“[T]he single biggest threat to religious freedom in the United States today is Christian nationalism.” So said Amanda Tyler of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in an interview with the Center for American Progress.
Christian nationalism? What is this sinister movement that is out to destroy the religious liberty God has given us and our ancestors have fought to win and preserve? Quickly, we must root out these clandestine culprits and destroy them before they destroy us!
What is Christian nationalism? Tyler defines it for us as “the anti-democratic notion that America is a nation by and for Christians alone.” It “threatens the principle of separation of church and state and undermines the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.” Even the Supreme Court is implicated, because “the 6-3 conservative majority [don’t I wish!] … appears eager to hear more religious liberty cases advancing Christian nationalist arguments than in previous years.”
This indeed sounds dangerous. Christian nationalists, we are told, view America as a “Christian nation,” a nation in which Christianity is the one acceptable religion and in which all others are either unwelcome or at best second-class citizens. Sounds like the First Amendment is in jeopardy of being repealed, as are constitutional protections for anyone who does not follow the doctrines, morals and lifestyle of fundamentalist Christians. Is Hillary Clinton’s “vast right-wing conspiracy” rearing its ugly head again amidst a “basket of deplorables?"
I would be concerned, except for one thing. I have been a conservative Christian activist for over 60 years (I’m 79), and I’ve never met anyone who believes Christianity should be the official religion of the United States or that residency or even citizenship should be restricted to Christians only. Maybe such people do exist somewhere, but where are they, who are they, and what influence do they have? Very little, if any. More likely, none.
Is the USA a Christian nation? The way Tyler defines it, absolutely not.
When the Mayflower sailed in 1620, its passengers included both “Pilgrims” (those fleeing the Church of England) and “Strangers” (those not sharing the Pilgrims’ beliefs but coming to America for economic or other reasons). Shearith Israel, the first Jewish synagogue in what would become the United States, was established in New Amsterdam in 1654, and from its colonial beginnings, America has hosted many religions and many Christian denominations.
But is that what the term “Christian nation” really means? Could the term refer to a nation settled and colonized mostly by Christians, that has a culture based on the Christian religion, and that has developed laws and institutions based on biblical principles? By that definition, America was founded as a Christian nation, and to a large extent, it remains a Christian nation today. Is that bad?
The plain fact is, the 55 delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention included 28 members of the Church of England, eight Presbyterians, seven Congregationalists, two Dutch Reformed, two Lutherans, two Methodists, two Roman Catholics, and at most four who may not have been church members – about 8%.
Their understanding of religious liberty goes back to Old Testament Israel, in which the priests came from the Tribe of Levi and the kings from the Tribe of Judah – separate offices, separate functions, but both derived their authority from God and both were under the Law of God. Most were children of the Reformation, and they understood church-state relations as Luther and Calvin described them in terms of the Two Kingdoms, Church and State. Luther said:
[T]hese two kingdoms must be sharply distinguished and both be permitted to remain; the one to produce piety, the other to bring about external peace and prevent evil deeds; neither is sufficient in the world without the other.
Properly understood, these two kingdoms complement each other. If the Church preaches the Word, it builds law-abiding people of good character who will be good citizens. If the State keeps the streets safe from criminals and the shore safe from enemies, it makes it easier for the Church to preach the Word. Many of our problems today stem from expecting the Church to perform functions of the State or expecting the State to perform functions of the Church.
The Pilgrims and Puritans left England because King Henry VIII had established a state church with himself as its head, a blatant violation of the concept of the two kingdoms. They didn’t come to America to get away from prayer at football games!
“Christianity is the real target of all the hysteria over ‘Christian Nationalism,’” Dr. Harold Ristau, President of Luther Classical College, says in The Federalist. The real problem, he says, is that “those who boldly lift their voices on behalf of the church and her Lord in the public sphere are facing intensifying persecution for doing so.” He continues:
Prior to lockdowns, most of us had never heard of ‘Christian nationalism.’ Rather, it appears that the powerful gaslighting term created by neo-Marxists is another attempt to terrify Christians out of sharing God’s perspective on moral issues in the public sphere. It attempts to dissuade Christians from fulfilling their vocational duties in the civil sphere.
So when someone prates about Christian nationalism, just ask, “What do you mean by that?” Chances are, they have no idea, or they’ll spout some inane nonsense like that of Tyler above.
We expect this twaddle from the enemies of Christianity. But from professing Christians? From Baptists?
Perhaps we now understand why conservative Baptists have long been critical of Tyler’s Baptist Joint Committee. Does anyone seriously believe this group speaks for most Baptists?
Colonel Eidsmoe serves as Professor of Constitutional Law for the Oak Brook College of Law & Government Policy (obcl.edu), as Senior Counsel for the Foundation for Moral Law (morallaw.org), and as Pastor of Woodland Presbyterian Church of Notasulga, AL (woodlandpca.org). He may be contacted for speaking engagements at [email protected].
