Episode Details

Most Christians in America are good people.

They go to church. They help their neighbors. They try to live by what Jesus actually taught.

This article is not about them.

This is about a completely different group, one that has hijacked the word “Christian” to mean something Jesus never intended.

What Christian Nationalism Actually Is

Christian nationalists believe America was built for white Christians and should stay that way.

That means everyone else doesn’t fully belong here.

Black Christians. Brown Christians. Immigrants. Gay people. Jewish people. Muslims. In their vision of America, all second class.

And if democracy gets in the way of that goal? Democracy has to go.

That is not Christianity. That is something much darker. And the research and the historical record, prove it.

What the Research Shows

Researchers at PRRI surveyed over 6,000 Americans to find out what Christian nationalism actually predicts.

What they found: Christian nationalism does not predict church attendance. It does not predict prayer. It does not predict any actual Christian behavior.

What it does predict is a love of authoritarian leaders, resentment toward people who look different, and support for political violence.

People who believe in Christian nationalism are nearly seven times more likely to support political violence than people who believe in regular Christianity.

Seven times.

This is not a faith movement. This is a power movement wearing a cross.

We Have Seen This Before

Jim Jones called himself a Christian preacher. He used the Bible to demand total obedience. He killed over 900 of his own followers.

David Koresh called himself a Christian prophet. He used scripture to justify abuse and control. He armed his followers and prepared them for war.

Neither of these men represented Christianity. They used Christianity as a weapon to gain power over people.

Christian nationalism works the same way. It takes the cross and puts it in front of a political agenda. It uses the language of faith to demand loyalty to a leader. It punishes anyone who questions the movement.

Real Christianity calls for humility, mercy, and love of your neighbor.

Christian nationalism calls for dominance, fear, and the destruction of anyone who gets in the way.

These are not the same thing. They have never been the same thing.

What the Founders Actually Said

Here is where Christian nationalists have a serious problem. They claim America was founded as a Christian nation. But the people who actually founded it said the opposite in writing, officially, as law.

The Constitution itself never mentions God. Not once.

It does say this, in Article VI:

“No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”

No religious test. Ever. For any office.

That is the opposite of a Christian nation.

And the First Amendment written by the same founders begins:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

No established religion. That’s not an accident. That was the entire point.

Then There’s the Treaty of Tripoli

In 1796, the United States negotiated a peace treaty with Tripoli a Muslim nation to protect American ships from pirates in the Mediterranean.

The Senate read it aloud on the floor. Every senator got a copy. Then they voted unanimously to ratify it. No debate. No objection.

John Adams signed it into law on June 10, 1797.

Here is what Article 11 of that treaty says, word for word, as ratified by the United States government:

“As the government of the United States