Despite midterm wins, the battle against Christian nationalism continues

Kari Lake’s defeat in Arizona marked another demise for ​Donald Trump-backed, election-denying candidates​, many of whom ​espoused Christian nationalist beliefs in this election cycle. 

The downfall of these politicians — Pennsylvania’s Doug Mastriano, Maryland’s Dan Cox and Illinois’s Darren Bailey among them — promising to make Christianity the law of the land was proof enough that Democrats still have a chance to save our democracy from Christian nationalism. But the “Holy War” ​that politicians like Mastriano are waging is only just beginning. A high-profile midterm loss isn’t going to stop their well-funded and well-organized campaigns to spread Christian nationalism. 

While Democrats held off a red wave during the midterms, a number of right-wing candidates still managed to win, including “proudly” out Christian nationalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) triumphed by a landslide, flipping Miami-Dade County for the first time in 20 years. Though he hasn’t embraced Christian nationalism, the 2024 Republican presidential front-runner has flagrantly courted the movement’s followers with religious rhetoric about suiting conservatives up with “full armor of God.” 

Too many politicians aren’t afraid to talk about religion. And they’re not afraid to use it as a divisive tool, bending the teachings of the Bible to justify their political ​or authoritarian agendas. Indeed, since extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol in a violent attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election and American democracy itself, Christian nationalism has gained a significant foothold in the Republican Party. 

What Democrats don’t seem to realize is that “fringe” movements like these only gain more momentum when they’re not being talked about. By refusing to break their “no talk” rule around religion, ​many Democrats are playing into Christian nationalists’ hands.

During the Jan. 6 committee’s final hearing last month, little ambiguity was left around ​former President Trump’s singular role in the attack on the Capitol to overturn the election. One major aspect overlooked, though, was the instrumental role that Christian nationalism played in the event.

While ​many Republicans continue to downplay the influence that Christian nationalism had in fueling the Capitol siege, the movement’s presence was glaringly evident in the Christian imagery ubiquitous among the tens of thousands of Trump supporters who descended on D.C. and forced their way into the Senate chamber to block the count of electoral votes. It was present in the prayer that defiant rioters held on the Senate floor, as lawmakers hid in their offices fearing for their lives. And it was present in the weeks, months, and even years leading up to Jan. 6. — from former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ weaponization of Romans 13 to defend the separation of families at the border to former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s speeches of spiritual warfare at the 2020 Jericho March in D.C., where Christians “prayed, marched, fasted and rallied for election integrity” just days before the insurrection.

In the eyes of those who stormed the Capitol, carrying out these acts to keep Trump in office wasn’t just a moral obligation, it was God’s will. They were undermining democracy to carry out what they believed was a spiritual war against evil and satanist Democrats.

This Christian nationalist fight to “save America” is far from over. In September, a poll commissioned by Politico found that 61 percent of Republican respondents supported the idea of declaring the United States a Christian nation. And an October survey from the Pew Research center found that even while political leaders are embracing the Christian nationalist label with never-before-seen fervor, more than half of all U.S. adults have not heard or read anything about Christian nationalism. An additional 16 percent claimed they didn’t know enough about the movement to take a position. 

That needs to change. And that’s why this preacher gave up his pulpit for a big orange bus in the run-up to the midterms. That bus took me and other leaders from my group, Vote Common Good, from Dallas, to Grand Rapids, to Columbus to Pittsburgh, educating voters about the dangers of Christian nationalism. We were joined by hundreds of church leaders at rallies urging people of good faith and conscience to vote against candidates who stand for political violence and Christian nationalism. 

In Pennsylvania, we rallied alongside ​Democrat Josh Shapiro — who won last Tuesday’s gubernatorial race — to denounce Mastriano’s full-fledged Christian nationalist campaign. In Columbus, a woman who has voted Republican all of her life attended one of our training sessions on how to identify and confront Christian nationalism. Afterward, she told me she is terrified by her party’s embrace of the idea. 

Slowly, politicians are starting to realize the stakes. But with the 2024 elections looming, Democrats can’t afford to delay any longer — they need to call out Christian nationalism now.

As an evangelical pastor, I believe in the power of spirituality. I also believe in the power of speaking out against those who use spirituality for their own political gain, rather than the common good of all people. It’s time Democrats started making some noise. 

Doug Pagitt is an evangelical pastor and the executive director of Vote Common Good.