Christian Nationalism and Political Identity
Christian Nationalism and Political Identity
Christian nationalism is commonly described in the research literature as a cultural and political framework that fuses Christianity with American national identity. In this framework, Christianity is not merely understood as an individual religious faith. It can become part of a broader conception of who properly belongs to the nation, what values define the United States, which institutions deserve legitimacy, and which groups are understood as authentically American.
Research on Christian nationalism increasingly treats it not only as a collection of attitudes about religion and government but also as a form of social identity. From this perspective, an individual may think of Christian nationalists as a recognizable political group, identify personally with that group, perceive that its members share a common fate, believe that the group is threatened or discriminated against, and act politically in defense of it.
This distinction is important because identifying as a Christian nationalist is not necessarily identical to expressing Christian-nationalist beliefs on a survey. Some people strongly endorse ideas commonly associated with Christian nationalism without adopting the label, while others identify with the term more strongly than their responses to conventional Christian-nationalism measures might predict. Political leaders, media, churches, activist organizations, and public controversies can also influence whether people embrace or reject the identity.
Christian Nationalism as a Social Identity
Recent scholarship distinguishes between a Christian-nationalist worldview and an explicit Christian-nationalist identity. A worldview is generally measured through attitudes concerning Christianity, government, national history, public symbols, and the proper relationship between religion and the state. Identity concerns whether individuals actually understand themselves as members of a Christian-nationalist political community.
This approach draws attention to group consciousness. People who identify strongly with a political group may develop perceptions of shared interests, common enemies, collective discrimination, and linked fate. The political consequences of Christian nationalism therefore may depend not only on agreement with particular policy positions but also on the extent to which people regard Christian nationalists as a group to which they belong.
Research also suggests that political sophistication can influence the relationship between identity and worldview. Some Americans who endorse Christian-nationalist ideas reject the Christian-nationalist label, while some who identify with the label do not consistently hold every belief scholars traditionally include in Christian-nationalism scales.
Elite rhetoric can affect this process. When political or religious leaders publicly adopt the term, defend it, or describe it positively, supporters may become more willing to identify themselves as Christian nationalists. Conversely, criticism of the term or association of Christian nationalism with extremism can encourage otherwise sympathetic individuals to distance themselves from the label.
Christian nationalism therefore operates simultaneously as an academic concept, a political label, a contested public identity, and—in some communities—a self-conscious movement identity.
Partisanship and Political Sorting
One of the clearest themes in the research is the increasing relationship between Christian nationalism and partisan identity.
Christian nationalism has become particularly associated with the Republican political coalition and support for Donald Trump. Studies covering several decades describe increasing partisan sorting in which Christian-American identity, Republican affiliation, conservative religious identity, and support for Christian nationalism increasingly overlap.
This does not mean that every Republican or conservative Christian is a Christian nationalist. Nor does it mean Christian-nationalist ideas are completely absent among Democrats or political independents. Rather, the research describes an increasingly strong statistical and cultural connection between Christian nationalism and Republican politics.
The relationship may reinforce itself. Republican politicians who use Christian-nationalist language can make the identity more acceptable among Republican voters, while voters who already understand American identity in Christian-nationalist terms may become more loyal to candidates who appear to defend that identity.
Christian nationalism can consequently become part of a broader system of political identity in which disputes over elections, immigration, race, education, sexuality, religious liberty, and government authority are interpreted as struggles over the character of the nation itself.
This helps explain why some political disagreements associated with Christian nationalism can acquire unusually intense moral significance. Electoral opponents may cease to be viewed simply as citizens with different policy preferences and instead be portrayed as threats to Christianity, the nation, or a divinely sanctioned social order.
Race, Ethnicity, and National Belonging
Race is another important component of the literature on Christian-nationalist identity.
Research on white Christian nationalism has found connections between Christian nationalism, white racial solidarity, perceptions of declining cultural status, and restrictive ideas about who represents the authentic American nation. Some scholars describe Christian nationalism as one way in which religious and national language can reinforce white political identity without relying exclusively on explicitly racial terminology.
At the same time, Christian nationalism cannot be reduced simply to white racial identity. Research finds Christian-nationalist attitudes among Black, Latino, and other nonwhite Americans as well, and the political meaning of those attitudes can differ substantially across racial groups.
For some Black Americans, for example, Christian-nationalist language may function partly as a means of asserting inclusion in American national identity rather than defending white cultural dominance. Research also finds that relationships between Christian nationalism and political labels such as progressive or woke vary by race.
Latino Protestant and evangelical communities provide another example of this complexity. Christian-nationalist ideas can appear in these communities while interacting with immigration experience, religious conservatism, partisan realignment, family values, and conceptions of American belonging.
These differences demonstrate that Christian nationalism is not politically or sociologically identical in every population. Race, ethnicity, religion, party affiliation, and experiences of inclusion or exclusion can alter what Christian-nationalist language means to different groups.
Immigration, Citizenship, and the Meaning of "American"
A recurring question throughout the literature is who counts as an authentic American.
Christian nationalism often connects religious identity with broader definitions of national membership. Studies examine relationships between Christian nationalism and attitudes toward immigrants, Muslims, racial minorities, citizenship, voting, and cultural assimilation.
Some research finds that Christian nationalism is associated with more restrictive attitudes toward immigration and with distrust of groups perceived as religiously, ethnically, or culturally outside a traditional conception of America. These relationships, however, can vary by racial identity and partisan affiliation.
The idea of the United States as a Christian nation can therefore operate as more than a historical claim. It may serve as a boundary separating those imagined as part of the national community from those regarded as outsiders.
Disputes about immigration consequently become connected to larger arguments over national identity. Policies concerning borders, citizenship, voting requirements, refugees, and demographic change may be interpreted not merely as administrative questions but as struggles over the future identity of the country.
Christian nationalism exists within a larger family of ascriptive national identities—definitions of nationality based on inherited, religious, racial, or cultural characteristics rather than citizenship alone. Research comparing Christian nationalism with other conceptions of "real Americans" suggests substantial overlap between religious nationalism and wider forms of nativist political identity.
Christian Nationalism, Trump, and the Republican Coalition
Donald Trump's political rise has become a major setting for research on Christian nationalism.
Studies beginning with the 2016 presidential election found that Christian nationalism predicted support for Trump even when researchers accounted for several other political and social factors. Later research examined Christian nationalism in relation to continued Trump support, the 2020 election, perceptions of anti-Christian discrimination, immigration, election denial, and the 2024 election.
For many supporters, Trump need not personally represent traditional Christian religiosity in order to serve as a defender of Christian political identity. His political significance can instead derive from perceptions that he protects Christians, challenges secular or progressive institutions, restricts immigration, appoints favorable judges, or restores a threatened traditional social order.
This illustrates an important distinction between religious devotion and religious-political identity. Christian nationalism is not necessarily strongest among the people who exhibit the highest levels of conventional religious behavior. Political identity can transform religious symbols and narratives into markers of group solidarity independent of personal theological consistency.
