Whither Christian nationalism?

When House Speaker Mike Johnson delivered his first speech after being voted in, by his colleagues, to the speaker’s chair, his words stirred up controversy. Did he call for some radical new public policy? Did he embarrass himself by misstating facts? Did he slip up in his delivery?

No, Johnson had the audacity to offer a humble acknowledgement of God’s providence in his unlikely election: “I believe the Scripture, the Bible, is very clear that God is the one who raises up those in authority. He raised up each of you, all of us. And I believe God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment and this time[1].”

Hardly the stuff of radicals, but if you’d read the breathless reports from many media oulets, you’d have though he was the second coming of Constantine. Politico accused Johnson of being “a “right wing Christian nationalist” who had “made a turn away from democracy[2].”

Left-wing scholars Samuel Perry and Andrew Whitehead, shrieked that Johnson “exemplifies this aspect of Christian nationalism disregarding the values of democracy to instead embrace any means through which political power remains in the “right” hands[3].” Robert P. Jones was considerably less subtle, calling the new Speaker “the embodiment of white Christian nationalism in a tailored suit.[4]”

A similar freakout happened over two decades prior to Johnson’s anodyne statement about his belief in the Providence of God. George W. Bush, then Governor of Texas, was asked at a forum for presidential candidates in Iowa in 1999 who his favorite philosopher was, to which he responded, “Jesus Christ, because he changed my life.[5]” This reaction conjured up similar reactions by the same usual suspects, though instead of invoking the term “Christian nationalism,” instead there was the white-knuckled handwringing that George W. Bush was going to instill an American theocracy. There is, of course, no similar freakout when left-wing Democratic politicians stump in progressive churches in an election year, often offered the pulpit to “preach” as gospel the latest DNC talking points.

Of course, we shouldn’t dismiss the small cohort of mostly online influencers and academics on the Right who are dissatisfied with the constitutional order and fantasize about a return to magisterial Protestantism and a thoroughly Christian state.

Perhaps the most popular proponent of this view is academic Stephen Wolffe, author of The Case for Christian Nationalism. Wolffe’s ideas are fairly radical and while attracting a small cult following and finding purchase among some younger leaders, have been mostly rejected by mainstream Christian leaders. These ideas are also not broadly held by most American Christians.

One poll showed that a mere 11% claim the title of Christian nationalism and only about 5% hold beliefs that would actually qualify[6]. Another survey asked Southern Baptist church members about their views of the church and the state, 92% affirmed that religious liberty should apply to all persons and all religions.[7]

As a Baptist, I believe a state church is bad for both the church and the state. Paul, in instructing Timothy in 1 Timothy 2, urged the young pastor to pray for a government that would allow space for Christians to practice their faith so that the Gospel might advance. Jesus, in answering his critics, reminded us that only Christ is Lord of the conscience (Mark 12:17). Coerced belief is not genuine belief. This is why we believe religious liberty is both prudential, but also biblical in a fallen world.

James Madison rightly believed, “The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man: and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate[8].”

Yet the number of folks who subscribe to genuine Christian nationalism — as opposed to the pejorative hurled at any public expressions of faith — could probably fit in my minivan, with a few seats to spare.

What often gets labeled as Christian nationalism, by the left-wing academics and media types, is often just pure hysterical reaction to robust Christian conservative engagement in the public square. Respected historian and political scientist Mark David Hall, author of Who Is Afraid of Christian Nationalism, describes these efforts as “impassioned polemics rather than serious studies[9].”

Where these secularists get it wrong is they fail to see the Christian roots of American democracy. I don’t like using the term “Christian nation” because it often means different things to different people. But I do think we must acknowledge that Christianity, along with Enlightenment, are the fountainhead of the American experiment, as do such historians as John Wilsey, John Fea[10], Mark David Hall, Thomas Kidd and others. 

