How pervasive is Christian nationalism in the United States? Before answering, a more pressing question is: What is it? Here the people paid to define our terms are all over the place. Christian nationalism can involve a national church like the Church of Scotland. It can be a form of civil religion, as in “one nation under God.” It can also dissolve into American exceptionalism: “a city set on a hill.” Whatever the definition, attaching national or civic meaning to divine purpose is as old as recorded history.

It is also everywhere in America. When Franklin D. Roosevelt explained his administration’s reasons for entering World War II, the president did not hesitate to invoke God or quote the Bible. “The world is too small to provide adequate ‘living room’ for both Hitler and God,” he told Americans. “We are inspired by a faith that goes back through all the years to the first chapter of the Book of Genesis: ‘God created man in His own image.’ ”

…The larger resonance of Christian nationalism, however, counts for little in contemporary assessments of the subject. What stands out now, as we learn from Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry’s “The Flag and the Cross,” is the Capitol Hill riot of Jan. 6, 2021. That event—in which supporters of former president Donald Trump tried to stop the certification of the presidential election—drives the book’s argument. The authors purport to offer a “primer on white Christian nationalism”: when it emerged, how it works, what its future may be. The final chapter offers advice on how to avoid another Jan. 6. For Messrs. Gorski and Perry, the battle lines are clear: Donald Trump and his “most zealous followers” have “rejected America’s experiment in multiracial democracy in favor of white Christian nationalism.” The lesson for readers is to determine whether white Christian nationalists will be “successful.”

…Somewhat surprising is that white Christian nationalists remain an abstraction throughout the book. The authors do name a few figures—Sen. Ted Cruz, southern California pastor John MacArthur, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, radio host Rush Limbaugh. But for all the specificity of Jan. 6 and the people involved, the authors are silent about the real flesh-and-blood protesters who’ve now been arrested and charged. The book supplies no narrative of the people or events that led up to Jan. 6. One data set reveals 73% of the Americans who scored in the top 25% of the Christian nationalism scale affirmed core tenets of the QAnon conspiracy. The authors let readers imagine the contents of those core tenets.

Instead, readers must construe the identity of the “insurrectionists” from one survey that asked adults (the authors do not reveal their sample size) to agree or disagree, on a spectrum from 1 to 4, with statements supposedly measuring Christian nationalism. In one, respondents determine whether the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are “divinely inspired.” Was that phrase intended to show conflation of civic texts with Hebrew and Christian scriptures? We’re left to guess. Another statement asks respondents if they agree that the federal government should advocate “Christian values.” Someone who appreciates laws against perjury and theft might think American government already does. Read more»

D. G. Hart | “‘The Flag and the Cross’ Review: Defining Christian Nationalism” | April 1, 2022

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• Pew Poll: Christendom Lives In The Hearts Of Many Americans
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• Of QAnon, Calvin, And the LA Times
• QAnon, Evangelical Gnosticsm, Manichaeism, And The Kingdom Of The Cults