted the legislation he and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced that imposes a gift ban on Supreme Court Justices.
Stating that Justice Thomas has “billionaire sugar daddies from the Federalist Society,” Raskin said an ethics regime is needed. The congressman voiced his support for an eighteen-year term limit on Justices, saying that “these people [could be] on the court for seventy years. That makes no sense.”
“We have a short-term and long-term problem with the Supreme Court,” Raskin noted. “We could codify the John Lewis Voting Act, Roe v. Wade, and universal preschool, and the Supreme Court could turn around and strike all that down. We need some balance now, not when these judges retire.”
He stated that the Supreme Court needed to be expanded and the Electoral College needed to be abolished, as it held democracy hostage. “We need to get back on the growth track towards Democracy.”
Cleaver added that “The first thing Hitler did was get all the churches to get Nazis into Sunday school,” asserting the overall theme of the panel that Christian nationalism has been shown through history to be about power rather than purity of faith.
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