Christian Nationalism and the Idea of a “Christian Nation”

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Christian Nationalism and the Idea of a “Christian Nation”

Christian nationalism is a contested concept describing efforts to connect Christian identity, national identity, and political authority. In the United States, debates about Christian nationalism frequently center on what it means to call America a "Christian nation," whether Christianity should receive a privileged position in government and public institutions, and how religious convictions should interact with constitutional government and a religiously diverse society.

The term does not have one universally accepted meaning. Scholars commonly distinguish Christian nationalism from Christianity itself, patriotism, religious conservatism, and ordinary political participation by Christians. Christian nationalism generally involves a stronger claim: that Christianity has a special relationship with the nation and should substantially shape its identity, institutions, laws, or public culture.

Supporters, critics, journalists, theologians, historians, and social scientists often use the term differently. Some advocates openly embrace Christian nationalism and argue that Christianity provides moral traditions necessary for national cohesion and political life. Critics argue that linking religious identity with governmental power can weaken religious liberty, marginalize citizens outside the favored religious tradition, or transform Christianity into an instrument of political identity.

What Does “Christian Nation” Mean?

The phrase "Christian nation" can refer to several different ideas, which helps explain why public debates about it are often confusing.

One meaning is primarily historical or cultural. According to this interpretation, the United States can be described as Christian because Christianity profoundly influenced American history, institutions, moral language, communities, and culture. Someone using the phrase in this sense does not necessarily support establishing Christianity as an official religion.

A stronger interpretation holds that Christianity should receive special recognition from government or that American laws and public institutions should intentionally reflect Christian principles. Still stronger forms envision government formally identifying the country as Christian or granting Christianity institutional privileges unavailable to other faiths.

These distinctions matter because people who agree that Christianity played an important historical role in the United States may disagree sharply about whether that historical influence should translate into governmental preference for Christianity.

Polling similarly shows that Americans interpret the idea of a Christian nation in different ways. Some support an official Christian identity, others oppose establishment while favoring government promotion of Christian moral values, and still others favor governmental neutrality toward religious doctrine.

Christianity and the American Founding

Religion was deeply embedded in colonial and revolutionary American life. Clergy, churches, religious arguments, biblical language, and theological ideas contributed to political discussion and community organization. Christianity was therefore an important influence on the society from which the United States emerged.

At the same time, colonial America did not have a single religious system. Different colonies followed different arrangements. Some maintained established churches supported through law or taxation, while others developed comparatively broad traditions of religious toleration. Protestants of several denominations, Catholics, Jews, religious dissenters, and people whose beliefs did not fit established churches all formed part of early American religious life.

The founding generation consequently inherited both traditions of public religion and experiences with religious establishment and persecution. Those competing experiences influenced the development of American religious-liberty principles.

The federal Constitution did not establish a national church. Article VI prohibited religious tests for federal office, while the First Amendment prohibited Congress from making a law "respecting an establishment of religion" and protected the free exercise of religion.

These provisions did not immediately create identical church-state arrangements throughout the states. Religious establishments and government support for particular churches continued in some states after adoption of the federal Constitution. Over time, however, state establishments disappeared and constitutional law increasingly applied religious-liberty protections to state as well as federal government.

The historical record therefore supports a distinction between Christianity's substantial influence on American society and the question of whether the United States was constitutionally founded as an officially Christian state.

Civil Religion and National Identity

Another important concept in the debate is American civil religion. Civil religion refers to the use of religious language, symbols, rituals, and ideas to give national life a sense of moral or sacred purpose.

Presidential references to God, national prayers, public ceremonies, religious language surrounding national sacrifice, and phrases such as "In God We Trust" illustrate ways that religion and national identity have historically overlapped.

Some scholars distinguish civil religion from Christian nationalism. Civil religion can provide shared national symbols without requiring citizens to belong to a particular denomination or religion.

Other scholars argue that civil religion can become a pathway toward Christian nationalism when national identity becomes inseparable from Christianity or when religious language is used to define who counts as a legitimate or authentic American.

The boundary between civil religion, patriotism, religious conservatism, and Christian nationalism consequently remains an important subject of scholarly debate.

Christian Arguments About Christian Nationalism

Christian communities themselves are divided over Christian nationalism.

Some Christian thinkers argue that nations inevitably draw on moral and religious traditions and that Christianity has historically supplied important foundations for Western and American political culture. From this perspective, explicitly acknowledging Christian influence does not necessarily require establishing a theocracy or denying religious freedom to non-Christians.

Some proponents go further and argue that Christianity should provide a deliberate moral and cultural orientation for national life. They contend that political neutrality toward competing moral systems is impossible and that Christian teachings can legitimately influence law, education, family policy, and public institutions.

Other Christians reject Christian nationalism on theological grounds. They argue that Christianity is a universal faith that cannot properly be identified with a particular nation, ethnic group, political party, or government. They warn that political power can distort Christianity by making national loyalty appear equivalent to religious faith.

Baptist and other religious-liberty traditions have frequently emphasized voluntary belief and freedom of conscience. From this perspective, genuine religious faith depends on individuals being free to accept or reject religious claims without governmental coercion.

The debate therefore exists not simply between religious and secular Americans but within Christianity itself.

Christian Nationalism and Religious Liberty

Religious liberty is central to the dispute.

