In “Christians Against Christianity” by Dr. Obery Hendricks Jr. (2021), well within your time frame, he details how the rise of Christian Nationalism was embedded in social movements that were framed by originators as Christian movements but were not always understood as such by the general population. The power was gained by a small statistical minority promoting their values as Christian to gain power to effect change.
My contention with your article is while Christian Nationalism may now be better understood and verbally rejected by larger swaths than before, the top-down power of the movement has only increased in that time frame and we are well on our way to it becoming a reality.
Christian Nationalism, as currently being discussed, is a ridiculous concept currently being used to Other and disenfranchise conservative Christians. It's not necessary to play along with the game (except in academia, I suppose). That it barely exists in the literature until a flurry of breathless warnings 3 years ago while data, as you've shown, show no actual uptick, gives away the game. The other comments here reflect the same Conspiracy thinking driving the discourse.
If Christians were not singled out in the framing of this question set (e.g. if the questions were asked generically like "the federal government should advocate for my values") those screaming about the dangers of so-called "Christian Nationalism" would score astronomically high on the nationalism index you created.
Two questions: First, which of the books you mentioned is most interesting/accessible? Second, to go back to a comment above, the questions in the survey aren’t really the hot button issues that you hear linked to Christian Nationalism. Trans/Gay issues, “wokeness” etc. are the bigger issues it would seem.
I also wonder if there is an intensity component that isn’t being measured. That is, for people who take the items in the survey as very important, there is a smaller but critical subset that are intensely supportive.
Is it possible that Christian Nationalism is increasing in prominence and influence despite its decline amongst the population because political extremism has resulted in an increase in Christian nationalistic sentiments expressed amongst members of Congress and the judiciary? Is there data to test this hypothesis (mentions/sound bites, legislation)?
Is this potentially an issue similar to abortion, where despite public opinion increasingly supporting choice, we see increasing attacks on the rights of women to make their own decisions?
Since Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker handed down an opinion based on the "Seven Mountains Mandate" it is obvious that Christian Nationalism is alive and well in certain places of power in our country.
It is sad to say that science can place a lunar module back on the moon after 50 years, and that there are persons affecting the lives of millions believing that a fully formed human is in the head of each sperm cell.
As others have noted, the issue isn't the number, it's the radicalization. In fact, I would argue that's part of the reason it's become such a large part of the national conversation. It's partly because Christian nationalists are becoming more radicalized because they feel their power and influence fading. And of course, certain politicians stoke those fears and demand a return to the "good ole days."
(i see people in the threads here are debating if Christian nationalism is a thing. The easiest way is to ask yourself "do you think American was or should be a Christian nation?" If you say yes to this, you're in the Christian nationalist camp. For example, people who love Barton's Original Intent would fall into this category. I find it helpful to have a simple metric like this, though of course nuances can get extensive if one chooses)
Sometimes, surface data does not tell the story. I am stunned that there are comments here that deny that Christian Nationalism is a growing and frightening trend.
From Heather Cox Richardson, TODAY: "The Alabama Supreme Court on February 16, 2024, decided that cells awaiting implantation for in vitro fertilization are children and that the accidental destruction of such an embryo falls under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. In an opinion concurring with the ruling, Chief Justice Tom Parker declared that the people of Alabama have adopted the “theologically based view of the sanctity of life” and said that “human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God.”
We just watched the highlights of CPAC, which has devolved from an important meeting of conservatives into a Christian Nationalist free for all, with noted speakers calling for theocracy.
I’m currently writing a Master’s thesis in theology on (broadly taken) the last question, tracing the idea of America (and before that England) as an “elect nation” through sermons, literature, etc… and documenting how its failure has changed the moral structure of the American evangelical movement over the last decade.
So here’s my shot-from-the-hip answer to the uptick in the confidence of responders in 2021:
The rapid changes in social/cultural mores over the last 10 years (the Obergefell decision, radical gender theory, the decline in religious attendence, etc…) has scrambled the brains of many (primarily evangelicals) who respond “what is happening to us? This is a Christian country, these things can’t happen!” Therefore there has a been a kind of doubling down on the belief in the providential nature of the United States, although in a more aggressive, political form than the historic evangelical response to cultural change: concentrated programs of evangelism (both in word and deed).
I'd stretch the fade back a lot longer. In the '60s and '70s, school prayer was a top-drawer issue, and mainstream politicians often used American exceptionalism as a wedge. Now the politicians who weaponize culture are focusing on Woke stuff instead, which isn't specifically religious.
