Concerns grow about Christian nationalism

Some Christian denominations are publicly or discreetly raising concerns about a rise in an ideology known as "Christian nationalism" that desires a brand of conservative Christian dominion over all aspects of American society and politics.

This includes concerns from the Western North Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which met in early June in Watford City and passed a resolution encouraging congregations to study and discuss Christian nationalism.

The ELCA has endorsed the statements of the group Christians Against Christian Nationalism arguing the ideology distorts Christian faith and democracy, demands privilege for Christians by the state, and implies that one must be Christian to be a good American.

Western Synod Bishop Craig Schweitzer said when discussion arose among congregations in the state about the ideology it became time to discuss and bring a resolution to a vote, with 78 percent of around 250 voters representing 160 congregations in favor of the resolution.

"It's important to learn more about and it's important to talk about this because it is an issue that we're facing in our communities," Schweitzer said. "And as people of faith, we need to say something about it and be educated in it and know what this is."

Rev. Deborah Blood, a designated conference minister for the United Church of Christ in Fargo, said the church governing board has begun discussing concerns about Christian nationalism and will be bringing it up for discussion at an annual conference in September.

"What I would like to have for our congregations is a conversation about what do we mean by Christian and for those of us who define it differently than the Christian nationalists, let's get our voices heard out there," Blood said.

NDNC reached out to both Catholic dioceses in North Dakota to discuss Christian nationalism and whether clergy are discussing it with their congregations. Bishop John Folda of the Fargo diocese declined comment.

According to his secretary, Bishop David Kagan of the Bismarck diocese did not know what "Christian nationalism" is or who coined the term, but felt that it was an attempt to turn Christianity into a "negative thing."

What is Christian nationalism?

While there is no strict definition for the term "Christian nationalism," it is often described as a mix of ideas that can range from the belief in strict theocratic rule on one end to simply embracing Christian values on the other.

Most concerns appear around the idea that Christianity should be the most important identity for American citizens, that the state should actively seek to raise that identity, and that Christians should have dominion in the country to pursue those goals.

Other aspects, like the thought that Christian ideals form a basis of our laws and erosion of those ideals undermines the country and society are less controversial and more widely accepted.

Matthew Taylor, a scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies who grew up evangelical and who studies Christian nationalism, said there are challenges in both defining and quantifying the ideology.

"The big picture is when we talk about the phenomenon of Christian nationalism, it's a spectrum in terms of the extremism that's included, it's also a spectrum of the forms and styles of Christian nationalism," Taylor said. "Not all of them are created equal in terms of their threat to American democracy."

Taylor mentioned other religious nationalisms like Hindu nationalism in India, Buddhist nationalism in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, and a form of Russian Orthodox Christian nationalism in Russia as examples where states or a political leadership use a dominant religion as a tool for power and propaganda.

"Religious nationalism is the effort to consolidate the national definition and national identity with a particular religious identity and synchronize those in a way that harms religious minorities or the democratic systems that are in place," Taylor said.

A 2023 study of the religious views of more than 22,000 adults nationwide found that roughly 30 percent of Americans either adhere to or sympathize with Christian nationalism ideas, with that spectrum running from the more extreme to the less.

That same study by the Public Religion Research Institute found North Dakota and Mississippi had the highest number of adherents or sympathizers in the country, with 50 percent of those surveyed falling into the two categories.

According to the Association of Religious Data Archives based on 2020 numbers, around 21.2 percent of the population in the state are Catholic, 21 percent mainline Protestant, and around 10.8 percent Evangelical Protestant, with around 55 percent total adhering to religious and mainly Christian beliefs.

Under threat?

Paul Djupe, a political scientist at Denison University in Ohio who also studies Christian nationalism said that historically, assertive Christian nationalism wasn't associated with mainline Protestantism or Catholicism in America but that has shifted as overall Christian religious adherence has decreased.

"When you see that big slide of these religious groups they start to feel threatened and start to think, hey we need to draw our boundaries here and reinforce our power base or we're going to lose the United States in a number of different respects, both in terms of power and in terms of their values being represented," Djupe said.

Djupe said there's a need to separate patriotism, which is broadly seen as a good thing, from this kind of religious nationalism.

"It's the idea of wanting control, which I think is what Christian nationalism is really about," Djupe said. "The spur to it is not just a love of country, but the threat of losing that and losing the power base."

Mark Jorritsma, executive director of the conservative North Dakota Family Alliance, said that his organization represents a variety of faiths on both the left and the right and that he would not categorize its work as Christian nationalist.

"The concept of Christian nationalism that says that you're going to follow your country right or wrong, and that this is embedded in your faith as a Christian, from our perspective, we have to reject that," Jorritsma said.

"Ultimately our allegiance is to our Lord, and it's based on Biblical values, right? Not a particular nation," Jorritsma said. "There's nothing wrong with loving your country, but it has to be properly ordered love that doesn't result in blind obedience."

According to a North Dakota News Cooperative Poll conducted in May, 73 percent of likely Republican voters in the state fear that if the U.S. moves away from Christian foundations, the country will be in peril.

The poll also found that 71 percent believe U.S. laws should be based on Christian values, 61 percent believe being Christian is an important part of being "truly American," and 42 percent feel Christians should have dominion over all aspects of American society.

Fringe views?

Jorritsma said that if you look more closely at the polling numbers, the more extreme views soften. For example, 26 percent of respondents supported the idea of Christians exercising supreme dominion in the state.

"We're a deep red state so the fact that we have conservative opinions on this doesn't surprise me," he said. "Would I characterize most of the Christians in North Dakota as Christian nationalist? Not a chance. They are most definitely outliers."

Robert Wefald, a long-time Republican, former North Dakota attorney general (1981-1984) and a former district judge, has publicly expressed concerns about Christian nationalism filtering into state politics.

"These extreme right-wing people are not in the mainstream," Wefald said. "I think people here are basically pretty conservative, but the idea of us becoming a Christian state, and having that enshrined in the government?"

Wefald said that while being Christian is important to him, the idea that one has to be Christian to be "truly American" just doesn't fly with most North Dakotans.

Trygve Hammer, running as a Democrat candidate for North Dakota's open U.S. House seat, said it was "quite concerning" that some people hold the view that a citizen needs to be Christian to be considered truly American.

"We're seeing that a lot on the conservative side, where they're also saying you're a RINO (Republican in Name Only), you're not a real Republican, you're not a real conservative, unless you believe the same kinds of conservativism that I believe," Hammer said.

"So they're applying that to other religions, and I think for a lot of those folks, they may need to get out of North Dakota a little bit and go meet some more people," Hammer said.