The relationship also works in the opposite direction. Christian-nationalist symbolism associated with Trumpism and events such as January 6 has contributed to negative reactions among some Americans, including Christians who believe the movement distorts their religion. Christian nationalism can therefore produce both political identification and political backlash.
Perceived Threat, Victimhood, and Group Solidarity
The perception that Christianity or Christians are under threat is another recurring theme.
Christian-nationalist political identity can become stronger when adherents believe that Christians are losing cultural influence, experiencing discrimination, or being displaced from what they regard as their historic position within American society.
Such perceptions can produce a sense of collective victimhood. Political defeats, demographic change, secularization, changing gender norms, immigration, LGBTQ rights, racial diversification, or restrictions on government-sponsored religious activity may be interpreted as evidence that a Christian way of life is under attack.
When political identity is organized around perceived group threat, policy disagreements can become questions of group survival. Research consequently examines relationships among Christian nationalism, perceived anti-Christian discrimination, authoritarian attitudes, conspiracy beliefs, and willingness to take extraordinary political action.
The significance of perceived threat also helps explain why abstract commitments to tolerance or religious pluralism may weaken when adherents believe their own group is endangered. Individuals may endorse freedom of religion in principle while simultaneously supporting policies designed to preserve Christianity's privileged cultural or political position.
Democracy, Political Violence, and Authoritarianism
A substantial portion of the literature examines the relationship between Christian nationalism and democratic norms.
Studies have reported associations between Christian nationalism and willingness under certain circumstances to support political leaders who violate democratic rules, including weakening institutional checks, suppressing opponents, or suspending ordinary democratic procedures during perceived national emergencies.
Research surrounding the January 6 Capitol attack further examines connections among Christian nationalism, racial identity, political grievance, conspiracy theories, victimhood, and support for political violence.
The combination of multiple identities may be especially important. Research on Christian nationalism and gun ownership, for example, suggests that political attitudes can become more intense when a strong Christian-nationalist identity overlaps with another highly salient group identity.
This does not establish that Christian nationalists as a group support political violence, nor that Christian nationalism alone causes violent behavior. Rather, the research identifies relationships among Christian-nationalist beliefs, group threat, authoritarianism, conspiracy thinking, political grievance, and willingness among some respondents to justify extra-institutional political action.
Some scholars argue that these findings demonstrate distinctive effects of Christian nationalism. Others question whether some behavior attributed to Christian nationalism may instead reflect older and more general phenomena such as authoritarianism, racial resentment, conservative identity politics, or partisan polarization.
The debate over causation remains an important part of the scholarship.
Religious Identity and Internal Christian Debate
Christian responses to Christian nationalism are highly divided.
Some conservative Christians embrace the term and argue that Christianity should have a privileged role in shaping American law, institutions, education, or public culture. Different forms identified in the literature include charismatic dominionism, Reformed or Calvinist nationalism, and forms of Catholic integralism.
These traditions can differ significantly in theology even when they share political objectives. Christian nationalism should therefore not necessarily be understood as one unified theological movement.
Other Christians strongly reject Christian nationalism while remaining politically active. Evangelical, Catholic, mainline Protestant, Black church, and other Christian writers have argued that identifying Christianity with national power compromises religious faith, excludes non-Christians, or transforms Christianity into an instrument of political tribalism.
This conflict creates competing Christian political identities. One identifies national restoration and political power with the defense of Christianity, while another emphasizes pluralism, constitutional democracy, religious freedom, or theological separation between Christianity and national political identity.
Debate over Christian nationalism consequently occurs not only between religious and secular Americans but also within Christianity itself.
Christian Nationalism and Civil Religion
Christian nationalism is also frequently compared with American civil religion.
Civil religion refers broadly to shared national rituals, symbols, historical narratives, and references to God that can exist without formally identifying the nation with one denomination or theological tradition. Examples include presidential invocations of God, national prayers, memorial ceremonies, and religious language surrounding national ideals.
Some scholars and commentators regard pluralistic civil religion as an alternative to both Christian nationalism and strict secularism. Under this model, religious language may remain part of American public life without defining citizenship in explicitly Christian terms.
However, the meaning of civil-religious symbols has itself become increasingly partisan. Shared language about God and country can be interpreted differently depending on party affiliation, religious background, and attitudes toward Christian nationalism.
Christian nationalism therefore exists within a larger contest over how Americans understand the relationship among religion, patriotism, national history, and civic identity.
Measurement and Definitional Debate
How Christian nationalism should be defined and measured remains contested.
Much social-science research has relied on survey scales asking respondents about topics such as whether the federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation, whether Christianity should influence government, whether religious symbols should appear in public institutions, and whether America's success is part of God's plan.
Critics have questioned whether such scales always measure one coherent phenomenon. Some responses may reflect conventional religiosity, conservative politics, patriotism, historical beliefs, or attitudes toward church-state relations rather than an integrated Christian-nationalist ideology.
More recent research therefore distinguishes explicit social identity from ideological worldview and examines whether people personally adopt the label "Christian nationalist."
Other scholars argue that the term is sometimes used too broadly in public debate. From this perspective, ordinary Christian political participation, religious conservatism, opposition to secularism, or voting Republican should not automatically be classified as Christian nationalism.
These criticisms are important because definitions affect estimates of how widespread Christian nationalism is and conclusions about its political consequences.
At the same time, defenders of the concept argue that a large body of research consistently identifies a recognizable cultural framework linking Christianity, American identity, political authority, national belonging, and particular social hierarchies.
The most useful approach is therefore to distinguish carefully among Christian faith, Christian political participation, religious conservatism, Christian-nationalist beliefs, and explicit Christian-nationalist identity rather than treating them as interchangeable.
Competing Visions of American Identity
At its broadest level, the Christian-nationalism debate concerns competing answers to a fundamental question: What defines membership in the American nation?
One answer emphasizes Christianity as a foundational component of American civilization and argues that public institutions should acknowledge or protect that heritage.
Another emphasizes constitutional citizenship and religious pluralism, maintaining that Americans of all religions or no religion possess equal claims to national belonging.
A third perspective emphasizes a shared civil religion built around constitutional ideals, national history, civic responsibility, and broadly inclusive religious symbolism.
These competing visions influence debates over immigration, education, voting, religious liberty, public schools, national history, race, sexuality, government institutions, and presidential politics.
Christian nationalism is therefore not simply a dispute about how religious individual Americans are. It represents a larger struggle over national identity, political legitimacy, cultural authority, and the boundaries of American citizenship.
Conclusion
The research on Christian nationalism and political identity shows that Christian nationalism is best understood as more than a single policy position or religious belief. It can operate as a cultural worldview, political ideology, social identity, partisan marker, religious identity, and conception of national belonging.
