Reflecting on “Taking America Back For God”
I, and many others, have been lamenting the fact that so many white evangelical Christians cast their vote for Donald Trump in 2016 and, in all probability, will again in 2020. I have wondered how any Christian could support Trump, a man who constantly lies, demeans those who disagree with him, openly expresses xenophobia, and flirts with racism on a regular basis. While the reasons these Christians give for supporting Trump can be wide and varied, the one thing that can’t be done is reconcile it with the teaching of Jesus. This has troubled me. Why would Christians abandon the clear teaching of Scripture? The answer according to Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry in Taking America Back For God depends on where they align on Christian nationalism.
This is more of a reflection than a full review of the book. I am writing from the perspective of a pastor who continues to be deeply concerned about the state of the church and Christian support for Trump.
When Whitehead and Perry discuss Christian nationalism they are describing, “an ideology that idealizes and advocates a fusion of American civic life with a particular type of Christian identity and culture.” In order to study Christian nationalism they utilized the Baylor Religion Survey (BRS) for quantitative data, conducted fifty in-depth interviews, and engaged in participant observation at events in three states.
Based on the data from the BRS Whitehead and Perry identified four responses to Christian nationalism. One group, “Ambassadors” (19.2% of the population) are passionate advocates of the idea that America is, or should be, a Christian nation. Then there are “Accommodators” (32.1 % of the population) the largest of the groups who are, “generally comfortable with the idea of America’s Christian foundations, and is amenable to the idea of a society where Christianity is conspicuous.” A third group, “Resisters,” (26.6% of the population) of which two thirds identify as Christian, lean towards opposing Christian nationalism. The fourth group, “Rejecters,” (21.5% of the population) clearly, as the name suggests, believe the United States is and should be a secular state with no overlap between faith and politics.
The book goes on to examine how each of these categories of Christian nationalism impacts perspective on issues of power, boundaries, and order, with a chapter dedicated to each.
Of particular interest to me was that 78% of evangelical protestants identified as Ambassadors (40%) or Accommodators(38%). Whitehead and Perry make the argument that it is because of their position on Christian nationalism that they voted for Trump and to do so, they set aside their convictions as Christians. In other words their Christian nationalism came ahead of orthodox Christian faith. They make a very strong case that "Being evangelical does not lead one to enthusiastically support border walls with Mexico; favoring Christian nationalism does. Being an evangelical does not seem to sour Americans' attitudes toward stronger gun legislation; endorsing Christian nationalism does. Being an evangelical was not an important predictor of which Christians voted for Donald Trump in 2016; supporting Christian nationalism was."
Indeed, what the authors refer to as “personal religious commitment,” which they define in terms of worship attendance, Scripture reading, and prayer, pushes people in the opposite direction to Christian nationalism on a whole host of issues including immigration, interracial marriage, refugee policies, and threat of Muslims. The authors explain how, “Christian nationalism does not encourage high moral standards or value self-sacrifice, peace, mercy, love, justice, and so on. Nor does it necessarily encourage conforming one’s political opinions to those that Jesus might have.” As a pastor therein lies my greatest frustration, “Americans who most enthusiastically affirm Christian nationalist ideals seem to put political power above religion.” Yet 78% of evangelical Protestants identify as Christian nationalists.
While there are some clear advocates for Christian nationalism, Robert Jeffress, Paula White, Franklin Graham, and other prominent leaders close to the Trump administration, many others are far less aware of their own bias. Whitehead and Perry explain that "For many of the [Christian nationalists] we interviewed, the belief that Christianity should be shown preference was often more tacit, and even unrecognized by adherents themselves." As a pastor this makes it all the more important for me to name it and call it out, so it can be brought to light for the sin it is.
In their conclusion to the book Whitehead and Perry share that “The desperate quest for power inherent in Christian nationalist ideology is antithetical to Jesus’ message. At its core, Christian nationalism is a hollow and deceptive philosophy that depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ.” All I can say to that is Amen!
An excellent book that I’ll be processing for a long time to come.