Critics of Christian nationalism argue that giving Christianity governmental preference threatens the equal citizenship of Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, agnostics, members of minority Christian traditions, and others who do not share the government's preferred religious identity.

Supporters of stronger Christian influence respond that excluding religious reasoning from public life can itself discriminate against religious citizens. They argue that Christians should have the same right as anyone else to bring their beliefs and moral convictions into democratic political debate.

These positions raise a crucial distinction between religious participation in politics and governmental establishment of religion. Religious individuals and organizations have broad rights to speak, organize, vote, advocate, worship, and participate in public affairs. Constitutional controversy becomes more pronounced when government itself endorses, funds, coerces, or officially favors religious belief.

The Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment remain central to these debates. Constitutional interpretation has changed over time, and disagreements continue over exactly where permissible accommodation of religion ends and unconstitutional governmental establishment begins.

Public Opinion

Survey research demonstrates that Christian nationalism is neither universally supported nor universally understood in the United States.

Different studies use different definitions and measurements. Some ask directly whether respondents consider themselves Christian nationalists. Others use a series of questions measuring agreement with propositions about Christianity, American identity, government, law, national destiny, or the relationship between Christianity and political authority.

PRRI researchers classify respondents using categories such as Adherents, Sympathizers, Skeptics, and Rejecters based on responses to a Christian-nationalism scale. Their surveys find substantial differences by religious tradition, political affiliation, age, education, race, geography, and other characteristics.

Support also varies geographically, with higher levels appearing in portions of the South and Midwest and lower levels in several other regions.

Pew Research Center uses somewhat different questions. Its research shows that Americans distinguish among declaring Christianity the official religion, promoting Christian moral values without formally establishing Christianity, and having the government do neither.

These methodological differences are important. A person may support a public role for Christian values while opposing an official religion, while another person may support church-state separation while still describing American culture as historically Christian.

Race, Ethnicity, and American Belonging

A substantial body of research examines relationships among Christian nationalism, race, ethnicity, immigration, and ideas about who belongs within the American nation.

Some scholars specifically study "white Christian nationalism," arguing that particular versions of Christian national identity developed alongside historical racial hierarchies and ideas about white American cultural dominance.

Researchers have examined associations between Christian-nationalist beliefs and attitudes toward racial injustice, immigration, policing, citizenship, demographic change, and cultural membership.

Other researchers caution against treating Christian nationalism as inherently or exclusively white. Christian-nationalist beliefs can be found among people from multiple racial and ethnic backgrounds, and the relationship between religious nationalism and racial identity varies considerably among groups.

This has produced an ongoing scholarly discussion over whether race is an essential component of Christian nationalism or one of several social identities that can interact with it.

Gender, Family, and Social Order

Gender and family structures are another recurring theme in Christian-nationalism research.

Some Christian-nationalist thinkers advocate traditional understandings of male and female roles, marriage, family authority, and social hierarchy. Researchers have examined relationships between these ideas and broader views of masculinity, femininity, sexuality, political authority, and cultural change.

Debates over same-sex marriage, LGBTQ identity, reproductive policy, education, and parental authority can therefore intersect with Christian-nationalist politics.

However, views on these issues cannot automatically be treated as evidence of Christian nationalism. Traditional Christian teachings on sexuality or family existed long before the modern Christian-nationalism debate and are held by many Christians who reject Christian nationalism.

Distinguishing theological conservatism from nationalist political ideology remains important.

Education and Public Institutions

Public education has become a major arena for debates over Christian nationalism.

Controversies include Bible instruction, religious displays, prayer, curriculum standards, parental authority, historical interpretation, school choice, and whether public schools should teach the United States as fundamentally Christian.

Supporters of greater religious inclusion sometimes argue that public institutions became excessively secular and should recognize Christianity's historical importance.

Opponents argue that government-run schools should not promote one religious tradition and that students from all religious backgrounds should receive equal treatment.

Similar disputes extend to museums, historical institutions, government commissions, public monuments, and other institutions responsible for interpreting American history and identity.

Christian Nationalism and Democracy

Researchers have increasingly examined relationships between Christian-nationalist beliefs and democratic attitudes.

Studies in the uploaded material explore questions including support for political leaders who violate democratic norms, voting access, political violence, conspiracy beliefs, authoritarian attitudes, and tolerance toward political or religious outgroups.

Some studies report statistical associations between stronger Christian-nationalist beliefs and greater acceptance of particular forms of political violence, restrictions on voting, or violations of democratic norms.

Such findings require careful interpretation. Statistical association does not mean every person who holds Christian-nationalist beliefs supports violence or authoritarian government. Christian nationalism includes people with differing theological, political, and social views, and researchers continue to debate how the concept should be measured.

The January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol intensified these debates because Christian symbols, prayers, and religious-nationalist rhetoric were visible among some participants. Researchers and religious-liberty organizations subsequently examined how Christian nationalism interacted with other political, racial, conspiratorial, and extremist currents surrounding the event.

Christian Nationalism and Political Violence

The relationship between religion, nationalism, and political violence has become a distinct area of research.

Studies have investigated whether Christian-nationalist beliefs interact with perceived victimhood, racial identity, conspiracy theories, apocalyptic beliefs, firearms ownership, and hostility toward social outgroups.

Some research finds relationships between these factors and expressed willingness to justify political violence.