To deny this is to deny reality and to deny what most American leaders have thought about the country throughout much of our history. I agree with longtime religion columnist Kenneth Woodward: 

History is replete with efforts by Protestants to connect the American experiment in ordered liberty to some higher purpose, plan, or Planner. For the Puritans of Plymouth Rock that higher purpose was to establish God’s new Promised Land. Later it was to establish a righteous—read Protestant—empire by (in Lincoln’s tempered phrase) an “almost chosen people.” In the Cold War era, when the spread of Communism was the nation’s main concern, both liberals and conservatives advanced their political agendas by appealing to yet other forms of Christian nationalism. And so, in the biblical idiom of freedom and justice, did Martin Luther King Jr[11].

There is a reason, for instance, that British social critic and novelist GK. Chesterton, upon visiting, remarked that America had the “soul of a church[12].” Consider, even how the architects of classical liberalism understood the necessity of religion and virtue in order for freedom to flourish.

In his book, Virtue and the Making of Modern Liberty, Harvard political scientist Peter Berkowitz makes a convincing case that thinkers such as John Locke, never intended a morality-free secularism. Berkowitz writes, “Locke maintains that such virtues as self-denial, liberality, justice, courage, civility, industry, and truthfulness are necessary to public life[13].” Locke, an Anglican heavily influenced by British Baptist separatists, assumed his project would unfold in an environment shaped by Judeo-Christian values. Locke believed that virtue, necessary for a flourishing society, “can only be the Will and Law of a God, who sees men in the dark[14].”

Consider the words of our Founders, even the ones who were not orthodox Christians understood that this new experiment in human government could not survive without religion:

John Adams, in a letter to the Massachusetts militia, underscored that this project of liberty would only work for “a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.[15]” George Washington in his farewell address in 1796, stated that “of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. ... And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle[16].”

Benjamin Franklin, a Unitarian who, like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, nevertheless passionately believed in the necessity of a robust Christianity for the flourishing of his fledgling nation, “All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance[17].”

This kind of language wasn’t confined to the Founding. John Quincy Adams became president of the American Bible Society. Abraham Lincoln, heavily influenced by Adams as a congressman, as president sprinkled his speeches with references to God’s Providence and urged the nation, during the Civil War, to seek repentance for the sin of slavery. Invoking God’s blessing was the pattern of American leaders, on all sides of debates and elections.

Even well into the 20th century, leaders spoke about Christianity and the nation in terms that would today have the media and academics blushing. Consider Franklin Roosevelt’s D-Day prayer, where he appeals to God for protection and deliverance:

And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment — let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace — a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God[18].

Roosevelt, some historians have observed, may have quoted the Bible more than almost any president. His successor, Harry Truman, a Baptist, was also not shy about the need for religion in America. At a dedication of a Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., he remarked:

We talk a lot these days about freedom — freedom for the individual and freedom among nations. Freedom for the human soul is, indeed, the most important principle of our civilization. We must always remember, however, that the freedom we are talking about is freedom based upon moral principles. Without a firm moral foundation, freedom degenerates quickly into selfishness and license. Unless men exercise their freedom in a just and honest way, within moral restraints, a free society can degenerate into anarchy. Then there will be freedom only for the rapacious and those who are stronger and more unscrupulous than the rank and file of the people.

If we neglect these troths, our whole society suffers[19].

Truman’s successor, Dwight Eisenhower, though hailing from a different political party, didn’t disagree. Ike signed into law the nation’s new motto: “In God We Trust.” In his first inaugural address, he urged Americans to embrace “a purpose of strengthening our dedication and devotion to the precepts of our founding documents, a conscious renewal of faith in our country and in the watchfulness of a Divine Providence.[20]

This kind of rhetoric continued even into the 21st century with both Democratic and Republican presidents. And consider our greatest champions of social change, from Frederick Douglas to Martin Luther King, from Susan B Anthony to Dorothy Day. They unflinchingly called Americans both to live up to her founding ideals and to live out her uniquely Christian character.

