What do you know about Christian Nationalism and why care? This post is a slightly edited version of one I published on May 4, 2017, titled, “Christian Nationalism? Notes for Fundamentalist Friday.” Five years ago, that was on my mind. From what I’ve noticed lately, it seems even more relevant today, so here you go.
(BTW, subscribers, that blog I’ve promised about my trip to Hydra, Greece, is coming soon, for its entertainment value.)
I was a Christian Nationalist
Ever since 9/11 (and before that, but not as much) we’ve heard the word “fundamentalism” in the news almost every day. The problem is we don’t get much of an explanation. No doubt, we get the idea that some fundamentalists are bigoted or worse, violent. Fundamentalism’s adherents, whether we like it or not, are gaining more and more power every day in America thanks to the Religious Right’s promotion of Christian nationalism, which is based on fundamentalist views of the Bible.
Christian fundamentalism involves the notion that Christianity is the only religion that is “right” with God. Its rules for interpreting the Bible, anchored in inerrancy (perfection) of the Bible (which version is another discussion), result in chopping up the Bible into different time periods called dispensations (or administrations) to “prove” it has no contradictions. There’s much more to this topic, but those are two features relevant to Christian nationalism.
I know this firsthand. I gave seventeen (17) years of my life to a fundamentalist Bible-based cult called The Way International (still in business today). I was a loyalist. I studied and promoted the twisted beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity, albeit the version of it used by my leader, Victor Paul Wierwille, as propaganda in service to his agenda. See my memoir, Undertow.
The Fundamentals
The Fundamentals, pamphlets distributed in the 1920s that I wrote about in my first post for Fundamentalist Fridays, set the stage for this version of Christianity to gain a stronger foothold in our culture. It now permeates our government, i.e., members of “The Religious Right” assert that God tells them to run for office, legislators try to pass laws that deny teaching evolution in schools (and other things!), and the LGBTQ community is abhorred. The list goes on. I’m still learning about fundamentalism and how it underpins Christian nationalism. I have sought information from many scholars and investigative journalists who’ve put in the time and elbow grease to write books that inform readers who care. This post offers insights from the journalist: Michelle Goldberg. Check out her website.
Also, from the back cover of her book, Kingdom Coming, (2007), we read she is a contributing writer to Salon. Her work has appeared in Rolling Stone, the New York Observer, the Guardian (London), Newsday, and elsewhere.
Kingdom Coming
Kingdom Coming by Michelle Goldberg is about the rise of Christian Nationalism in America. It holds the belief that our country is supposed to be Christian and run by Bible-believing and Bible-obeying Christians in government. It says that Christians, the ones who take literally certain portions of Scripture, have the God-given right to rule the “non-believers.” This is called dominionism, which comes from their idea that God gave Adam dominion over all the earth. This is NOT what the United States of America stands for.
Bits of Background
From page 10: “To understand how the Christian nationalists have consolidated so much power, it is necessary to trace some recent history. The movement has several antecedents, most obviously the fundamentalist preachers (and Nazi sympathizers) Gerald B. Winrod and Gerald L.K. Smith. Depression-era demagogues who railed against communism, modernism, and big government (and, in Winrod’s case, Darwinism), both peddled a right-wing gospel conflating Christianity and patriotism. Smith was the founder of a group called the Christian Nationalist Crusade, whose magazine, The Cross and the Flag, proclaimed, “Christian character is the basis of all real Americanism.” (There’s a note citing the source for this at the back of Goldberg’s book.)
Table of Contents
Most of us have heard the phrase “Ignorance is bliss.” Maybe it is true regarding some things, but not when it comes to deciding who is going to be in charge of our government. To be a good citizen, we need to be an informed citizen. To be enlightened, we need to understand the ignorance that has gained power. I know this ignorance upon which Christian Nationalism is based.
When I was a Christian nationalist, I viewed anyone who believed differently as a threat. I was afraid to question my beliefs in order to test whether they were good or not. Until I did. Finally, I began to assert myself and engage my mind after years of clinging to what I thought was “the truth.” So, I’m proof that Christian fundamentalists can change.