Other scholars caution against treating Christian nationalism as a single explanation for extremist behavior. Political violence typically emerges through multiple interacting influences, and measures of Christian nationalism can overlap with broader attitudes involving authoritarianism, political identity, racial resentment, or social distrust.

Research therefore increasingly attempts to separate these variables rather than assuming that Christian nationalism alone explains political extremism.

Policy Issues

Christian-nationalist attitudes have been studied in connection with a wide range of public-policy questions.

Research in the collected material examines immigration, refugee policy, gun regulation, policing, voting access, public education, environmental protection, vaccination, public health, LGBTQ rights, and civil liberties.

The relationship is not identical across every issue. Researchers have found that political identity, religious tradition, race, education, and the way a policy question is framed can influence the connection between Christian nationalism and policy preferences.

Environmental research, for example, suggests that religious framing can sometimes alter the relationship between Christian-nationalist identity and attitudes toward environmental protection.

This complexity reinforces the importance of examining specific policies rather than assuming Christian nationalism automatically produces a single position on every political question.

Christianity, Patriotism, and Political Participation

One of the most important distinctions in the literature is between Christian nationalism and ordinary Christian participation in politics.

Christians have participated in nearly every major American political movement. Christian arguments have been used by supporters and opponents of slavery, civil-rights activists and segregationists, antiwar movements and military supporters, economic reformers, social conservatives, environmentalists, abolitionists, prohibitionists, labor activists, and many others.

Religious participation in democratic politics therefore does not by itself constitute Christian nationalism.

Similarly, patriotism is not necessarily nationalism. A person can value American institutions, history, traditions, or national community while believing citizenship is equally available to people of every religious background.

Christian nationalism becomes a more distinct concept when Christian identity is treated as a defining characteristic of legitimate national belonging or when Christianity is understood as deserving distinctive governmental authority or preference.

Competing Perspectives on Christian Nationalism

The literature contains several competing interpretations.

One perspective views Christian nationalism as a significant political ideology that seeks to fuse Christianity with American national identity and institutional power.

A second emphasizes its racial and cultural dimensions, particularly the historical development of white Christian identity and its relationship to ideas of American belonging.

A third approaches Christian nationalism primarily as a theological problem, arguing that nationalism distorts Christian teachings by subordinating faith to political power.

A fourth perspective defends some form of Christian nationalism, maintaining that national life requires moral foundations and that Christianity legitimately provides those foundations for the United States.

A fifth argues that the label itself is sometimes applied too broadly, combining conventional Christian conservatism, patriotism, religious political participation, and genuinely nationalist ideas into a single category.

These disagreements concern not only whether Christian nationalism is desirable but also what the term actually describes.

Christian Nationalism Beyond the United States

Although the modern American debate receives extensive attention, religious nationalism is not uniquely American.

Researchers have begun testing whether concepts and survey measures developed in the United States apply to other societies. Studies have examined Christian national identity in Africa, Nordic countries, Japan, and other political and religious settings.

Comparative research demonstrates that the relationship between Christianity and nationalism depends strongly on national history, religious demographics, political institutions, colonial experiences, and relationships between churches and governments.

The American model therefore cannot automatically be applied to every society.

Why the Debate Matters

The debate over Christian nationalism raises broader questions about national identity.

Who belongs to the nation? What traditions should define its public culture? Can a government recognize the religious heritage of a majority while treating minority religions equally? When does religious influence become religious establishment? Can religiously motivated citizens participate fully in politics without transforming religious identity into a requirement for national belonging?

These questions are particularly complicated in the United States because the country possesses both a long history of Christian influence and a constitutional tradition protecting religious liberty.

The idea of America as a Christian nation consequently means very different things to different people. It can describe demographic history, cultural influence, moral heritage, civil religion, theological aspiration, political ideology, or a proposal for governmental preference.

Understanding which meaning is being used is essential to understanding debates over Christian nationalism.

Conclusion

Christian nationalism sits at the intersection of religion, history, national identity, constitutional government, and political power. The extensive literature surrounding the subject demonstrates that neither "Christian nationalism" nor "Christian nation" has a single uncontested meaning.

Christianity has profoundly influenced American history and culture, while the constitutional system also developed protections against national religious establishment and religious tests. Those two historical realities have contributed to continuing disagreements over Christianity's appropriate role in public life. The Library of Congress documents the extensive role of religion in the founding period, while constitutional scholarship emphasizes that the First Amendment prohibited a national establishment of religion.

Contemporary surveys likewise reveal substantial differences in attitudes. Pew's April 2026 survey found that Americans distinguish between officially establishing Christianity, promoting Christian moral values without establishment, and governmental neutrality toward those values. PRRI's 2025 American Values Atlas, published in February 2026, found substantial differences in its Christian-nationalism measures across political, religious, demographic, and geographic groups.

The central debate is therefore broader than whether religion should influence politics. It concerns how religious belief, national identity, citizenship, governmental authority, and religious freedom should relate to one another in a pluralistic constitutional society.

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Definitions, Concepts, and Measurement

• [No, James Talarico Is Not a Christian Nationalist | Noah Berlatsky | Sojourners | September 15, 2026]

Argues that openly using Christian moral reasoning in politics should be distinguished from Christian nationalism and from efforts to give Christianity governmental privilege.