Its contemporary political significance arises in large part from its interaction with other identities. Party affiliation, race, religion, perceptions of cultural threat, gun ownership, immigration attitudes, and loyalty to political leaders can reinforce or reshape Christian-nationalist identification.
The evidence also cautions against treating all manifestations of Christian nationalism as identical. White, Black, Latino, Protestant, Catholic, evangelical, charismatic, and other populations can attach different meanings to Christian-nationalist language. Some Christians explicitly embrace the identity, while others organize politically and theologically against it.
At the same time, a substantial body of research connects stronger forms of Christian nationalism with exclusionary definitions of national belonging, perceptions of group victimhood, resistance to pluralism, support for authoritarian political responses, and—in some circumstances—greater acceptance of political violence.
The continuing scholarly debate concerns how distinctive these relationships are, how Christian nationalism should be measured, and where the boundaries should be drawn between Christian nationalism and ordinary conservative Christian political participation.
Ultimately, Christian nationalism is part of a larger contest over American identity: whether national belonging should be grounded primarily in a particular religious and cultural inheritance or in a pluralistic political community whose membership is independent of religious identity.
Measurement, definitions & Christian-nationalist identity
1. | Brooklyn Walker & Paul A. Djupe | Religion in Public | August 26, 2026
Christian Nationalist Identity-Worldview Mismatches. Examines people whose identification as Christian nationalists is stronger or weaker than their underlying Christian-nationalist worldview and finds political sophistication plays an important role.
2. | Samuel Goldman | The Washington Post | July 10, 2026
America Has a Religion. Revive It. Contrasts Christian-nationalist and secular definitions of national identity with the alternative concept of American civil religion.
Christian Nationalism as a Social Identity. Develops an explicit social-identity measure of Christian nationalism and distinguishes identification with the Christian-nationalist group from simply holding Christian-nationalist beliefs or a Christian-nationalist worldview.
4. | Charles McCrary | Public Religion Research Institute | May 15, 2026
How Americans’ Views of the Term Christian Nationalism Are Shaped. Explores how political rhetoric, religious commitments, and public discourse influence whether Americans accept or reject the Christian-nationalist label.
5. | Christianity Today | May 2026
Not Everything Is Christian Nationalism. Offers a critique of overly broad use of the label and illustrates the ongoing struggle over how conservative Christian political identity should be classified.
6. | Paul A. Djupe & Brooklyn Walker | Religion in Public | March 30, 2026
Does Support for Christian Nationalism Hinge on How It’s Defined? Experimental work showing that different definitions and political frames affect how Christians respond to the Christian-nationalist label.
7. | Amy Brooke Grauley | Political Behavior | September 29, 2025
“We Should All Be Christian Nationalists”: Elite Influence on Identification with Christian Nationalism. Experimental research shows elite messages can change willingness to publicly identify as a Christian nationalist.
8. | Brooklyn Walker & Paul A. Djupe | Political Research Quarterly | February 14, 2025
Christian Nationalism Is Unbounded by LGB Identity. Finds Christian-nationalist worldviews exist among some LGB Americans, illustrating that political and religious identities do not always align in simple ideological patterns.
9. | Jonathan Evans et al. | Pew Research Center | January 28, 2025
Religious Nationalism Around the World. Provides cross-national evidence on how religion becomes incorporated into definitions of authentic national identity.
10. | Bob Smietana | Religion News Service | May 17, 2023
What Is Christian Nationalism, Anyway? Reviews competing definitions and emphasizes the fusion of American and Christian identity as a central feature.
11. | Bob Smietana | The Washington Post | January 6, 2023
Who Are the Christian Nationalists? A Taxonomy for the Post-Jan. 6 World. Maps differing networks and political identities operating beneath the broader Christian-nationalist label.
12. | Bob Smietana | Religion News Service | January 6, 2023
Who Are the Christian Nationalists? A Taxonomy for the Post-Jan. 6 World. Identifies several overlapping networks whose members express different forms of Christian-nationalist political identity.
How Much Do Americans Really Support Christian Nationalism? Examines measurement differences and shows why identification with the label is not equivalent to endorsement of individual Christian-nationalist beliefs.
14. | Baptist News Global | 2023
Christian Nationalism as Political Identity. Argues that Christian nationalism often functions more as a cultural-political marker than as a measure of traditional religious devotion.
15. | American Enterprise Institute | AEI | 2023
What Christian Nationalism Is—and Isn’t. Discusses definitional disputes and whether ordinary conservative Christian political activity should be classified as Christian nationalism.
16. | Heritage Foundation | Heritage Foundation | 2023
The Debate Over Christian Nationalism. Presents a conservative perspective questioning expansive definitions of Christian nationalism and distinguishing religious conservatism from nationalist identity.
17. | Allyson F. Shortle, Eric L. McDaniel & Irfan Nooruddin | The Washington Post | September 1, 2022
Americans Are Growing More Accepting of Christian Nationalism. Examines how elite adoption of the label can normalize Christian-nationalist political identity.
18. | Nicholas T. Davis | Politics and Religion | July 11, 2022
The Psychometric Properties of the Christian Nationalism Scale. Critically evaluates how researchers classify Christian-nationalist beliefs and raises questions about whether conventional survey measures capture one coherent political identity.
19. | Paul D. Miller | Christianity Today | February 3, 2021
What Is Christian Nationalism? Defines Christian nationalism as a political ideology about American identity and distinguishes it from Christianity, patriotism, and ordinary Christian political participation.
20. | Andrew L. Whitehead & Samuel L. Perry | Oxford University Press | March 19, 2020
Introduction: A House Dividing, from Taking America Back for God. Establishes the influential definition of Christian nationalism as a cultural framework fusing Christianity with American civic identity and explains its role in political polarization.
Partisanship, elections, Trump & Republican identity
21. | Noah Berlatsky | Sojourners | September 15, 2026
No, James Talarico Is Not a Christian Nationalist. Uses a Christian Democratic political candidate to distinguish faith-informed politics from Christian-nationalist identity.
“True Americans” at the Ballot Box. Compares Christian nationalism with broader ascriptive definitions of American identity in explaining populist-right voting during the 2024 election.
23. | Chip Rotolo & Gregory A. Smith | Pew Research Center | May 14, 2026
How Americans Feel About Religion’s Influence in Government and Public Life. Documents growing awareness of Christian nationalism and sharp Republican-Democratic divisions over Christianity's proper role in American government.
24. | Associated Press | May 2026
Trump Administration Will Join a Prayer Gathering Criticized for Promoting Christian Nationalism. Shows how official government participation in Christian political events contributes to debate over national religious identity.
25. | Pamela Brown | CNN | March 20, 2026
Rise of Christian Nationalism. Discusses Christian-nationalist influence during the second Trump administration and its ties to political power.
26. | Russell Contreras and John Frank | Axios | February 24, 2026
Mapped: Christian Nationalism. Uses Colorado survey findings to illustrate geographic and partisan differences in Christian-nationalist identity.
