The political-religious movement known as Christian Nationalism has taken hold in all 50 states, posing an immediate, dire threat to democracy and religion, says an extensive new study released Feb. 28.
Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) founder and president Robert P. Jones said the study, based on more than 22,000 surveys from March through December 2023, is the most comprehensive look yet at Christian Nationalism's aims, sympathizers and adherents.
Moderating a webinar introducing the findings, Dr. Jones described the movement, which he said is driving support for former president Donald Trump's 2024 candidacy, as "a dangerous anti-democratic political ideology that undermines true democracy." He presented a series of slides showing the study's results (see accompanying images).
In an email after the webinar, Dr. Jones said PRRI developed five distinct agree/disagree questions to measure support for Christian nationalism:
- God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society.
- The US government should declare America a Christian nation.
- Being Christian is important part of being truly American.
- If the US moves away from our Christian foundations, we will not have a country anymore.
- US laws should be based on Christian values.
Dr. Jones noted in his email that among other findings, the study debunked a myth that Christian Nationalism adherents don't attend church regularly. The survey found that "Christian nationalism is highly correlated with frequent church attendance. Among Americans who attend religious services weekly or more, a majority (52%) are Christian nationalism Adherents or Sympathizers, compared with 38% of those who attend a few times a year and only 18% of those who seldom or never attend."
On the webinar, Dr. Jones was joined by three experts on Christian nationalism:
- Katherine Stewart, journalist and author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism
- Jemar Tisby, PhD, professor of history at Simmons College of Kentucky and author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism
- Andrew Whitehead, associate professor of sociology at IUPUI and author of American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church
Ms. Stewart, who writes for the New York Times and the New Republic among other publications, said two factors link Christian Nationalism adherents and sympathizers: per capita income and life expectancy. In states where Christian Nationalism is more prevalent, those who favor the movement typically have lower incomes and shorter life spans than those in states with fewer followers.
She also noted the growth of Christian Nationalism support among Latino/Hispanic pastors can be attributed to the expansion of "deeply interconnected" networks that give them tools to spread Christian nationalist messages. She said these groups engage clergy to get their congregations to vote a certain way and spread far-right conspiracy theories that she called "frankly dangerous."
"Christian Nationalism is more than attitudes; it's a political dysfunction," said Ms. Stewart. She cited Russia, Hungary and Turkey as examples where political leaders use religion to divide citizens into "those who belong and those who don't" to boost support for their authoritarianism.
"This leads to the suppression of political opposition and free speech," Ms. Stewart said. "It allows political leaders to capture and control votes to smuggle in regressive policies for their funders, mainly low taxes for the rich and support for extractive industries."
'Plantation hierarchy' of power
Dr. Tisby, whose work has been all but outlawed by Florida politicians, pointed out key differences between white and Black adherents of Christian Nationalism. He stressed that the philosophy should rightly be named "White Christian Nationalism" because it espouses a kind of "plantation hierarchy" of power in which white men control government and all others are subordinate.
"We use the same words, but they mean different things," said Dr. Tisby. "Whites seek political dominance, while those historically marginalized want to be part of the public conversation but not to dominate it."
Dr. Tisby also described churches, especially evangelical and Pentecostal churches, as "vectors" or "super-spreaders" of white Christian Nationalism messages. He termed "White Christian Nationalism" as "the greatest threat to democracy and the church today." He said he believes Americans should look to the Black church tradition for alternative ways to engage faith and politics.
A social scientist who has been studying Christian Nationalism for a decade, Dr. Whitehead said the PRRI study provides comprehensive empirical evidence for the movement's infiltration into American politics and culture.
"Three in 10 Americans are sympathetic to the ideas of White Christian Nationalism," Dr. Whitehead said. "It's a cultural framework with myths, traditions and symbols, a fusion of American Christianity with politics."
Who's a 'true American?'
Dr. Whitehead said that White Christian nationalists view the world as a chaotic place and want authoritarian leaders to provide social control, even if bringing order means acting violently. Followers seek strong ethnic-racial boundaries built around a national identity, with white, natural-born Anglo Protestants most qualified to call themselves "a true American" and have access to civil liberties that others will be denied, he said.
Dr. Jones asked the panelists what White Christian Nationalism looks like "on the ground."
Ms. Stewart pointed out that the recent Alabama supreme court decision ruling fertilized embryos used for invitro fertilization as "children" shows the normalization of state control over reproductive rights, including the possible outlawing of popular birth control methods. Dr. Jones added that he was "flabbergasted" by the appearance of Alabama supreme court justice Tom Parker, author of the IVF ruling, on a talk show sponsored by the New Apostolic Revelation, an ultraright religious group seeking to take over American government.
Dr. Whitehead said data on whether state laws are extending voting rights or hindering them correlates strongly with the results of PRRI's Christian Nationalism study. He related an anecdote from a pastor who said he'd been challenged by a white Christian nationalist in his church "to the point of finger-jabbing in the chest."
"The pastor said he felt physically threatened," the sociologist said. " Americans who embrace Christian Nationalism believe they need to restrict the vote and take away voting rights from those who aren't 'right Americans.'
"White Christian Nationalism is having a real effect on real lives," Dr. Whitehead said.
Closing the webinar, Dr. Jones said he believes America's new demographic identity as "no longer a majority white Christian nation" is fueling the political movement.
"The change has an apocalyptic feel to it, a desperation about the changes in America that leads to the abandonment of traditional norms and even the embrace of extrajudicial violence," Dr. Jones said. "Is America a promised land for European Christians or are we a pluralistic democracy that none dominate?"
Veteran religion journalist Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011 as a media channel to amplify news and views of marginalized and under-served United Methodists.