What is Christian Nationalism? Is it Wrong to be Patriotic?

Last updated on: January 1, 2026 at 10:47 am by Al Baker

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What is Christian Nationalism? Is it Wrong to be Patriotic? 2026-01-01T10:47:32-06:00 Al Baker

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Christian Nationalism: Progressives, Liberals and Hypocritical Christians Join Forces

In the last 3-4 months I have heard Christian Nationalism used more than a few times on Facebook. NOTE: Prior to the last 3-4 months I cannot remember ever hearing anybody using this term in any definitive way.

ACLU-claims-against-Trump

ACLU uses “Christian Nationalism” to attack Pres Trump

I am busy preparing to teach three classes next semester…BUT I feel compelled to offer a series of articles on Christian Nationalism (CN moving forward unless “CN” is in a heading/title, etc.)

1. Introduction: What is Christian Nationalism?

2. What 2-3 recent “studies/surveys” reveal about CN
3. The Founding Fathers – were they CN followers?
4. Why I am calling some of my Christian Friends “hypocrites.”
[I might add to this outline]

Around the end of November I got into an ongoing “discussion” about our current political environment with a “Friend” on Facebook. We disagreed on multiple topics, but after several comments back and forth, he told me what he thought about me (which was a bit condescending) and included “Christian Nationalism” in his comment.
My response: “Now you showed your hand using that term. Please give me a definition.” This is what he responded with (see his definition below – I think it is AI generated).

Christian nationalism is a political ideology claiming a nation (often the U.S.) is inherently Christian and its government should actively promote Christian values, laws, and identity, often merging national and religious identity, rejecting religious pluralism, and sometimes overlapping with white nationalism. It advocates for fusing Christianity with civic life, viewing Christian principles as foundational to national identity and policy, and seeks to make the country more Christian, often challenging the separation of church and state.

FIRST, I do NOT agree with this definition. In other words, I am NOT a Christian Nationalist, at least not by that definition.
More than that: I don’t know ANYONE…I don’t personally know a single Christian who espouses the views in this definition. Yet I am now suddenly hearing this term…and it is always used by someone with TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome). It is the latest/greatest Liberal TROPE. (I hate that term, “trope.” It’s a term the Left loves to use against their political enemies, so I am happy to use it against them.)

MY RESPONSE TO A DEFINITION OF CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM

Each phrase of the definition is in blue – my comments are black.
…claiming a nation (often the U.S.) is inherently Christian and its government should actively promote Christian values, laws, and identity…
I do not claim that American is inherently Christian. When I am overseas and am asked if the USA is “Christian” I have always said “No” with an explanation. Our legal system is based on the Judeo/Christian scriptures. We have a statue of Moses holding the 10 Commandments on the US Supreme Court building, so I do support our legal system

.…merging national and religious identity, rejecting religious pluralism, and sometimes overlapping with white nationalism.
No, I am a U.S. citizen and our system is built around the Constitution which supports the separation of Church and State. I do not reject religious pluralism, but ALL citizens must follow the U.S. laws, thus Muslims who want to follow Sharia Law should not be allowed to live here. We cannot have different tribes living under different legal systems – that is chaos, which is what we are getting already. ALL citizens are to follow U.S. law.…and sometimes overlapping with white nationalism.
I reject this precept 100% and it angers me when fellow Christians give a kneejerk reaction to situations and accuse their brothers/sisters of racism.It advocates for fusing Christianity with civic life, viewing Christian principles as foundational to national identity and policy…
I think communities that want to include Christian faith with civic life will be a better community. Most communities are supportive of their Christian churches which I think is a good thing. In my opinion, having Christian values in the community is better than drag queens strutting in front of small children at your local library. The Left wants to mandate transgender junk… BUT I do not think values should be mandated (separation of church and state).…and seeks to make the country more Christian, often challenging the separation of church and state.
I pray that our nation can become more Christian, but our Constitution demands the separation of church and state – THAT is our law. We want religious freedom, but we do not want our government to favor one religion over another.

A Google search reveals the ACLU with their propaganda (see the photo to the right or below). It makes perfect sense that the ACLU would make this a focal point. The ACLU is somewhat aligned with the Southern Poverty Law Center which has an official listing of Hate Groups. These two groups (and the FBI under Biden!!) are VERY concerned with “Traditionlist Catholics” and “Christian Nationalism” yet give a pass to pro-Hamas groups even though they were violently protesting and physically assaulting Jewish students at several Ivy League schools after the Hamas attack on Israel. Do they consider fundamentalist Islam a hate group? No, they actually defend American Muslims from discrimination. Do they defend Pro-Hamas groups? Yes! Even though we have seen violence against Jewish students at our Ivy League universities. So I am NOT surprised that the ACLU would feel the need to warn the public about Christian Nationalism. To their credit, the article about this issue admits that it is “a small but growing group of extremists that is distinct from Christians, [emphasis mine, but I am relieved to read their caveat: The danger of Christian nationalism].

The Christian Post did a series on Christians and the 2024 Election. Here is a quote I certainly agree with:

During this very animated and contentious election season there have been numerous attempts to frighten and mislead voters with the specter of a theocratic movement they have labelled “Christian Nationalism.” Considerable effort has been expended to paint many people of religious faith (particularly Evangelical Protestants and conservative Catholics) as seeking to run roughshod over our precious First Amendment religious liberty protections and safeguards. This is nothing more than a political scare tactic, seeking to elevate certain fringe groups to a level of influence they do not have…(emphasis added)

Christian Nationalism: What it is, What it isn’t and Why it Matters

So…What is “Christian Nationalism?”
My next article will offer a few studies that attempted to give us a definition.