Christian Nationalism and Pluralistic Democracy
Christian Nationalism and Pluralistic Democracy
Christian nationalism and pluralistic democracy represent competing, overlapping, and sometimes contested ways of understanding religion, citizenship, national identity, and political authority. Research on Christian nationalism generally examines beliefs that Christianity should occupy a privileged place in national identity, political institutions, public culture, or law. Pluralistic democracy, by contrast, rests on the principle that citizens with different religions, identities, values, and political beliefs participate as political equals within common democratic institutions.
The relationship between these ideas is more complex than a simple opposition between religion and democracy. The research surveyed here distinguishes Christian nationalism from ordinary Christian political participation, religious conservatism, patriotism, and American civil religion. Some scholars also distinguish between forms of Christian nationalism that emphasize cultural or religious tradition and forms that favor greater state support for Christianity.
A central question in this literature is whether a political community can privilege one religious tradition while maintaining equal citizenship, political tolerance, religious liberty, and democratic protections for people who do not belong to that tradition.
Religious Pluralism and Political Tolerance
Religious pluralism is one of the central themes in research on Christian nationalism. A pluralistic society contains people from many religious traditions as well as people with no religious affiliation. Democratic pluralism requires that these groups participate in public life without losing equal political status because of their beliefs.
Research suggests that attitudes associated with Christian nationalism do not always produce a simple rejection of religious diversity. Some people who express Christian-nationalist beliefs also endorse religious inclusion or tolerance in principle. However, studies examined in the source material suggest that perceptions of cultural or political threat can weaken these pluralistic commitments.
Research by Paul Djupe and Brooklyn Walker, for example, examines the relationship among Christian nationalism, religious inclusiveness, perceived threats to Christianity, and political tolerance. Their work suggests that citizens may simultaneously endorse pluralistic principles and Christian-nationalist beliefs, but perceived threats to Christianity can reduce the influence of inclusive attitudes.
Other studies examine attitudes toward specific religious and nonreligious groups. Research has investigated Christian nationalism in relation to attitudes toward Muslims, Jews, atheists, Buddhists, Latter-day Saints, immigrants, and other groups. These studies address a broader democratic question: whether national membership is understood primarily in civic terms or partly through religious and cultural boundaries.
Christian Nationalism and National Identity
Christian nationalism links religion with ideas about national identity. In the United States, this often involves claims about whether the country was founded as a Christian nation, whether Christianity should guide public institutions, and whether Christian traditions occupy a distinctive place in American political culture.
Survey research shows that Americans attach different meanings to the phrase "Christian nation." For some, it describes the country's history or cultural inheritance. For others, it implies that government should actively promote Christian teachings or values.
This distinction is important because cultural identification with Christianity is not identical to support for government establishment of religion. Research organizations such as Pew Research Center and the Public Religion Research Institute have therefore examined multiple dimensions separately, including support for church-state separation, biblical influence on law, government promotion of Christian values, official religion, and Christian national identity.
Christian nationalism also raises questions about who is considered fully American. Research on national belonging has examined whether religious identity, race, immigration status, cultural assimilation, or other characteristics influence perceptions of legitimate membership in the political community.
Equal Citizenship and Minority Rights
Pluralistic democracy depends on the principle that citizens possess equal political rights regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or other characteristics. Research on Christian nationalism therefore frequently examines attitudes toward minority rights and equal citizenship.
Studies have explored relationships between Christian-nationalist beliefs and views regarding voting rights, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, fair trials, search protections, religious liberty, states' rights, and other constitutional guarantees.
Researchers have also studied attitudes toward religious minorities, immigrants, LGBTQ people, racial minorities, and people who identify with no religion. These studies do not necessarily find identical relationships across every group or population. Some research indicates that the political consequences of Christian nationalism vary according to racial identity, religious identity, political affiliation, and the particular policy or group being evaluated.
This variation has encouraged scholars to question whether Christian nationalism should be treated as a single, uniform ideology.
Church-State Separation and Religious Freedom
The relationship between church and state is a major point of debate surrounding Christian nationalism. The First Amendment protects both the free exercise of religion and against government establishment of religion. These constitutional principles permit religious individuals and organizations to participate extensively in politics while limiting government preference for a particular faith.
Christian-nationalism research therefore distinguishes between religious political participation and government-sponsored religious privilege.
Religious-freedom organizations represented in the source material argue that state preference for Christianity may undermine equal religious citizenship for Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, members of other faiths, and Christians who disagree with government-backed interpretations of Christianity.
Other writers offer competing perspectives. Some argue that Christian intellectual or historical traditions helped shape institutions that later supported religious liberty and constitutional pluralism. This debate illustrates the importance of distinguishing historical Christian influence from contemporary proposals for religious preference by the state.
Democracy, Authoritarianism, and Executive Power
A significant body of research examines Christian nationalism in relation to authoritarian attitudes and democratic norms.