27. | Axios Salt Lake City | Axios | February 23, 2026
Most Utahns Don’t Support Christian Nationalism. Shows how Mormon-dominated Utah differs from other Republican states, illustrating the importance of denominational identity.
28. | Russell Contreras | Axios | February 18, 2026
Where Christian Nationalism Is Most Dominant in the U.S. Reports that Christian nationalism is particularly concentrated inside the Republican coalition and strongly associated with Trump support.
29. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | February 17, 2026
A Closer Look at Christian Nationalism in Nine States. Examines partisan, religious, and demographic identities associated with Christian nationalism in politically important states.
30. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | February 17, 2026
Mapping Christian Nationalism Across the 50 States. Finds Christian nationalism strongly associated with Republican identification, Trump favorability, religious affiliation, media consumption, and geographical political cultures.
31. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | 2026
Competing Visions of America at 250: Politics, Religion, and American Identity. Examines Christian nationalism as one competing definition of American political identity and documents growing Republican acceptance of the label.
32. | Adam Gabbatt | The Guardian | April 16, 2025
Trump Has Put Christian Nationalists in Key Roles. Examines how movement leaders and identity-based religious politics moved from electoral mobilization into government institutions.
33. | Peter Smith | Associated Press | November 8, 2024
White Evangelical Voters Show Steadfast Support for Donald Trump’s Presidency. Examines the durability of white evangelical Republican identity and concern that Christian nationalism could further fuse religious and partisan commitments.
34. | Niala Boodhoo | Axios | October 7, 2024
U.S. Christians Push Back on Christian Nationalism. Documents Christian groups developing an explicitly pro-pluralist religious identity in opposition to Christian nationalism.
35. | Samuel L. Perry | Politics and Religion | October 2, 2024
Which Political Entities Are “Friendly” to Religion? Examines how Christian nationalism and partisan identity jointly influence evaluations of the Republican Party, Democratic Party, and Supreme Court.
36. | Hannah Allam | The Washington Post | July 13, 2024
Pro-Trump Christian Extremists Use Scripture to Justify Violent Goals. Examines spiritual-warfare rhetoric that frames political opponents as existential enemies rather than legitimate members of a competing party.
37. | Russell Contreras | Axios | June 24, 2024
Axios Explains: Christian Nationalism on the March. Examines the movement’s increasing connection with Republican politicians, Donald Trump, and efforts to define America through conservative Christian identity.
38. | Pew Research Center | March 15, 2024
U.S. Presidential Candidates and Their Religious Engagement. Examines how voters evaluate candidates’ religious behavior and how those judgments vary across partisan and religious identities.
39. | Pew Research Center | March 15, 2024
Religion’s Role in Public Life. Documents partisan and religious differences over whether Christianity should exercise greater influence over government and politics.
40. | Chip Rotolo, Gregory A. Smith & Jonathan Evans | Pew Research Center | March 15, 2024
Christianity’s Place in Politics and Christian Nationalism. Surveys partisan and religious differences concerning Christian national identity, church-state separation, and the Christian-nationalist label.
41. | Jack Jenkins | The Washington Post | July 7, 2023
Josh Hawley Tweet Sparks Allegations of Christian Nationalism. Demonstrates how competing historical narratives about America's founding function as contemporary partisan identity markers.
42. | Jack Jenkins | The Washington Post | February 24, 2023
“Christian Patriots” Are Flocking From Blue States to Idaho. Shows Christian-nationalist political identity influencing geographic migration, local Republican politics, and community formation.
43. | Abigail Vegter, Andrew R. Lewis & 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. Shows that ostensibly shared national religious symbolism is increasingly interpreted through partisan identities.
44. | Gallup | 2023
Americans’ Views of Church, State, and Religion in Politics. Provides broader polling context for the partisan divide over religious influence in American public life.
45. | Pew Research Center | October 27, 2022
Churches and Politics. Examines divisions over whether religious institutions should intervene politically and whether clergy should endorse political candidates.
46. | Pew Research Center | October 27, 2022
Americans’ Views of the Founding and Christian Nationhood. Explores how historical narratives about America’s origins have become markers of contemporary partisan identity.
47. | Pew Research Center | October 27, 2022
45% of Americans Say U.S. Should Be a “Christian Nation.” Examines competing conceptions of American religious identity and substantial partisan disagreement over church involvement in politics.
48. | Andrew L. Whitehead | The Washington Post | October 25, 2022
Is Christian Nationalism Growing or Declining? Both. Explains how aggregate adherence can decline while the identity simultaneously becomes more concentrated and politically influential within the Republican Party.
49. | Russell Moore | Christianity Today | September 29, 2022
Christian Nationalism Cannot Save the World. Argues Christian nationalism transforms Christianity into a cultural identity marker serving national and political solidarity.
50. | Politico Magazine | September 20, 2022
The Republican Debate Over Christian Nationalism. Describes how the label became contested within conservative politics, with some politicians embracing it and others rejecting it.
51. | Religion News Service | September 1, 2022
Is Christian Republicanism the Best Cure for Christian Nationalism? Distinguishes democratic Christian political participation from identity politics that equates Christianity with national ownership.
52. | The Atlantic | August 2022
The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Republican Politics. Examines growing elite acceptance of Christian-nationalist rhetoric and its implications for party identity.
53. | Politico | July 27, 2022
Christian Nationalism Moves Into Republican Rhetoric. Documents politicians publicly adopting a label that had previously been used primarily by scholars and critics.
Why Christian Nationalism Is Growing in Republican Politics. Uses polling and political analysis to explain why Christian-nationalist ideas have become increasingly associated with GOP identity.
Christian Nationalism and the Republican Party. Explores increasing public debate over whether the GOP should explicitly identify with Christian nationalism.
Christian Nationalism Gains Ground in Republican Politics. Examines politicians and activists openly presenting Christianity as central to authentic American political identity.
Christian Nationalism and the Republican Base. Examines connections among evangelical identity, Republican loyalty, and efforts to increase Christianity’s formal role in government.
58. | Associated Press & FRONTLINE | PBS | 2022
Michael Flynn: From Government Insider to Holy Warrior. Examines how Christian nationalism merges Christian and American identities and became incorporated into election-denial activism.
59. | Samuel L. Perry | Nations and Nationalism | August 31, 2021
Christian Nationalism, Perceived Anti-Christian Discrimination, and Prioritising “Religious Freedom” in the 2020 Presidential Election. Shows perceived Christian group victimization can turn religious identity into a politically mobilizing identity.
60. | Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead & Joshua B. Grubbs | Politics and Religion | April 21, 2021
The Devil That You Know. Examines Christian nationalism as a predictor of maintaining or changing political support for Donald Trump between the 2016 and 2020 elections.
