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Dear Folks:
I have been concerned for some time about the politicization of Christianity and the blend of patriotism and Christianity into White Christian Nationalism. This week, I listened to an episode of a favorite podcast that looks at various historical issues, Throughline, on “The History of Christian Nationalism”. This latest episode does a good job at talking about how some Christians have conflated race, patriotism, and faith, as they desire to make our country a theocracy with a foundation in whiteness. The podcasters note that our culture feels like these three issues are inextricably intertwined in part because Christianity and white people are still the majorities in the US.
Per Wikipedia, there are a handful of countries that are theocracies today, including Vatican City, Iran, Afghanistan (Taliban), Mauritania, Pakistan. What they have in common is that the deity is considered the head of state and the head religious representative (pope, mullah, Supreme Leader), who is guided by God, rules the nation. The term goes back to the 1st Century Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, who labeled the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah as theocracies, ordained by God and ruled by a king with deep entanglement in the faith.
The website TakeBackChristianity.org, developed as a partnership between the Southern New England Conference UCC (newsletter article) and ProgressiveChristianity.org, defines Christian Nationalists as “… a growing group of extremists who perpetuate violence and intolerance for race and religious freedom, in Jesus’ name. Christian nationalism go [sic] against America’s foundation and in no way reflects the values Jesus stood for.” TakeBackChristianity.org also has information from a mainline Christian and biblical foundation on other cultural issues making waves in our politics: Climate Change, Immigration, Reproductive Health, Race, Economy, Guns, and LGBT. The core values of Progressive Christianity may also give you some ideas for conversation.
You may not want politics mixed with your faith. However, Jesus was a political figure who stood against the oppression of the Roman Empire, and his death was capital punishment for the crime of treason against the Empire, which itself was a theocracy. Making our country a theocracy is a political issue that is being espoused by extremist Christians. If we were a theocracy, which religious leader(s) would be at the top of our governments? How would we decide who that would be-- by election or by appointment? What would happen to progressive Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and the other major world religions expressed in our land? How would this affect race relations in our country?
As always, I’m happy to talk with you about this.
Peace,
Pastor Tony
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