Studies have investigated whether Christian-nationalist beliefs correlate with support for leaders who bypass constitutional restraints, particularly during perceived national emergencies. Other research examines relationships among Christian nationalism, right-wing authoritarianism, executive power, cultural threat, and willingness to tolerate violations of democratic norms.
These findings have contributed to broader debates over whether certain forms of Christian nationalism are primarily religious, cultural, partisan, authoritarian, or some combination of these elements.
Not all scholars interpret these relationships in the same way. Some argue that Christian nationalism is strongly connected to authoritarian political tendencies. Others caution that measures commonly used to identify Christian nationalism may overlap with political conservatism, racial attitudes, partisanship, religious traditionalism, or broader political polarization.
These disagreements have produced an expanding methodological debate over how Christian nationalism should be defined and measured.
Political Violence and Democratic Stability
Christian nationalism has also been studied in connection with political violence and democratic instability.
Research following the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol examined relationships among Christian nationalism, perceived victimhood, conspiracy beliefs, racial identity, political grievance, and support for the attack. Other reports documented Christian symbols, rhetoric, organizations, and narratives visible during the events surrounding January 6.
This research does not establish that Christian identity or Christian political participation itself produces political violence. Instead, it examines whether particular combinations of religious nationalism, perceived threat, conspiracy beliefs, authoritarianism, and political identity are associated with greater acceptance of extraordinary political action.
The literature also documents religious movements opposed to political violence and Christian nationalism. Christian leaders and organizations have participated in efforts supporting election integrity, peaceful democratic participation, voting rights, religious freedom, and constitutional government.
Race and Multiracial Democracy
Race occupies an important place in scholarship on American Christian nationalism.
Researchers have examined relationships among Christian nationalism, white racial solidarity, perceptions of racial discrimination, immigration, demographic change, and national identity. Some studies describe Christian nationalism as interacting with white identity politics, while other studies emphasize that Christian-nationalist beliefs are not restricted exclusively to white Americans.
Research has also examined differences in how Christian nationalism operates across racial groups. The meaning and political consequences of Christian-nationalist beliefs can differ depending on the race and social identity of the respondent.
This research contributes to wider debates about multiracial democracy. As the United States becomes increasingly religiously and ethnically diverse, questions about whether national identity should be defined culturally, racially, religiously, or civically become increasingly important.
Pluralistic democracy generally treats citizenship rather than racial or religious identity as the principal basis for political membership.
Immigration and National Boundaries
Immigration provides another area in which questions of national identity and pluralism become visible.
Research has examined associations between Christian nationalism and distrust of immigrants, attitudes toward deportation, birthright citizenship, demographic change, and cultural assimilation. Some studies connect these attitudes to perceptions that traditional religious or cultural groups are losing social influence.
Other research emphasizes that Christian nationalism does not operate identically among all racial, religious, or political groups.
The broader democratic issue concerns how national membership is defined. A pluralistic model generally treats citizenship and adherence to constitutional institutions as sufficient for political belonging, while religious-nationalist models may place additional cultural or religious expectations on national identity.
Gender, Sexuality, and Social Hierarchy
Christian nationalism has also been studied in relation to gender roles, sexuality, family authority, and social hierarchy.
Research in the source material examines Christian nationalism alongside patriarchal gender attitudes, pronatalism, control over children, masculinity, femininity, and LGBTQ policy preferences.
Some researchers argue that traditional gender hierarchy forms part of a broader Christian-nationalist social vision. Others emphasize that attitudes vary considerably among people who hold Christian-nationalist beliefs.
Research showing Christian-nationalist attitudes among some lesbian, gay, and bisexual respondents further complicates assumptions that Christian nationalism corresponds neatly with particular demographic groups.
These findings reinforce the broader scholarly argument that Christian nationalism should not automatically be treated as a completely uniform political or religious worldview.
Civil Religion and Christian Nationalism
American civil religion is another important concept in the debate.
Civil religion refers to public rituals, symbols, language, and beliefs that give national identity a quasi-religious character. Examples include references to God in civic ceremonies, national mottos, presidential speeches, and public commemorations.
Some scholars distinguish civil religion from Christian nationalism. Civil religion can theoretically provide a broad national vocabulary that includes citizens of different faiths, while Christian nationalism more explicitly associates national identity with Christianity.
Other scholars argue that civil-religious traditions can become pathways toward Christian nationalism when national religious symbols increasingly imply that Christianity defines authentic citizenship.
The distinction remains contested because both civil religion and Christian nationalism combine religion with national identity, but they differ in the degree to which one religious tradition is treated as central to political membership.
Measuring and Defining Christian Nationalism
A major methodological debate concerns how researchers should measure Christian nationalism.
Some surveys use statements about whether the federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation, whether laws should reflect Christian values, whether Christianity should receive governmental support, or whether America's success forms part of a divine plan.
Researchers have created scales that classify respondents according to levels of agreement with these propositions.