61. | Religion & Politics | September 22, 2020
Christian Nationalism and the 2020 Election. Explores how religious-national identity contributed to Trump’s political coalition.
62. | The Atlantic | October 2019
White Evangelicals and Trump. Explores how partisan and cultural identities can become stronger predictors of political behavior than conventional measures of personal religiosity.
63. | Andrew L. Whitehead, Samuel L. Perry & Joseph O. Baker | Sociology of Religion | January 25, 2018
Make America Christian Again: Christian Nationalism and Voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election. Shows Christian nationalism predicted Trump support independently of conventional measures of partisanship, racism, sexism, and economic dissatisfaction.
Race, ethnicity, immigration & national belonging
Progressive Christian Mobilization and the Discourse of White Christian Nationalism. Shows opposition to Christian nationalism can itself become an organizing political and religious identity among progressive Christians.
65. | Christopher H. Seto | Sociology of Religion | May 24, 2026
In God We Trust: Christian Nationalism, Political and Ethno-Racial Identities, and Distrust of Immigrants. Tests how partisan and ethno-racial identities condition the relationship between Christian nationalism and distrust of immigrants.
66. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | March 30, 2026
How Christian Nationalism Affects Views on Immigration. Demonstrates substantial racial differences in how Christian-nationalist identity translates into immigration attitudes.
67. | Religion News Service | March 25, 2026
Christian Nationalism Makes Our Rights Conditional. Examines how a Christianized understanding of American identity can influence views about citizenship, voting, and political belonging.
68. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | March 2, 2026
Trump Favorability Declines Among Republicans, Some Religious Groups. Tracks the interaction of partisan identity, religious identity, race, and Christian nationalism in assessments of Trump.
69. | Jesse Smith | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | December 26, 2025
Partisan and Racial Sorting of Christian Nationalism, 1996–2022. Finds Christian-American identity increasingly sorted along partisan and racial lines, particularly between a largely secular Democratic coalition and the religious Republican right.
70. | Jennifer Butler | Religion News Service | December 18, 2025
The Christian Nationalist Worldview Behind America’s New Security Posture. Examines how national-security policy can reflect narratives about Christian civilization, cultural belonging, and national decline.
71. | Joshua B. Grubbs et al. | Public Opinion Quarterly | May 13, 2025
White or Woke Christian Nationalists? How Race Moderates the Link Between Christian Nationalism and Progressive Identities. Shows that the relationship between Christian nationalism and progressive political identity varies considerably by race.
72. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | February 4, 2025
Christian Nationalism Across All 50 States. Documents relationships among Christian nationalism, Republican identity, Donald Trump, election attitudes, immigration, patriarchy, and QAnon.
73. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | 2025
The New Immigration Crackdown: Where Americans Stand. Finds Christian-nationalist orientations and restrictive definitions of American identity strongly associated with support for Trump-era immigration policies.
74. | Joshua B. Grubbs et al. | Public Opinion Quarterly / PMC | 2025
Full-text version of research examining how racial identity conditions the relationship between Christian nationalism and identification with terms such as “progressive” and “woke.”
75. | Samuel L. Perry et al. | Social Forces | 2025
The Religion of White Identity Politics: Christian Nationalism and White Racial Solidarity. Argues that Christian nationalism can operate as a religious expression of white political identity and strengthen feelings of white group solidarity.
76. | Hannah Allam | The Washington Post | October 29, 2024
In a Race They Cast as Good vs. Evil, Christian Hard-Liners Are Fired Up for Trump. Shows how Christian-nationalist identity converts electoral competition into a moral struggle between religiously defined political camps.
77. | Tom Dreisbach | NPR | October 24, 2024
How Charlie Kirk’s Groups Are Trying to Elect Trump. Traces Turning Point’s transformation from a largely secular conservative youth organization toward an explicitly Christian political movement.
78. | William Horne | TIME | October 17, 2024
What Christian Nationalism Looked Like in Practice. Uses Jim Crow-era political history to examine how Christian national identity has been historically connected to racial hierarchy.
79. | Brooklyn Walker | Religion in Public | July 9, 2024
Black Christian Nationalism as Identity Management. Explores how some Black Americans may use Christian-nationalist language as a way of asserting American belonging when their national identity is questioned.
80. | Russell Contreras | Axios | February 29, 2024
Survey: 55% of Latino Protestants Support Christian Nationalism. Complicates portrayals of Christian nationalism as exclusively white by examining support within Hispanic Protestant communities.
Christian Nationalism’s Place in Republican Politics. Explores the movement’s connection to Trump, evangelical voters, immigration, education, and cultural grievance.
82. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | February 28, 2024
Support for Christian Nationalism in All 50 States. Finds sharp partisan relationships among white and Hispanic Christian nationalists while showing Black Christian nationalism has a notably different partisan profile.
83. | Russell Contreras | Axios | February 14, 2024
Film Dives Into Threats of Christian Nationalism. Reviews debates over how white Christian identity, race, partisan politics, and democratic institutions intersect.
Our Kind of American: Christian Nationalism, Race, and Contingent Views of Cultural Membership. Finds Christian nationalism affects understandings of who belongs in America differently depending on respondents' racial identity and the group being evaluated.
85. | Bob Smietana | The Washington Post | May 19, 2023
What Is Christian Nationalism Anyway? Explores disputes over the term and emphasizes the central question of who possesses legitimate authority and belonging in America.
86. | Alejandra Molina | The Washington Post | May 17, 2023
Latino Faith Leaders to Gather for Summit on Christian Nationalism. Examines the spread and reinterpretation of Christian-nationalist political identity within Latino Christian communities.
Christian Nationalism and White Identity. Investigates overlap among religion, race, nationalist politics, and perceptions that traditional American culture is threatened.
88. | Yonat Shimron | Religion News Service | January 24, 2023
How Southern California Helped Birth White Christian Nationalism. Examines Bradley Onishi's account of how evangelical religious identity became intertwined with race, gender, and conservative American political identity.
89. | NORC at the University of Chicago | 2023
Religion, Politics, and American Identity. Survey research illuminating how religious belonging interacts with political partisanship and national identity.
90. | The Christian Century | 2023
Why Christian Nationalism Matters. Explores how the ideology changes the relationship between faith, citizenship, party politics, and conceptions of national belonging.
91. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | 2023
2023 American Values Survey. Provides extensive data on religion, partisan affiliation, cultural grievance, national identity, immigration, race, and democratic attitudes.
92. | Pew Research Center | October 27, 2022
In Their Own Words: How Americans Describe Christian Nationalism. Reveals how Americans themselves link the term to political agendas, Christian governance, nationalism, race, and partisan groups.
The Growing Republican Embrace of Christian Nationalism. Examines how the term shifted from an academic description to an identity publicly claimed by Republican politicians.
94. | Robert P. Jones et al. | Public Religion Research Institute | November 1, 2021
Findings From the 2021 American Values Survey. Documents partisan differences over white Christian cultural decline and the changing definition of who counts as American.
