The publishing house founded by reformed pastor and self-identified Christian Nationalist Doug Wilson recently released a video on the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and the roots of Christian Nationalism. The video shares a discussion between Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler and the pastoral staff of Christ Church Moscow, Idaho including Wilson, Jared Longshore and Joe Rigney.
In Christian Nationalism and SBC Recap, Canon Press seeks to explain how the movement fits within a larger stream of New Right political thought (characterized by a rejection of traditional liberal consensus in favor of economic nationalism, social conservatism, and identity politics), and is able to grow in influence even as criticisms and concerns from outside the movement mount.
Even those not in direct association with the Christian Nationalist movement are sometimes adjacent to it through shared beliefs on the New Right. This, paired with the beliefs of some on the Left that moral considerations stemming from Christian faith may also be associated with Christian Nationalism, means that the movement itself is inclined to gray areas regarding who is a firm believer in Christian Nationalism or not. Uncertainty about the actual size of the movement and where it originates from makes the movement itself difficult to explicitly pin down.
In the video, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Mohler states that Christianity has always had to assess what its role in society should be and how Christian principles should be applied to governance and policy. Mohler says it was in the 20th century that America saw a push from Left-wing advocates to not only have a separation of church and state but also to try and separate a strict Christian morality from governance as a whole.
“Ultimately, it’s a separation of morality and state,” Wilson determines in the video.
This movement on the Left led to many, otherwise moderate, Christians to position themselves as against the political Left and in association with the Right.
Mohler, apparently frustrated by this, claims that “there is no middle” and that, as time goes on, there is less and less of a political center between Left and Right. This means that, as both camps grow larger, there are fewer mediating parties to call upon to facilitate compromises between the two groups. This separation and polarization of both sides means that political conflicts and struggles between Christian Nationalists and more secular governance are likely to increase in hostility and frequency as time goes on.
Growth in the Christian Nationalist movement can be traced to varied points of origin. Parts of the movement are top-down, with figures like Wilson serving as important figures authoring literature and hosting media that allow for Christian Nationalist messages to gain greater popularity. But this alone can’t account for the movement’s rise. Many Americans already held similar beliefs to Christian Nationalists prior to their introduction to the movement. Christian Nationalism also isn’t bound to any single denomination.
Christ Church Associate Pastor Longshore displays this sentiment, stating in the video that “we represented two different views there that maybe end up in similar places…if we got our way, we’d all be happy.”
The belief that Christian moral teaching should inform American public policy has its roots, even in a rhetorical sense, going back to ideas present in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
The rise of Christian Nationalism can also be, at least partly, linked to a grassroots response to liberal secularization and a natural outgrowth of increased political polarization.
Christian Nationalists found that many fellow travelers were disgruntled and frustrated with a push for secularization and liberal belief in the public sphere. This frustration prompted many to consider and associate with Christian Nationalism, leading to its rise in popularity and influence.
In recent years, this trend has not shown any signs of stopping, or of being reversed.
“They come for this,” Mohler reported of the student body at his Louisville, Kentucky school, illustrating how a significant number of young seminarians subscribe to these ideals.
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