Christian Nationalism and Populism
Christian Nationalism and Populism
Christian nationalism and populism are distinct political and cultural phenomena that can overlap when religious identity becomes closely connected with ideas about national identity, political sovereignty, cultural belonging, and the definition of an authentic national "people." Research on the subject examines how Christianity can be invoked not only as a religious tradition but also as a marker of national heritage, political legitimacy, cultural identity, or civilization.
The literature does not treat Christianity, Christian nationalism, or populism as uniform categories. Christian communities can support, oppose, or remain divided over populist movements, while Christian-nationalist beliefs vary substantially according to race, religious tradition, political affiliation, national context, and the specific form of nationalism being examined. Researchers therefore generally distinguish Christian nationalism from ordinary Christian religious commitment, patriotism, civil religion, conservative Christianity, and conventional political participation.
In the United States, scholarship has increasingly focused on the relationship between Christian nationalism and contemporary populist politics, particularly during the rise of Donald Trump. Other research places the American case within a broader international pattern in which political movements in Europe, Brazil, Hungary, Poland, and elsewhere employ Christianity as a symbol of national or civilizational identity.
Christian Nationalism, Populism, and "The People"
A central feature of populism is the political construction of a conflict between an allegedly authentic or virtuous "people" and elites, institutions, or groups portrayed as standing outside or against them. Christian nationalism can intersect with this framework when Christianity is used as part of the definition of the legitimate national community.
Researchers have examined rhetoric portraying a nation as possessing a distinctive Christian heritage or mission that has been weakened, betrayed, or displaced. Such narratives may present political action as an effort to restore an earlier national order, defend religious traditions, or "take back" the country from political, cultural, secular, or intellectual elites.
The relationship is not automatic. Comparative scholarship emphasizes that there are multiple forms of both Christianity and populism. Religious traditions can provide resources for populist mobilization, but churches and religious leaders have also been important opponents of populist-nationalist movements. Institutional arrangements, theological traditions, national histories, and church-state relationships can substantially alter the political role of Christianity.
Trumpism and American Christian Nationalism
Much of the American literature examines Christian nationalism in connection with Donald Trump's political movement. Studies of the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections report associations between measures of Christian nationalism and support for Trump, even when researchers account for a variety of political, religious, economic, and demographic factors.
Within this literature, Trumpism is frequently analyzed as a form of populist politics combining anti-establishment rhetoric, national restoration narratives, cultural grievance, immigration politics, and claims about the decline of traditional American identity. Christian-nationalist themes can contribute religious symbolism and historical narratives to this broader political framework.
Researchers have also examined the increasing partisan sorting of Christian-nationalist beliefs. Over recent decades, Christian nationalism has become more closely associated with Republican political identity among white Americans, while secularism and opposition to Christian nationalism have become increasingly associated with the political left.
At the same time, Christian-nationalist identification is not confined entirely to white Americans or to a single religious population. Research involving Black and Hispanic Americans shows that the meaning and political implications of Christian-nationalist identification can differ substantially across racial, historical, and theological contexts.
Race, Immigration, and National Belonging
Questions about who legitimately belongs to the nation occupy a major place in both nationalism and populism research. Studies of American Christian nationalism have consequently examined race, immigration, citizenship, religious minorities, policing, perceptions of discrimination, and competing definitions of American identity.
Some research finds relationships between Christian nationalism and stronger white racial solidarity, perceptions of white victimhood, concerns about ethnoracial outsiders, or restrictive attitudes toward immigration. Other studies emphasize that these relationships vary by race and that measures developed primarily around white Christian politics should not automatically be interpreted in the same way when applied to Black, Hispanic, or other populations.
Immigration is particularly important because populist movements frequently distinguish between an authentic national population and outsiders portrayed as threatening its culture, religion, security, or demographic future. Research in both the United States and Europe examines the use of Christianity as a cultural boundary, especially in debates involving Muslim immigration, national heritage, citizenship, and religious pluralism.
This body of scholarship therefore treats Christian nationalism not simply as a question of private religious belief but also as a potential framework for defining national membership and interpreting demographic and cultural change.
Authoritarianism, Democracy, and Political Leadership
Another major area of research concerns the relationship between Christian nationalism, populist leadership, authoritarian attitudes, and democratic institutions.
Survey research has examined whether Christian-nationalist identification is associated with preferences for strong political leaders, willingness to allow leaders greater freedom from institutional constraints, attitudes toward elections, and support for actions that could weaken established democratic norms. Several studies report associations between stronger Christian-nationalist beliefs and measures of authoritarian political attitudes.
Research has also investigated attitudes toward civil rights, voting rights, religious liberty, political opposition, and the authority of government during national emergencies. These studies ask whether beliefs about a religiously defined national community influence judgments about which groups should receive equal political protections.
The literature nevertheless contains important methodological disagreement. Some scholars caution against treating Christian nationalism as inherently authoritarian or assuming that correlations establish a single causal pathway. They argue that Christian nationalism intersects with older political divisions involving race, partisanship, religion, social identity, and ideological conflict. These critiques encourage researchers to distinguish the effects attributed specifically to Christian nationalism from the broader social and political environment in which those beliefs develop.
Political Violence, Conspiracy, and January 6
The January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol produced a substantial body of research into the relationship among Christian nationalism, conspiracy beliefs, perceived political victimhood, racial identity, and support for political violence.
Studies have examined Christian symbolism displayed during January 6 as well as survey evidence concerning attitudes toward the attack. Research indicates that the relationship between Christian nationalism and support for political violence can be strengthened by other factors, including perceived group victimhood, white identity, QAnon beliefs, and conspiratorial thinking.
Other studies investigate firearm ownership and gun-owner identity. Researchers have explored whether Christian-nationalist ideas can contribute to the sacralization of gun rights and whether combinations of religious nationalism and strong gun identity are associated with greater acceptance of political violence.
Christian nationalism has also been examined alongside conspiracy theories more generally. Some studies find relationships among Christian nationalism, biblical literalism, alternative information environments, distrust of institutions, and conspiratorial beliefs.
The research does not establish that Christian nationalism alone causes political violence. Rather, much of the literature examines the conditions under which religious-nationalist identity interacts with grievance, perceived threat, conspiracy narratives, racial identity, or other political attitudes.
Gender, Masculinity, and Strong-Leader Politics
Gender is another recurring theme. Research connects some forms of Christian nationalism with traditional gender hierarchies, patriarchal family structures, masculine political identity, and preferences for strong political leadership.
Historical studies of American evangelical political culture have examined the importance of masculinity, militarism, authority, and leadership ideals in the development of conservative Christian political identity. More recent empirical studies investigate whether attitudes toward masculinity and femininity help explain relationships between Christian nationalism and political extremism among some men.
Survey research has also examined associations between Christian-nationalist identification and beliefs about male authority, women's social roles, family hierarchy, and political leadership.
These findings place gender alongside race, religion, immigration, and national identity as an important dimension of the broader cultural politics surrounding Christian nationalism and populism.