• [Whose Christian Nationalism? | Steven Waldman | The Christian Century | June 16, 2026]

Examines competing versions of Christian nationalism and questions whether movements using the label share a single political or theological program.

• [Confused About Christian Nationalism? I Was, Too, and I’m a Christian Journalist | Brandon Showalter | The Christian Post | May 23, 2026]

Explores disagreements among Christians about what Christian nationalism means and distinguishes several ideas commonly grouped under the label.

• [What Is Christian Nationalism? The Complete Guide | Scott A. Leadingham | Freedom Forum | May 21, 2026]

Provides an overview of definitions, history, First Amendment questions, public-opinion research, and controversies surrounding Christian nationalism.

• [Not Everything Is Christian Nationalism | Chris Butler | Christianity Today | May 5, 2026]

Cautions against applying the Christian-nationalism label too broadly and argues for distinguishing ordinary Christian political participation from nationalist ideology.

• [Correcting Common Misconceptions About Christian Nationalism | Greg Carey | Word&Way | September 10, 2025]

Clarifies definitions of Christian nationalism and discusses misconceptions about how scholars use the term in studying religion and politics.

• [The Varieties of American Christian Nationalism | Nilay Saiya | Politics and Religion | May 13, 2025]

Argues that American Christian nationalism contains multiple strands and develops a framework for distinguishing among different forms of the ideology.

• [What We Are Getting Wrong About Christian Nationalism | Josiah R. Daniels | Sojourners | May 6, 2025]

Interviews scholars about definitions of Christian nationalism and the risk of misunderstanding the movement by treating all religious conservatism as equivalent.

• [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]

Offers a methodological critique of some Christian-nationalism scholarship and questions whether the concept sometimes overlaps too heavily with broader authoritarian attitudes.

• [Axios Explains: Christian Nationalism on the March | Axios Staff | Axios | June 24, 2024]

Provides an overview of Christian nationalism’s political prominence, its major organizations and personalities, and debates surrounding its definition.

• [Are You Accidentally a Christian Nationalist? | Mitchell Atencio | Sojourners | June 17, 2024]

Discusses how ordinary assumptions about Christianity, patriotism, national destiny, and American identity can overlap with scholarly measures of Christian nationalism.

• [What Does ‘Christian Nationalism’ Even Mean? | Jonathan Tran | The Christian Century | June 12, 2024]

Examines disagreements over the concept and argues that understanding Christian nationalism requires attention to theology, race, economics, and political power.

• [The Myth of White Christian Nationalism | Kenneth L. Woodward | First Things | May 1, 2024]

Presents a skeptical critique of the concept of white Christian nationalism and argues that some commentary applies the label too broadly to conventional conservative religious politics.

• [On the “Nation” of Christian Nationalism | Peter J. Leithart | First Things | April 12, 2024]

Examines the meaning of “nation” within Christian-nationalist arguments and considers how Christian theology should understand peoples, states, and political communities.

• [‘God & Country’: Christian Nationalism in U.S. Politics | Laura Flanders & Friends | PBS | April 5, 2024]

Discusses the documentary God & Country and competing understandings of patriotism, Christian faith, religious liberty and Christian nationalism.

• [The Strange World of Catholic ‘Integralism’ — and Christian Nationalism | Jack Jenkins | Religion News Service | April 3, 2024]

Explains Catholic integralism and compares its church-state assumptions with Protestant and other forms of Christian nationalism.

• [What Is Christian Nationalism and Why It Raises Concerns About Threats to Democracy | Laura Barrón-López and Sam Lane | PBS NewsHour | February 1, 2024]

Interviews scholars and examines Christian nationalism’s definitions, history and possible implications for democratic institutions.

• [The Problem With Anti-Anti-Christian Nationalism | Paul D. Miller | Christianity Today | September 13, 2023]

Criticizes arguments that dismiss concern about Christian nationalism and distinguishes conservative Christian political activity from nationalism as an ideology.

• [What Is Christian Nationalism, Anyway? | Bob Smietana | Religion News Service | May 17, 2023]

Explains competing definitions of Christian nationalism and why Christians, historians, sociologists, and political activists often use the term differently.

• [The Dog Whistle of ‘Christian Nationalism’ | Gillian Richards Augros | The Heritage Foundation | May 9, 2023]

Presents a conservative critique arguing that the Christian-nationalism label is often used too broadly or pejoratively against conventional Christian political participation.

• [The Rise of Christian Nationalism | Exploring Hate / Moment Live | PBS | April 18, 2023]

Discusses the history and contemporary growth of Christian nationalism with scholars and journalists examining religion, prejudice and American politics.

• [People Are Still Confused About Christian Nationalism | Paul D. Miller | Christianity Today | March 3, 2023]

Attempts to clarify the boundaries of Christian nationalism and distinguish it from patriotism, conservatism, Christianity, and ordinary political participation.

• [Who Are the Christian Nationalists? A Taxonomy for the Post-Jan. 6 World | Bob Smietana | Religion News Service | January 6, 2023]

Describes several distinct groups placed under the Christian-nationalist umbrella and emphasizes differences in theology, strategy, and relationship to political extremism.

• [Christian Nationalism Debates Show Multiple Views of Society — and History — Among US Christians | History News Network | History News Network | 2023]

Examines historical and theological disagreements among Christians over national identity, religious establishment, pluralism, and the proper relationship between church and state.