A robust public Christianity is not at odds with American Democracy. In fact, it is essential. I agree with the political scientists at Biola University who recently wrote that, “Our constitutional system and political culture would not exist without Christian ideas, nor will they be intelligible or sustainable in the long run if meaningful, orthodox Christian influence disappears. Christianity provided the vision of creation, knowledge, and humanity that made liberal democracy possible. Indeed, any society in which democracy flourishes is drawing water from wells that Christianity dug.[21]”

Liberty without morality, without a strong and healthy presence of Christianity, becomes moral anarchy. We are seeing that today as the rise of the sexual revolution and the decline of church attendance has left American often bereft of a single-minding moral compass. This is not to say that American has always lived out Christianity well, nor should we dimiss the moments when American Christians often baptized evils, such as slavery. But as much as we acknowledge those moral and theological errors, we must also not forget that it was also Christianity that brought us out of those evil practices.

American Christians should not be bullied out of applying their faith to the public square, of championing public policy that we believe advances the flourishing of our neighbors. Writing four decades ago, Richard John Neuhaus wrote eloquently

When ... religious values and the institutions that bear them are excluded, the inescapable need to make public moral judgments will result in an elite construction of a normative morality from sources and principles not democratically recognized by the society. The truly naked public square is at best a transitional phenomenon. It is a vacuum waiting to be filled.[22]

We don’t have to squint to see how that vacuum has been filled and it’s not a pretty sight. Even skeptics and atheists such as Richard Dawkins are admitting to a desire to live in a predominantly Christian country, even if they don’t want to believe in the God of Christianity.

Of course, faithful Christians understand that as important as engagement in the public square is — and we must not abandon this good work — ultimately Christianity will grow and spread, not from government fiat, but through the patient, but persistent work of evangelism and discipleship.

Historian Alan Guelzo is correct when describes the conditions that led to the Second Great Awakening. He says, “people did extraordinary amounts of work which was blessed by the spirit of God but they set to it with their shoulders to the wheel of moving people's hearts and minds and churches and institutions and churches and institutions and the growth of those churches and institutions was extraordinary.” Geulzo, a Christian, says this is what contemporary Christians should set forth to do, while not neglecting the important work of politics.[23]

Christians can do both. We must urgently pray and work for spiritual revival and we must not be bullied out of the public square by the misguided condemnation of the secularists. Nor should we be intimidated by the era in which we live. While we have very serious concerns about the state of American culture, we should remember the words of Jesus who assured us that we can “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world (John 16:33).

God has not erred in placing us in the 21st century. No, he has made us for this moment. We should faithfully and humbly seize it by living lives of obedience to God, evangelistic fervor, and active witness in the public square.

In this, the late Carl Henry is right:

To be sure, the world crisis is not basically political, economic or social, but religious and moral, and only Christ's redemptive dynamic is able to activate humanity to the highest levels of ethical achievement. To press God's claim upon the masses, regenerate Christians must confront the world now 'with an ethics to make it tremble, and with a dynamic to give it hope.' We must offer a new evangelical world-mind whose political m economic, sociological and educational affirmations reflect the Christian world-life view. We must reach for "a baptism of Pentecostal fire resulting in a world missionary program[24]."

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[1]Rep. Mike Johnson Gives First Speech as House Speaker | Full Video, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbJfDMOfjiI.

[2] “‘He Seems to Be Saying His Commitment Is to Minority Rule,’” POLITICO, October 27, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/10/27/mike-johnson-christian-nationalist-ideas-qa-00123882.

[3] “The Christian Nationalism of Speaker Mike Johnson,” TIME, October 27, 2023, https://time.com/6329207/speaker-mike-johnson-christian-nationalism/.

[4] Thomas B. Edsall, “Opinion | ‘The Embodiment of White Christian Nationalism in a Tailored Suit,’” The New York Times, November 1, 2023, sec. Opinion, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/opinion/mike-johnson-christian-nationalism-speaker.html.

