A stand against 'Christian nationalism': 8-2-19

What is Christian nationalism? Well, as the Wikipedia page to which I just linked you says, Christian nationalists "focus primarily on internal politics, such as passing laws that reflect their view of Christianity and its role in political and social life."

In her forthcoming (Aug. 6) book, Red State Christians, which I'll review Monday here on the blog, Angela Denker notes that some Christians, particularly those among the 81 percent of self-identified evangelical Christians who voted for Donald Trump in 2016, "have turned toward the flag, feeling their patriotic fervor and nostalgic desire for a more Christian America. . .

"This desire to turn back the clock was more about national identity than Christian identity, though the two are inextricably tied together for many Red-State Christians. They wanted to be the ones who get to define what America is, and for them, it must be conservative, and it must be Christian. Otherwise the country -- and their Christian faith -- will utterly collapse."

One reason I raise this subject today is that, as this story notes, a new group has formed called "Christians Against Christian Nationalism."

The group has issued this statement, which contains this definition of Christian nationalism: "Christian nationalism seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy. Christian nationalism demands Christianity be privileged by the State and implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian. It often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation. We reject this damaging political ideology and invite our Christian brothers and sisters to join us in opposing this threat to our faith and to our nation."

If one's primary loyalty is to a religious tradition, loyalty to a nation always comes second. In some cases, it may be a relatively close second, but it always must be second. One way to think about that is to remember the first of the Ten Commandments, which tells people to have no other gods before God. If the nation has become your god, that's trouble.

Sometimes Christian nationalists seem to forget that commandment.

At the new group's website, you can see who all has signed the statement and is behind this effort.

What has become increasingly clear in recent years is that when Americans conflate religious identity with national identity, they water down their religion and they imperil the religious liberty that their nation should protect.

Here's one way to detect whether your faith community, if it's a Christian church, is making that error: In the sanctuary, are the American flag and the Christian flag both displayed as somehow co-equal? If so, you should challenge that.

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A FIGHT OVER 'FAKE NEWS'

If you're not familiar with the online religious satire publication called The Babylon Bee, I commend it to you. It can be hilarious, though often it hits with a too-heavy hand. I have signed up to get a copy e-mailed to me each day. It now turns out that the fact-checking site Snopes and the Bee are sniping at each other over the question of whether a particular Bee article constitutes fake news. Well, when the Bee's slogan is "Fake News You Can Trust," Snopes should know that satire is the point. E. B. White once said that explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. Nobody much cares -- and the frog dies of it. Snopes should remember that.