95. | Andrew L. Whitehead & Samuel L. Perry | TIME | June 1, 2021
The Growing Anti-Democratic Threat of Christian Nationalism in the U.S. Links white Christian-nationalist identity with exclusionary understandings of citizenship, voting, and democratic legitimacy.
96. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | 2021
Competing Visions of America: An Evolving Identity or a Culture Under Attack? Shows that Americans differ sharply over whether increasing racial and religious diversity strengthens or threatens national identity.
97. | Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead & Joshua B. Grubbs | Sociology of Religion | May 14, 2020
Keep America Christian (and White): Christian Nationalism, Fear of Ethnoracial Outsiders, and Intention to Vote for Donald Trump. Connects Christian-nationalist political identity with xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Trump support.
98. | Religion & Politics | October 30, 2018
Christian Nationalism, Trump, and American Identity. Discusses the fusion of Christianity, nationalism, race, and partisan political behavior during the Trump era.
Democracy, authoritarianism, political violence & January 6
99. | David Smith | The Guardian | October 3, 2026
When Is the Right Time to Compare US Politics to the Nazi Era? Interview with Robert P. Jones examining white Christian political identity, demographic anxiety, authoritarianism, and the struggle over American democracy.
100. | Jake Tapper and Jared Huffman | CNN | September 14, 2026
Christian Nationalism and American Democracy. Discusses Christian nationalism as a national identity fusing conservative Christian identity with right-wing politics.
101. | David E. Campbell & Geoffrey C. Layman | Politics and Religion | July 13, 2026
Backlash to Christian Nationalism. Finds that exposure to Christian-nationalist symbolism surrounding January 6 contributed to both religious and partisan identity change among some Americans.
102. | Donald P. Haider-Markel, Abigail Vegter & Brooklyn Walker | Religion in Public | April 30, 2026
Christian Nationalism, Gun Owner Identity, and Support for Political Violence. Explains how overlapping group identities can intensify grievance, threat perceptions, and willingness to endorse political violence.
An Army for God: Gun Ownership, Christian Nationalism, and Support for Political Violence. Finds particularly strong support for political violence when Christian-nationalist identity overlaps with a strong gun-owner identity.
104. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | February 12, 2026
Trump Favorability Remains Steady Through First Year. Analyzes Trump support through party affiliation, religion, Christian nationalism, and authoritarian political identity.
105. | John Ishiyama | Politics and Religion | September 15, 2025
Christian Nationalism and Attitudes About Democracy in Africa. Provides comparative evidence that Christian-nationalist political identity is associated with weaker democratic commitments beyond the United States.
106. | Brooklyn Walker | Religion in Public | February 12, 2025
Is Christian Nationalism Just a Dressed Up Authoritarianism? Examines whether Christian nationalism behaves empirically more like an ideology, authoritarian disposition, racial identity, or social identity.
107. | David Smith | The Guardian | January 19, 2025
“Reactionary Nihilism”: How a Rightwing Movement Strives to End US Democracy. Discusses Katherine Stewart's research into networks joining Christian nationalism, conservative political identity, wealth, and authoritarian politics.
108. | Jesse Smith | Sociological Forum | August 11, 2024
Old Wine in New Wineskins. Critically evaluates Christian-nationalism scholarship and asks whether some findings are better understood through longstanding theories of authoritarian political identity.
109. | Adrian Horton | The Guardian | April 27, 2024
“Demolishing Democracy”: How Much Danger Does Christian Nationalism Pose? Reviews the documentary Bad Faith and the political networks linking conservative Christianity with Republican power.
110. | Laura Barrón-López & Sam Lane | PBS NewsHour | February 1, 2024
What Is Christian Nationalism and Why It Raises Concerns About Threats to Democracy. Bradley Onishi discusses Christian nationalism's reach, history, and relationship to contemporary right-wing political identity.
111. | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | 2024
Christian Nationalism and Democracy. Argues that defining authentic Americans by religious identity threatens equal citizenship and religious pluralism.
112. | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | Carnegie Endowment | 2024
Religion, Nationalism, and Democracy in the United States. Places Christian nationalism within broader debates over identity-based political polarization and democratic resilience.
113. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | 2024
Challenges to Democracy and Political Identity. Analyzes Christian nationalism alongside partisan loyalty, election denial, political violence, and attitudes toward Trump.
114. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | 2024
One Leader Under God: The Connection Between Authoritarianism and Christian Nationalism in America. Explores the overlap between Christian-nationalist orientation and preference for authoritarian leadership.
115. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | 2024
Threats to American Democracy Ahead of an Unprecedented Presidential Election. Examines how religious, racial, and partisan identities shape perceptions of democratic legitimacy.
116. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | 2024
Challenges to Democracy: The 2024 Election in Focus. Connects partisan identity, authoritarianism, Christian nationalism, election legitimacy, and support for political candidates.
117. | Samuel L. Perry & Joshua B. Grubbs | Politics and Religion | 2024
Christian Nationalism and Support for Leaders Violating Democratic Norms During National Emergencies. Finds Christian nationalism strongly predicts willingness to suspend elections, suppress opponents, and weaken checks and balances under perceived crisis conditions.
118. | Robert P. Jones | TIME | August 31, 2023
Christian Nationalism Goes Back Further Than You Think. Places contemporary political identity conflicts within a long history of competing definitions of America as a Christian homeland or pluralistic democracy.
119. | Brookings Institution & PRRI | February 8, 2023
Understanding the Threat of White Christian Nationalism to American Democracy Today. Discusses intersections among Christian nationalism, party identity, white identity, racial attitudes, and democratic commitments.
120. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | February 8, 2023
A Christian Nation? Major national survey examining how Christian nationalism intersects with party identity, white identity, racial attitudes, authoritarianism, immigration, and political violence.
How White Christian Nationalism Shapes American Politics. Discusses race, religion, demographic change, and political perceptions that cultural power is being lost.
122. | Brennan Center for Justice | 2023
Christian Nationalism, Election Denial, and Democracy. Explores ideological connections between threatened political identity and rejection of unfavorable election outcomes.
123. | Center for American Progress | 2023
White Christian Nationalism and Democracy. Examines how white, Christian, and Republican identities increasingly overlap within one political coalition.
124. | New America | 2023
Christian Nationalism and American Democracy. Examines political networks and narratives that define national belonging through conservative Christian identity.
125. | Brookings Institution | Brookings | 2023
Understanding White Christian Nationalism. Discusses how racial, religious, and partisan identities converge within sections of the Christian-nationalist movement.
126. | Brookings Institution | Brookings | 2023
Christian Nationalism Explained. Reviews evidence linking Christian nationalism with contemporary conservative political identity, racial attitudes, and views of American democracy.
127. | Religion & Politics | February 15, 2022
Christian Nationalism, January 6, and American Democracy. Examines how religious and national narratives helped construct a political identity among portions of the Capitol protest movement.
