Christian nationalism and January 6th
Power, fear, violence and where we go from here
Christian nationalism wasn’t the whole story on January 6th. But it was an important part of it. We can’t truly reckon with what happened at the Capitol if we overlook the importance of the Christian faith to those who engaged in insurrection three years ago today.
I’d like to share a couple resources that may help us think through and about the overt Christian prayers, symbols, songs, and narratives used to legitimize engaging in violence at the Capitol.
TIME - How We Can Confront the Myths of January 6th and Intensifying Christian Nationalism
I had a really wonderful time partnering with
to write a new piece for TIME on the mythmaking taking place around January 6th, Christian nationalism, and what we can do as a country to respond. Jared led the effort and I am a big fan of his perspective, voice, and vision for how to make a way forward.Just think—we have a leading candidate for president promising to take retribution against his “enemies” (read: fellow Americans) if he’s elected. And recent survey data on Christian nationalism show us that millions of Americans who strongly embrace this cultural framework
“support the use of political violence in order to “save our country,” support political leaders who are willing to “break some rules if that’s what it takes to set things right,” support for the false claim that the 2020 election was “rigged,” and a decreasing desire to prosecute rioters at the Capitol on January 6th.”
And so Jared and I ask, “How can Americans resist these currents of disinformation and retribution being sown and masked by the mythmaking taking place around January 6th?”
The column explores how accountable politics and responsible Christian presence are two promising paths forward. The first is for all Americans, the second for those Americans who identify as Christians. I hope you take the time to read the column and follow Jared at
.AMERICAN IDOLATRY - What is Christian Nationalism?
In Chapter 2 of AMERICAN IDOLATRY I organize a discussion of what Christian nationalism is, how it is measured, and what it means for all Americans around what happened on January 6th.
Key to this is how various folks across American Christianity responded to the blatant Christian symbolism present on that day. One poignant example is Albert Mohler—president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary—and how he changed his views of the insurrection multiple times in the months following January 6th.
And suffice it to say Mohler is like many other Americans who continue to view January 6th differently as the years pass. Survey data gathered from the same Americans one month after January 6th and then six months later shows a decreasing willingness to prosecute the insurrectionists if the respondent embraces Christian nationalism.
Basically: those willing to take this country back for God are equally willing to embrace violence and setting aside democracy.
Report on Christian Nationalism and the January 6th Insurrection
Still one of the best and most thorough reports on January 6th and Christian nationalism, this joint effort of many journalists and authors lays out the evidence. You can also watch a release event around the report.
My colleague Sam Perry and I co-wrote one section drawing on our work in TAKING AMERICA BACK FOR GOD, showing what Christian nationalism is and how it operates.
Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism; Dr. Jemar Tisby, historian of race and religion and author of How to Fight Racism and The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism; Amanda Tyler, executive director of BJC and organizer of the Christians Against Christian Nationalism initiative; and Andrew L. Seidel, a constitutional attorney at FFRF and author of The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American also contribute.
AMERICAN IDOLS - A Podcast on Christian Nationalism
Episode 2 of the four episode podcast I created in partnership with
and the team at focuses on the threat Christian nationalism poses to democracy. In particular, I focus on the January 6th insurrection.I draw on a number of interviews with various other experts to help paint the picture of how January 6th can be understood and also how we’d be naïve to imagine it couldn’t happen again.
In many ways the episode draws on the congressional testimony Sam Perry and I wrote for the US House of Representatives special committee to investigate January 6th. Sadly, the committee ultimately refused to discuss or even mention Christianity or Christian nationalism in their report.
I hope you check out the whole series, but this episode in particular clearly lays out the threats we’re facing in the next year.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
I’d like to end with the final paragraph from
and my column. I think today calls for all Americans to spend some time in thoughtful reflection on who we are, how we got here, and what to do next.“The Christian Nationalist myth of January 6 leads us down similar paths, towards more violence and retribution, in denial of the Jesus some Americans claim to follow. These myths, today, mask the intensifying of Christian Nationalist ideology, threatening our political system, and damaging a civil sphere that we hope can yet become a common ground. Reckoning with and resisting these myths through accountable politics and a more responsible Christian presence are part of the way forward.”
And to echo a founding father: this republic is ours, if we can keep it.
It is interesting to observe, that the end of World War I was, in large part, that which destroyed "Christian" (quasichristian) nationalism in Germany and Italy, and World War II resulted in its practical end in Britain. But a large number of churches in the USA have still hung onto the power-playing and the domination games, denying many of the things Christ the Lord has said. This does make me wonder.
I would love to talk with you about J6 and Christian nationalism. I was there that day. I am a Christian. I voted for Trump twice and will vote again for him. I think you misunderstand a large part of what happened that day and why people were there. I read Schade’s summary of the themes from your book and I am hoping most of what she said is not accurate. You should sit down with Russ Vought. I bet you both have a lot you could agree on.