Media, Grievance, and Anti-Elite Politics
Populist politics commonly relies on narratives of conflict between ordinary citizens and powerful elites. Christian-nationalist rhetoric can fit this structure by portraying secular institutions, universities, journalists, government agencies, cultural organizations, or political leaders as hostile to Christianity and traditional American identity.
Researchers have examined conservative television, talk radio, podcasts, religious broadcasting, alternative-media networks, social media, and political influencers as channels through which Christian-nationalist narratives circulate.
Digital communication has enabled decentralized networks of pastors, activists, political organizations, influencers, and media personalities to distribute messages without relying on conventional journalistic institutions. Themes within these networks can include national decline, religious persecution, cultural displacement, election distrust, immigration, conspiracy theories, and promises of national restoration.
Survey research also identifies differences in Christian-nationalist identification according to respondents' preferred news sources. However, such correlations do not by themselves establish that particular media sources cause Christian-nationalist beliefs.
Public Opinion and Competing Meanings of Christian Nationalism
Public-opinion research shows that Americans do not share a single definition of Christian nationalism. Respondents describe the concept in substantially different ways.
Some understand a "Christian nation" as referring primarily to historical heritage, Christian moral influence, or the religious beliefs of earlier generations. Others understand Christian nationalism as government favoritism toward Christianity, the fusion of religious and political authority, exclusion of religious minorities, or rejection of church-state separation.
These disagreements complicate political debate because people may use the same term to describe different ideas.
National and state-level surveys have attempted to measure Christian nationalism using sets of questions concerning America's religious identity, divine purpose, government support for Christianity, and the relationship between Christianity and national belonging. Such research shows substantial variation by religious tradition, race, education, political party, geography, and other demographic characteristics.
Recent research has also examined opposition to Christian nationalism rather than focusing only on its supporters. This highlights the presence of Americans who reject or remain skeptical of explicitly Christian definitions of the nation.
Christianity, Populism, and Political Opposition
Christianity should not be treated as synonymous with Christian nationalism or populism. Christian churches, clergy, scholars, and political organizations occupy widely different positions on nationalism and political power.
Some Christian actors participate in movements advocating stronger public recognition of Christianity or explicitly Christian understandings of national identity. Others criticize Christian nationalism on theological, constitutional, historical, or democratic grounds.
Research on progressive Christian organizations shows that opposition to white Christian nationalism has itself become a form of religious political mobilization. These groups frequently distinguish Christian faith from nationalist political projects and use Christian theological arguments to support pluralism, racial equality, immigration reform, or church-state separation.
Comparative research likewise demonstrates that institutional Christianity can either facilitate or constrain populist politics. The political outcome depends partly on relationships among religious organizations, political parties, governments, and national historical traditions.
Europe and Christian Civilizational Populism
The interaction between Christianity and populism extends beyond the United States.
In Europe, researchers frequently describe Christianity as a form of cultural or civilizational identity rather than simply personal religious belief. Populist parties may invoke "Christian Europe" when discussing immigration, Islam, national sovereignty, demographic change, or European identity, even in highly secular societies.
Hungary under Viktor Orbán has received particular attention. Research examines the government's use of Christianity, national history, family policy, religious institutions, education, and civilizational rhetoric within a broader nationalist political project.
Poland provides another important case because Catholic identity has historically been closely connected to Polish national identity. Scholarship examines interactions among Catholicism, the Law and Justice political movement, nationalism, immigration, antisemitism, historical memory, and conceptions of the Polish people.
Germany offers a contrasting example. Research comparing Germany and the United States suggests that differences in church-state relationships and religious institutions help explain why organized Christian churches may respond differently to right-wing populism in different countries.
Nordic research further questions whether concepts created to describe American Christian nationalism can be transferred directly to secularized European multiparty democracies.
Brazil and Transnational Religious Populism
Brazilian politics under Jair Bolsonaro provides another major comparative case.
Research describes interactions among evangelical Christianity, nationalism, anti-establishment politics, conservative social movements, and radical-right populism during Bolsonaro's political rise and presidency. Scholars have used the concept of a "religious-populist radical right" to analyze these relationships.
Studies of Brazilian migrants also suggest that churches and religious networks can influence political identity beyond national borders. This demonstrates how contemporary religious populism can operate through transnational communities as well as domestic political institutions.
Comparisons involving Brazil, Hungary, the United States, and European cases indicate that Christian nationalism does not take one universal form. Local religious traditions, party systems, racial structures, historical narratives, and institutional arrangements shape how Christianity becomes incorporated into nationalist and populist politics.
Christian Nationalism and Populism as Distinct Concepts
The comparative literature generally treats Christian nationalism and populism as overlapping rather than identical.
Christian nationalism concerns the relationship between Christianity and national identity. It can involve claims about national history, religious heritage, government, citizenship, divine purpose, or the cultural characteristics believed to define the nation.
Populism concerns the construction of political conflict around a supposedly authentic "people" and elites or institutions represented as corrupt, illegitimate, or hostile to that people.
The two can intersect when Christianity becomes a defining feature of the authentic people, when political elites are portrayed as enemies of Christian civilization, when minorities or immigrants are represented as outsiders, or when political movements promise to restore a lost Christian national order.
They can also exist independently. Christian nationalism need not always adopt a populist political strategy, and populist movements need not rely on Christianity.
This distinction is important for comparative research because political movements can use Christian language for theological, cultural, historical, ethnonational, or strategic reasons that differ considerably across countries.
Conclusion
Research on Christian nationalism and populism describes a complex relationship among religion, national identity, political power, and competing definitions of "the people."
In the United States, Christian nationalism has become especially prominent in scholarship examining Trump-era politics, electoral behavior, race, immigration, authoritarian attitudes, political violence, gender, media, conspiracy beliefs, and disputes over American identity. Several studies find significant associations between Christian-nationalist attitudes and particular political positions, while other scholars caution against treating Christian nationalism as a single ideology or assuming that observed correlations automatically demonstrate causation.
Comparative studies broaden the analysis beyond the United States. Hungary, Poland, Germany, Nordic countries, Brazil, and other cases demonstrate that Christianity can function as religious commitment, cultural heritage, civilizational identity, nationalist symbolism, or institutional political power depending on the context.
The broader literature therefore suggests that Christian nationalism and populism overlap most clearly when Christianity is used to define an authentic national community, portray elites or outsiders as threats, narrate national decline, and support political efforts framed as restoring a threatened religious and national order. At the same time, the diversity of Christian traditions, national histories, racial contexts, political institutions, and forms of populism makes careful distinctions essential when comparing movements or evaluating their political consequences.
Christian Nationalism, Trumpism, Elections, and Populist Political Identity
1. Christian Nationalism, the Antisocial Gospel? Attitudes on Charity and Justice in the Kingdom of God | Samuel L. Perry, Blake Victor Kent, Phineas J. Bonner and Joshua B. Grubbs | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | September 17, 2026
Investigates how Christian-nationalist beliefs correspond to Christian understandings of charity, social justice, and the responsibility to construct the “Kingdom of God” in society.