• [What Christian Nationalism Is and What to Do About It | Cynthia G. Lindner | The Christian Century | November 2022]

Reviews scholarship on the psychology of Christian nationalism and discusses religious responses to nationalism within Christian communities.

• [The Psychometric Properties of the Christian Nationalism Scale | Nicholas T. Davis | Politics and Religion | July 11, 2022]

Evaluates the widely used survey scale for measuring Christian nationalism and considers what its questions actually capture.

• [Getting Serious (& Precise) About Christian Nationalism | Robert K. Vischer | Word&Way / Religion News Service | February 13, 2021]

Argues for a precise definition distinguishing Christian nationalism from patriotism, Christian political participation and religiously informed public argument.

• [What Is Christian Nationalism? | Paul D. Miller | Christianity Today | February 3, 2021]

Defines Christian nationalism from an evangelical Christian perspective and distinguishes it from Christianity, patriotism, nationalism generally, and Christian political engagement.

• [Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States | Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry | Oxford University Press | March 19, 2020]

Presents extensive survey research defining Christian nationalism and analyzing its relationship with power, social boundaries, political order and American identity.

Christian Nation, Founding, Constitution, and Civil Religion

• [Christian Nationalism Already Failed America Once | Mikale Olson | The Christian Post | September 3, 2026]

Argues from Christian history and theology that attempts to fuse Christianity with national political identity have damaged both religious witness and democratic pluralism.

• [Was America Ever a Christian Nation? One Pastor Says No — Here’s Why He’s Wrong | Mark Creech | The Christian Post | July 11, 2026]

Presents a Christian conservative argument that Christianity played a foundational role in American political culture and disputes claims that America was never meaningfully a Christian nation.

• [America Has a Religion. Revive It. | Samuel Goldman | The Washington Post | July 10, 2026]

Argues for renewing an American civil religion that can provide common national ideals without establishing either secularism or Christian nationalism.

• [Reclaiming the Promise: Why the 250th Anniversary Belongs to Religious Freedom, Not Christian Nationalism | David Morris | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | July 1, 2026]

Uses the United States’ 250th anniversary to contrast religious freedom and pluralism with Christian-nationalist interpretations of American history.

• [Review: The Christian Past That Wasn’t | Robert D. Cornwall | Word&Way | July 1, 2026]

Reviews Warren Throckmorton’s historical critique of claims that America was founded as an explicitly Christian nation and discusses why such narratives remain influential.

• [The Roots of Christian Nationalism | Richard Conville | Baptist News Global | June 25, 2026]

Traces religious, political, and historical influences that contributed to modern Christian nationalism in the United States.

• [Is America a Christian Nation? A Conversation With Bishop Barron | Robert Barron and Adam O’Neal | The Washington Post | May 29, 2026]

Discusses the historical meaning of a Christian nation, America’s religious inheritance, pluralism, constitutional government, and Christianity’s public role.

• [A Christian Nation? At 250, America Is Still Fighting Over What That Means | Bob Smietana | Religion News Service | May 13, 2026]

Surveys historians and religious-liberty experts on the complicated distinction between America’s extensive Christian influences and its constitutional religious pluralism.

• [Did the Founders Create a Christian Nation? No, but Religion Did Shape Their Thinking | Peter Smith | Associated Press | May 3, 2026]

Reviews historians’ views of the founders’ varied religious beliefs and explains why neither a purely secular nor formally Christian account fully captures the founding era.

• [Excerpts From The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American | Andrew L. Seidel | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | May 1, 2026]

Presents excerpts from a church-state separation advocate’s historical argument challenging claims that American law and government were founded directly on biblical principles.

• [James Talarico Says ‘America Isn’t a Christian Nation,’ but Admits Founding Documents ‘Profoundly Christian’ | Ian M. Giatti | The Christian Post | January 19, 2026]

Reports a debate over whether Christian influence on American founding documents means the United States itself should be described as a Christian nation.

• [Founding Myths and Future Nightmares: How Christian Nationalism Took Root in America | Imani K. Bryant | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | September 16, 2025]

Presents an advocacy perspective tracing narratives about America’s Christian founding and their influence on contemporary church-state disputes.

• [Is America a Christian Nation? | Mariya Manzhos | Deseret News | August 16, 2025]

Explores arguments surrounding American Christian identity through religious leaders and communities involved in contemporary Christian-nationalist debates.

• [Did the Mainline Church Pave the Way for Christian Nationalism? | Stephen Healey | The Christian Century | April 2025]

Reviews arguments that American civil religion and older mainline Protestant assumptions about national identity helped create conditions later used by Christian nationalists.

• [We the (Chosen) People: Christian Nationalism Now | Philip Gorski and Eliyahu Stern | Yale Center for Faith & Culture | January 8, 2025]

Discusses religious nationalism, ideas of chosenness and the historical relationship between biblical imagery and American national identity.

• [We Have a Lot of Educating to Do: Countering the Un-American Lies of Christian Nationalists | Rachel Laser | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | January 2, 2025]

Argues that public education about constitutional history and religious freedom is necessary to challenge Christian-nationalist interpretations of American identity.

• [We Tried Christian Nationalism in America. It Went Badly. | Bob Smietana | Religion News Service | October 30, 2024]

Examines colonial religious establishments and persecution of dissenters to illustrate the practical consequences of government-supported Christianity in early America.