When I wrote my memoir about escaping The Way, a reader of an early version suggested I give my chapters titles that told the story. I did my best with that. In Goldberg’s book, I think her table of contents tells a story, too. A story you might want to read.
Introduction: Taking the Land
Chapter 1: This is a Christian Nation
Chapter 2: Protocols of the Elders of San Francisco: The Political Uses of Homophobia
Chapter 3: Lord of the Laboratory: Intelligent Design and the War on the Enlightenment
Chapter 4: The Faith-Based Gravy Train
Chapter 5: AIDS Is Not the Enemy: Sin, Redemption, and the Abstinence Industry
Chapter 6: No Man, No Problem: The War on the Courts
Conclusion: Exiles in Jesusland
Afterword: Solidarity
Epilogue: After the Fall: The Future of Christian Nationalism
Praise for Kingdom Coming
“Michelle Goldberg ventured into the heartland of American fundamentalist extremism and returned to warn us … Every patriot who still cherishes the freedoms we inherited from the nation’s founders should read her book.” —Joe Conason, author of The Hunting of the President, Big Lies, and The Raw Deal
“A potent wakeup call … An impressive piece of lucid journalism … Carefully researched and riveting.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
Other Recommended Reading
Fundamentalism by James Barr
The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American by Andrew L. Seidel
Two books by Stephen Prothero: American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon and Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—And Doesn’t
Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart D. Ehrman
♥ Happy Friday. Have a safe Memorial Day weekend, 2022.
Thanks for reading!
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
Marjorie Patton
Hi Charlene,
I read this today, and suddenly felt very discouraged. It was in 1977 that Lois became involved with The Way, and Bob & I became involved in what was the precursor of CAN. We went to conferences, held newspaper interviews, helped parents, and finally were able to retrieve her. She is fine, but it seems as if the advent of social media has undone all of the work we “pioneers” did . Do you see any progress, or am I just feeling old and saying “been there, done that” and are we just voices crying in the wilderness of technology?
Kathleen Brandt
@Marjorie Patton:
Social media has certainly been an accelerator for much that’s bad, but when it comes to this, I think it’s a two-edged sword. VPW (to give just the most egregious example) was able to get away with so much for so long because he operated in the dark. Nowadays, his victims would no doubt have made contact with one another over social media, and at some point he would have faced the kind of reckoning (@metoo, anybody?) he managed to avoid during his lifetime. There’s progress in that – although I certainly understand the ‘voice crying in the wilderness’ feeling.
Charlene L. Edge
Thanks for the insights, Marjorie and Kathleen.
This issue is getting worse and worse, in my opinion. Unless and until the separation of church and state is actually enforced (how to do that I really don’t know) I think this problem is with us to stay.
Steve+Muratore
Words (in sentences) carry power. I understand and relate to the 3 comments already given. I read Kingdom Coming more than a decade ago. I still appreciate Goldberg’s insight on the subject.
Indeed, it was social media that exposed Wierwille’s successor, LCMartindale. He was dispatched quickly.
Social media provides freedom and in such much chaos has come into play in the world. But also good things. It fosters collective action. I believe the only way we’ll get Congress to act to stop the frequent recurrence of gun violence incidents is by collective action: people joining together in common cause. And I don’t mean giving money to American NGOs.
Perhaps a person can minimize pessimistic input by curating what news they consume. However, the most meaningful reading I’ve engaged in over the last few years has been from the author of The Daily Stoic. He also wrote a tremendous trilogy on important aspects of Stoic philosophy. I recommend those books to many people. (btw, the author is not a cult leader) The Obstacle is the Way; Stillness is the Key; and Ego is the Enemy.
I mention this because my outlook has become much more optimistic because of what I read these days.
God bless you all.
Charlene L. Edge
Ah, yes, the Stoics. Often very helpful. Thanks.
Shannon McCalla
Thanks for the book list!
Charlene L. Edge
You are welcome!