In my article published last year, “Christian Nationalism Isn’t Anything New,” I pointed out the beginnings of this dangerous combination of religion and politics. My efforts now in this column are to remind us of history and to refute the current movement’s falsehoods.
Constantine (who lived AD 272AD 337) constructed a large cross inscribed with the words, “In hoc signo vinces,” meaning, “in this sign overcome.” This was carried in front of his troops as they won a significant battle.
Even though Constantine was known for his brutality and subtle skills at disinformation, Christian leaders welcomed him into their fellowship. He embraced Christianity and made it the Religion of the Court and the kingdom. This was the beginning of Christian Nationalism. It is known as the Dark Ages, which shaped European history for a thousand years.
The Crusades (literally “carrying the cross”) were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Christian Latin Church between 1094 and 1295 AD. The concept of a crusading war involved the idea of doing physical battle when there was a “just cause.” Crusaders believed they were conducting God’s work (www.worldhistory. org/crusades/).
The words, Deus Vult (“God will[s] it”) were chanted by the Crusaders as a rallying cry. They believed they were benefactors of God’s providence (worldhistory).
One of the many tattoos on the body of Pete Hegseth, the Fox News weekend host whom Donald Trump has nominated to be Secretary of Defense, is “Deus Vult.” Hegseth is a far-right Christian Nationalist (distractify.com/p/ pete-hegseth-tattoos).
The Puritans practiced Christian Nationalism, meaning there was no distinction between church rules and a civil crime. Burning accused witches at the stake is part of the sordid history of merging religion with civil law.
Another movement that merged its political agenda with a false interpretation of God’s will was the Ku Klux Klan. Membership in the Klan exceeded four million members during the 1920’s (history. com/topics/19th-century/ ku-klux-klan).
A book, The Ku Klux Klan or Invisible Empire, by Mrs. S. E. F. Rose, described the Klan’s history and purposes. The book was unanimously endorsed by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Convention assembled at New Orleans, La, November 12-15, 1913. They “pledged to endeavor to secure its adoption as Supplemental Reader in the schools and to place it in the Libraries of our Land”( Mrs. S. E.F. Rose, The Ku Klux Klan or Invisible Empire, New Orleans, LA: L. Graham, Co., Ltd., 1914, endorsement page).
Ms. Rose’s book was also adopted, “without a dissenting voice, by the Sons of Confederate Veterans at Reunion May 6-8, 1914, and their efforts pledged to have it placed in schools throughout the south” (Rose, endorsement).
Klansmen ended their meetings by burning a large cross and singing the popular hymn “The Old Rugged Cross” (digitalcommonwealth. org/search/ commonwealth:bn99db11g).
History teaches us that each time religion and politics are combined into a belief system and the combination holds power, opponents of that system suffer, either by the Crusaders’ swords, by being burned at the stake by the Puritans, or by lynchings by the KKK.
One of America’s foremost Evangelical Christians is Dr. Robert Jeffress, pastor of the mega-First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. He invited Donald Trump to give the Christmas Message on December 20, 2021. Surprisingly, Trump did not mention the birth of the Christ child at all, but promoted his “Make America Great Again” policies. The crowd cheered and chanted, “U.S.A., U.S.A.” (baptistnews.com/article/ first-baptist-dallas-congregationcheers- trump-breaks-out-intousa- chant-after-he-speaks/).
Even though these groups based their actions on what they believed to be God’s will, it is my firm conviction that they were not following the teachings of Christ Jesus, who said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight for me” (John 18:36 NIV).
Jesus also declared, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other “ (Matthew 6:24 NIV).
The Apostle Paul wrote, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons” (I Corinthians 10:21 NIV).
Christian Nationalism threatens to become a cultural framework that idealizes and advocates for a fusion of Christianity with American civil life and to do so by dominion. This is the type of Christian Nationalism exhibited on January 6. Many rioters had Christian messages on their flags and shirts. One sign, “Jesus Saves,” was on the gallows on which some rioters wanted to hang Vice President Mike Pence.
Although we can affirm that Christianity has played a role in America as a nation, America can never be described as a “Christian Nation.” No nation-state can be a Christian nation-state, because Christianity does not work that way.
In my view, the devil did a masterpiece by convincing Evangelical Christians that a man who calls dead soldiers “losers”; who has five children by three different wives (each of whom he has been unfaithful to); who has been convicted of sexual assault, defamation, and business fraud; who ridicules and insults others, even a handicapped reporter; and who incites violence and repeatedly lies, was sent here by God.
For those who say that Trump is God’s Chosen, please consider this verse: “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth’” (Romans 9:17 NIV). That power was shown in the plagues the Egyptians suffered, and Pharaoh’s army drowned in the sea.
Apostle Paul’s admonition, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too,” casts a long shadow that falls across modern Christian Nationalism.
Communion, sitting at the Lord’s table and drinking the cup of the Lord, is a solemn feast for Christians. This question must be answered by Christian Nationalists, “How could we rise from there and then drink the cup (meaning our passionate support and adoration) of a man who represents the antithesis of true Christianity?”
Writer Garry Wills sums up the Christian Nationalist’s wrongdoing perfectly: “Using religion to bless hatred is the supreme blasphemy” (Garry Wills, What the Gospels Meant, quoted on jacket of Jim Wallis, The False White Gospel, New York: Dimensions, 2024).