For the last few weeks I have been leading discussions on Christian Nationalism in my church’s Adult Sunday School Class. Some of the topics we have discussed are:
- What exactly is Christian Nationalism (CN)? Is the U.S. a Christian Nation? Is CN inherently racist? How do CNs use the Bible; and How should we interact with people who profess to be Christian nationalists? Perhaps the most interesting discussion we have had in the class was based on an article by Presbyterian pastor Douglas Wilson on whether or not the US should become a theocracy. At the same time, I have led these discussions, I have been researching and writing about my family’s Puritan ancestors on my father’s side. What I have realized is that though they are separated by over 350 years, the emphases and values of Christian Nationalism are remarkably similar to those of the Puritans.
Here are some examples.
- In 1620 Puritans and their theological cousins, the Pilgrims, began leaving England for North America to escape persecution for their rejection of certain practices and teachings of the Church of England (also called the Anglican Church). Presbyterian Christian Nationalist Rev. Doug Wilson describes Christian Nationalism as arising out of the belief that “secularism is a failed experiment, that societies require a transcendent grounding order to function and that transcendent ground should be the living God .” In other words CN is an “escape” from what they believe is the overt secularism of American society and the mainline Christian church.
- The theological framework informing most Puritans was the teachings of the Swiss Protestant reformer John Calvin who stressed such things as an emphasis on the authority of the Bible in all matters of life; God’s sovereignty over human affairs; a belief in predestination, the idea that God has already chosen who will be saved and who won’t; the belief that one’s outward behavior reflects a person’s inner faith; and the belief that civil government should enforce religious laws and standards of behavior.
- The conviction that the United States and its founding documents, such as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, were created by men (no women had direct input) who believed in God and for the most part were professing Christians and therefore sought to create a Christian nation.
- Puritans saw themselves mirroring the Exodus story, the story of the ancient Hebrews whom God led to the “promised land” in Canaan. In a similar way, Christian nationalists see their movement as God-ordained and God directed.
- Puritans sought religious freedom for themselves but were not tolerant of people of other religious persuasions, even other Christians who did not embrace their Calvinist mindset. In the same way Christian Nationalists make a clear distinction between themselves and Christians of mainline churches. Moreover, they hold no place for people of other religions, such as Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, and so on. The one exception is that they believe people of the Jewish faith have a special role in God’s plan because CNs believe the second coming of Christ will take place in the land of modern-day Israel.
- Finally, both Puritans and Christian Nationalists historically have considered non-White immigrants and People of Color to be less human and therefore less worthy of God’s grace and the government’s support. This racist worldview has taken many forms. Puritans, over a period of 150+ years, engaged in seven wars with the Native Americans in New England and either wiped them out or pushed them north and west out of New England. Also, Puritans enslaved both African hostages brought to North America and Native Americans they had captured in war. Likewise, Christian nationalists are wholeheartedly behind the President’s efforts to arrest, incarcerate, and deport both undocumented immigrants and naturalized citizens of color, regardless of their citizenship status. Moreover, they have applauded and supported the President’s crusade against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in schools and companies, and has ordered that U.S. history courses in public schools should not cover the history of Black, Latino, and other ethnic groups, though their experiences are also part of the American story.
As a descendant of Puritans of New England and a white Christian, I find Puritan history to be deeply troubling and something that must be addressed. That is why I have taught courses on racism and been involved in several joint cooperative efforts to challenge racist institutions and practices within those institutions. I am a proponent of Reparations for racist injustices and harms waged against both African Americans and Native Americans. I regard people who belong to and practice other faith traditions, such as Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and even atheists or agnostics, as fellow travelers in seeking to make our country and world a more peaceful, equitable, and just place.
At the same time, there are things I appreciate in my Puritan heritage, such as the emphasis on hard work, the emphasis on moral and ethical behavior, and the adventuresome spirit that led to making the precarious journey from England to North America. While I do not share the American “exceptionalism,” a Puritan-rooted belief that the United States is somehow superior to all nations in the world, I care deeply about the health and morality of my country, which is why I work so hard for change.
Similarly, as a Mennonite of the Anabaptist Tradition, I do not share the Calvinist belief system of both the Christian nationalists and the Puritans. I also do not believe the U.S. ever was a Christian nation, nor should it be. I do not want the government to be the enforcer of how I live out my Christian commitment. Nonetheless, I do not consider Christian nationalists to be my enemy, but rather my siblings in the faith. Like them, Jesus is the one whose example I strive to follow, regardless of the cost of doing so. To be sure, we have strong differences on certain theological beliefs and social issues, but these are the sorts of issues where dialogue, not condemnation, is needed.
What troubles me most is the Christian Nationalist belief in the President being some sort of divinely appointed leader. While Puritans were part of a colonial government system that had a monarch as their appointed leader, they also defied that leadership when they thought it was not in line with what was best for the people being led. Perhaps Christian Nationalists could take a point or two from their Puritan forbears.
The reason I wanted to teach a short course on Christian Nationalism was because I knew so little about it. When I was a university professor, I learned that if you do not know something and want to learn more, teach a course on it! I know I have only scratched the surface of what CN is all about. The surprise has been that in researching my family history, I have seen that many of the things CNs believe and profess today are not new. They go as far back as 17th-century England and 16th-century Switzerland. As the saying goes, what goes around comes around!
