"This [new PRRI] survey illustrates how strongly white Christian nationalism is driving support for Donald Trump and the MAGA movement and how thoroughly it has established itself as an ideological keystone in today’s Republican Party. Until we fully vanquish this dangerous, authoritarian political theology, it will continue to undermine the potential for a truly democratic American future."
Andrew Whitehead, co-author with Sam Perry of Taking America Back for God, sums up what PRRI's new report on Christian nationalism and his own book tell us about white Christian nationalism:
"Looking just at this newest report, [Taking America Back for God] and our early research also shows Christian nationalism is strongly associated with:
"Before any of us get complacent by thinking, 'Oh, well, that’s Alabama. Predictable craziness,' there are similar laws ready to be passed in other states that want to advance Christianity as the unofficial religion of their state and the country. …
“'We don’t want that filth in our state,' an Oklahoma state senator said of LGBTQ students, who are being targeted by at least 50 Republican-supported bills in the legislature with full endorsement from the secretary of education.
Tom Woods, a Republican from far northeastern Oklahoma, made the comments two weeks after a nonbinary student who was being bullied at school died suddenly under mysterious circumstances."
"'We are a religious state and we are going to fight it to keep that filth out of the state of Oklahoma because we are a Christian state – we are a moral state,' Woods said."
"Trump’s true sin is not hypocrisy but theocracy. Christian nationalism is an extremist ideology at odds with the fundamental pluralism of American life. It poses a threat not just to secular people but also to the vast majority of religious people whose faith does not entail using the state to impose theology."
“Welcome to the end of #democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely,” #Posobiec said as the vent began.
“We didn’t get all the way there on #Jan6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it and replace it with this, right here,” he said, gesturing to the crowd & holding up his fist.
"Speaking at a Christian media convention in Nashville, former President Donald J. Trump claimed that a 'radical left, corrupt political class' was persecuting Christians. …
During his third run for office, Mr. Trump has often cast himself as a staunch defender of the Christian right. He also often boasts of his appointment of three justices to the Supreme Court who, in 2022, voted to overturn Roe v. Wade."
"Now, once again, we are watching a minority trying to impose its will on the majority, with leaders like House speaker Johnson noting that 'I try to do every day what my constituents want. But sometimes what your constituents want does not line up with the principles God gave us for government. And you have to have conviction enough to stand [up] to your own people….'"
"According to a new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution, more than half of Republicans believe the country should be a strictly Christian nation — either adhering to the ideals of Christian nationalism (21 percent) or sympathizing with those views (33 percent)."
"In the United States, theocracy and authoritarianism go hand in hand."
In the conflict over slavery we saw a minority of citizens who held slaves fabricating an authoritarian form of Christianity that justified their contempt for democracy.
Democracy eventually prevailed, but the attempt to use authoritarian-leaning religion to impose the will of the minority on the majority is with us again.
"This week brought two chilling reminders that, despite America’s constitutional commitment to secular government, Christian nationalism is thriving in the Trump era. From the Alabama Supreme Court’s stunningly theocratic ruling on the legal status of embryos to the MAGA-aligned groups designing Donald Trump’s Christian nationalist second term," (continued in /2)
"Even though white Christian nationalism as an ideology has come under more scrutiny, people often leave off the 'white' part.
I encourage people to, 'Say the white part out loud.'
Race is a central element in white Christian nationalism, and it speaks to the kind of social structure they want to create—namely one with white, monied men at the top and all others in degrees of subordinate roles."
Heather Cox Richardson notes that for decades now, the Republican party has rallied voters by using what Nixon and his v-p Agnew called "positive polarization." They divide the nation by generating fear among their base of white voters. The base is told it is the "true America," and those other Americans, the threatening others, are the enemy. This translates into a belief that whatever you do to win is justified.
Wed this fear-mongering to religion, as the Republican party has now done with its open embrace of white Christian nationalism, and you have a potent and lethal combination, as we see with the Alabama Supreme Court ruling imposing the peculiar religious views of a minority on the majority by force of law — a prescription for what will happen nationwide if we permit it to happen.
"Reworking the nation to impose Christian nationalism requires minority rule, which aligns with the ideology of authoritarianism, enabling Trump and those who share his views to praise someone like Vladimir Putin. And, it seems, to accept his help winning elections."
Again: if you imagine God is on your side, you own God, the rest of America is the enemy, you justify doing anything at all to grab and retain and use power — over others.
As Peter Smith reports, though the Constitution doesn't mention Christianity or any religion at all, many Americans buy the myth that the US is a "Christian" nation founded by God. And a vocal minority who have the ear of the Republican party want to have the US declared a specifically Christian nation in which Christianity has privileged status.
David Kurtz on why it won't be pretty if Trump's elected:
"This morning Politico has a new piece out on the effort to infuse Trump II with the fervor of Christian nationalism. It serves as a good reminder that while Trump himself remains dangerous he also serves in an additional role as a conduit for all sorts of bad actors, conspiracists, grifters, ne’er-do-wells, hangers-on, con artists, extremists, and ideological wackadoodles."
The Politico piece linked by D. Kurtz (in /1) is by Alexander Ward and Heidi Przybyla. It zeroes in on the role being played by Russell Vought, who was director of the Office of Management and Budget when Trump was in the White House. Vought maintains that the US was founded as a Christian nation and should be governed by laws that explicitly favor his right-wing brand of Christianity.
Greg Olear and Tom Carter offer valuable commentary on the "Unholy Trinity" that has moved US political life towards overt fascism (more specifically, Christofascism) in the recent decades. The link below includes a link to a podcast conversation about this between Olear and Carter.
As Olear and Carter note, the Chrisofascist turn is rooted in and funded by libertarian gajillionaires like the Koch men to avoid paying taxes on their multi-billions, and to smash government controls re: what their corporations can do. These libertarian gajillionaires are one prong of the Unholy Trinity.
Another prong of the Unholy Trinity: white evangelicals who are now to a great extent white Christian nationalists. As Olear and Carter note, the white evangelical world was roiled by civil rights breakthroughs for people of color.
The Supreme Court's ruling in the Bob Jones University case in 1983 especially enraged white evangelicals. The Supremes told Bob Jones that it could not continue getting federal funds while discriminating on racial grounds.
At this point, right-wing Catholic Paul Weyrich built a Catholic-evangelical political alliance, a Republican vote-machine.
The alliance that Weyrich crafted between right-wing Catholics and white evangelicals ginned up anti-abortion fervor among the two groups, to substitute for (and hide) the racism in which the alliance was grounded. This alliance has been a huge factor in US political life from that time forward,
Third prong of the Unholy Trinity: right-wing Catholics like Leo, who wield extensive power behind the scenes, especially in DC and at the Supreme Court level, where Leo has been a kingmaker, placing Opus Dei Catholics like himself on the court. As Olear and Carter note, this prong has been mostly ignored by the media, though its power is enormous.