Thy Kingdom Come: Building the Christian Nationalist State

• In Event: American Political Thought

Abstract

While Christian nationalists have made it clear they are discontented with American political institutions and processes, it is less clear what form they believe the U.S. government should take in the future. The same can be said for Christian nationalist attitudes toward who should belong to the nation as immigration and ethnic and religious diversification are treated as an assault on the “true” character of the nation—or in Trump’s words, a “poisoning [of] the blood of our country.” What do Christian nationalists want to take the place of pluralist democracy? What will take the place of liberal rights? Who will be afforded the full privileges of citizenship? And how do Christian nationalists envision bringing about the kinds of social and political changes they desire?

Drawing on published writings, sermons, social media posts, and interviews, this paper engages with both Christian nationalist political theory and policymaking. It, therefore, proceeds in three steps: First, it maps the political ideology of the idealized state, focusing particularly on Christian nationalist critiques of liberalism and pluralism and avowals of constitutionalism, communalism, and integralism. Having captured a sense of the form of government Christian nationalists aim to create, the paper then turns to an examination of how they envision doing so. Utilizing sermons, social media posts, and interviews, I query the concrete institutional transformations, policies, and laws Christian nationalists hope to implement to manifest the America of their dreams. Finally, I take seriously the implications of following through on the Christian nationalist blueprint and ask what consequences it would have for those excluded from full social, economic, and political membership.

Author

• Chelsea Ebin, Drew University