White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to the Church

The Church is in a Precarious Place

If you’re reading this, this probably isn’t new for you. I am worried about the state of the American Church. Well, I guess I should specify. I am afraid of the state of the White American Christian Church. The Church is in a precarious place right now, and it’s under threat from White Christian Nationalism. There is a lot of support for Trump from the Religious Right. This support comes not in spite of the language that Trump uses. It comes with agreement in what Trump is saying. And that is worrisome.

I Hope I’m Overreacting

I had a brief conversation with a Trump supporting friend the other day. He basically said he had seen this rhetoric before in our country. Decades of political grandstanding and big talk, but that’s all it is. While we disagree, I responded with “For our sake I hope [you’re right]!” But I’m not so sure.

I try to not overreact. I understand that things we worry about are not always what they seem to be. Most importantly, I understand that using inflammatory language can shut off a conversation. For example, Daryl Davis, a Black man, befriended members of the KKK and led hundreds to recant their white supremacy. Similarly, this story of an ex-Westboro Baptist Church member notes the power of interacting with these extremist groups.

With all that said, it is important to point out the things that are dangerous. I’m not a political scientist, nor a scientist or doctor. I am a theologian and historian. And with that, let’s talk about some things that are at our doorstep in the American Church.

Deutsche Christen

You may not know this, but the Church in Germany played a major role in the rise of Nazism.

Many German churches, pastors, and theologians found ways to wed Jesus with the German National Socialist Party. (And before you come for me, the National Socialist Party is not the same as Socialism). While there was a resistance church, called the Confessing Church, the national Church was on board and in favor of the Führer.

One of my favorite pastors and writers Brian Zahnd posted a book on his social media platform the other day. This book, A Church Undone; Documents from the German Christian Faith Movement, 1932-1940, is a must read! I have been digging into the pamphlets, responses, and the positions of the German church in this time period.

One in particular struck a chord with me. Emanuel Hirsch, a German minister, theologian, and Nazi, responds to a paper from critic Karl Barth. Barth, in his paper, denounces the National Church aligning with Hitler. Hirsch, in response, talks about the need for the preservation of the ‘True German People’.

Pure German Christian Blood

Hirsch pens his response to Barth in an article in 1933. Titled, What the German Christians Want for the Church: An Assessment of Karl Barth’s Attack, he responds to the attack on the German Christian Church. Barth is not shy in saying that the German Church should not be aligned with the Nazi Party. Barth wants the church separate from the state. In their separation, the Church can be free from being used as a weapon of a particular political party.

“It seems that Barth sees only paganism in the fact that the German Christians have dared to ask the Protestant church the question of the relationship between Christianity and the German character, [and] the question of whether men of non-German blood may lead the church…” (p. 109), emphasis added

The issue of the day is that the Nazi Party was starting to remove those who were not ‘full blooded Germans’ from places of power. Because ministers in the German Church at the time were considered to be in public service role, the State began to remove ministers that were not Aryan. For them, it’s all about the blood.

“If the blood is tainted, the spirit also dies; for the spirit of both peoples and individuals arises from the blood… Our people’s blood-bond was nearly undone. Had this process gone on fifty years more, the bearers of good, old, pure German blood would have become a minority among the leading sectors of our people… the church has not been able to impress upon the leading strata of the people their duty to give back to the people, by bearing German children, the blood-inheritance they have received.” (p. 109), emphasis added.

‘True Germans’ are in danger in the eyes of Hirsch. What was the cause of this? How is the “good, old, pure German blood” becoming a minority? Not only are ‘mixed marriages’ the cause of the downfall of the glory of Germany, he equates multiethnic children as inferior people.

“[The Church] has looked with indifference on mixed marriages (as it has on the proliferation of inferior persons)…” (p. 109), emphasis added

Not only does the ‘purity’ of the German blood matter, the ‘half-Germans’ are invading the Church and, in the context of the day, the country as a whole.

“Should the church expose itself to the danger that in future its offices will be flooded with the half-Germans whom the state excludes from its positions of leadership? How will it then be able to help with the correct formation and deepening of the German spirit and the German character?” (p. 110), emphasis added

Evangelical Christianity in Politics

Evangelical Christianity plays an important role in our politics. Since the mid-20th century, the Religious Right is working to influence the government in America. While the racism and xenophobia it espouses has not always been overt, the idea that White Christianity is superior is a pillar of their ideology. Now, they are emboldened by Trump. Let’s take a look at some of the things Trump has said and how the American Church is responding to it.

Journalists are always reporting on what Trump says and does, but it’s important to note a few important speaking tropes. We will use these as launching points. For example, Trump equates immigrants as criminals (SEE HERE) and dehumanizes people by calling them ‘animals’, ‘dogs’, and ‘predators’ (SEE HERE).

However, his use of ‘pure blood’ has become more overt. At a rally in 2023, Trump says that immigrants are ‘poisoning the blood of our country’. In an interview in early 2024, Trump reiterates this, and adds to the conversation. Here is a quote from the New York Times:

Howard Kurtz: “Why do you use words like ‘vermin’ and ‘poisoning of the blood’? The press, as you know, immediately reacts to that by saying, ‘Well, that’s the kind of language that Hitler and Mussolini used.’”
Donald Trump: “Because our country is being poisoned.”

So what are American Christians doing about this? How are they feeling?

The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) conducted a post-election study after the most recent election. While there is so much good stuff in there to go through, they also put together THIS ANALYSIS based around immigration and Christian Nationalism. It shows that 62% of White Evangelical Protestants agree that “immigrants entering this country illegally are poisoning the blood of the country”. In addition, 41% of White Evangelical Protestants agree that ‘illegal immigrants’ should be put in “internment camps” until they are deported.

White Evangelical Christianity has by and large linked arms with Christian Nationalism. There are dozens of prominent pastors with large churches who openly espouse White Christian Nationalism. They’re not in the wings anymore, they’re in places of power.

So What?

If you’re thinking you’re safe because you’re a Christian, you should think again. When power is consolidated, it starts with groups that are easy to unify. The fact that such a large group of American Christians are on board with this Christo-fascist movement is alarming. Like the leaders of the Confessing Church in 1930’s Germany were arrested and/or silenced, those who are not on board with the Project 2025 brand of religion are in trouble. It’s time to wake up and see where we are in the timeline.