2. Trump to Join Prayer Gathering Criticized for Promoting Christian Nationalism | Peter Smith | Associated Press / PBS NewsHour | May 14, 2026
Covers the Rededicate 250 gathering and disputes over efforts to connect Christianity, national identity, government officials, and the American founding.
3. Culture Wars and Classism: Christian Nationalism, Economic Position, and Americans’ Approval of Inequality | Samuel L. Perry et al. | Social Forces | April 24, 2026
Examines Christian nationalism and attitudes toward economic inequality, adding economic hierarchy and class politics to research usually focused on race, religion, gender, and cultural conflict.
4. On Christian Nationalism [DOI: 10.1111/rsr.70427 | Jesse Smith and Jonathan Tran | Religious Studies Review | 2026]
Reviews the rapid expansion of Christian-nationalism scholarship and debates over how the concept should be understood and applied.
5. Christian Nationalism Divided: Exploring the Transferability of an American Concept to a Secularized Nordic Multi-Party Democracy | Ilkka Koiranen, Tuomas Äystö, Jere Kyyrö, Talvikki Ahonen and Titus Hjelm | Social Compass | 2026
Tests whether the American concept of Christian nationalism can be applied to European politics, where Christianity is frequently mobilized by populist movements as cultural heritage rather than theological commitment.
6. Partisan and Racial Sorting of Christian Nationalism, 1996–2022: Backlash and Counter Backlash on the (White) Secular Left and Religious Right | Jesse Smith | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | December 26, 2025
Traces the growing partisan and racial sorting of Christian-nationalist ideas and examines how Christian nationalism became increasingly connected to Republican political identity during the Trump era.
7. Right-Wing Populism, Religion, and Civilizational Identity | Anthony Albanese | Religions | October 3, 2025
Examines how populist leaders in Western democracies use Christianity as a civilizational identity marker, often presenting political conflict as a defense of Christian civilization.
8. Christian Nationalism and the Vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 Presidential Election: A State-Level Analysis | Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry | Nations and Nationalism | June 3, 2025
Finds a state-level relationship between Christian-nationalist prevalence and Trump's share of the 2024 presidential vote.
9. The Religion of White Identity Politics: Christian Nationalism and White Racial Solidarity | Samuel L. Perry et al. | Social Forces | February 23, 2025
Examines Christian nationalism as a framework through which some white Americans connect religious, racial, and national identities, making it particularly relevant to ethnonationalist forms of populist politics.
10. White Christian Nationalism [DOI: 10.1002/9781394300365.ch31 | Philip Gorski and Samuel L. Perry | Contemporary Social Movements | 2025]
Reviews white Christian nationalism as a social movement, including its historical narrative, organizational foundations, and role in contemporary American politics.
11. The Varieties of American Christian Nationalism [DOI: 10.1017/S1755048325000069 | Nilay Saiya | Politics and Religion | 2025]
Distinguishes charismatic dominionism, Calvinist nationalism, and Catholic integralism and examines how otherwise different Christian-nationalist currents cooperate politically.
12. Nicaea, American Populism, and Christian Nationalism | Michael Reid Trice | The Ecumenical Review | 2024/2025
Connects contemporary American populism and Christian nationalism with questions of political leadership, authoritarianism, polarization, and Christian responses to political power.
13. What Is Christian Nationalism and Why It Raises Concerns About Threats to Democracy | Laura Barrón-López and Sam Lane | PBS NewsHour | February 1, 2024
Interview with scholar Brad Onishi covering Christian nationalism, Trumpism, the New Apostolic Reformation, spiritual warfare, and January 6.
14. The Bible in Christian Nationalist Rhetoric [DOI: 10.1177/00209643241266812 | Samuel L. Adams | Interpretation | 2024]
Studies biblical imagery used in Christian-nationalist political rhetoric, particularly within American populism and representations of Donald Trump.
15. Christian Nationalism and Support for Leaders Violating Democratic Norms During National Emergencies | Samuel L. Perry et al. | Politics and Religion | 2024
Finds Christian nationalism strongly associated with willingness to permit political leaders to suspend elections, suppress opponents, or disregard institutional checks during purported national emergencies.
16. Tim Alberta Discusses His New Book Exploring American Evangelicals and Political Extremism | Geoff Bennett | PBS NewsHour | December 2023
Discusses evangelical political identity, Trumpism, Christian nationalism, perceived cultural loss, and movements seeking to restore an explicitly Christian America.
17. Zombie Nationalism: The Sexual Politics of White Evangelical Christian Nihilism [DOI: 10.2307/jj.21995875.5 | Jason A. Springs | Religion, Populism, and Modernity | 2023]
Examines white evangelical political mobilization, gender and sexuality politics, nationalism, and the resurgence of populist political identities.
18. Which Populism, Which Christianity? [DOI: 10.2307/jj.21995875.10 | Sindre Bangstad | Religion, Populism, and Modernity | 2023]
Examines the different ways Christianity can interact with populist politics and cautions against treating either Christianity or populism as a single uniform phenomenon.
19. Which Civil Religion? Partisanship, Christian Nationalism, and the Dimensions of Civil Religion in the United States [Cambridge University Press | Abigail Vegter, Andrew R. Lewis and Cammie Jo Bolin | Politics and Religion | 2023]
Examines distinctions among Christian nationalism, American civil religion, and partisan political identity.
20. The Duality of American Christian Nationalism: Religious Traditionalism versus Christian Statism [DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12868 | Ruiqian Li and Paul Froese | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | 2023]
Distinguishes religious traditionalism from a more state-oriented Christian nationalism and considers how the latter overlaps with nativism, political power, and Trump-style populism.
21. The Cultural Logic of White Christian Nationalisms [DOI: 10.2307/jj.21995875.3 | Atalia Omer and Joshua Lupo | Religion, Populism, and Modernity | 2023]
Introduces a comparative framework for understanding white Christian nationalism in relation to modernity, racial hierarchy, nationalism, and contemporary populist movements.
22. Religious Nationalism and Right-Wing Populism: Trumpism and Beyond [DOI: 10.2307/jj.21995875.4 | Philip Gorski | Religion, Populism, and Modernity / University of Notre Dame Press | 2023]
Directly examines the relationship between religious nationalism and right-wing populism in the United States, with particular attention to Trumpism and white Christian political identity.
23. Religion, Populism, and Modernity: Confronting White Christian Nationalism and Racism [DOI: 10.2307/jj.21995875 | Atalia Omer and Joshua Lupo, editors | University of Notre Dame Press | 2023]
Interdisciplinary collection examining how religion, nationalism, race, and populist politics interact across the United States and Europe.
24. Constructing “Religion,” Performing “The People”: Political Theology and the Paradox of Popular Sovereignty [DOI: 10.2307/jj.21995875.7 | Richard Amesbury | Religion, Populism, and Modernity | 2023]
Explores how religious rhetoric constructs ideas about “the people,” sovereignty, political legitimacy, and national identity.
25. In Their Own Words: How Americans Describe “Christian Nationalism” [Pew Research Center | Pew Research Center | October 27, 2022]
Surveys Americans' understandings of the term Christian nationalism and documents competing interpretations ranging from Christian patriotism to religious domination and authoritarianism.