Other scholars argue that these scales may combine different phenomena. Qianru Li and Paul Froese, for example, distinguish between Christian traditionalism expressed through civil society and Christian statism involving greater governmental promotion of Christianity.
Additional scholarship differentiates among charismatic dominionism, Calvinist nationalism, Catholic integralism, and other ideological traditions.
Critics of broad definitions warn that ordinary Christian political activity, religious conservatism, patriotism, or opposition to particular policies should not automatically be classified as Christian nationalism.
For this reason, contemporary scholarship increasingly emphasizes precise definitions and attention to context.
International Perspectives
Although much of the Christian-nationalism literature focuses on the United States, researchers have begun testing the concept in other political systems.
Studies using data from African countries examine relationships among Christian nationalism, democratic support, authoritarian alternatives, religious tolerance, and attitudes toward LGBTQ people.
Research in Finland has examined whether American measures of Christian nationalism transfer effectively to a secularized multiparty democracy. These international comparisons suggest that the political meaning of religious nationalism depends partly on national history, religious institutions, party systems, and social context.
Consequently, findings from the United States cannot automatically be generalized to every country.
Competing Interpretations
The literature contains substantial disagreement about the meaning and consequences of Christian nationalism.
One body of scholarship emphasizes associations with authoritarianism, racial hierarchy, exclusionary national identity, political violence, minority distrust, and willingness to weaken democratic constraints.
Another body of scholarship warns against treating Christian nationalism as a single ideology or interpreting every form of Christian political engagement as hostile to democracy.
Some Christian thinkers reject Christian nationalism while defending active Christian participation in democratic politics. Others argue that Christian intellectual traditions contributed historically to constitutionalism, religious liberty, and pluralistic government.
Still others contend that the term itself is sometimes used too broadly in public debate.
These competing interpretations make careful distinctions particularly important. Christianity, Christian political participation, religious conservatism, American civil religion, and Christian nationalism overlap in some contexts but are not synonymous.
Christian Nationalism and the Future of Pluralistic Democracy
The central democratic question raised by this research is not whether religious citizens should participate in politics. Democratic societies generally protect that participation.
The deeper question is whether political institutions should privilege one religious identity or instead maintain equal citizenship across religious and nonreligious differences.
Pluralistic democracy depends on disagreement. Citizens may hold strongly conflicting views about religion, morality, family, immigration, race, economic policy, and national identity while remaining members of the same political community.
Research on Christian nationalism therefore provides a case study in a broader democratic challenge: how societies maintain shared institutions when citizens disagree deeply about national identity and moral authority.
The durability of pluralistic democracy depends not on eliminating these disagreements but on maintaining institutions in which political opponents remain citizens with equal rights.
Conclusion
Research on Christian nationalism and pluralistic democracy reveals a complex relationship among religion, national identity, democratic institutions, and social diversity.
Christian nationalism is not identical to Christianity, religious conservatism, patriotism, or ordinary religious involvement in politics. Scholars increasingly distinguish among different forms of Christian nationalism and debate how the concept should be measured.
At the same time, a substantial research literature examines associations between some forms of Christian nationalism and authoritarianism, perceptions of religious or cultural threat, restrictive definitions of national belonging, distrust of minorities, racial hierarchy, political violence, and willingness to weaken democratic norms.
Other scholarship emphasizes variation within Christian nationalism and cautions against overly broad or essentialist interpretations.
Pluralistic democracy offers a different organizing principle: citizens may maintain deeply different religious, cultural, and political identities while possessing equal rights and participating within common constitutional institutions.
The continuing debate over Christian nationalism therefore reflects a larger question about democratic society itself: whether national unity should depend on shared religious identity or on a political framework capable of accommodating enduring religious and cultural differences.
Pluralism, Democracy, and Political Tolerance
1. | Brooklyn Walker and Paul Djupe | University of Tennessee | September 10, 2026
University summary of research examining the tension between professed religious pluralism, Christian-nationalist beliefs, perceived threat, and political tolerance.
2. | David Sikkink and Greg Wurm | Social Science Research | August 2026
Americans' Views of Religion in Public Life: The Effect of Three Cultural Models on Attitudes Toward Religious and Nonreligious Groups. Compares Christian nationalism, civil religion, and liberal secularism and examines how each framework relates to public acceptance of Muslims, Jews, atheists, Buddhists, Latter-day Saints, and conservative Christians.
3. | Ruth Braunstein | SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University | June 26, 2026
Religion and the Restructuring of American Politics. Argues that an increasingly important divide within American religion concerns competing commitments to Christian political dominance and pluralistic democracy.
4. | Paul A. Djupe and Brooklyn Walker | Politics and Religion | March 26, 2026
The Weakness of Anti-Christian Nationalism: When Religiously Inclusive Orientations Can't Increase Tolerance. Examines religious pluralism and political tolerance among American Christians, finding that pluralistic beliefs can coexist with Christian nationalism but may lose influence when respondents perceive Christians as threatened.
