Christian nationalism originated in proslavery theology of the American slave republic.

Evidence

Perhaps the most important aspect of the proslavery theology that Dabney so ably embodied—or at any rate the one that far outlasted its explicit support for the enslavement of human beings—was its fusion of religion with a racialized form of nationalism. Indeed, Christian nationalism came of age in the American slave republic. In the eyes of proslavery theologians, the United States was the “Redeemer Nation”—a “nation which God’s own hand hath planted, and on which He has, therefore, peculiar and special claims,” as one Alabama cleric put it. When the United States was divided by Civil War, God’s hand unmistakably settled on the Confederate States of America, which was understood to be waging a holy war on behalf of Christian civilization against the impious Union. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 450

Categorization

• SEED: The ‘Redeemer Nation’ framing and the fusion of religion with racialized nationalism as the actual birthplace of Christian nationalism is a strong essay/reporting angle contradicting the common ‘Christians were abolitionists’ origin story.
• DEEPTHINKING: Restructures the origin of American Christian nationalism from a religious genealogy to a racial-nationalist-economic one — a paradigm-changing claim about the movement’s true parentage.
• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
• XREF: connects to: Christian nationalism is a flexible ideology used to support and oppose racial injustice alike — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 165; Racist theological ideas sanctioned and made American slavery acceptable to Christian churches — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The…, 20; Early American proslavery arguments invoked divine order and innate Black character traits. (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Racist theological ideas sanctioned and made American slavery acceptable to Christian churches #expands (0.80) — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 20
• Pro-slavery theology classified Black people as pre-Adamite creatures rather than humans #exemplifies (0.80) — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 555
• Early American proslavery arguments invoked divine order and innate Black character traits. #expands (0.75)
• Theology justified slavery and genocide by marking whiteness as Christian #corroborates (0.75) — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 145
• Christian nationalism is a flexible ideology used to support and oppose racial injustice alike #qualifies (0.70) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 165
• An ideology of reaction rooted in slavery persists in modern American politics #expands (0.70) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 649