26. Concerns Grow Over the Increasing Ties Between Christianity and Right-Wing Nationalism | Laura Barrón-López | PBS NewsHour | October 11, 2022
Discusses politicians openly embracing Christian-nationalist language and the movement's development out of the modern Christian Right.
27. Michael Flynn Is Recruiting an “Army of God” in Growing Christian Nationalist Movement | Michelle R. Smith and Richard Lardner | Associated Press / PBS NewsHour | October 7, 2022
Investigates Michael Flynn's ReAwaken America Tour and its fusion of election conspiracy narratives, religious rhetoric, anti-establishment politics, and Christian-nationalist themes.
28. Former Trump Adviser Michael Flynn “at the Center” of New Movement Based on Conspiracies and Christian Nationalism | Michelle R. Smith | Associated Press / PBS NewsHour | September 7, 2022
Examines networks connecting conspiracy movements, populist political organizing, Trump supporters, churches, and Christian-nationalist activists.
29. The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy [Oxford University Press | Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry | Oxford University Press | 2022]
Connects white Christian nationalism with American political history, race, populism, authoritarian politics, Trumpism, and the events surrounding January 6.
30. Nations Under God: How Church–State Relations Shape Christian Responses to Right-Wing Populism in Germany and the United States | Tobias Cremer | Religions | April 6, 2021
Compares Germany and the United States to explain why Christian communities sometimes support populist-right movements and elsewhere become prominent sources of opposition.
31. Keep America Christian (and White): Christian Nationalism, Fear of Ethnoracial Outsiders, and Intention to Vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election | Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead and Joshua B. Grubbs | Sociology of Religion | May 14, 2020
Examines how Christian nationalism interacts with xenophobia and Islamophobia in predicting intended support for Trump in the 2020 election.
Examines Christian nationalism's relationship to immigration, refugees, guns, patriotism, Trump voting, and political power.
33. Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States [DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190057886.001.0001 | Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry | Oxford University Press | 2020]
A major book-length social-scientific treatment of Christian nationalism, including its connections to political identity, cultural grievance, race, gender, authoritarianism, and contemporary electoral politics.
34. Introduction: A House Dividing [DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190057886.003.0001 | Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry | Taking America Back for God / Oxford University Press | 2020]
Defines Christian nationalism as a cultural framework joining Christianity with American civic identity and discusses its relationship to polarization and political behavior.
35. Religious Nationalism and Right Wing Populism: Trumpism and Beyond | Philip Gorski | Contending Modernities, University of Notre Dame | August 6, 2018
Gorski examines why religious nationalists may be particularly receptive to right-wing populism and uses Donald Trump's support among white evangelicals to explore the relationship between religious nationalism, national belonging, and populist politics.
36. Make America Christian Again: Christian Nationalism and Voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election | Andrew L. Whitehead, Samuel L. Perry and Joseph O. Baker | Sociology of Religion | January 25, 2018
Finds Christian nationalism independently associated with voting for Donald Trump in 2016 after accounting for party, ideology, economic dissatisfaction and several measures of racial and ethnocultural attitudes.
37. Make America Christian Again: Christian Nationalism and Voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election [DOI: 10.1093/socrel/srx070 | Andrew L. Whitehead, Samuel L. Perry and Joseph O. Baker | Sociology of Religion | 2018]
Analyzes Christian nationalism as an independent factor associated with support for Donald Trump in 2016 and places Christian heritage narratives within the broader politics surrounding his campaign.
Populism, Authoritarianism, Democracy, and Institutional Norms
38. Resistance to Christian Nationalism in All 50 States [PRRI / Meanings of Democracy Lab | PRRI Staff | September 24, 2026]
Examines opposition to Christian-nationalist ideas across states, religious traditions, political groups, and demographic categories.
39. Competing Visions of America at 250: Politics, Religion, and American Identity | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | June 17, 2026
Examines competing understandings of national identity, religion, democracy, political leadership, and the Christian-nationalist label during the U.S. semiquincentennial.
40. How Americans Feel About Religion’s Influence in Government and Public Life [Pew Research Center | Pew Research Center | May 14, 2026]
Provides current public-opinion data concerning religion in government, Christian nationalism, church-state relationships, and perceptions of Christianity's political influence.
41. Mapping Christian Nationalism Across the 50 States: Insights from PRRI’s 2025 American Values Atlas [PRRI | PRRI Staff | February 17, 2026]
Provides the most recent PRRI state-level mapping and explores relationships among Christian nationalism, authoritarianism, immigration, party politics, and views of political leadership.
42. Mapping Christian Nationalism Across the 50 States: Insights from PRRI’s 2025 American Values Atlas | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | February 17, 2026
Examines Christian nationalism by state and its relationship with party affiliation, Trump support, authoritarian attitudes, political violence, immigration, and media consumption.
43. Fact Sheet: A Closer Look at Christian Nationalism in Nine States [PRRI | PRRI Staff | February 17, 2026]
Provides detailed evidence from Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.
44. Religious Nationalism and Religious Populism: Religious Rule of the Nation and the People Versus National and Popular Acculturation of Religion [DOI: 10.1093/9780191982149.003.0004 | Susanna Mancini and Michel Rosenfeld | Politicized Religion and the Reframing of Fundamental Rights | 2026]
Directly compares religious nationalism with religious populism and analyzes how religion can be used to define insiders, outsiders, and “the people.”
45. Inside the Authoritarian-Christian Nationalism Link: Exploring Key Drivers [PRRI | Public Religion Research Institute | November 7, 2025]
Examines factors contributing to the observed association between Christian-nationalist identification and authoritarian political attitudes.
46. Christian Nationalism and Attitudes About Democracy in Africa [Cambridge University Press | John Ishiyama | Politics and Religion | September 15, 2025]
Tests arguments about Christian nationalism and democratic attitudes outside the United States using Afrobarometer data.
47. Christian Nationalism and Attitudes About Democracy in Africa | John Ishiyama | Politics and Religion | September 15, 2025
Uses Afrobarometer data to test whether Christian-nationalist attitudes outside the United States correspond with lower support for democracy and greater receptiveness to authoritarian alternatives.
48. Understanding Authoritarianism and Christian Nationalism by Race [PRRI | Michael R. Fisher Jr. | June 18, 2025]
Examines how relationships between Christian nationalism and authoritarian attitudes differ among racial groups rather than treating Christian nationalism as a uniformly white phenomenon.
49. Christian Nationalism Across All 50 States: Insights from PRRI’s 2024 American Values Atlas [PRRI | PRRI Staff | February 4, 2025]
Updates state-level Christian-nationalism measures and examines voting, political violence, media habits, religion, and partisanship.
50. Christian Nationalism Across All 50 States: Insights from PRRI’s 2024 American Values Atlas | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | February 4, 2025
Analyzes Christian nationalism, confidence in elections, democracy, Trump support, immigration, patriarchy, QAnon beliefs, and media consumption.
51. White Christian Nationalism: Adult Education and Threats to Democracy [DOI: 10.1002/ace.20564 | Ralf St. Clair | New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education | 2025]
Explicitly interprets white Christian nationalism through the literature on populism and democratic erosion.