• [What Christian Nationalism Looked Like in Practice | William Horne | TIME | October 17, 2024]

Uses historical examples from the Jim Crow era to examine relationships among white supremacy, Christianity, nationalism, and political institutions.

• [Civil Religion as a Gateway to Christian Nationalism | Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood | University of Chicago Divinity School | June 20, 2024]

Examines how American civil religion can blur the distinction between religious belief and national loyalty and potentially contribute to Christian nationalism.

• [‘Bad Faith’ Sounds the Alarm on the Past and Future of Christian Nationalism | Jim McDermott | Religion News Service | May 30, 2024]

Reviews a documentary about Christian nationalism and discusses its account of the movement’s historical development and contemporary political influence.

• [Baptizing America: How America’s Practice of ‘Civil Religion’ and Its Endorsement by Mainline Protestants Paved the Way for Christian Nationalism | Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | May 29, 2024]

Connects American civil religion and historical Protestant influence with contemporary claims that Christianity should define national identity.

• [What Does It Mean to Claim the US Is a Christian Nation, and What Does the Constitution Say? | Peter Smith | Associated Press / Religion News Service | February 20, 2024]

Reviews constitutional provisions, founding-era history and differing modern meanings attached to the phrase “Christian nation.”

• [Christian Nationalists Want to Rewrite American History. Here’s How We’ll Stop Them. | Rob Boston | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | January 18, 2024]

Discusses disputes over historical claims about the founders, religious liberty, and whether the United States was established as a Christian nation.

• [The Past and Present of Christian Nationalism in America | History News Network | History News Network | 2024]

Places contemporary Christian nationalism within a longer history of American religious nationalism and debates about who belongs within the political nation.

• [Tantalizing Treaty: A 1797 Document Makes It Clear That the U.S. Government Is Not Based on Christianity | Rob Boston | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | October 31, 2023]

Examines Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli and its frequent use in historical arguments about whether the federal government was founded as Christian.

• [Which Civil Religion? Partisanship, Christian Nationalism, and the Dimensions of Civil Religion in the United States | Abigail Vegter, Andrew R. Lewis and Cammie Jo Bolin | Politics and Religion | January 26, 2023]

Distinguishes American civil religion from Christian nationalism and analyzes how partisan identity shapes different forms of national religious symbolism.

• [‘Christian Nation’ Myth Is Fundamental to Christian Nationalism, Speakers Warn | Jeff Brumley | Baptist News Global | October 24, 2022]

Reports an interfaith discussion about how historical narratives of a Christian founding intersect with race, political power and religious identity.

• [Actually, America Is Too a Christian Nation | Scott Hogenson | The Christian Post | September 26, 2022]

Presents an affirmative case for describing the United States as a Christian nation based primarily on historical Christian influence rather than formal religious establishment.

• [What the History of ‘Judeo-Christian’ Can Teach Us About Fighting Christian Nationalism | Religion News Service | Religion News Service | July 20, 2022]

Examines the history of the term “Judeo-Christian” and how definitions of American religious identity have changed in response to political and cultural conflict.

• [New Bible That Includes Constitution Creates Controversy Before It Even Hits Market | Sarah Pulliam Bailey | The Washington Post | May 28, 2021]

Reports controversy surrounding a Bible edition incorporating American founding documents and the symbolic merging of Christian scripture with national political texts.

• [The ‘Right’ History: Religion, Race, and Nostalgic Stories of Christian America | Ruth Braunstein | Religions | January 30, 2021]

Identifies differing narratives of a historic Christian America, including white-Christian and colorblind Judeo-Christian versions of national identity.

• [The U.S. a Christian Nation? Not According to the Founders! | Harlow Giles Unger | History News Network | September 8, 2019]

Uses founding-era documents and political debates to argue that the Constitution deliberately avoided establishing the United States as an officially Christian nation.

• [Why No One Can Agree on What George Washington Thought About the Relationship Between Church and State | Smithsonian Magazine | Smithsonian Magazine | 2019]

Reviews conflicting interpretations of Washington’s religious beliefs and his views about religious liberty, public religion, and governmental neutrality.

• [A More Perfect Union? Religion, Politics, and Competing Stories of America | Ruth Braunstein | Sociology of Religion | 2018]

Examines competing religious narratives of American identity and how different political groups construct stories about the nation’s moral meaning.

• [Amending America | National Archives Staff | National Archives | Winter 2015]

Surveys the history of proposed constitutional amendments, including attempts involving Christianity and the recurring historical question of whether America should formally identify as a Christian nation.

• [America’s True History of Religious Tolerance | Smithsonian Magazine | Smithsonian Magazine | 2010]

Surveys episodes from American history showing that religious diversity and religious conflict existed from the colonial period onward, complicating simplified accounts of a uniformly Christian nation.

• [Religion Symposium | Library of Congress Staff | Library of Congress Information Bulletin | August 1998]

Summarizes a Library of Congress symposium on religion and American history that included historian Jon Butler’s examination of the longstanding question, “Was America a Christian nation?”

• [Faith of Our Forefathers: Religion and the Founding of the American Republic | Library of Congress Staff | Library of Congress | May 1998]

Introduces historical scholarship and primary-source materials examining the complicated role religion played in the colonies, Revolution and creation of the federal government.

