Promise & Peril of an American Christian Nationalism

Over the last few years, the term “Christian Nationalism” has increasingly been used by commentators on the Left as a cudgel to scare political moderates away from right-wing populism. For much of the Trump administration, a more common rhetorical weapon was the phrase “white nationalists,” which served to insinuate that anyone who happened to be white and elevated national interests over global ones was a racist. “Christian nationalist” is rapidly replacing “white nationalist” in media discourse, probably because of the mounting evidence that many non-whites now have a favorable view of the nationalist agenda. “Christian nationalism” sounds nasty enough that some audiences will still see it as tinged with racism and xenophobia. Although there is little consensus as to what it means, all the smart people (or those who are described as such) agree that it is bad. Bad for America, bad for democracy, and very bad for the political prospects of the cultural Left. Read Full Article »