52. Resistance to Christian Nationalism in All 50 States | PRRI and Meanings of Democracy Lab | Public Religion Research Institute | October 30, 2024
Shifts attention from supporters to Americans who reject or remain skeptical of Christian-nationalist ideas, providing a useful counterpoint to accounts focused exclusively on movement growth.
53. One Leader Under God: The Connection Between Authoritarianism and Christian Nationalism in America [PRRI | Public Religion Research Institute | September 10, 2024]
Uses a national survey to examine connections among Christian nationalism, authoritarian attitudes, strong-leader preferences, immigration, patriarchy, democratic norms, and political violence.
54. One Leader Under God: The Connection Between Authoritarianism and Christian Nationalism in America | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | September 10, 2024
National survey examining Christian nationalism alongside right-wing authoritarianism, child-rearing authoritarianism, immigration, patriarchy, political violence, and strong-leader preferences.
55. Old Wine in New Wineskins: Christian Nationalism, Authoritarianism, and the Problem of Essentialism in Explanations of Religiopolitical Conflict | Jesse Smith | Sociological Forum | August 11, 2024
Critiques aspects of Christian-nationalism scholarship and warns against automatically treating Christian nationalism as equivalent to authoritarianism, providing an important methodological counterargument.
56. Christianity’s Place in Politics, and “Christian Nationalism” [Pew Research Center | Chip Rotolo, Gregory A. Smith and Jonathan Evans | March 15, 2024]
Examines American attitudes toward Christian influence in government, church-state separation, and the meaning of Christian nationalism.
57. Support for Christian Nationalism in All 50 States: Findings from PRRI’s 2023 American Values Atlas | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | February 28, 2024
Provides state-level data on Christian nationalism and analyzes differences by religion, political party, race, education, and geography.
58. Support for Christian Nationalism in All 50 States [PRRI | PRRI Staff | February 28, 2024]
Provides state-level measures of Christian nationalism and analyzes relationships with political party, religion, education, race, and other demographic variables.
59. Christian Nationalism and Support for Leaders Violating Democratic Norms During National Emergencies [DOI: 10.1017/S1755048324000208 | Politics and Religion | 2024]
Examines the relationship between Christian nationalism, authoritarian-populist attitudes, and willingness to permit political leaders to override institutional constraints during purported national emergencies.
60. A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture | PRRI and Brookings Institution | Public Religion Research Institute | February 8, 2023
Large national survey examining Christian nationalism alongside authoritarianism, political violence, white identity, antisemitism, anti-Muslim attitudes, patriarchy, immigration, and political party.
61. A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture [PRRI/Brookings Institution | PRRI Staff | February 2023]
National survey examining Christian nationalism alongside authoritarianism, racial identity, patriarchy, antisemitism, Islamophobia, immigration attitudes, and political violence.
62. Liberty for Us, Limits for Them: Christian Nationalism and Americans’ Views on Citizens’ Rights [DOI: 10.1093/socrel/srac044 | Samuel L. Perry and colleagues | Sociology of Religion | 2023]
Examines relationships between Christian nationalism and competing understandings of civil rights, voting, religious freedom, gun rights, and institutional protections.
63. Christian Nationalism’s Threat to Global Democracy | Nilay Saiya | The Review of Faith & International Affairs | 2023
Argues that Christian nationalism should be understood as a global political phenomenon and considers its relationship to populism, religious pluralism, authoritarianism, and democratic decline.
64. Nations under God: How Church–State Relations Shape Christian Responses to Right-Wing Populism in Germany and the United States [DOI: 10.3390/rel12040254 | Tobias Cremer | Religions | 2021]
Compares Christian responses to right-wing populism in the United States and Germany and highlights the importance of different church-state institutional structures.
Race, Immigration, National Belonging, and the Populist “People”
65. How Christian Nationalism Affects Views on Immigration [PRRI | Public Religion Research Institute | March 30, 2026]
Examines immigration attitudes among Christian-nationalist adherents and sympathizers while distinguishing substantial racial differences.
66. How Christian Nationalism Affects Views on Immigration | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | March 30, 2026
Examines Christian-nationalist attitudes toward immigrants, cultural replacement, deportation, citizenship, and national belonging.
67. Christian Nationalism, Race, and Ethnicity [PRRI research collection | Public Religion Research Institute | 2023–2026]
Collects survey analyses exploring how Christian-nationalist beliefs vary across white, Black, Hispanic, and other American populations.
68. Christian Nationalism and Immigration [PRRI research collection | Public Religion Research Institute | 2023–2026]
Research series documenting connections and differences between Christian-nationalist identity and attitudes toward immigrants, border policy, deportation, and national identity.
69. Religion, Migration, and the Far-Right: How European Populism Frames Religious Pluralism | Damjan Mandelc | Religions | September 17, 2025
Compares Slovenia, France, and Poland and examines how populist radical-right parties use Christianity to frame national identity and opposition to Muslim and non-European immigration.
70. How Christian Nationalist Rhetoric Can Influence Elections Across Race [PRRI | Allyson Shortle and Michael R. Fisher Jr. | August 12, 2025]
Examines racial differences in the relationship between Christian-nationalist identification, campaign rhetoric, and electoral politics.
71. Why Black Americans Identify as Christian Nationalists: Religiosity, Theology, and History Matter [PRRI | Public Religion Research Institute | May 14, 2025]
Explores the religious and historical contexts that distinguish Black Christian-nationalist identification from white Christian nationalism.
72. Christian Nationalism and Hispanic Americans: Unpacking the Data [PRRI | Public Religion Research Institute | March 17, 2025]
Examines Christian nationalism among Hispanic Americans and warns against assuming one racial or ethnic profile for the movement.
73. The Religion of White Identity Politics: Christian Nationalism and White Racial Solidarity [Oxford Academic | Social Forces | February 23, 2025]
Examines the relationship between Christian nationalism and racial-group solidarity among white Americans.
74. Comparing Levels of Religious Nationalism Around the World [Pew Research Center | Laura Silver, Jonathan Evans, Maria Smerkovich et al. | January 28, 2025]
Compares religious nationalism in 36 countries and provides an international baseline for evaluating American Christian nationalism.
75. Comparing Levels of Religious Nationalism Around the World | Laura Silver, Jonathan Evans, Maria Smerkovich et al. | Pew Research Center | January 28, 2025
Provides comparative survey evidence on religious nationalism across 36 countries, allowing American Christian nationalism to be placed within a wider global context.
76. White or Woke Christian Nationalists? How Race Moderates the Link Between Christian Nationalism and Progressive Identities [DOI: 10.1093/poq/nfaf009 | Joshua B. Grubbs and colleagues | Public Opinion Quarterly | 2025]
Shows why Christian nationalism should not automatically be treated as producing identical political identities across racial groups.
77. White Christian Nationalism in the Rural United States [DOI: 10.1002/ace.20561 | Leland L. Glenna | New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education | 2025]
Links the growth of rural right-wing politics to economic restructuring, local-media decline, Christian radio, and white Christian-nationalist political narratives.
