Newsmax can’t quite decide how to feel about Christian nationalism. Jeffrey Rodack gushed about it in a Feb. 20 article:
The Center for Renewing America is planning to push for the infusion of Christian nationalist ideas into former President Donald Trump’s administration if he wins the race for the White House this year, Politico reported.
CRA President Russell Vought, who was Trump’s former director of the Office of Management and Budget, has been mentioned as a potential chief of staff in a new Trump administration. The CRA is a leading group in a conservative consortium preparing for another Trump term.
According to Politico, Vought talks with Trump at least once a month.
Politico noted that Christian nationalists believe the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation and that accompanying values should be prioritized throughout government and public life. Vought has said Christians are under assault and has spoken of policies he might pursue as a remedy.
A document crafted by CRA staff and fellows, obtained by Politico, lists “Christian nationalism” as a top priority for CRA in a second Trump term.
Peter Malbin noted in a Feb. 28 article:
About two-thirds of Americans reject or are skeptical about Christian nationalism despite its rising influence in shaping education, immigration, and healthcare policies, a new survey from the nonprofit Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found.
Seven of 10 Americans that were surveyed said they reject (30%) or are skeptical (37%) of Christian nationalism.
In California, New York, and Virginia, more than 75% of respondents said they reject or are skeptical of Christian nationalism.
[…]Many Christian nationalists believe the federal government should declare the U.S. a Christian nation, U.S. laws should be based on Christian values, and that God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society.
By contrast, Michael Dorstewitz joined the right-wing intimidation campaign over a Politico writer who called out Christian nationalism in his Feb. 26 column:
Hang on to your fundamental rights, because the left believes they were given to us by government, and that government can be taken away at will.
Politico’s Heidi Przybyla made this clear Friday when she warned viewers on MSNBC that former President Donald Trump intended to instill “Christian nationalism” into his second term if reelected. “We are going to hear words like ‘Christian nationalism,’ like the ‘new apostolic reformation.
“These are groups that you should get very schooled on because they have a lot of power in Trump’s circle,” she warmed.
A “Christian” is simply a person who follows, practices, or believes in Christianity.
A “nationalist” is a person who advocates national unity and independence.
There’s nothing wrong with either one, but if you combine the two you get something really scary, according to Przybyla.
[…]The Politico piece amounted to another attack on conservatives who happen to be Christian, according to Political Square founder and CEO Michael Seifert.
“If you read this story, you’ll quickly see that what the media considers to be ‘Christian nationalism’ are just normal Christian conservative principles,” he wrote.
“That’s because the Christian nationalist narrative is the regime’s excuse for their increasing discrimination against Christians.”
[…]“Christian nationalist”: At least it’s an improvement over “white supremacist.”
James Hirsen made a similar defensive stance in his March 1 column:
Christians are suddenly being tarred with the label “Christian Nationalist.”
So what exactly is a Christian Nationalist?
To the best of my knowledge it is a phrase that is currently being used to foment hatred against those who believe in the New Testament and who view the Founding documents of our country as a national treasure.
Things seem to be escalating at a rapid pace.
The pejorative has been turned into a meme that is being used to repeatedly massage people’s minds and turn Christians and patriots into pariahs.
It may also be a means to further suppress free speech as well as the free exercise of religion.
Apparently it began last year with verbal assaults that were aimed at U.S. House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.
Speaker Johnson had acknowledged his sincere religious beliefs, and the Christian Nationalist label has been used ever since to defame him and the GOP.
Mainstream news outlets have been releasing hit pieces disguised as journalism.
After lashing out at Przybyla, he then attacked filmmaker Rob Reiner for his documentary about Christian nationalism (though surprisingly he refrained from calling Reiner “Meathead” like his ideological fellow travelers at the Media Research Center and WorldNetDaily):
Hollywood, too, has gotten into the Christian Nationalist name-calling craze.
Rob Reiner has taken a lead role in a not so subtle attempt to negatively brand a huge portion of the population.
Acting as a kind of unofficial marketer of the propaganda, he has produced a film that is chock-ful of falsehoods.
He recently promoted his movie on MSNBC by pushing the meme while simultaneously maligning both Johnson and former President Donald Trump. Then he pulled out the race card.
“They believe that this is a white Christian nation,” Reiner said, seemingly implying that “they,” i.e., Christian Nationalists, are inherently racist.
In the documentary itself, respected institutions and organizations, including The Heritage Foundation, Turning Point USA, and Hillsdale College, are also disparaged in the propaganda process.
Hirsen offered no specifics about how, exactly, those right-wing groups were “disparaged,” which suggests that he hasn’t actually seen the film at all and is merely repeating the talking points of others. He concluded his column by making a declaration of sorts:
All of this started me thinking about the “Deplorables” label of the past.
I remembered that it took the air out of their sails when the label was embraced by those who were in support of the former president.
So here goes.
I love Jesus. I love our country. And I love all people.
If that makes me a Christian Nationalist, so be it.
It doesn’t. And he clearly hates certain people — the Chinese, for instance. And Rob Reiner, apparently, for telling the truth about Christian nationalism.
Jerry Newcombe similarly attacked Reiner’s film in a March 8 column (also published at WorldNetDaily), though at least he admits he hasn’t seen it:
It seems like everyone is talking these days about Rob Reiner’s hitjob movie against the religious right. It makes “Christian Nationalists” into the bogeyman.
Although I travel in the circles of Christian conservatives, I have yet to meet anyone who has actually yet seen Reiner’s movie. But I have seen a trailer for it.
The thesis of the movie is that “Christian Nationalists” are bad and are trying to take over the nation and turn it into something we were never intended to be.
After citing various historical figures making religious references (and, of course, the required bashing of Przybyla), Newcombe argued that there are only right-wing Christians like him, or atheists:
The only way the elite class can get away with trying to impose state-sanctioned atheism on a land that was secured on the foundation of God-given rights is when we the people forget that God is indeed the source of our rights, not the government. Or when they become so fearful of a made-up label like “Christian nationalism” that they go mute in the face of a little name-calling.
Of course, Newcombe cannot plausibly attack Reiner’s film as a ‘hitjob” if he hasn’t actually seen it. And portraying anyone who doesn’t think exactly like him as not just wrong but evil is hardly a Christian attitude.