[5] “Bush’s ‘Christ Moment’ Is Put To Political Test by Christians,” accessed August 19, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-12/16/045r-121699-idx.html.

[6] “Christian Nationalism Report,” Neighborly Faith, accessed May 17, 2024, https://www.neighborlyfaith.org/cn-report-2023.

[7] “Lifeway Research - SWBTS-Baptist-Political-Theology-Report.Pdf,” accessed May 17, 2024, https://landcenter.org/wp-content/plugins/pdfjs-viewer-shortcode/pdfjs/web/viewer.php?file=https://landcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/SWBTS-Baptist-Political-Theology-Report.pdf&attachment_id=0&dButton=true&pButton=true&oButton=false&sButton=true#zoom=auto&pagemode=none&_wpnonce=c6b6b626e8.

[8] “Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments, [ca. …,” accessed May 14, 2024, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-08-02-0163.

[9] Mark David Hall, Who’s Afraid of Christian Nationalism: Why Christian Nationalism Is Not an Existential Threat to America or the Church (Fidelis Books, 2024), bk. 28.

[10] See: John Fea, Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?: A Historical Introduction, Illustrated edition (Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011). God of Liberty, Thomas Kidd; One Nation Under God, John Wilsey and Richard Land; Did America Have a Christian Founding, Mark David Hall.

[11] “The Myth of White Christian Nationalism | Kenneth L. Woodward,” First Things, May 1, 2024, https://www.firstthings.com/article/2024/05/the-myth-of-white-christian-nationalism.

[12] Gilbert Keith Chesterton, What I Saw in America (Hodder and Stoughton, 1922), bk. 5.

[13] “Virtue and the Making of Modern Liberalism: Berkowitz, Peter: 9780691070889: Amazon.Com: Books,” bk. 104, accessed May 14, 2024, https://www.amazon.com/Virtue-Making-Modern-Liberalism-Berkowitz/dp/0691070881.

[14] “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding - Google Books,” 69, accessed May 14, 2024, https://www.google.com/books/edition/An_Essay_Concerning_Human_Understanding/-yD3zwEACAAJ?hl=en.

[15] “Founders Online.”

[16] “Avalon Project - Washington’s Farewell Address 1796,” accessed May 14, 2024, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp.

[17] “Online Speech Bank: Benjamin Franklin’s Prayer Speech at the Constitutional Convention of 1787,” accessed May 14, 2024, https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/benfranklin.htm.

[18] “The History Place - Great Speeches Collection: President Franklin Roosevelt Speech D-Day Prayer,” accessed May 9, 2024, https://www.historyplace.com/speeches/fdr-prayer.htm.

[19] “Address at the Cornerstone Laying of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church | Harry S. Truman,” accessed May 14, 2024, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/68/address-cornerstone-laying-new-york-avenue-presbyterian-church.

[20] “1953-01-20-Inaugural-Address.Pdf,” accessed May 9, 2024, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/inauguration-1953/1953-01-20-inaugural-address.pdf.

[21] Scott Waller Milosch Darren Patrick Guerra, and Tim, “American Democracy Is in Trouble. No, Not Like That.,” ChristianityToday.com, March 4, 2024, https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2024/march-web-only/american-democracy-is-in-trouble-no-not-like-that.html.

[22] Richard John Neuhaus, The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America, First Edition (Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1984), bk. 86.

[23] “Our Ancient Faith: Lincoln, Democracy, and the American Experiment: Guelzo, Allen C.: 9780593534441: Amazon.Com: Books,” accessed May 14, 2024, https://www.amazon.com/Our-Ancient-Faith-Democracy-Experiment/dp/0593534441.

[24] Carl Ferdinand Howard Henry, Twilight of a Great Civilization: The Drift Toward Neo-Paganism (Crossway, 1988), 78.