5. | Jesse Smith | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | December 26, 2025
Partisan and Racial Sorting of Christian Nationalism, 1996–2022. Examines how religious-nationalist attitudes have become increasingly sorted by race and political party.
6. | John Ishiyama | Politics and Religion | September 15, 2025
Christian Nationalism and Attitudes About Democracy in Africa. Uses Afrobarometer data to examine Christian nationalism, democratic support, authoritarian alternatives, and tolerance outside the United States.
7. | Nilay Saiya | Politics and Religion | 2025
The Varieties of American Christian Nationalism. Distinguishes several Christian-nationalist traditions and examines their different theological foundations and approaches to political power.
8. | Jesse Smith | Sociological Forum | August 11, 2024
Old Wine in New Wineskins: Christian Nationalism, Authoritarianism, and the Problem of Essentialism in Explanations of Religiopolitical Conflict. Critiques assumptions within Christian-nationalism research and argues for greater attention to alternative explanations and political polarization.
9. | Fanhao Nie | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | November 6, 2023
In God We Distrust: Christian Nationalism and Anti-Atheist Attitude. Examines the relationship between Christian nationalism and prejudice toward atheists, one of the groups historically treated as outsiders to conventional American religious identity.
10. | Samuel L. Perry and Kenneth E. Frantz | The Sociological Quarterly | July 7, 2023
Our Kind of American: Christian Nationalism, Race, and Contingent Views of Cultural Membership. Finds that relationships between Christian nationalism and inclusion or exclusion vary across racial groups and according to which social group is being evaluated.
11. | Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs | Georgetown University | March 2023
Christian Nationalism and the Borders of Political Community. Discussion of how Christian nationalism defines political membership and the implications for citizens who fall outside a preferred religious or cultural identity.
12. | Qianru Li and Paul Froese | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | 2023
The Duality of American Christian Nationalism: Religious Traditionalism versus Christian Statism. Separates Christian civil-society traditionalism from Christian statism and finds substantially different relationships with nativism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, and racial distrust.
13. | Allyson F. Shortle and Ronald Keith Gaddie | Politics and Religion | June 19, 2015
Religious Nationalism and Perceptions of Muslims and Islam. Studies Christian-nationalist beliefs and attitudes toward Muslims and Islam among evangelical voters.
National Identity, Citizenship, and Belonging
14. | PRRI and Meanings of Democracy Lab | PRRI | September 24, 2026
Resistance to Christian Nationalism in All 50 States. Studies Americans who reject or remain skeptical of Christian-nationalist propositions and examines their attitudes toward democracy and pluralism.
15. | PRRI Staff | PRRI | June 17, 2026
Competing Visions of America at 250: Politics, Religion, and American Identity. Examines disagreements over national identity, religion, Christian nationalism, democracy, and what characteristics define an American.
16. | Scott A. Leadingham | Freedom Forum | Updated May 21, 2026
What Is Christian Nationalism? The Complete Guide. Reviews definitions of Christian nationalism and discusses its relationship with religious liberty, church-state separation, First Amendment protections, citizenship, and government preference for Christianity.
17. | Pew Research Center | Pew Research Center | May 14, 2026
How Americans Feel About Religion's Influence in Government and Public Life. Surveys attitudes toward official religion, promotion of Christian values, church-state separation, and Christian nationalism.
18. | PRRI Staff | PRRI | February 17, 2026
Mapping Christian Nationalism Across the 50 States. Updates national and state-level measures and analyzes Christian nationalism alongside authoritarianism, immigration attitudes, political violence, and citizenship.
19. | PRRI Staff | PRRI | February 4, 2025
Christian Nationalism Across All 50 States. Maps Christian-nationalist beliefs and examines their relationship to elections, democracy, immigration, religion, and political identity.
20. | PRRI Staff | PRRI | February 28, 2024
Support for Christian Nationalism in All 50 States. Uses more than 22,000 interviews to map differences in Christian-nationalist attitudes by state, religion, party, race, education, and other characteristics.
21. | Chip Rotolo, Gregory A. Smith and Jonathan Evans | Pew Research Center | March 15, 2024
Christianity's Place in Politics, and Christian Nationalism. Examines Americans' views of church-state separation, biblical influence on law, Christian government, and the term Christian nationalism.
22. | PRRI and Brookings Institution | PRRI | February 8, 2023
A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture. National survey examining Christian nationalism, religious diversity, racial attitudes, authoritarianism, minority groups, and democratic values.
23. | Pew Research Center | Pew Research Center | October 27, 2022
Views of the U.S. as a Christian Nation and Opinions About Christian Nationalism. Explores what Americans mean when they describe the United States as a Christian nation and how they understand Christian nationalism.
