Christian Nationalism Tackled in First of Six Great Plains Workshops

by

Advocating Justice

Great Plains Conference | Feb. 25, 2026

SALINA, Kansas — Shortly into his Feb. 21 presentation about countering Christian nationalism, Rev. Neal Christie gave the audience of about 50 two important pieces of information. 

One was his cell phone number. 

The other was encouragement to continue to push back against the idea of putting Christianity on the same level as the government. 

“I want to be the person who helps you and your congregation,” said Christie, co-founder of The Religious Nationalism Project, adding he was grateful that the Great Plains Conference made getting information to laity and clergy a priority. 

“This is not gonna go away,” he added to the audience at Salina Trinity United Methodist Church. 

Christie’s presentation was the first of six he will be making throughout the Great Plains from February through May, at the invitation of the conference Mercy & Justice team, following a resolution passed at the 2025 annual conference to make such workshops a priority in 2026. 

Assisting in the program were Rev. Anne Gahn, interim Mercy & Justice coordinator; Andrea Paret, peace with justice coordinator; and Rev. Dr. Raponzil Drake, mercy and justice team chair. 

It was announced that following his workshops, Christie will appear at the annual conference, May 27-30 in Kearney. 

An ordained United Methodist elder, Christie showed the progression of Christian nationalism in the country, with its roots in the Civil War and accelerating during the Cold War, including adding “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance, including public prayer in schools and “In God We Trust” on currency. 

He pointed to a letter from the Council of Bishops in 2024, denouncing political violence, authoritarianism and Christian nationalism, saying the latter “defies God’s love.” 

“How does God judge what Christian nationalism is doing to our nation?” Christie asked.  

United Methodists, he said, are “called still to engage in the public square” through peaceful protests. Methodism founder John Wesley, he added, was vocal in his views on human trafficking, slavery and a woman’s right to vote. 

“We may not always agree on the best strategy, but we can come together in faith,” Christie said. 

Christian nationalism is growing, Christie said, because “many people feel like they’re not hearing what God wants them to do.” 

Those who practice Christian nationalism, he said, take scripture out of context, especially in its views on the family and human sexuality. 

Rev. Zach Anderson, Western Kansas District superintendent, said from the audience he believes that too many Americans are “biblically illiterate” in falling for the cherry-picked verses. 

“Scripture is the larger story,” Christie said. “It’s not the building of one nation-state, or whatever Christian nationals want to focus on.” 

The audience included a mix not only of laity and clergy, but various denominations and various stories of how Christian nationalism has had an effect of themselves and their communities. 

In the interactive program, participants were asked to discuss at their table 13 different scenarios — many of which were related to situations that had happened in the two-state area — and put the situations in buckets representing Christian nationalism, faithful public witness, Christians in public life or more than one/“I don’t know.” 

Christie listed the dozens of books that had been banned in Kansas and Nebraska schools, as well as discussing the replacement of the 1619 Project, which dealt with the reality of slavery in the United States, with the Christian nationalist-themed 1776 Project, which did not mention the subject. 

“How are you going to address this with your congregations?” he asked. 

Christie suggested ways for United Methodist churches to counter Christian nationalism, including book studies, social media, presenting the Council of Bishops letter, announce prayers for the country and hosting ecumenical prayer services. 

“Talk to your people,” he said, adding the phrase, “My religion is not a weapon.” 

Words of support came from the laity and clergy present 

“We’re not a minority,” said Rev. Eric Meyer, Salina Trinity pastor. “We’re really a vast majority.” 

Sitting at the front row of tables were two laypersons, Natalie Jewell from Hillsboro UMC and Melissa Thomson from McPherson UMC. 

Thomson said she got “community” from the gathering. 

“It’s nice to sit in a room with other people who have the same kinds of questions or are struggling with what to do,” she said. “How to be tolerant in the face of intolerance. It’s good to have a reference guide to it, to feel like I’m not crazy when I have questions or I run into trouble.” 

“I am learning a lot about what there really is, definitions, wording, verbiage,” Jewell said. “Even the particulars in some scriptures that people may use for or against either side. It is also nice to know that other people are doing due diligence in learning before speaking, hopefully.” 

Jewell said she will “feel a little more confident in my answers to peoples’ questions or statements.” 

“So many of my questions, so many of my concerns, have already been addressed in our history and our theory,” Thomson said. “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. It makes me proud to be a United Methodist and knowing what I’m feeling is a part of my denomination.” 

Christie left the participants with a mantra to combat Christian nationalism: 

  • “Humility over dominance. 
  • “Service over control. 
  • “Covenant over conquest. 
  • “Discipleship over ideology.” 

The remaining workshops are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays: 

  • Feb. 28: Southeast Kansas District, at Chanute.
  • March 28: East Central and Northeast Kansas districts, at Lawrence First West Campus.
  • April 11: Western and Central Nebraska districts at Kearney First UMC.
  • April 18: South Central Kansas District at Wichita Woodland UMC.
  • May 2: Eastern and Southeast Nebraska districts at Waverly.

Register at this link. Registration for all events must be completed by 11:59 p.m. Sunday prior to each event’s date.

David Burke is a content specialist for Great Plains Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. This article is republished with permission from the conference website.