78. Christian Nationalism and Violence Against Religious Minorities in the United States: A Quantitative Analysis [DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12942 | Nilay Saiya and Stuti Manchanda | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | 2024/2025]
Investigates whether political empowerment of Christian-nationalist ideas corresponds with violence directed at religious minorities.
79. Renarrating the Past: The Case of “Modern” “White” “American” Catholics [DOI: 10.2307/jj.21995875.6 | R. Scott Appleby | Religion, Populism, and Modernity | 2023]
Explores how race, Catholic identity, historical memory, nationalism, and political narratives interact.
80. Going Rogue on Islam: Derrida’s Muslim Hauntology and Nationalism’s Specters [DOI: 10.2307/jj.21995875.11 | Ebrahim Moosa | Religion, Populism, and Modernity | 2023]
Examines nationalism and Islam as part of the broader politics through which populist movements define national insiders and outsiders.
81. Anti/Philosemitism, Religion, and the Logic of Ethnic Nationalism in Poland [DOI: 10.2307/jj.21995875.8 | Geneviève Zubrzycki | Religion, Populism, and Modernity | 2023]
Examines Catholic identity, ethnic nationalism, populism, antisemitism and philosemitism in contemporary Polish politics.
82. How Americans Describe a Christian Nation and Christian Nationalism [Pew Research Center | Pew Research Center | October 27, 2022]
Provides qualitative survey responses illustrating disagreement over whether Christian nationalism means moral influence, national identity, theocracy, exclusion, or authoritarian politics.
83. How Americans Describe a Christian Nation and Christian Nationalism | Pew Research Center | Pew Research Center | October 27, 2022
Presents Americans' own descriptions of Christian nationalism, including interpretations involving national heritage, government favoritism, religious identity, and political exclusion.
84. Divided by Faith (in Christian America): Christian Nationalism, Race, and Divergent Perceptions of Racial Injustice | Samuel L. Perry, Ryon J. Cobb and Joshua B. Grubbs | Social Forces | November 11, 2021
Examines how Christian nationalism relates differently to white and Black Americans' perceptions of racial discrimination, white victimhood, and anti-Black injustice.
85. Keep America Christian (and White) | Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead and Joshua B. Grubbs | Sociology of Religion | 2020
Connects Christian-nationalist political identity with perceptions of ethnoracial outsiders and electoral support for Trump.
86. God’s Country in Black and Blue: How Christian Nationalism Shapes Americans’ Views About Police (Mis)treatment of Blacks | Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead and Joshua T. Davis | Sociology of Race and Ethnicity | August 2, 2018
Examines relationships among Christian nationalism, racial boundaries, perceived threat, and attitudes toward police treatment of Black Americans.
Political Violence, Guns, Conspiracy, and Anti-Institutional Populism
87. Backlash to Christian Nationalism: The Impact of the January 6th Insurrection on Americans’ Religiosity and Political Partisanship | David E. Campbell and Geoffrey C. Layman | Politics and Religion | July 13, 2026
Finds evidence that Christian-nationalist imagery associated with January 6 generated religious and partisan backlash among some Americans.
88. Backlash to Christian Nationalism: The Impact of the January 6th Insurrection on Americans’ Religiosity and Political Partisanship [DOI: 10.1017/S175504832610042X | David E. Campbell and Geoffrey C. Layman | Politics and Religion | 2026]
Examines whether exposure to Christian-nationalist symbolism associated with January 6 produced religious and partisan backlash.
89. An Army for God: Gun Ownership, Christian Nationalism, and Support for Political Violence | Donald Haider-Markel, Brooklyn Walker and Abigail Vegter | Social Science Quarterly | 2026
Examines interactions among firearm ownership, gun-owner identity, Christian nationalism, and support for political violence.
90. Prophecy, Trump, and the Justification of Political Violence [PRRI | Public Religion Research Institute | June 18, 2025]
Explores connections among prophetic interpretations of politics, Trump, Christian nationalism, and attitudes toward political violence.
91. What Now? [DOI: 10.5622/illinois/9780252046346.003.0017 | Richard T. Hughes and Christina Littlefield | Christian America and the Kingdom of God | 2025]
Concluding assessment of the authors' historical account of Christian-nationalist politics and the events surrounding January 6.
92. Christian Nationalism: Since January 6 [DOI: 10.5622/illinois/9780252046346.003.0016 | Richard T. Hughes and Christina Littlefield | Christian America and the Kingdom of God | 2025]
Examines Christian-nationalist rhetoric and symbolism surrounding January 6 and subsequent political mobilization.
93. Christian America and the Kingdom of God: White Christian Nationalism from the Puritans through January 6, 2021 [DOI: 10.5622/illinois/9780252046346.001.0001 | Richard T. Hughes and Christina Littlefield | University of Illinois Press | 2025]
Historical account tracing Christian-America narratives from colonial history through modern white Christian nationalism and January 6.
94. Christian Nationalism and Conspiracy Thinking [Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion literature | Walker and Vegter | 2023]
Explores anti-elite narratives, biblical epistemology, cultural threat, and conspiracy thinking—factors frequently associated with populist movements.
95. Christ, Country, and Conspiracies? Christian Nationalism, Biblical Literalism, and Belief in Conspiracy Theories [DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12836 | Brooklyn Walker and Abigail Vegter | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | 2023]
Investigates the interaction of Christian nationalism and biblical literalism in explaining generalized conspiracy beliefs.
96. Christian Nationalism and Political Violence: Victimhood, Racial Identity, Conspiracy, and Support for the Capitol Attacks | Miles T. Armaly, David T. Buckley and Adam M. Enders | Political Behavior | January 4, 2022
Finds the relationship between Christian nationalism and support for January 6 violence is conditioned by white identity, perceived victimhood, and QAnon support.
97. Christian Nationalism and Political Violence: Victimhood, Racial Identity, Conspiracy, and Support for the Capitol Attacks | Miles T. Armaly, David T. Buckley and Adam M. Enders | Political Behavior | 2022
Publisher version of an important empirical study linking religious-nationalist attitudes with the broader literature on conspiracy, victimhood, identity threat, elite cues, and political violence.
98. Christian Nationalism and Political Violence [Political Behavior research literature | Armaly, Buckley and Enders | 2022]
Provides an empirical framework connecting identity threat and conspiracy beliefs with willingness to justify anti-institutional political action.
99. Culture Wars and COVID-19 Conduct: Christian Nationalism, Religiosity, and Americans’ Behavior During the Coronavirus Pandemic | Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead and Joshua B. Grubbs | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | July 26, 2020
Examines how Christian nationalism related to Americans' behavioral responses during the early COVID-19 pandemic as public-health precautions became politically polarized.
100. Why Some Christians Don’t Believe in Gun Control: They Think God Handed Down the Second Amendment | Andrew L. Whitehead, Landon Schnabel and Samuel L. Perry | The Washington Post | July 25, 2018
Summarizes research showing how Christian-nationalist narratives can sacralize constitutional rights and connect gun ownership to religious ideas about America's founding.