• [Religion and the Federal Government, Part 1 | James H. Hutson / Library of Congress | Library of Congress | 1998]

Examines the Constitution, Article VI’s prohibition on religious tests, the First Amendment and the founders’ debates over the federal government’s relationship with religion.

• [Religion and the Federal Government, Part 2 | James H. Hutson / Library of Congress | Library of Congress | 1998]

Examines Jefferson, Madison, the Danbury Baptist letter, congressional worship services and the historically contested meaning of church-state separation.

• [Religion and the State Governments | James H. Hutson / Library of Congress | Library of Congress | 1998]

Surveys the wide variation among early state policies, from religious establishments and public religious support to Virginia-style disestablishment.

• [Religion and the American Revolution | James H. Hutson / Library of Congress | Library of Congress | 1998]

Documents the substantial role religious ideas, clergy and institutions played in mobilizing and legitimizing resistance during the American Revolution.

• [Religion and the Congress of the Confederation | James H. Hutson / Library of Congress | Library of Congress | 1998]

Examines religious proclamations, policies and practices of the national government under the Continental and Confederation Congresses before adoption of the Constitution.

• [Religion and the New Republic | James H. Hutson / Library of Congress | Library of Congress | 1998]

Traces the flourishing of evangelical religion after the founding while showing how voluntary religious activity developed alongside constitutional restrictions on national religious establishment.

• [Interpretation: The Establishment Clause | National Constitution Center | National Constitution Center | Undated]

Explains the constitutional history and competing legal interpretations of the First Amendment’s prohibition on governmental establishment of religion.

Theology, Christianity, Churches, and Religious-Liberty Responses

• [Mohler Answers Land’s Critique on Christian Nationalism | Mark Wingfield | Baptist News Global | September 15, 2026]

Reports on a dispute among prominent Southern Baptist figures over Christian nationalism, religious tests for public office, biblical authority, and the constitutional order.

• [Christian Nationalism as the Bedrock of American Religious Pluralism: A Covenantal Approach | Richard Lewis Dixon | SSRN | September 2, 2026]

Presents a contrasting interpretation arguing that biblical and covenantal ideas helped provide foundations for American religious pluralism rather than requiring theocracy.

• [Douglas Wilson’s Theology of Victim Blaming | Danielle Tumminio Hansen | The Christian Century | August 13, 2026]

Examines Douglas Wilson’s theology and political influence within contemporary Christian nationalism, including his views on hierarchy, authority, gender, and Christian social order.

• [The Summer of Taking Christian Nationalism Seriously | Megan Fowler | Christianity Today | July 30, 2026]

Reports on evangelical and denominational debates over Christian nationalism and efforts by Christian institutions to define and respond to the movement.

• [A Religion Too Wild to Nationalize | Benjamin J. Dueholm | The Christian Century | July 3, 2026]

Argues that Christianity’s universal and prophetic dimensions resist attempts to confine the faith within a single nation or political project.

• [Why Coercive Religious Politics Undermine Christianity and Democracy | Juan Garcia | Baptist News Global | June 29, 2026]

Argues that governmental enforcement of religious norms can undermine voluntary faith as well as democratic religious freedom.

• [Christian Nationalism Is Neither Christian nor Patriotic | Michael Chancellor | Baptist News Global | June 29, 2026]

Offers a Baptist theological critique of identifying Christianity with national political identity and distinguishes patriotism from Christian nationalism.

• [Cooperative Baptists Challenge Christian Nationalism, Advocate for Loving Neighbors | Curated Content | Baptist News Global | June 25, 2026]

Reports on Cooperative Baptist discussions emphasizing religious freedom and neighborly responsibility in response to Christian-nationalist political ideas.

• [Hymnwriters Host Workshop on Resisting Christian Nationalism | Mike Ferguson | The Christian Century | May 29, 2026]

Reports on Christian musicians and worship leaders exploring how congregational music can shape attitudes toward nationalism, patriotism, and Christian identity.

• [Letters—May 2026 | Various Authors | First Things | May 2026]

Includes reader responses to arguments about Christian nationalism and illustrates disagreements among religious conservatives over Christianity, national identity, and political authority.

• [Christian Nationalism’s Fatal Christian Contradiction: It Doesn’t Trust Jesus to Return | Eric Lane | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | April 1, 2026]

Offers a theological critique of Christian nationalism, arguing that efforts to create a politically Christian nation conflict with Christian eschatology.

• [What Defines a Christian in the Age of Christian Nationalism? | Will McCorkle | Baptist News Global | March 24, 2026]

Examines competing religious definitions of Christian identity when Christianity becomes closely associated with nationality and partisan politics.

• [Practicing Compassionate Patriotism | Cynthia R. Wallace | The Christian Century | March 10, 2026]

Explores forms of patriotism grounded in responsibility and concern for others as an alternative to nationalism based on religious or cultural exclusion.

• [The Case for Christian Nationalism | R. R. Reno | First Things | March 5, 2026]

Presents an explicit defense of Christian nationalism, arguing that Christianity can legitimately provide moral and cultural orientation for American national life.

• [How a Coin Taught Me to Counter Christian Nationalism | Jaziah Masters | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | February 2, 2026]

Uses American civic symbolism to argue that national identity need not depend on adherence to a particular religion.

