One more week till release! And I’ve included another excerpt from “Chapter 4: Danger #3: The Domination Problem” below.
In many ways, whether we see Christian nationalism’s desire for political domination (primacy of place) as a problem or not comes down to whether or not we’re comfortable with living in a liberal democracy where all American citizens, not just Christians, have equal representation, protections, and rights. It may be helpful to think of liberal democracy as the best alternative to Christian nationalism.[1] N.T. Wright and Michael Bird define it as follows:
“Liberal democracy is ‘liberal’ in the sense that it regards civic freedoms as an inherent good that should not be subject to limitation unless completely necessary, and it is ‘democratic’ in the sense that voting rights apply equally to all citizens and each citizen’s vote should have the same weight. We write now neither to celebrate or castigate liberal democracy. Instead, we wish to prosecute the thesis that in a world with a human propensity for evil, greed and injustice, liberal democracy stands as the least worst option for human governance. Liberal democracy is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for a just society, but it can be an enabling condition for a just society.”[2]
Whether or not you embrace liberal democracy as a better alternative to Christian nationalism is also related to how you understand Christ’s command to love your neighbor. For example, in a liberal democracy, “Christians… stand up to defend themselves and others, knowing that the threat to one group’s civil liberties, whether lesbians or Muslims, is a threat to everyone’s.”[3] Additionally, in a post-Christian era, we need to ask ourselves, does “love your neighbor” mean making them conform to our faith or religion, or does it mean living out the gospel and coexisting as best we can?[4] To be fair, this is a tough question to think through but, in my experience, it can bring an “aha” moment in coming to see the domination of Christian nationalism as a problem.
As journalist David French noted:
“The problem with Christian nationalism isn’t with Christian participation in politics but rather the belief that there should be Christian primacy in politics and law. It can manifest itself through ideology, identity and emotion. And if it were to take hold, it would both upend our Constitution and fracture our society.”[5]
And how might it “upend our Constitution and fracture our society”? French tried to explain this after many canceled him for his support of the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022—a piece of legislation that was signed into law to add further protections for both gay and traditional marriage. Here are a couple of the points he tried to make:
- “I want Americans of different faiths and no faith at all to be able to live together, work together, form families, and live with peace, security, and dignity. I don’t want my gay friends and neighbors to live in fear that the law might tear their families apart. I also don’t want the law to treat me as a threat. I don’t want the law to discriminate against those Americans who sincerely hold different views of sexual morality, sexuality, and marriage and organize their lives and their institutions accordingly. I want aggressive secular culture warriors to stand down, and if they choose not to, then I want the law to block their efforts to roll back the First Amendment.”[6]
- “Can you imagine waking up one morning and hearing the state no longer recognizes your marriage and that suddenly everything from medical decisions to child custody to basic inheritance and ownership rules were up for grabs?”[7]
Whether or not you agree with French, I hope you can see why those who accept that we live in a liberal democracy won’t be as surprised or alarmed at America’s secular drift. From their perspective, God hasn’t stepped down from his throne and there are still plenty of ways to love our neighbors. Again, making peace with liberal democracy means acknowledging and accepting that “it’s not just that Catholics and Protestants have equal rights (a relatively recent development), it’s that Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Buddhists and atheists all approach the public square with the same liberties. Drag queens have the same free speech rights as pastors…”[8]
Yes, “many Americans are livid as a result”[9] but Christians who have come to terms with coexisting in a liberal democracy expect to confront and live counter-culturally to lies and distorted desires in every age. Jesus said it would be like this and, furthermore, our brothers and sisters in biblical times experienced far worse.[10] Let’s use the issue of abortion as an example. Yes, abortion is a problem in America but this is nothing new. The ruling politician during both Moses’ and Christ’s infancies commanded the murder of all male children under two-years old. There may be more people living on our planet, but it’s simply not true to say that things are worse than they ever were before.
Unlike Christian nationalism, Christian political engagement—the kind that has come to terms with living in a liberal democracy—embraces the spirit commended in Jesus and the Powers. This review provides a nice summary of this book’s perspective and is a great way to close out our chapter:
“…Christianity can not only survive but thrive under the cultural and religious pluralism upheld by liberal democracies. Rather than retreating from the world or scheming ways to take over the reins of power, Wright and Bird encourage Christians to become deeply involved in their local communities, living out the gospel as best they can with what they have at their disposal with charity, advocacy, and even protest. As the song goes, ‘They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.’[11]
[1] I understand that “liberal democracy” may be a loaded phrase for some. The word “liberal” itself is a trigger for many conservatives. I get it but please persevere and give Wright and Bird’s nuanced definition a fresh hearing. Additionally, there’s a lot of unhelpful chatter on social media right now about how the United States is a “Constitutional Republic” rather than a “democracy.” In truth, it is both and learning why is important. See here: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/10/1122089076/is-america-a-democracy-or-a-republic-yes-it-is
[2] N.T. Wright and Michael Bird, Jesus and the Powers (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2024), 158. See 157-173 for their full case for liberal democracy.
[3] Ibid., 146-147.
[4] For more on this, see: https://www.carpentertheologian.com/the-changing-face-of-pluralism/
[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/25/opinion/christian-nationalism.html
[6] https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/frenchpress/why-i-changed-my-mind-about-law-and-marriage-again/
[7] https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/frenchpress/an-open-letter-to-those-who-think-ive-lost-my-christian-faith/
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] John 15:20.
[11] https://providencemag.com/2024/06/jesus-and-the-powers-christian-political-witness-in-an-age-of-totalitarian-terror-and-dysfunctional-democracies-by-michael-bird-and-n-t-wright/