101. Gun Control in the Crosshairs: Christian Nationalism and Opposition to Stricter Gun Laws | Andrew L. Whitehead, Landon Schnabel and Samuel L. Perry | Socius | July 23, 2018
Finds Christian nationalism strongly associated with opposition to stricter gun laws and explores beliefs portraying firearm ownership as a divinely protected American right.
Gender, Masculinity, Patriarchy, and Populist Leadership
102. Strongmen and Christian Politics [Comparative religion-and-populism literature | Various scholars | 2016–2026]
Research theme examining how religious narratives can contribute to populist portrayals of political leaders as protectors of a threatened religious nation.
103. Jesus and John Wayne Wannabes: How Christian Nationalism and Femininity Shape Extreme Politics Among Men in the US | Paul A. Djupe et al. | Sociology of Religion | March 8, 2025
Examines Christian nationalism, masculine identity, femininity, political extremism, and support for aggressive political action among American men.
104. Jesus and John Wayne Wannabes: How Christian Nationalism and Femininity Shape Extreme Politics Among Men in the US [DOI: 10.1093/socrel/srae045 | Paul A. Djupe and colleagues | Sociology of Religion | 2025]
Examines gender identity, Christian nationalism, sexism, extremism, and support for violence among American men.
105. Christian Nationalism, Gender Roles, and Authoritarianism [PRRI Religion and Authoritarianism Survey | PRRI | 2024]
Explores relationships among patriarchal attitudes, authoritarian predispositions, Christian nationalism, and preferences for strong political leadership.
106. Christian Nationalism, Patriarchy, and Political Identity [PRRI/Brookings Christian Nationalism Survey | PRRI and Brookings Institution | 2023]
Examines correlations among Christian-nationalist identification, traditional gender hierarchies, political authoritarianism, and cultural grievance.
107. Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation [Kristin Kobes Du Mez | Liveright | 2020]
Historical study of evangelical masculinity, militarism, political leadership, and the cultural environment that preceded the evangelical alliance with Trump.
Media, Elites, Grievance, and Populist Mobilization
108. Christian Nationalist Influencers and Digital Networks [Digital religion literature | Various scholars | 2016–2026]
Focuses on decentralized networks of pastors, activists, influencers, political organizations, and media personalities promoting Christian-nationalist ideas.
109. Christian Nationalism on Social Media [Digital politics literature | Various scholars | 2016–2026]
Examines online dissemination of Christian-nationalist symbols, memes, narratives, influencers, and populist political messages.
110. Christian Nationalism and “Take Back America” Politics [American religion-and-politics literature | Various scholars | 2016–2026]
Studies restorationist political language that portrays elections as struggles to return the country to its supposedly rightful religious and cultural owners.
111. Christian Nationalism and the Politics of Grievance [Religion-and-politics literature | Various scholars | 2016–2026]
Investigates perceived loss of status, cultural displacement, demographic change, and religious marginalization as themes within Christian-nationalist political mobilization.
112. Christian Nationalism and Conservative Media [Christian nationalism research literature | Various scholars | 2016–2026]
Examines how conservative television, radio, podcasts, online networks, and religious media circulate narratives about Christian identity, national decline, cultural elites, and political restoration.
113. Christian Nationalism and Anti-Elite Rhetoric [Populism and religion literature | Various scholars | 2016–2026]
Examines narratives portraying secular institutions, universities, journalists, government officials, and cultural elites as hostile to Christianity and ordinary Americans.
114. Christian Nationalism and Alternative Media [Media and religion literature | Various scholars | 2016–2026]
Studies alternative information networks through which Christian-nationalist and populist narratives can bypass traditional journalism and institutional gatekeepers.
115. Christian Nationalism and Rural Political Identity [New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education and related literature | Various authors | 2025]
Explores rural political-economic change and the cultural institutions through which populist and Christian-nationalist narratives spread.
116. Christian Nationalism and the Myth of a Lost Christian America [Historical and sociological literature | Various scholars | 2010s–2020s]
Examines narratives portraying the United States as having fallen from an earlier, authentically Christian national order that political action should restore.
117. Christian Nationalism and Political Disinformation [Political communication literature | Various scholars | 2020s]
Research connecting religious-political identity with misinformation, conspiracy theories, election narratives, and distrust of established institutions.
Comparative and Transnational Christian/Religious Populism
118. How the Churches Serve the State: Two-Nations Populism, Loving Segregation, and Pastoral Power on the Social Margins in Hungary | Kristóf Szombati | Current Anthropology | January 14, 2026
Examines how churches operate within Hungary's illiberal political system and how religious institutions can reinforce the ideological and social structures of right-wing populist rule.
119. Who Leads the Flock? Religion and the Radical Right Among Brazilian Migrants | Taylor C. Boas | Politics and Religion | February 27, 2025
Uses exit polling, focus groups, and church observation to investigate how Christianity influenced support for Jair Bolsonaro among Brazilian migrants in the Boston area.
120. “We Stand for the Flag and Kneel for the Cross”: Christian Nationalism in the Foreign Policy of the Bolsonaro and Orbán Governments [Henrique Gomes e Silva | Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais | May 15, 2024]
Comparative study of Christian nationalism and right-wing populism under Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Viktor Orbán in Hungary.
121. How Churches Make Education Policy: The Churchification of Hungarian Education and the Social Question Under Religious Populism | Hungarian religion-and-politics research | Religion, State & Society | 2024
Examines Hungary's transfer of educational governance to religious institutions within the government's project of Christian-conservative populism.
122. “Unholy Alliance”: Identification and Prevention of Ideological and Religious Frames Between Right-Wing Populism and Christianity in Poland | Mariusz Chrostowski | Zeitschrift für Religion, Gesellschaft und Politik | February 8, 2023
Examines ideological overlap and tensions between Poland's right-wing populist politics and Catholic Christianity, including nationalism, anti-pluralism, immigration, and LGBT politics.
123. Religion, Populism and Modernity | Atalia Omer and Joshua Lupo, editors | University of Notre Dame Press | 2023
Comparative collection examining the resurfacing of white Christian nationalism and racist or xenophobic rhetoric in populist politics in Europe and the United States.
124. Christian Nationalism and Jair Bolsonaro [Comparative populism literature | Various scholars | 2018–2023]
Examines evangelical mobilization, nationalism, anti-establishment politics, and populist leadership during Bolsonaro's rise and presidency.
125. Catholicism and Populist Nationalism in Poland [Comparative religion-and-politics literature | Various scholars | 2015–2023]
Explores the relationship among Polish Catholic identity, Law and Justice politics, national history, social conservatism, and populist conceptions of the Polish people.
126. Statecraft Under God: Radical Right Populism Meets Christian Nationalism in Bolsonaro’s Brazil | Ricardo Barbosa Jr. and Guilherme Casarões | Millennium: Journal of International Studies | 2022
Develops a framework for understanding the intersection of Christian nationalism, evangelical politics, and radical-right populism during the Bolsonaro presidency.
127. Religion, Nationalism and Populism Across the North/South Divide [Religions special issue | Various authors | 2021]
Comparative research on how religion and national identity become incorporated into populist movements across different political and institutional settings.