24. | Paul D. Miller | Christianity Today | February 2021
What Is Christian Nationalism? Explains nationalism through questions of cultural membership and argues that pluralistic societies inevitably contain citizens who do not fit a single religious-cultural template.
Civil Religion and National Identity
25. | Samuel Goldman | The Washington Post | July 10, 2026
America Has a Religion. Revive It. Argues that American civil religion can be understood as an alternative to both explicit Christian nationalism and strict secular nationalism.
26. | Chris Butler | Christianity Today | May 2026
Not Everything Is Christian Nationalism. Argues for distinguishing Christian nationalism from ordinary disagreements about immigration, religion, morality, and political participation in a pluralistic democracy.
27. | Christianity Today | Christianity Today | March 2026
American Christianity Is More Than Its Politics. Reviews differing Christian traditions in American public life, including revivalist, liberal, liberationist, and nationalist approaches.
28. | Beau Underwood and Brian Kaylor | Religion News Service | June 25, 2024
Civil Religion as a Gateway to Christian Nationalism. Discusses the history of religious language in national rituals and its implications for contemporary pluralism.
29. | Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood | University of Chicago Divinity School | June 20, 2024
Civil Religion as a Gateway to Christian Nationalism. Examines how ostensibly inclusive national religious symbols can become exclusionary as the United States grows more religiously diverse.
30. | Christianity Today | Christianity Today | March 2024
How (Not) to Talk About Christian Nationalism. Examines conceptual problems surrounding the label and argues for maintaining space for political and theological disagreement within democratic pluralism.
31. | Paul D. Miller | Christianity Today | March 2023
Christianity Is Not Necessary for Democracy. Challenges claims that democratic government requires continuing Christian cultural dominance.
32. | Abigail Vegter, Andrew R. Lewis and Cammie Jo Bolin | Politics and Religion | January 26, 2023
Which Civil Religion? Partisanship, Christian Nationalism, and the Dimensions of Civil Religion in the United States. Distinguishes Christian nationalism from American civil religion and explores whether civil religion continues to provide a common national vocabulary.
33. | Russell McCutcheon | University of Alabama | February 8, 2021
Civil Religion or Christian Nationalism? Considers the analytical distinction between American civil religion and Christian nationalism.
34. | Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry | Oxford University Press | March 19, 2020
Boundaries. Examines how Christian nationalism structures symbolic boundaries involving citizenship, race, immigration, atheists, Muslims, and religious diversity.
Democracy, Authoritarianism, and Political Power
35. | Jesse Smith and Jonathan Tran | Religious Studies Review | September 5, 2026
On Christian Nationalism. Reviews the expanding academic debate over how Christian nationalism should be defined, measured, interpreted, and evaluated.
36. | Social Forces | Oxford University Press | April 24, 2026
Culture Wars and Classism: Christian Nationalism, Economic Position, and Americans' Approval of Inequality. Examines connections between Christian nationalism, socioeconomic position, and acceptance of unequal social outcomes.
37. | Brooklyn Walker and Kevin J. Mullinix | Political Science Quarterly | April 9, 2026
An Eye for an Eye? The Conditional Punitiveness of Christian Nationalists. Examines how Christian-nationalist beliefs interact with perceptions of criminal identity and support for punitive government responses.
38. | Paul A. Djupe and Brooklyn Walker | Sociology of Religion | March 8, 2025
Jesus and John Wayne Wannabes: How Christian Nationalism and Femininity Shape Extreme Politics Among Men in the US. Examines Christian nationalism, gender attitudes, and support for extreme political behavior.
39. | Political Behavior | Political Behavior | 2025
“We Should All Be Christian Nationalists”: Elite Influence on Identification with Christian Nationalism. Examines whether elite political messages affect willingness to identify explicitly as Christian nationalist.
40. | Samuel L. Perry and colleagues | Social Forces | 2025
Order Begins at Home: Christian Nationalism and Control Over Children. Studies Christian nationalism, authoritarian control, education, parental power, and attitudes toward coercive discipline.
41. | Brookings Institution and PRRI | Brookings Institution | October 16, 2024
Democracy at a Crossroads. Discusses survey findings involving democratic norms, Christian nationalism, immigration, LGBTQ rights, political violence, and the 2024 election.
42. | Samuel L. Perry and Joshua B. Grubbs | Politics and Religion | September 19, 2024
Christian Nationalism and Support for Leaders Violating Democratic Norms During National Emergencies. Tests whether Christian-nationalist beliefs are associated with willingness to permit leaders to violate democratic restraints during crises.
43. | PRRI Staff | PRRI | September 10, 2024
One Leader Under God: The Connection Between Authoritarianism and Christian Nationalism in America. National survey examining authoritarianism, democratic values, political violence, immigration, cultural change, and Christian nationalism.
44. | Brookings Institution and PRRI | Brookings Institution | February 8, 2023
Understanding the Threat of White Christian Nationalism to American Democracy Today. Expert panel addressing survey findings on Christian nationalism, authoritarianism, racial identity, minority attitudes, and political violence.
