How to End Christian Nationalism By Amanda Tyler
(Minneapolis, MN, Broadleaf Books, 2024, 244 pages)
Review by: J. Brent Walker
Amanda Tyler has written a much-needed book about the dangers implicit in Christian nationalism and how it compromises religious liberty and threatens the body politic. Full disclosure: Tyler is a former intern, staffer, board of directors member of mine, and now my successor as executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for the past eight years. All subscribers to Christian Ethics Today need to read this book.
To call it a primer would be to depreciate it. The book is nothing short of a complete takedown of Christian nationalism along with a practical step-by-step strategy for countering it. This fight is most effectively waged by Christians – religious cousins, not secular opponents – because we will carry special credibility.
That is why Tyler led the formation of Christians Against Christian Nationalism and in five years has amassed over 40,000 signers to endorse its statement of principles. (pp. 13-15) Readers of this journal should join the cause. (christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org) To begin with, the book defines Christian nationalism:
“Christian nationalism is a political ideology and cultural framework that seeks to fuse American and Christian identities. It suggests that ‘real’ Americans are Christians and that ‘true’ Christians hold a particular set of political beliefs. It seeks to create a society in which only this narrow subset of Americans is privileged by law and in societal practice.” (p. 26)
Christian nationalism is not monolithic. It spans the spectrum of thought and action. On one end are those who want to privilege Christianity (their version of it) with a modicum of toleration for others and, on the other side, those advocating for a full-blown theocracy with second-class citizenship for other fellow Americans. The term Christian nationalism is relatively new, but the problem is age-old. It’s been around for centuries, starting probably when Roman Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity as the favored religion in the empire in the fourth century. It has ebbed and flowed throughout history with visible modern high tides such as Nazi Germany in the previous century.
In the U.S. it is rooted in the Christian nation myth – that America was intended by our founders to be and should be a Christian nation. This is a false narrative. Yes, most of our founders were Christians of some ilk – mixed with deists and probably a few non-believers. And, yes, they thought religion would be good for the new republic. But they didn’t want the Federal government to do the lifting. First, there was considerable pluralism in the colonies even 250 years ago. Whose religion? Which denomination? What sect?
Second, they knew how government-enforced religion resulted in persecution and bloodshed in Europe and in the colonies as well. They wanted to avoid that at all costs. Accordingly, in Article VI of the new constitution, the founders banned any religious test as a qualification for public office – even though many of the colonies had religious requirements in their charters. They knew what they were forbidding. Then our prescient founders adopted the First Amendment to protect religious liberty by stripping the new Federal government of power to privilege or prohibit religion.
So, we today may be a Christian nation – sociologically and demographically – in the sense that a majority self-identify as Christians; but we are not such a nation legally or constitutionally. Tyler finishes the initial survey by discrediting various species of Christian nationalism which have been and still are allied with White Supremacy (Charlottesville), anti-indigenous people projects (extraction of children from families) and outright violence (January 6). The next chapter argues that we should not only speak as nominal Christians, but act as followers of Jesus. We juxtapose our gospel of love with Christian nationalism’s idols of power, fear and violence.
And, citing Episcopal Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, three steps are offered to counter Christian nationalism: They include “(1) re-centering Christianity on the teachings and example of Jesus; (2) calling on our common humanity; and (3) rebuilding relationships with people across political, racial and religious differences.” (p.72) This chapter concludes – as the rest of them do – with appropriate scripture reading and helpful suggestions for action. To be Christ-like means at the very least to denounce violence. This includes gun violence – our “idolatrous devotion to guns and gun culture” (p. 81), political violence (January 6) and rhetorical violence (ReAwaken American rallies). The next step in the opposition is to commit to the separation of church and state.
If the genesis of American Christian nationalism is the Christian nation myth, its perpetuation is a misunderstanding of the separation principle – a belief that church-state separation is “junk” according to Rep. Lauren Boebert. (p. 99) The “wall of separation” is a metaphor to express the deeper truth that religious liberty is best protected when church and state are institutionally separate and neither tries to perform or interfere with the mission or work of the other. This was quite clear to founders Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and to Baptists from Roger Williams, to John Leland, to Jimmy Carter. The exact words may not appear in the First Amendment, but the principle surely does, and those who wrote the words and our Baptist forebears had the words in them.
In step five, “Take on Christian Nationalism Close to Home,” Tyler differentiates between patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism – love of country – is natural, heart-felt and laudable. Nationalism – patriotism on steroids – is authoritarian, forced and ultimate. I’ve heard it suggested that nationalism says “my country, right or wrong,” while patriotism declares “my country, when wrong, make it right.” Here the nettlesome issues – particularly in “purple churches” – of American flags displayed in the sanctuary and speaking out against nationalism from the pulpit are addressed.
The final three chapters focus more on how-tos, using labor and civil rights as models for organizing. An entire chapter is devoted to protecting religious freedom in the public schools – a bugaboo on the church-state front for over 60 years. Prayer has not been kicked out, only official state-sponsored prayers have and properly so. Teaching about religion, academically and objectively, is permissible; leading devotional religious exercises is not. Tyler then tackles current hot potato topics like religious counselors/chaplains and the posting of the Ten Commandments and “In God We Trust” in public schools. In the final chapter, readers are urged to take their place in the public square.
All citizens – including religious ones – are called to become involved in rigorous but civil debate and allow their religiously based ethics to inform their public policy views. Depending on the issue, people of faith are encouraged to find common cause with non-religious people. But, houses of worship, along with secular Section 501(C)(3) charities, are barred from endorsing or opposing candidates for public office with tax-exempt dollars.
In conclusion, the importance of this book has been upped by the political events subsequent to its recent publication. The political party most amenable to Christian nationalism has swept the three branches of the Federal government and many state and local elections, too. Here is Tyler’s concluding challenge: “Together, through our collective work to end Christian nationalism, we will discern the society that has yet to exist. Together we are imagining a world of justice, equity, and no fear, and together we are making that world possible through brave acts of love.”
— Brent Walker is an attorney and ordained Baptist minister. He now serves as Executive Director Emeritus of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. He and wife Nancy live in Falls Church, VA and are enjoying their church, friends, family and grandchildren.
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