GUEST: GREGG FRAZER, author, The Religious Beliefs of America’s Founders
Because some held Christian flags and crosses at the Trump rally in Washington D.C. on January 6 and because a melee at the U.S. Capitol ensued, the conclusion now pushed by the mainstream media and politicians and religious leaders on the left is that “Christian Nationalists” are homegrown terrorists threatening our democracy.
But what exactly is Christian Nationalism? It’s being used as a catch-all pejorative—a word expressing contempt—for those who breached the Capitol, but by extension, any and all Christians—including evangelicals—who want biblical values integrated into civil life and polity.
The reasoning goes, “You’re a Christian, you voted for Trump, Trump is a white supremacist who made baseless claims of election fraud and incited an insurrection which threatened our democracy; thus, you are a Christian Nationalist supporting white supremacy, sedition, and election denialism. You are dangerous to democracy and need to be marginalized, monitored, and suppressed. You are the enemy of the state and the people.”
Even professing Christians are piling on. Tish Harrison Warren wrote in Christianity Today: “The responsibility of yesterday’s [Jan. 6] violence must be in part laid at the feet of those evangelical leaders who ushered in and applauded Trump’s presidency. It can also sadly be laid at the feet of the white American church more broadly.”
Gregg Frazer, professor of political studies at The Master’s University and author of The Religious Beliefs of America’s Founders, joins us on The Christian Worldview to explain Christian Nationalism, what degree American founders envisioned biblical values in public policy, and how Jesus Christ will reign someday.
