I would like to argue today that there is no such thing as Christian nationalism in America today. There is rather a movement of white nationalism that has supplanted the Christian nationalist movement, if it ever existed.
I come from an evangelical background. When The New York Times did an article on a memoir of mine called Crazy for God, it said that I had been a member of evangelical royalty because my parents, Francis and Edith Schaeffer, were famous evangelical leaders. My dad is credited with starting the evangelical wing of the pro-life movement in the late 1970s, along with C. Everett Koop, who became Ronald Reagan’s Surgeon General. I wrote and directed the scripts of films shown to tens of thousands of American evangelicals that helped launch what became the enormous pro-life movement. That’s my background.
But let me get back to this issue of Christian nationalism versus white nationalism. Christian nationalist extremism is a violent ideology at its core. Thousands of American white evangelical pastors carry guns and say they are defending their rights against government oppression.
Yet they have been notably absent in defending ordinary citizens against actual government oppression.
American nationalism asserts that the U.S. was a Christian nation at its beginning. Today it is linked to anti-democratic views and support for political violence to overthrow what adherents see as creeping secular humanism. Proponents argue that the federal government should be replaced by a Christian government and that laws should be based on the Bible rather than the Constitution.
This ideology has been linked to the January 6 insurrection and attacks on abortion providers.
Roughly one-third of Americans subscribe to some form of it, with higher concentrations among Republicans and white evangelicals. Its drivers include a sense of victimhood, belief that culture is under siege, and the spread of conspiracy theories.
Some Christians now argue this movement distorts the gospel. It has even produced bestselling books arguing that Christian empathy is weakness. In this worldview, the teachings of Jesus become an obstacle rather than a guide.
How did the predictable evangelical family values movement of the 1970s and 80s become an anti-democratic movement willing to threaten violence? Keri Ladner’s book American Dominion: The Rise and the Radicalization of the New Christendom traces this transformation through dominionism, a theological movement that frames political authority as a biblical mandate and treats democracy as an obstacle.
I knew one of the fathers of dominionism, Rousas Rushdoony. He argued that the Constitution was the enemy of Christianity and that society should be governed by biblical law.
From the early Pentecostal and charismatic movements to modern political alliances, some leaders came to regard America as a chosen nation, a new Israel. This produced a fast-growing religious movement promising spiritual power and national renewal even as it replaces democratic norms.
Yet I argue this movement does not truly exist as Christian nationalism. What really exists is a white nationalist movement pretending to be Christian.
Why? Consider immigration. If you wanted a majority of evangelical Christians in America, you would welcome immigrants from South and Central America, where populations are overwhelmingly Christian. Instead, policies target these Christians for deportation.
If the goal were Christian nationalism, leaders would welcome church-going immigrants who would bolster Christian demographics. But if the goal is white nationalism, you would expel brown Christians.
Evidence cited by critics includes reports linking key policymakers to white nationalist literature and figures, as well as civil rights groups condemning immigration policies as racially motivated.
I believe in secure borders, but there is a difference between border enforcement and deporting families who have lived here for decades. Stories of long-time residents, including families with children serving in the military, illustrate the human cost.
When millions of Christians are expelled in the name of Christian nationalism, I argue the movement reveals itself as racial rather than religious. It is easier to talk about restoring a Christian foundation than to talk about race purity.
While Christian nationalism has roots in theonomy and dominionism, I believe those ideas have become building blocks for something broader: a return to racial hierarchy. I predict this trajectory could eventually be reflected more formally in law.
We now see situations where immigrant Christian families live in fear of arrest. These are church-going believers who share the same theological views as many white evangelicals. Yet they are not welcomed.
If Christian nationalists were consistent, they would call for immigration policies favoring Christians regardless of race and restricting immigration from secular regions. They would build alliances with African and Hispanic Christians to grow their numbers.
But that is not happening. Instead, the movement remains aligned with policies that reduce the number of Christians of color in America.
So it is difficult to take the claim of Christian nationalism seriously. What we are seeing, I argue, is a white nationalist movement using Christian language as cover.