45. | Philip S. Gorski, Samuel L. Perry and Jemar Tisby | Oxford University Press | April 21, 2022
Avoiding “The Big One.” A chapter from The Flag and the Cross examining white Christian nationalism, authoritarian tendencies, racial hierarchy, and democratic conflict.
46. | Miles T. Armaly, David T. Buckley and Adam M. Enders | Political Behavior | January 4, 2022
Christian Nationalism and Political Violence: Victimhood, Racial Identity, Conspiracy, and Support for the Capitol Attacks. Examines factors connecting Christian-nationalist beliefs with support for the January 6 Capitol attack.
47. | Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead and Joshua B. Grubbs | Socius | 2021
Research explores how Christian-nationalist understandings of American identity intersect with racial and cultural boundaries.
48. | Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead and Joshua B. Grubbs | Social Problems | March 20, 2020
White Christian Nationalism and Relative Political Tolerance for Racists. Analyzes political tolerance across stigmatized groups and the relationship between white Christian nationalism and tolerance toward openly racist actors.
49. | Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead and Joshua B. Grubbs | Sociology of Religion | 2020
Culture Wars and COVID-19 Conduct. Examines Christian-nationalist ideology and behavioral responses during the early COVID-19 pandemic.
50. | Joseph O. Baker, Samuel L. Perry and Andrew L. Whitehead | Socius | 2020
Research examines Christian nationalism and the politics of racial, religious, and national boundaries in the United States.
Political Violence and Democratic Stability
51. | Religion News Service | Religion News Service | September 12, 2026
Interview discussing Christian nationalism, January 6, church-state separation, religious liberty, and pluralistic democracy from the perspective of Rep. Jared Huffman.
52. | Katherine Stewart | Religion News Service | August 18, 2026
Interview with Rep. Jared Huffman examining Christian nationalism, religious privilege, church-state separation, and democratic government.
53. | Caleb Campbell | Religion News Service | August 18, 2023
A Christian theological critique contrasting Christian nationalism's pursuit of political power with cooperation and compromise in a pluralistic democratic society.
54. | Bob Smietana | Religion News Service | January 6, 2023
Who Are the Christian Nationalists? A Taxonomy for the Post-Jan. 6 World. Surveys different Christian-nationalist organizations and leaders and the range of ideas operating under the label.
55. | Center for American Progress and Auburn Seminary | Center for American Progress | February 2021
Report examining faith communities, election integrity, voting rights, Christian nationalism, democratic norms, and the January 6 attack.
The Pro-Democracy Faith Movement. Examines religious participation in defense of democratic institutions surrounding the 2020 election and January 6.
Race, Ethnicity, and Multiracial Democracy
57. | Christopher H. Seto | Sociology of Religion | May 24, 2026
In God We Trust: Christian Nationalism, Political and Ethno-Racial Identities, and Distrust of Immigrants. Studies Christian nationalism and distrust toward immigrants across racial and political identities.
58. | David Sikkink | Sociology of Religion | November 3, 2025
The Gathering Storm in the Evangelical Field: Education, Christian Nationalism, and Racial Inequality. Studies divisions among evangelicals concerning racial inequality and Christian nationalism.
59. | Samuel L. Perry | Sociology of Race and Ethnicity | July 14, 2025
How Christian Nationalism Promotes White Supremacy: An Examination of Racial Stereotypes. Studies whether Christian nationalism shapes perceptions of White and non-White Americans differently.
60. | Samuel L. Perry and Joshua B. Grubbs | Social Forces | February 23, 2025
The Religion of White Identity Politics: Christian Nationalism and White Racial Solidarity. Examines Christian nationalism's relationship with White group consciousness and racial political identity.
61. | Brooklyn Walker and Paul A. Djupe | Political Research Quarterly | February 14, 2025
Christian Nationalism Is Unbounded by LGB Identity. Demonstrates that Christian-nationalist beliefs are also found among some lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans and examines their policy consequences.
62. | William J. Barber II and others | Sojourners | September/October 2024
How Christians Can Counter Christian Nationalism. Collection discussing democratic institutions, racial equality, religious pluralism, voting, and nonviolent civic engagement.
63. | Maria J. Stephan | Sojourners | April 2024
Can Multiracial Democracy Survive? Connects racial equality, democratic resilience, political pluralism, white supremacy, and Christian nationalism.
64. | Kristin Kobes Du Mez | Sojourners | 2024
Christian Patriarchy and Christian Nationalism Are Intertwined. Interview discussing hierarchy, gender, political power, democracy, and Christian nationalism.
65. | Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood | Sojourners | 2024
Are You Accidentally a Christian Nationalist? Explores distinctions between religious political participation, civil religion, state-enforced religion, and pluralistic democracy.
Race over Religion: Christian Nationalism and Perceived Threats to National Unity. Examines whether respondents perceive racial or religious diversity as threats to American cohesion.
