Unraveling the Strands of Christian Nationalism - Part 1

Opening Prayer

Light within all light, Soul behind all souls, at the breaking of the dawn, at the coming of the day, we wait and watch. Your light within the morning light, Your soul within the human soul, Your presence beckoning to us from the heart of life. In the dawning of this day, let us know fresh shinings in our soul. In the growing colors of new beginnings all around us, let us know the first lights of our heart. Great Star of the morning, Inner Flame of the universe, let us be a color in this new dawning.

• John Philip Newell, Praying with the Earth – A Prayerbook for Peace, p. 2.

Unraveling the Strands of Christian Nationalism:

What is Christian Nationalism? When did it emerge? What interpretation of scripture regarding the End Times drives Christian Nationalism? How does systemic racism undergird it? Can you be a patriot without being a Christian Nationalist?

Introductory Thoughts – Why Explore Christian Nationalism?

“In the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, there is a powerful scene in which one of the main protagonists, Eric Liddell, is confronted by the British Olympic committee for his refusal to run on Sunday because of his faith. Lord Cadogan angrily criticizes him and proclaims, ‘In my day, it was king first, and God after,’ to which the Duke of Sutherland, another member of the committee, replies, ‘Yes, and the War to End All Wars bitterly proved your point.’”

“It is always a dangerous thing to mix up our priorities, whether on the personal level or the national level. For those of us who dare to call ourselves followers of Jesus of Nazareth, the challenge is how to order our priorities so as to put God first. ‘Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’ (Mark 12:17) allows us to be patriotic and love our country, but not put it before the God who is over all the nations and of whom Isaiah says ‘brings princes to naught and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing’ (Isaiah 40:23).”

“We who follow Jesus of Nazareth are called individually and as a church to live out his Way of Love. As Dr. King said in the first of his ten commandments for non-violence, ‘Meditate daily on the teachings of Jesus.’ More than this, sometimes this means calling our country to account for its words and actions, not for lack of love of it but because we love it enough to point out its failings. The eighteenth-century philosopher and member of Parliament, Edmund Burke, in watching the excesses of the French Revolution, remarked, ‘To make us love our country, our country ought to be lovely.’”

“Christian Nationalism today threatens our country’s soul. It is because we love God, and it is because we love our country that we want to respond in ways that are healthy, holy, and true.”

• The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Former Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, The Crisis of Christian Nationalism, 2024, pp. 5-6.

“Christian Nationalism as an ideology exerts its influence along a spectrum. I would argue that we have all been shaped by it to some degree. In their 2020 book, Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States, sociologists Samuel L. Perry and Andrew L. Whitehead describe four different orientations toward Christian Nationalism based on their research. They classify people who fully embrace and advocate for Christian Nationalist ideology as ambassadors; this is the smallest group, comprising less than 20 percent of the U.S. population. At the opposite end of the spectrum from ambassadors are rejecters- people who, like me and maybe you, actively reject Christian Nationalist ideology. We make up about 22 percent of the American populace. Most Americans fall somewhere in the middle. Perry and Whitehead call the folks in this central band either ‘accommodators’ of Christian

Nationalism (about 32 percent of Americans) or ‘resisters’ (about 27 percent).”

“However, in doing the hard work of dismantling ideologies, labeling people definitively as ‘Christian Nationalist’ is both counterproductive and inaccurate. We are better served by thinking of these as systemic problems that we can learn to recognize and disengage from as we work with our communities to reject them.”

[“We try our best to avoid labeling people ‘Christian Nationalists’ and creating an us-versus-them mentality. Christian nationalism is an ideology that affects all of us to some degree, and we encourage Christians to examine how our own practices confuse religious and political authority.”]

“In every era when this ideology recurs, followers of Jesus must make a choice. In words of Jay Augustine, senior pastor of St. Joseph AME Church in Durham, NC [now at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta Georgia]: Which Jesus do you serve? Which Jesus do you believe in?”

• Amanda Tyler, adapted from How To End Christian Nationalism, 2024.

“We must be relentless in countering Christian Nationalism’s malignant influence. We will do that

not by demonizing its adherents, but through truth-telling, brave dialogue, bold organizing, and building relationships. We must sharpen our strategy and grow a movement to replace Christian Nationalism with the civic ideal of ‘liberty and justice’ for all. And we must speak from our deepest held religious convictions to affirm the dignity of everyone, protect the most vulnerable, and advance the common good.”

• Adam Russell Taylor, “Confronting a Rising Peril,” Sojourners, September/October 2024.

For this week: For reflection: (1) The Most Rev. Michael Curry stated: “It is always a dangerous thing to mix up our priorities, whether on the personal level or on the national level.” Why is it a dangerous thing to mix up our priorities with respect to God and country? (2) Were you raised in a religious culture or family? How did that benefit you, your character, or your faith in God? Has religious culture ever become an obstacle in your relationship with God?

An invitation to our virtual participants: Discussion and comments are very much encouraged and welcomed. Online discussions can be held in the comments section in the upcoming post on Social Media for this week’s Deacon’s Reflection which is part of adult formation at St. Francis Episcopal Church.

Closing Prayer – Prayer of Blessing

May the angels of light glisten for us this day. May the sparks of God’s beauty dance in the eyes of those we love. May the universe be on fire with Presence for us this day. May the new sun’s rising grace us with gratitude. Let earth’s greenness shine and its waters breathe with Spirit. Let heaven’s winds stir the soil of our soul and fresh awakenings rise within us. May the mighty angels of light glisten in all things this day. May they summon us to reverence, may they call us to life.

May the light of God illumine the heart of my soul.

May the flame of Christ kindle me to love.

May the fire of the Spirit free me to live this day, tonight, and forever. Amen.

• John Philip Newell, Praying with the Earth - A Prayerbook for Peace, p. 4.