Christian nationalism is being portrayed as a right-wing boogeyman by left-wing pundits in an attempt to tie Christianity and conservatism to violence and racism, according to conservatives.
Anti-Christian rhetoric has increased in mainstream media outlets based on the perceived threat of Christian nationalism, a manufactured term from the Left used against conservatives, according to Carol Swain, a commentator on politics and author of several books such as “Be the People: A Call to Reclaim America’s Faith and Promise.”
“[Christian nationalism] was an invention and word game by the Left to keep Christians out of politics,” Ms. Swain told The Epoch Times.
Conservative commentator James Lindsay, author of numerous books including “Race Marxism,” told The Epoch Times he believes Christian nationalism has many different meanings because he suspects its purpose is to lay a trap for conservatives.
“The federal government is trying to weaponize the term,” Mr. Lindsay said.
On Sept. 22, the Texas Tribune news outlet, once a New York Times partner, hosted a discussion in Austin titled “God and Country, the pernicious rise of Christian nationalism.”
The panel discussion was part of the Texas Tribune Festival lineup of journalists, newsmakers, and political speakers over three days.
The Tribune’s moderator defined Christian nationalism as the idea that the United States was a God-ordained country founded on Christian traditions and institutions, and laws should favor and reflect Christian values.
That definition could describe many Christians who are also patriots but who would never identify as violent, racist, or against democracy. And that is part of the trap, Mr. Lindsay said.
Others have described Christian nationalism as allowing one theological view to be reflected in law and policy, and merging church and state instead of keeping them separate.
The Texas panelists described Christian nationalism’s connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol “insurrection” and “white supremacy.”
The panel’s characterization of Christian nationalism fits a pattern that developed in 2022 when several news organizations published stories that used it to portray Christians as far-right extremists and bigots.
The Time article stated: “We are forgetting that Jan. 6 was very much a religious event—white Christian nationalism on display. We must remember that fact. Because evidence is mounting that white Christian nationalism could provide the theological cover for more events like it.”
Anthea Butler, who chairs the religious studies department at the University of Pennsylvania, told Salon that Christianity in politics “hasn’t just been this alliance of how to get people elected, but has had this element of things that have fed upon each other to create a monster that threatens democracy.”
Ms. Butler appeared with Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Commission in Washington, on the Texas panel.
Comments in the mainstream media led Mr. Lindsay to believe Christian nationalism is providing the Left with a club to bludgeon those on the Right.
This July, speakers at a Florida conference “With Liberty and Justice for All” held at Countryside Baptist Church in Clearwater, Florida, cautioned that Christian nationalism could be a trojan horse for a global theocracy or even a false flag operation.
The fuzzy nature of even defining Christian nationalism makes it likely to be used as a trap for conservatives, said Mr. Lindsay, who also spoke at the event.
During his Florida speech, Mr. Lindsay said the Left will “weaponize” Christian nationalism to target conservatives.
“So just to remind you, political warfare means using political means to get your opponent to do what you want with hostile intent,” Mr. Lindsay said.
“Federal agents or leftists posing as Christians” could carry out a false flag operation by “whipping up the Christian nationalist movement to make them do something stupid,” he said.
During the Texas discussion, panelists connected Christian nationalism with Jan. 6.
“This kind of Christian nationalism that is being put forth now is in the area of violence, taking America back by force, talking about people being demons,” Ms. Butler said.
“A lot of the imagery was Christian imagery” during Jan. 6, she added.
Ms. Tyler said understanding Christian nationalism was key to understanding the Capitol breach.
“I think we have to talk about Christian nationalism and white Christian nationalism in the sense that Christian nationalism does provide cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation. It uses the gospel as respectability, for the racism, for the exclusion,” she said.
She said those who showed up on Jan. 6 thought they were “following God’s direction to save democracy by uniting all these disparate actors who were there from all different kinds of groups and conspiracy theories and hate groups.”
“And we can look right here in the state of Texas, at the God and country worship services that happened at First Baptist Dallas, as an example of Christian nationalist worship that’s happening in a place of worship,” she said.
Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas, has unapologetically invited President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to speak at the evangelical megachurch.
Southern Baptists make up a core part of the white evangelical Christian bloc that overwhelmingly votes Republican.
Ms. Butler went even further, surmising that a Christian religious march in Washington on Dec. 20, 2020, laid the groundwork for the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.
Word Games
Mr. Lindsay said the Left is very good at word association. For most Americans, there’s no real distinction between Christian nationalism and white nationalism.Ms. Swain said that the far Left needs to vilify Christianity because they want to destroy America by attacking its Judeo-Christian roots and the religious values of the Founding Fathers.
She and Mr. Lindsey said that tearing down American institutions is part of the cultural Marxist movement pushed by far-Left activists.
“Christians have become the boogeyman,” Ms. Swain said. “It’s a rejection of American culture.”
