There’s a quote making the rounds in mainline Christian denominations:

“There is nothing Christian about Christian nationalism.” The truth: There is something undeniably “Christian” about Christian nationalism. Its racist, misogynistic, homophobic, violence-promoting, dehumanizing beliefs and ideals are well-rooted in the Christian tradition, culture, and institutions – past and present. If you didn’t realize it until now, welcome to reality.

Many Christians today are scrambling to highlight the idea that Christian nationalists do not act in the way that Jesus and our Bible stories about him direct us. However, this debate avoids the hard truth that Christian nationalism smacks of a brand of longstanding “Christian morality” that has been bred in the Christian church since its inception. As Walt Whitman said in 1888,

“The morals of the churches: they might be morals if they were not something else. I have always looked about to discover a word to describe the situation: how Jesus and the churches have got divorced; how the institution has destroyed the spirit.”

The confusion and terror instigated by the rise of Christian nationalism and its patriarchal, white supremacist ideals are spreading like wildfire – both for people who are being persuaded to join the movement and those who fight against it. I imagine fear and confusion is exactly where the organizers of the Christian nationalist movement want us to be. Instigating chaos, confusion, and fear can be an effective strategy to deconstruct democracy and co-opt a dominant religious belief system to do it. You’re bound to get people from all walks of life raging mad so they can’t think straight.

We need to clear our heads. Fast. This is a time to take action: strategize, educate, advocate, mobilize. This is a time to stop pointing fingers long enough to discover Christian nationalist values we embody within our Christian institutions and ourselves.

Yes, we need to delve into the Christian nationalist manifesto, Project 2025, to understand the gravity and potential impact of this growing movement. Yes, we need to protest hate and stand up for equality, liberty, and justice for all – the very ideals upon which a democracy is founded. Yes, we need to mobilize the majority of U.S. citizens – who stand against the Christian nationalist agenda – to vote in November for candidates who strive to uphold and advance a democracy that is far from perfect.

A true democracy is one in which our democratic ideals for equality, liberty, and justice for all are continually striven toward and our attempts to embody these ideals are critiqued and improved upon. Voting for democracy in November does not mean we are voting for the status quo. It means we are voting against tyranny. We are voting for an opportunity to uphold and repair a democracy that badly needs our attention.

Giving attention to the repair of our democracy means giving attention to the overt and covert ways that we harbor and promote Christian nationalist beliefs and ideals. If we are going to point a finger at anyone, we need to point it at ourselves.

Whether pervasively or subtly, we all harbor racism, misogyny, homophobia, and nationalism in our psyches and souls. From the time our ancestors infested this land and we, “the people,” caused the genocide of the indigenous people who lived here before us, our nation was raised on Christian nationalist biases and beliefs.

Every Christian institution and every Christian – in glaring and microscopic ways – add fuel to the Christian nationalist’s fire. We provide fodder for such a movement to take hold in this country. So, yes, there is something very Christian about Christian nationalism, despite protests to the contrary.

Once you understand the agenda of Christian nationalism, ask yourself: What Christian nationalist ideals and beliefs do I put up with on a daily basis? These ideals and beliefs are everywhere in our culture. All we have to do is pay attention. Every day in a thousand little ways, you and I participate in and give power to a Christian nationalist belief system – no matter how covertly or unconsciously we may do it. If we are not actively and intentionally acknowledging and transforming these biases and beliefs within ourselves, then we only serve to add to the problem. We only serve to deconstruct this democracy that we love.

Here is a ray of hope for those who dare to forge courage from fear: Those who take up the Christian nationalist belief system with vigor are not the majority in this country. What’s more, despite the chaos and injustice that Christian nationalists promote, they have done us a favor. We must be brave to receive the gift: The Christian nationalist movement exposes the dark underbelly of our Christian-dominant culture so we can see it in full view and know that we are part of the problem. Knowing this, we are called to be part of the solution.

We, the majority—those of all political parties, faiths, and philosophies or none—must stand together to continue building a culture with democratic ideals at its core. Rather than point fingers, we must acknowledge, transform, and strive to eradicate our Christian nationalist beliefs and values—in our homes, schools, places of worship, on the internet, and in our neighborhoods and community endeavors. No one is exempt from this kind of scrutiny.

As for me, I will continue to ask myself how I might become less Christian in ways that our collective Christian nationalist worldview breeds in me. To my dying day, I will strive to become more Christ-like. There is a monumental difference. I hope there will be days when I get it right, and I can go to sleep at night, grateful that I added no more fuel to the fires of Christian nationalism.

 
Shea Darian is Director of Operations for the nonprofit, Doing Grief (DoingGrief.org). Shea is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, multi-faith Spiritual Director, grief theorist, and family educator. Her books include Doing Grief in Real Life: A Soulful Guide to Navigate Loss, Death & Change and Sanctuaries of Childhood: Nurturing a Child’s Spiritual Life.