I think Bush broke the exceptionalism stuff by using it as a pretext for 30 years of endless losing wars.
The same thing happened in 1920 after Wilson had used exceptionalism to justify our entrance in WW1. The war left a strong distaste, and the god who sponsored the war shared in the distaste.
It is similar to other 'Fear Movements" about Satanism and Global Warming. We can write a series of books linking Christian Fundamentalists to Racism and Slavery and every TV Channel with do repeated interviews with the authors.
"The only real oddity to me is the last statement: the success of the United States is part of God’s plan. In 2007, just 32% of people agreed with that one. In 2021, that actually rose to 37%. I don’t have a good explanation for that one."
One problem with this statement is that its meaning is unclear. I can probably understand it in at least three different ways:
1. Is the US (along with all its successes and failures) part of God's plan, in the sense that Christianity teaches that all things are a part of God's plan (see Ephesians 1:11 for example)? Or do you not really believe that God is sovereign or has a plan at all?
2. Has the US up to this point been specially favored by God?
3. Will the US in the future continue to be specially favored by God?
And in points #2 and #3, there are further degrees of how one might understand this special favor. For #1, my answer is, "Yes, of course." For #2, my answer would be, "Maybe, depending on what precisely you mean." For #3, I'd say, "God only knows."
This leaves me answering "yes" to this question, based on #1. Maybe that's a literal-minded answer and not what the survey designer was hoping for. Perhaps people these days are more inclined towards literal-minded answers. But since the survey designer chose not to be clearer, that's what we're left with.
I think to answer the oddity of that last question we have to realize that there are other factors at play in interpreting the question. I believe there is a rose in evangelicals in believing in the sovereignty of God over everything. Therefore, if the United States has been successful, then it must have been a part of God's plan. The question would do better to be reworded to indicate a future success yet unseen.
I wonder how much of the change in results is due to the change in the composition of different categories. Previous Substack posts suggest this, such as the near extinction of the Christian Democrat. If you hold views favorable to CN and were in a mainline denomination in 2007, there's a good chance you might have left it by now.
In “Christians Against Christianity” by Dr. Obery Hendricks Jr. (2021), well within your time frame, he details how the rise of Christian Nationalism was embedded in social movements that were framed by originators as Christian movements but were not always understood as such by the general population. The power was gained by a small statistical minority promoting their values as Christian to gain power to effect change.
My contention with your article is while Christian Nationalism may now be better understood and verbally rejected by larger swaths than before, the top-down power of the movement has only increased in that time frame and we are well on our way to it becoming a reality.
Christian Nationalism, as currently being discussed, is a ridiculous concept currently being used to Other and disenfranchise conservative Christians. It's not necessary to play along with the game (except in academia, I suppose). That it barely exists in the literature until a flurry of breathless warnings 3 years ago while data, as you've shown, show no actual uptick, gives away the game. The other comments here reflect the same Conspiracy thinking driving the discourse.
If Christians were not singled out in the framing of this question set (e.g. if the questions were asked generically like "the federal government should advocate for my values") those screaming about the dangers of so-called "Christian Nationalism" would score astronomically high on the nationalism index you created.
Two questions: First, which of the books you mentioned is most interesting/accessible? Second, to go back to a comment above, the questions in the survey aren’t really the hot button issues that you hear linked to Christian Nationalism. Trans/Gay issues, “wokeness” etc. are the bigger issues it would seem.
I also wonder if there is an intensity component that isn’t being measured. That is, for people who take the items in the survey as very important, there is a smaller but critical subset that are intensely supportive.
Is it possible that Christian Nationalism is increasing in prominence and influence despite its decline amongst the population because political extremism has resulted in an increase in Christian nationalistic sentiments expressed amongst members of Congress and the judiciary? Is there data to test this hypothesis (mentions/sound bites, legislation)?
Is this potentially an issue similar to abortion, where despite public opinion increasingly supporting choice, we see increasing attacks on the rights of women to make their own decisions?
Since Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker handed down an opinion based on the "Seven Mountains Mandate" it is obvious that Christian Nationalism is alive and well in certain places of power in our country.
It is sad to say that science can place a lunar module back on the moon after 50 years, and that there are persons affecting the lives of millions believing that a fully formed human is in the head of each sperm cell.
21st century v., 16th century....YIKES!!!
