A coalition of left-leaning church leaders recently launched a project “Against Christian Nationalism.” In their statement they cite “Christian nationalism” as a “persistent threat to both our religious communities and our democracy.” At best, the project is a solution in search of a problem — at worst, it’s an attempt to drive conservative Christians out of the public square.
According to the statement, “Christian nationalism seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy. Christian nationalism demands Christianity be privileged by the State and implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian.” As David Barton, president of Wall Builders, pointed out on “Washington Watch” Tuesday, the problem with this statement lies in how “Christian nationalism” is defined. Clearly, these left-leaning church leaders (which includes Jim Wallis who advised President Obama and Tony Campolo who advised President Clinton) are seeking to redefine nationalism in a way that implies something sinister about conservative Christians who love their country.
No one is seriously arguing that “to be a good American, one must be a Christian.” This points to the insincere motives of this movement; simply put, theologically liberal Christians are fearful of the gains social conservatives have made in the last few years, and they are attempting to sideline faithful Christians by creating what Barton describes a “radioactive term” to sully their reputation.
But Christians who love their nation have nothing to apologize for; in fact, they should be emboldened to enter the political arena with the courage of their convictions. As David Barton points out, the vast majority of Americans dolove their country and identify as Christian. In short, patriotism is a virtue, not a vice. As Barton notes, quoting one of the Declaration of Independence signers, “The Declaration says that patriotism is a religious and moral duty because if you love your country, you will want what’s best for it. And if you want what’s best for it, that’s going to bless everyone who lives in the nation… loving your country and seeking what’s best for it is a blessing.”
Define your terms.
https://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20190731/christian-nationalism