128. | Miles T. Armaly, David T. Buckley & Adam M. Enders | Political Behavior | January 4, 2022
Christian Nationalism and Political Violence. Demonstrates how religious-political identity and perceived group threat can contribute to acceptance of extra-institutional political violence.
129. | Miles T. Armaly, David T. Buckley & Adam M. Enders | Political Behavior | January 4, 2022
Christian Nationalism and Political Violence: Victimhood, Racial Identity, Conspiracy, and Support for the Capitol Attacks. Shows Christian-nationalist beliefs interact with perceived victimhood, racial identity, and conspiracy thinking.
130. | Democracy Fund Voter Study Group | 2022
Political Divisions Over American Identity. Examines partisan disagreement over race, religion, immigration, culture, and the characteristics associated with being “truly American.”
The Role of Christian Nationalism in January 6. Examines religious narratives used to frame efforts to overturn the 2020 election as a defense of a divinely ordained nation.
132. | Center for American Progress | 2022
Christian Nationalism and the Threat to Multiracial Democracy. Links Christian-nationalist politics with racial status anxiety and exclusionary definitions of American identity.
133. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | 2022
American Democracy in Crisis. Examines racial, religious, partisan, and ideological divisions over political pluralism and legitimate national membership.
134. | Religion & Politics | January 28, 2021
The Religious Roots of the Capitol Insurrection. Documents Christian symbols, prayers, and narratives incorporated into election-denial political identity.
135. | Democracy Fund Voter Study Group | 2021
The Theft Perception: Examining the Views of Americans Who Believe the 2020 Election Was Stolen. Provides useful evidence on partisan identity, political grievance, distrust, racial attitudes, and election denial—factors that overlap substantially with research on Christian-nationalist political identity.
136. | Democracy Fund Voter Study Group | 2021
Religion, Race, and the Transformation of American Partisanship. Provides important background for understanding how white Christian and secular identities have sorted into opposing party coalitions.
137. | NBC News | 2021
Christian Nationalism and January 6. Investigates Christian symbols, prayer networks, and political identities present during the Capitol attack.
138. | The Atlantic | January 2021
The Christian Nationalism Behind the Capitol Riot. Examines religious symbolism and beliefs that portrayed the 2020 election conflict as a struggle over the nation’s divinely sanctioned identity.
139. | Brookings Institution | Brookings | 2021
Religion and January 6. Examines Christian imagery and religious narratives within the political identities represented during the Capitol attack.
140. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | 2021
The White Christian Nationalist Roots of the January 6 Insurrection. Connects the Capitol attack to narratives of Christian ownership, racial hierarchy, political grievance, and a threatened national identity.
141. | Morgan Lee, Ted Olsen & Paul D. Miller | Christianity Today | 2021
Christian Nationalism Is Worse Than You Think. Discusses Christian nationalism as a political ideology focused on American identity rather than simply Christian theological belief.
142. | Religion News Service | March 6, 2020
Katherine Stewart on Christian Nationalism’s Push to Undermine Democratic Norms. Defines Christian nationalism as a political ideology linking legitimate citizenship and government with particular cultural and religious identities.
143. | Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead & Joshua B. Grubbs | Sociology of Religion / PMC | 2020
Full-text research connecting Christian nationalism with libertarian and authoritarian reactions to government COVID-19 restrictions.
Church-state, religious freedom & internal Christian debates
144. | Religion News Service | August 21, 2026
Christian Nationalists’ Professed Support for Religious Pluralism Is Often Drowned Out by Perceptions That Christians Are Under Threat. Shows group-threat perceptions can override abstract commitments to tolerance.
145. | Megan Fowler | Christianity Today | July 30, 2026
The Summer of Taking Christian Nationalism Seriously. Reports how Christian denominations are debating whether and how Christian-nationalist political identity conflicts with denominational and theological identity.
146. | Pamela Brown and Anderson Cooper | CNN | March 22, 2026
The Rise of Christian Nationalism. Investigates churches, political leaders, government officials, and activists working to expand explicitly Christian conceptions of American government.
147. | CNN Communications | CNN | February 17, 2026
The Rise of Christian Nationalism. Introduces an investigation into how Christian nationalism moved from portions of white evangelical culture toward greater political influence.
148. | George Yancey | Christianity Today | January 22, 2026
It’s Not “Christian Nationalism.” It’s Conservative Identity Politics. Presents a critical alternative interpretation arguing that conservative Christian political behavior may be better understood through identity-politics theory.
149. | Amy E. Black and Douglas L. Koopman | Cambridge University Press | October 9, 2025
Alternative Visions of National Identity. Compares Christian nationalism, strict secularism, and pluralistic civil religion as competing frameworks for defining American national identity.
150. | Nilay Saiya | Politics and Religion | May 13, 2025
The Varieties of American Christian Nationalism. Identifies charismatic dominionism, Calvinist nationalism, and Catholic integralism as distinct Christian-nationalist political subcultures, demonstrating that Christian nationalism encompasses multiple ideological identities.
151. | Jessica Wai-Fong Wong | Religions | August 29, 2024
Dreams of American Christendom: White Evangelicals’ Political Pursuit of a Christian Order Without Christ. Examines how white evangelical religious identity became compatible with a political project seeking a Christian social order.
152. | Religion News Service | April 3, 2024
The Strange World of Catholic “Integralism” — and Christian Nationalism. Examines Catholic versions of post-liberal political identity and their similarities and differences with Protestant Christian nationalism.
153. | American Civil Liberties Union | 2024
Christian Nationalism and Religious Freedom. Discusses how government endorsement of Christian identity may affect non-Christian and nonreligious citizens.
154. | William J. Barber II et al. | Sojourners | 2024
How Christians Can Counter Christian Nationalism. Presents Christian religious identities that explicitly reject weaponized Christian nationalism while remaining politically engaged.
Christian Nationalism and the First Amendment. Examines tensions between a Christian national political identity and constitutional guarantees of religious equality.
156. | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | 2023
Christian Nationalism Explained. Describes Christian nationalism as a political movement seeking special status for a particular version of Christianity within American government.
157. | Baptist News Global | 2023
Christian Nationalism and White Evangelical Identity. Examines how demographic and cultural change contribute to a sense of threatened status among some white evangelicals.
158. | National Catholic Reporter | 2023
Christian Nationalism and U.S. Catholics. Examines Catholic participation in Christian-nationalist politics and differences within Catholic political identities.
159. | America Magazine | August 9, 2022
What Catholics Should Know About Christian Nationalism. Analyzes Catholic political identity and warns against collapsing religious faith into nationalist political allegiance.
160. | The Christian Century | 2022
Christian Nationalism and the Church. Discusses how political polarization is reshaping Christian denominational identities and congregational relationships.