As others have noted, the issue isn't the number, it's the radicalization. In fact, I would argue that's part of the reason it's become such a large part of the national conversation. It's partly because Christian nationalists are becoming more radicalized because they feel their power and influence fading. And of course, certain politicians stoke those fears and demand a return to the "good ole days."
(i see people in the threads here are debating if Christian nationalism is a thing. The easiest way is to ask yourself "do you think American was or should be a Christian nation?" If you say yes to this, you're in the Christian nationalist camp. For example, people who love Barton's Original Intent would fall into this category. I find it helpful to have a simple metric like this, though of course nuances can get extensive if one chooses)
Sometimes, surface data does not tell the story. I am stunned that there are comments here that deny that Christian Nationalism is a growing and frightening trend.
From Heather Cox Richardson, TODAY: "The Alabama Supreme Court on February 16, 2024, decided that cells awaiting implantation for in vitro fertilization are children and that the accidental destruction of such an embryo falls under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. In an opinion concurring with the ruling, Chief Justice Tom Parker declared that the people of Alabama have adopted the “theologically based view of the sanctity of life” and said that “human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God.”
We just watched the highlights of CPAC, which has devolved from an important meeting of conservatives into a Christian Nationalist free for all, with noted speakers calling for theocracy.
Survey data is no substitute for the real world.
I’m currently writing a Master’s thesis in theology on (broadly taken) the last question, tracing the idea of America (and before that England) as an “elect nation” through sermons, literature, etc… and documenting how its failure has changed the moral structure of the American evangelical movement over the last decade.
So here’s my shot-from-the-hip answer to the uptick in the confidence of responders in 2021:
The rapid changes in social/cultural mores over the last 10 years (the Obergefell decision, radical gender theory, the decline in religious attendence, etc…) has scrambled the brains of many (primarily evangelicals) who respond “what is happening to us? This is a Christian country, these things can’t happen!” Therefore there has a been a kind of doubling down on the belief in the providential nature of the United States, although in a more aggressive, political form than the historic evangelical response to cultural change: concentrated programs of evangelism (both in word and deed).
I'd stretch the fade back a lot longer. In the '60s and '70s, school prayer was a top-drawer issue, and mainstream politicians often used American exceptionalism as a wedge. Now the politicians who weaponize culture are focusing on Woke stuff instead, which isn't specifically religious.
I think Bush broke the exceptionalism stuff by using it as a pretext for 30 years of endless losing wars.
The same thing happened in 1920 after Wilson had used exceptionalism to justify our entrance in WW1. The war left a strong distaste, and the god who sponsored the war shared in the distaste.
It is similar to other 'Fear Movements" about Satanism and Global Warming. We can write a series of books linking Christian Fundamentalists to Racism and Slavery and every TV Channel with do repeated interviews with the authors.
"The only real oddity to me is the last statement: the success of the United States is part of God’s plan. In 2007, just 32% of people agreed with that one. In 2021, that actually rose to 37%. I don’t have a good explanation for that one."
One problem with this statement is that its meaning is unclear. I can probably understand it in at least three different ways:
1. Is the US (along with all its successes and failures) part of God's plan, in the sense that Christianity teaches that all things are a part of God's plan (see Ephesians 1:11 for example)? Or do you not really believe that God is sovereign or has a plan at all?
2. Has the US up to this point been specially favored by God?
3. Will the US in the future continue to be specially favored by God?
And in points #2 and #3, there are further degrees of how one might understand this special favor. For #1, my answer is, "Yes, of course." For #2, my answer would be, "Maybe, depending on what precisely you mean." For #3, I'd say, "God only knows."
This leaves me answering "yes" to this question, based on #1. Maybe that's a literal-minded answer and not what the survey designer was hoping for. Perhaps people these days are more inclined towards literal-minded answers. But since the survey designer chose not to be clearer, that's what we're left with.
Great work!
I think to answer the oddity of that last question we have to realize that there are other factors at play in interpreting the question. I believe there is a rose in evangelicals in believing in the sovereignty of God over everything. Therefore, if the United States has been successful, then it must have been a part of God's plan. The question would do better to be reworded to indicate a future success yet unseen.
I wonder how much of the change in results is due to the change in the composition of different categories. Previous Substack posts suggest this, such as the near extinction of the Christian Democrat. If you hold views favorable to CN and were in a mainline denomination in 2007, there's a good chance you might have left it by now.
Insightful (and I gotta add reassuring) data and commentary. Much thanks for those graphs!!!!!