“Christianity is the electric current of our national life. Turn it off, and the light will fade. If we care about the future of our country, we must renew the influence of biblical faith in America.”
Josh Hawley in February 2024.
Unfortunately for Josh Hawley, Yale graduate and U.S. Senator from Missouri, his face and fist have become synonymous with the January 6, 2021 insurrection or riot at the Capital. Photographs like the above, however, capture only one moment in time, and without talking to or hearing from Mr. Hawley personally, we risk reducing him to a stereotype.
As I’m wrapping up my project on Christian nationalism, I’ve gone out of my way to read, listen, and solicit input from different viewpoints. In doing so, I’ve found Josh’s recent article, “Our Christian Nation,” in First Things to be the most concise, articulate defense of Christian nationalism I’ve read. Although it’s a little heady, thankfully, there’s no paywall, and, if interested, I would encourage you to read it.
In what follows, I want to summarize his perspective briefly and then show how his pervasive use of the word “gospel” differs significantly from its technical and primary use in Scripture. I then want to close by using Josh’s own words to point out one of the most glaring problems with Christian nationalism.
First, here’s a quick summary of his viewpoint:
- “Every great culture in the history of mankind has depended on ‘a common moral order and a common religious ideal.’” Josh then goes on to say that we’ve lost this because of “the demise of Christianity as America’s cultural and moral anchor.”
- His nuanced view of Christian nationalism: “Recently, some on the right have initiated a more holistic Christian approach to our present challenges. A few claim the title ‘Christian nationalist,’ a term usually deployed as abuse by the left. The debate has become mired, however, in false starts and bad ideas. Some want to write the Apostles’ Creed into the Constitution (one such bad idea). Others pine for a ‘Protestant Franco’ (disastrous). Still others hint at ethno-racial separatism (absolutely not). Amid this confusion, I fear that we will lose sight… that every nation depends on a shared moral order; that ours is Christian…”
- To those who would overplay the distortion that America is not a “democracy” but a “Constitutional Republic,” he notes: “The truth is that no constitution, however well designed, can unite a people who do not hold a common conception of the good. No system of checks and balances can replace a common moral vision.”[1]
- He concludes that “step one” in his vision of restoring a Christian America is to “dismantle the legal regime of secularism the left has tried for decades to impose.”
Second, please notice Josh’s pervasive use of the word “the gospel” in the following quotes. I’ve only included a few for our purposes and italicized the term for easy reference:
- “But there can be no revival of Christian influence in America without Christian believers who are willing to bring the gospel to bear on every corner of our culture and politics. We need fresh Christian thinking—and Christian action—on our economic arrangements, on business and labor, on family life and education.
- “We have a duty, to our neighbors and our Lord, to work for a just society leavened by the gospel. That duty has never been more urgent.”
- “We must re-Christianize the great institutions of our society by rearticulating the gospel’s meaning for every aspect of life.”
- “America has been a Christian nation. We can be again—if Christians will recover again their confidence that the gospel of Jesus Christ speaks to every facet of our common life. For the future of the nation, and the honor of the gospel, we must.
The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 defines the gospel as the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It’s the good news about the justification of the ungodly and the forgiveness of sins for all who believe. Interestingly, although I’m sure Josh believes this gospel, his use of the term is very different. For Josh, the gospel is a “common religious ideal,” and specifically a “shared [Christian] moral order” or “common Christian moral vision.”
Now to be charitable, maybe Josh is talking about the fruits of the gospel as he understands them. In other words, “a Christian moral order,” in Josh’s view, would help America produce better citizens and build better cities that result in human flourishing. But, clearly, a respectful and close reading of his case for a Christian America is less about heart-change and the forgiveness of sins, and more about dismantling secularism and Christianizing America’s institutions. Less about the justification of the ungodly, and more about returning power to “the godly.”
I agree with Josh’s opening quote that “we must renew the influence of biblical faith,” but I strongly disagree with how he wants to go about it. His gospel blends moralism and American greatness with the cross of Christ. The Christian gospel confronts moralism, champions the “the least of these” in all nations, and is centered solely on the person and work of Christ.
Finally, Josh says, “We must scrutinize the whole structure of our deteriorating social order by the light of the gospel and determine what must change to make it sound.” But who is the “we” that will “determine what must change”? Is it Josh and others who share his exact vision of what shared goodness and morality look like? Or will he allow for a larger pool of prominent political leaders or pundits who still, like Mr. Hawley, claim Christianity as their religion? Folks like Tucker Carlson, Franklin Graham, John MacArthur, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Pete Buttigieg, Al Sharpton, and Laura Ingram? Do you see the problem?
Christian nationalism wants Christians to have primacy of place in the public square—over all other religions and the irreligious. And yet, even if this vision became a reality by force, it would not result in a “Christian democracy” but a dictatorship or totalitarian regime. This is because someone like Josh would still have to decide which Christians, or which version of Christianity gets to be in charge.
[1] See here for a good article on why America is both a “democracy” and a “Constitutional Republic:” https://www.npr.org/2022/09/10/1122089076/is-america-a-democracy-or-a-republic-yes-it-is