161. | Commonweal | 2022
Christian Nationalism and American Catholicism. Examines Catholic engagement with nationalist politics and tensions between universal religious commitments and national identity.
162. | Providence | 2022
The Christian Nationalism Debate. Explores divisions among conservative Christians over nationalism, patriotism, religious identity, and political power.
163. | Public Discourse | 2022
Christian Nationalism and American Political Order. Discusses tensions between Christian-nationalist aspirations, constitutionalism, pluralism, and American civic identity.
The Case for Christian Nationalism. Represents a strand of conservative thought explicitly embracing Christian nationalism as a legitimate political identity.
Christian Nationalism. Presents a conservative intellectual defense or reconsideration of Christian political nationhood and the meaning of shared national religious identity.
Christian Nationalism and the Church. Examines theological objections to transforming Christian religious identity into a national-political identity.
167. | The Gospel Coalition | 2022
Christian Nationalism: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Illustrates internal evangelical debate over political identity, national loyalty, and Christian responsibility.
168. | The Gospel Coalition | 2022
Christian Nationalism and Patriotism. Offers an evangelical attempt to distinguish legitimate national attachment from an identity that places nation and Christianity on equivalent footing.
169. | Sojourners | 2022
Our Moral Pandemic: Christian Nationalism and Political Idolatry. Describes Christian nationalism as an “us versus them” political identity that can subordinate Christian religious identity to ethnonational solidarity.
170. | The Gospel Coalition | 2020
Review of Taking America Back for God. Engages sociological research portraying Christian nationalism as a cultural framework connecting Christian and American identities.
171. | Mark Galli | Christianity Today | 2019
Repenting of Identity Politics. Discusses Christian nationalism as one expression of religious and cultural identity politics and warns of political tribalism.
Geography, organizations, networks & movement infrastructure
172. | David Smith | The Guardian | August 26, 2026
“A Bible-Sized Blind Spot”: Congressman Sounds Alarm on Rising Christian Nationalism. Examines Christian nationalism's transformation from a movement identity into a significant faction within national politics.
173. | J. Oliver Conroy | The Guardian | September 20, 2025
“The Devil Is Not Gonna Win”: How Charlie Kirk Became a Christian Nationalist Martyr. Examines the role of martyr narratives and Turning Point politics in strengthening religious-political group identity.
174. | Pew Research Center | January 28, 2025
Religious Nationalism in the United States. Places American Christian nationalism within a larger international framework of religious-national political identities.
175. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | October 30, 2024
Resistance to Christian Nationalism in All 50 States. Examines the identities of Americans who reject or remain skeptical of Christian nationalism and shows opposition cuts across some religious and political boundaries.
176. | Laura Flanders & Friends | PBS | April 5, 2024
“God & Country”: Christian Nationalism in U.S. Politics. Discusses the movement as a political rather than purely religious identity and its relationship to white nationalism, patriarchy, and democratic politics.
177. | The Guardian | March 2, 2024
What Alabama's IVF Ruling Reveals About the Ascendant Christian Nationalist Movement. Examines the increasing political institutionalization of conservative Christian identity.
178. | Council on Foreign Relations | CFR | 2024
Christian Nationalism in the United States. Provides background on the ideological movement and its relationship to party politics, national identity, and democratic institutions.
179. | Bob Smietana | The Washington Post | November 8, 2023
Why a Bucolic Tennessee Suburb Is a Hotbed of “Christian Nashville-ism.” Examines the local ecosystem of religion, political power, institutions, money, and conservative cultural identity.
180. | Paul Elie | The New Yorker | March 27, 2023
How Christian Is Christian Nationalism? Examines the movement's transformation of Christianity from theological commitment into cultural, political, and ancestral identity.
181. | Southern Poverty Law Center | August 18, 2022
Christian Nationalism as an Emerging Political Identity. Tracks organizations and public figures increasingly adopting Christian-nationalist rhetoric.
182. | Joshua Davis | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | June 22, 2018
Enforcing Christian Nationalism: Examining the Link Between Group Identity and Punitive Attitudes in the United States. Connects fusion of Christian and national identities with stronger demands for social conformity and punitive government policies.
Public opinion, polling & broader political identity
183. | Brooklyn Walker & Paul A. Djupe | Religion in Public | July 6, 2026
“I Am a Christian Nationalist.” Reports survey findings showing substantial numbers of Americans adopting Christian nationalism as an explicit identity and examines linked fate, group consciousness, discrimination perceptions, and political solidarity.
184. | 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 competing Christian political identities and finds that inclusive religious commitments sometimes fail to overcome Christian-nationalist attitudes when adherents perceive their group as threatened.
185. | Bob Smietana | Religion News Service | October 30, 2024
We Tried Christian Nationalism in America. It Went Badly. Uses early American religious establishments to challenge contemporary narratives portraying a politically unified Christian national identity.
186. | Russell Contreras | Axios | February 28, 2024
Poll: Most Americans Cool to Christian Nationalism as Its Influence Grows. Shows that Christian nationalism has become politically influential despite rejection or skepticism from most Americans.
187. | Andrew Whitehead | Religion News Service | August 18, 2023
Why Christian Nationalism Makes American Christians Less Christlike. Argues that Christian-nationalist identity can reorient Christian communities toward political power, domination, fear, and exclusion.
188. | Word&Way | February 2023
Christian Nationalism and American Identity. Discusses conflicts between pluralistic citizenship and claims that Christianity should define authentic American identity.
189. | Cato Institute | Cato Institute | 2023
Christian Nationalism and Liberty. Offers a libertarian critique of attempts to define American citizenship through a privileged Christian political identity.
190. | Pew Research Center | October 27, 2022
Views of the U.S. as a Christian Nation and Opinions About Christian Nationalism. Finds major differences by party, age, and religious identity in beliefs about whether America is or should be a Christian nation.
What Christian Nationalism Means for American Politics. Provides background on how researchers understand the fusion of Christian and American political identities.
192. | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | 2022
2022 American Values Survey. Examines political polarization and competing religious and cultural visions of American identity.
193. | Associated Press & FRONTLINE | PBS | 2022
Takeaways From the AP/FRONTLINE Michael Flynn Investigation. Documents Christian-nationalist messaging portraying political conflicts as battles between God's people and hostile enemies.
Save the Economy, Liberty, and Yourself. Shows Christian nationalism strongly predicted opposition to COVID restrictions and helped structure pandemic policy attitudes as political identity conflicts.
195. | Andrew L. Whitehead, Landon Schnabel & Samuel L. Perry | Socius | July 23, 2018
Gun Control in the Crosshairs. Shows Christian nationalism is strongly associated with opposition to stricter gun laws and links religious-national identity with another politically salient identity.
196. | Stephen Hawkins et al. | More in Common | 2018
Hidden Tribes: A Study of America’s Polarized Landscape. Although broader than Christian nationalism, this study provides an influential framework for understanding political identity, tribalism, ideological sorting, and group conflict.