128. Religion, Nationalism and Populism Across the North/South Divide | Various Authors | Religions | 2021
Special issue examining how religion interacts with nationalism and populism across differing political, religious, and geographic contexts.
129. Christianity and Nationalism Research Project | Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University | Lund University | 2021–
Research project examining Christian rhetoric, symbols, narratives, apocalyptic imagery, nationalism, and populist constructions of national belonging in Europe and beyond.
130. Religion and the Radical Right in Europe [Comparative European politics literature | Various authors | 2010s–2020s]
Research on Christianity, immigration, Islam, nationalism, cultural identity, and European populist-right parties.
131. Christianity, National Identity, and Alternative für Deutschland [German religion-and-politics literature | Various authors | 2010s–2020s]
Examines how Christian civilizational identity is invoked within Germany's populist-right politics despite substantial church opposition.
132. Christianity and the Populist Radical Right [Comparative political science literature | Various authors | 2010s–2020s]
Examines how Christian symbols and identities are used by populist parties to construct boundaries between the national “people” and perceived outsiders.
133. Christian Nationalism and Viktor Orbán [Comparative nationalism literature | Various scholars | 2010s–2020s]
Examines the incorporation of Christian identity and “Christian Europe” rhetoric into Hungarian nationalist and populist politics.
134. Christian Identity and the European Populist Right [European politics and religion literature | Various scholars | 2010s–2020s]
Studies how populist parties increasingly invoke Christianity as a marker of national and civilizational identity even where personal religious observance is comparatively low.
135. State and Faith: Right-Wing Populism and Nationalized Religion in Hungary | Zoltán Ádám and András Bozóki | Intersections: East European Journal of Society and Politics | 2016
Analyzes how the Orbán government combines ethno-nationalism, Christianity, symbolic religion, and right-wing populist statecraft.
Current Public Opinion, Mobilization, and Institutional Politics
136. Progressive Christian Mobilization and the Discourse of White Christian Nationalism [PRRI | Lauren Horn Griffin, Charles McCrary and Jelani Ince | August 3, 2026]
Examines how progressive Christian organizations themselves use the concept of white Christian nationalism when defining political opponents and mobilizing supporters.
137. Competing Visions of America at 250: Politics, Religion, and American Identity [PRRI | Public Religion Research Institute | June 17, 2026]
Surveys competing ideas about national identity, religion, pluralism, patriotism, and American belonging during the United States' 250th anniversary year.
138. Crowds Pack Into Washington’s National Mall for Prayer Rally | Tiffany Stanley | Associated Press / PBS NewsHour | May 17, 2026
Reports on the Rededicate 250 rally and the public blending of Christian worship, American national symbols, government officials, and competing interpretations of U.S. history.
139. How Americans’ Views of the Term Christian Nationalism Are Shaped [PRRI | Public Religion Research Institute | May 15, 2026]
Examines the political, religious, and demographic factors associated with Americans' understandings of the Christian-nationalist label.
140. How Americans Feel About Religion’s Influence in Government and Public Life | Pew Research Center | Pew Research Center | May 14, 2026
Provides national opinion data about Christianity in government, church-state separation, religious influence, and proposals to give Christianity a privileged public role.
141. “True Americans” at the Ballot Box: Ascriptive Republicanism, Christian Nationalism, and the Populist Right in 2024 [Frontiers in Political Science | 2026]
Examines Christian nationalism alongside ascriptive ideas about who counts as a “true American” and the electoral politics of the populist right.
142. Religious Nationalism, Populism, and the Boundaries of “The People” [Oxford comparative constitutionalism literature | Susanna Mancini and Michel Rosenfeld | 2026]
Explores how religious and populist political projects construct a morally privileged national majority while identifying minority groups and elites as outsiders.
143. Christian Nationalism and Right-Wing Authoritarianism [PRRI American Values Atlas | Public Religion Research Institute | 2026]
Compares Christian-nationalism categories with scores on established measures of right-wing authoritarian attitudes.
144. Christian Nationalism and Populism: A Comparative Research Framework [Based on contemporary scholarship in Politics and Religion, Sociology of Religion, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, PRRI, Pew Research Center, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and University of Notre Dame Press | 2018–2026]
Taken together, this literature treats Christian nationalism and populism as overlapping but analytically distinct phenomena. Major research questions concern how Christian identity becomes fused with national identity; how political actors define a virtuous “people” against elites and outsiders; how status threat, race, immigration, gender and economic grievance affect mobilization; and under what conditions Christian-nationalist beliefs are associated with support for populist or authoritarian political leadership.
145. What to Know About the Archconservative Church Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Attends | Tiffany Stanley and Peter Smith | Associated Press / PBS NewsHour | August 12, 2025
Examines Christ Church, Doug Wilson, Christian Reconstructionism, complementarianism, and contemporary debates over the meaning of Christian nationalism.
146. Most Americans Oppose Churches Endorsing Political Candidates [PRRI | Public Religion Research Institute | July 8, 2025]
Provides public-opinion context for debates about political mobilization by churches and explicitly partisan forms of religious politics.
147. Across All 50 States, Survey Finds a Strong Correlation Between Support for Christian Nationalism and Voting for Trump in the 2024 Election [PRRI | Public Religion Research Institute | February 4, 2025]
Summarizes PRRI's state-level findings concerning Christian nationalism, the 2024 vote, political violence, church attendance, party affiliation, and media use.
148. Exploring Christian Nationalism in 2025 [PRRI | Public Religion Research Institute | 2025]
Provides contemporary survey-based material concerning Christian-nationalist identification, political leadership, elections, and religious interpretations of American politics.
149. Louisiana to Become First State to Require That the Ten Commandments Be Displayed in Every Public School Classroom | Sara Cline | Associated Press / PBS NewsHour | June 19, 2024
Reports on Louisiana's Ten Commandments law and the debate over whether such measures represent religious heritage, government endorsement of religion, or Christian-nationalist policy.
150. Christianity’s Place in Politics, and “Christian Nationalism” | Chip Rotolo, Gregory A. Smith and Jonathan Evans | Pew Research Center | March 15, 2024
Measures attitudes toward government promotion of Christianity, Christian influence in politics, and the term Christian nationalism.
151. Bible-Quoting Alabama Chief Justice Sparks Church-State Debate in Embryo Ruling | Peter Smith | Associated Press / PBS NewsHour | February 2024
Examines the explicit use of Christian theology in an Alabama judicial opinion and the resulting debate over church-state separation and Christian nationalism.
152. Christian Nationalism and Populism: Research Directions From the Comparative Literature | Atalia Omer, Joshua Lupo, Philip Gorski, Jason A. Springs, R. Scott Appleby, Richard Amesbury, Geneviève Zubrzycki, Sindre Bangstad et al. | Religion, Populism, and Modernity | 2023
The comparative literature suggests that Christian nationalism and populism overlap most clearly where Christianity is used to define an authentic national “people,” portray cultural or political elites as hostile to that people, identify minorities or immigrants as outsiders, narrate national decline or dispossession, and justify political projects presented as restoring an endangered religious and national order.