67. | Jacob Dennen and colleagues | Social Science Quarterly | February 22, 2023
Are Christian Nationalists Antisemitic and Why? Examines antisemitic beliefs, social dominance, minority attitudes, and Christian nationalism.
68. | Philip Gorski and Samuel L. Perry | Sojourners | 2022
What Does ‘White Christian Nationalism’ Even Mean, Anyway? Discusses terminology, racial hierarchy, Christian nationalism, political power, and pluralism.
69. | Samuel L. Perry and colleagues | Sociological Forum | September 7, 2022
Fill the Earth and Subdue It: Christian Nationalism, Ethno-Religious Threat, and Nationalist Pronatalism. Examines perceptions of demographic threat, gender hierarchy, Christian nationalism, and support for increasing the dominant population.
70. | Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead and Joshua B. Grubbs | Social Forces | November 11, 2021
Divided by Faith (in Christian America): Christian Nationalism, Race, and Divergent Perceptions of Racial Injustice. Examines racial differences in the relationship between Christian nationalism and perceptions of discrimination and policing.
Make America Christian Again: Christian Nationalism and Voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election. Examines Christian nationalism as a predictor of presidential voting independent of several other social and political attitudes.
72. | Allyson F. Shortle and Ronald Keith Gaddie | Politics and Religion | 2015
Religious Nationalism and Perceptions of Muslims and Islam. Early empirical research linking Christian-nationalist attitudes with perceptions of Muslim Americans.
73. | Samuel L. Perry and Kenneth E. Frantz | The Sociological Quarterly | July 7, 2023
Our Kind of American. Provides a social-identity approach for understanding how Christian nationalism can influence judgments concerning who belongs within the American cultural community.
Religious Minorities, Religious Freedom, and Church-State Separation
74. | Richard Lewis Dixon | SSRN | September 2, 2026
Christian Nationalism as the Bedrock of American Religious Pluralism: A Covenantal Approach. Presents a contrasting interpretation arguing that biblical and covenantal political traditions can support constitutional religious pluralism.
75. | Don Thorsen | The Ecumenical Review | February 13, 2026
Interreligious Dialogue and Religious Nationalism. Examines how religious nationalism affects interfaith dialogue, cooperation, and religious pluralism.
76. | Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty | BJC | 2026
Christian Nationalism. Resource collection examining Christian nationalism from the perspective of church-state separation and religious liberty for people of every faith and no faith.
77. | Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty | BJC | 2026
Christians Against Christian Nationalism. Presents a Christian argument for religious freedom and constitutional government without state preference for Christianity.
78. | Christians Against Christian Nationalism | BJC | 2026
Statement of Principles. Sets out a religiously grounded defense of constitutional democracy, church-state separation, and equality among citizens of different religions.
79. | Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty | BJC | 2026
Christian Nationalism FAQ. Explains BJC's definition of Christian nationalism and why the organization distinguishes it from Christianity and ordinary civic engagement.
80. | Jaziah Masters | BJC | December 4, 2024
What's Next? Discusses Christian nationalism, voting access, civic participation, and democratic engagement after the 2024 election.
81. | Robert P. Jones | Boisi Center, Boston College | 2024
Christian Nationalism, Religious Pluralism, and the 2024 Election. Explores historical conflicts between religiously exclusive national identity and pluralistic democracy.
82. | Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman | BJC | 2024
But … Is It Christian Nationalism? Discusses how to distinguish Christian nationalism from legitimate religious speech and participation in democratic politics.
83. | Paul D. Miller | Religion News Service | September 1, 2022
Is Christian Republicanism the Best Cure for Christian Nationalism? Argues for Christian political participation bounded by liberal-democratic institutions and equal political rights.
84. | Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons and Maggie Siddiqi | Center for American Progress | April 13, 2022
Christian Nationalism Is ‘Single Biggest Threat’ to America's Religious Freedom. Interview with Baptist Joint Committee leader Amanda Tyler on Christian nationalism, church-state separation, minority rights, and religious liberty.
85. | Religion News Service | Religion News Service | March 6, 2020
Katherine Stewart on Christian Nationalism's Push to Undermine Democratic Norms. Interview addressing political organization, national identity, pluralism, and democratic institutions.
Constitutional Rights and Equal Citizenship
86. | Center for American Progress | Center for American Progress | 2022
Christians Have a Role To Play in Defending U.S. Democracy. Interview with Rev. Adam Russell Taylor on Christian engagement in politics, inclusive democracy, and Christian nationalism.
87. | Baptist Joint Committee and Freedom From Religion Foundation | BJC | February 2022
Christian Nationalism and the January 6, 2021 Insurrection. Multi-author report documenting Christian-nationalist symbolism, organizations, narratives, and political claims surrounding January 6.
