Christian nationalism is a political ideology, not a religious creed.
Evidence
Christian nationalism is not a religious creed but, in my view, a political ideology. It promotes the myth that the American republic was founded as a Christian nation. It asserts that legitimate government rests not on the consent of the governed but on adherence to the doctrines of a specific religious, ethnic, and cultural heritage. It demands that our laws be based not on the reasoned deliberation of our democratic institutions but on particular, idiosyncratic interpretations of the Bible. Its defining fear is that the nation has strayed from the truths that once made it great. Christian nationalism looks backward on a fictionalized history of America’s allegedly Christian founding. It looks forward to a future in which its versions of the Christian religion and its adherents, along with their political allies, enjoy positions of exceptional privilege and power in government and in law. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 28
Categorization
- DEFINE: Core working definition of Christian nationalism that shapes the whole book.
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 28
- XREF: connects to: Movement followers provide strength but not its ideas. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 34; Christian nationalist political theory centers monarchy, not democracy — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 211; Christian nationalism is a cultural framework, not a political theology (+13 more)
Broader Connections
- Christian nationalist adherence is primarily political rather than religious
#corroborates(0.90) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 214 - Nationalism’s borrowings from religion do not make religion its source
#corroborates(0.90) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 946 - Christian nationalism functions as a power grab disguised in religious language, not genuine piety
#corroborates(0.85) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 455 - Christian nationalism bundles political ideology with cultural religious claims
#qualifies(0.80) - For Christian nationalists, family-policy stances serve political boundary-making, not personal morality
#exemplifies(0.80) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 433 - Evangelicalism is a cultural-political movement, not chiefly a theological community.
#complicates(0.75) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 671