88. | Samuel L. Perry, Landon Schnabel and Joshua B. Grubbs | Nations and Nationalism | August 31, 2021
Christian Nationalism, Perceived Anti-Christian Discrimination, and Prioritising “Religious Freedom” in the 2020 Presidential Election. Examines how Christian nationalism and perceptions of Christian persecution shape the political importance assigned to religious-freedom claims.
89. | Diana L. Eck | The Commons / APRIL | March 1, 2021
Christian Nationalism v. Pluralism. Discusses competing understandings of religious belonging, constitutional citizenship, and pluralism in the United States.
90. | Rhetoric Society Quarterly | Taylor & Francis | 2022
“In God We Trust?”: Christian Nationalists' Establishment and Use of Theistnormative Legislation. Examines the national motto and the historical development of government-sponsored religious language.
91. | Samuel L. Perry, Joshua B. Grubbs and colleagues | Sociology of Religion | May 8, 2023
Liberty for Us, Limits for Them: Christian Nationalism and Americans' Views on Citizens' Rights. Studies Christian nationalism in relation to voting, speech, press freedom, fair trials, search protections, religious liberty, gun rights, and states' rights.
Immigration, Citizenship, and National Boundaries
92. | Christopher H. Seto | Sociology of Religion | May 24, 2026
In God We Trust: Christian Nationalism, Political and Ethno-Racial Identities, and Distrust of Immigrants. Examines immigration attitudes across racial and political identities.
Gender, Sexuality, and Equal Citizenship
93. | Megan Fowler | Christianity Today | July 30, 2026
The Summer of Taking Christian Nationalism Seriously. Reports how several Christian denominations are formally examining Christian nationalism and its implications for church life and public engagement.
94. | Christianity Today | Christianity Today | June 2026
A Political Pulpit for Me but Not for Thee. Argues that Christians across ideological traditions participate in democratic politics and questions when religious advocacy should properly be labeled Christian nationalism.
95. | Scott Waller, Darren Patrick Guerra and Tim Milosch | Christianity Today | March 2024
American Democracy Is in Trouble. No, Not Like That. Presents a Christian argument concerning democratic citizenship, civic institutions, and the responsibilities of churches in public life.
96. | Samuel L. Perry and colleagues | Sociological Forum | September 7, 2022
Fill the Earth and Subdue It. Studies Christian nationalism, demographic threat, pronatalism, gender hierarchy, and national identity.
Voting, Elections, and Democratic Participation
97. | Adam Russell Taylor | Sojourners | September/October 2024
Demonizing Christian Nationalists Won't End It. Discusses how defenders of pluralistic democracy might respond to Christian nationalism without treating fellow citizens as enemies.
Definitions, Measurement, and Scholarly Debate
Christian Nationalism, the Antisocial Gospel? Attitudes on Charity and Justice in the Kingdom of God. Examines whether Christian nationalism shapes Christians' prioritization of charity, justice, evangelism, political power, and biblical law.
99. | Brooklyn Walker and Paul Djupe | Religion News Service / The Conversation | August 21, 2026
Provides a synthesis of research examining whether abstract acceptance of religious diversity continues to shape political tolerance when citizens believe their own religious group faces cultural or political threat.
Christian Nationalism Divided: Exploring the Transferability of an American Concept to a Secularized Nordic Multi-Party Democracy. Tests whether American measures of Christian nationalism work in Finland and highlights differences created by political and religious context.
The Failure of the Contact Hypothesis—Exposure to Religious Diversity Conditions Apocalyptic Politics. Examines how exposure to religious diversity interacts with religious worldviews and political attitudes rather than assuming diversity automatically produces tolerance.
102. | Jesse Smith | Sociological Forum | August 11, 2024
Old Wine in New Wineskins. Argues that some scholarship may too quickly interpret Christian-nationalist measures as evidence of authoritarian motivation and calls for stronger tests of alternative explanations.
103. | Qianru Li and Paul Froese | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | 2023
The Duality of American Christian Nationalism. Finds substantially different political consequences depending on whether Christian nationalism is understood as religious traditionalism or as Christian control of government institutions.
104. | Pew Research Center | Pew Research Center | October 27, 2022
Shows that Americans attach multiple and sometimes contradictory meanings to the expressions “Christian nation” and “Christian nationalism.”
105. | PRRI and Brookings Institution | PRRI | February 8, 2023
Develops a five-question Christian-nationalism measure and divides respondents into Adherents, Sympathizers, Skeptics, and Rejecters.
106. | Paul A. Djupe and Brooklyn Walker | Politics and Religion | March 26, 2026
Complicates a simple nationalism-versus-pluralism dichotomy by finding that some Christian nationalists simultaneously endorse explicitly pluralistic principles.
107. | Richard Lewis Dixon | SSRN | September 2, 2026
Argues from a covenantal-pluralist perspective that Christian intellectual influences on the American founding need not imply theocracy and can instead be interpreted as compatible with constitutional pluralism.