• [‘Martin Luther Was Fine With Blasphemy Laws’: Lutheran Theologians Debate Christian Nationalism | Ian M. Giatti | The Christian Post | September 4, 2025]

Reports a Lutheran theological debate over Christian nationalism, Christendom, religious establishment and Martin Luther’s understanding of political authority.

• [The Blasphemy of National Christianity | Mac Loftin | The Christian Century | August 28, 2025]

Offers a theological argument that identifying Christianity too closely with a nation can turn national loyalty into a substitute for Christian faith.

• [America Doesn’t Need More Christian Nationalism | Liz Hayes | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | February 3, 2025]

Presents a church-state separation advocacy argument against government efforts to privilege Christianity within American public institutions.

• [What’s Next? | Jaziah Masters | Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty | December 4, 2024]

Reflects on religious liberty, Christian nationalism and future efforts by faith-based advocates to defend institutional separation between religion and government.

• [How to End Christian Nationalism | Amanda Tyler | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | October 1, 2024]

Presents an activist and Baptist perspective on organizing against Christian nationalism while defending religious freedom and democratic pluralism.

• [Christian Nationalism: A Baptist Evaluation and Response | Ronald S. Cava | Baptist News Global | July 2, 2024]

Evaluates Christian nationalism through Baptist principles including freedom of conscience, voluntary faith, congregational independence, and separation of church and state.

• [To All the Christians Fighting Christian Nationalism: Thank You! | Rachel Laser | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | February 6, 2024]

Highlights Christian leaders and organizations opposing Christian nationalism from religious-liberty and church-state separation perspectives.

• [The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Christian Nationalism | Patrick Schreiner | The Gospel Coalition | April 27, 2023]

Offers an evangelical assessment distinguishing legitimate Christian concern for national life from forms of nationalism the author regards as theologically problematic.

• [A Christian’s Thoughts on the Problem of Christian Nationalism | Bill McKibben | The New Yorker | April 18, 2023]

Offers a Christian critique of nationalism that contrasts universal Christian commitments with efforts to make Christianity an instrument of national political power.

• [How Christian Is Christian Nationalism? | The New Yorker | The New Yorker | April 3, 2023]

Examines the theological content of Christian nationalism and asks how much the movement reflects historic Christian doctrine versus political and cultural identity.

• [Why the False Prophets of Christian Nationalism Don’t Speak for Me | Nathan Empsall | Word&Way | November 3, 2022]

Presents an Episcopal-oriented theological critique distinguishing Christian teachings from Christian-nationalist ideology.

• [Is Christian Republicanism the Best Cure for Christian Nationalism? | Jesse Smith | Religion News Service | September 1, 2022]

Explores whether republican political traditions emphasizing civic virtue and limited government provide an alternative to explicitly Christian nationalism.

• [Christian Nationalism Is ‘Single Biggest Threat’ to America’s Religious Freedom | Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons and Maggie Siddiqi | Center for American Progress | April 13, 2022]

Presents a progressive policy organization’s argument that Christian nationalism threatens equal religious liberty and pluralistic democracy.

Public Opinion, Geography, and Demographic Trends

• [Christian Nationalists’ Professed Support for Religious Pluralism Is Often Drowned Out by Perceptions That Christians Are Under Threat | Brooklyn Walker and Paul Djupe | Religion News Service / The Conversation | August 21, 2026]

Summarizes survey research finding that some supporters of Christian-nationalist ideas simultaneously endorse religious pluralism, with perceived threats strongly affecting political tolerance.

• [Pew: ‘Christian Nationalism’ Is Becoming a Household Term | Jack Panyard | Christianity Today | May 14, 2026]

Reports on Pew survey findings showing growing public familiarity with Christian nationalism and continuing disagreements about religion’s role in government.

• [How Americans Feel About Religion’s Influence in Government and Public Life | Chip Rotolo and Gregory A. Smith | Pew Research Center | May 14, 2026]

Surveys attitudes toward Christian nationalism, Christianity as an official religion, biblical influence on law, church-state separation, and religious involvement in politics.

• [The Weakness of Anti-Christian Nationalism: When Religiously Inclusive Orientations Can’t Increase Tolerance | Paul A. Djupe and Brooklyn Walker | Politics and Religion | March 26, 2026]

Examines whether support for pluralistic and inclusive religious principles consistently translates into greater political tolerance among American Christians.

• [Mapped: Christian Nationalism | Russell Contreras and John Frank | Axios | February 24, 2026]

Presents geographic differences in Christian-nationalist attitudes and places regional variation within broader demographic and political patterns.

• [Fact Sheet: A Closer Look at Christian Nationalism in Nine States | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | February 17, 2026]

Presents state-level survey findings about support for Christian-nationalist ideas and demographic, religious, and political differences among respondents.

• [Where Christian Nationalism Is Most Dominant in the U.S. | Axios Staff | Axios | February 2026]

Uses survey findings to compare Christian-nationalist attitudes across states and regions of the United States.

• [Christian Nationalism Across All 50 States: Insights from PRRI’s 2024 American Values Atlas | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | February 4, 2025]

Maps Christian-nationalist attitudes across the states and compares responses by religion, party, race, age, education, and other characteristics.

• [Resistance to Christian Nationalism in All 50 States: A PRRI-Meanings of Democracy Lab Report | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | October 30, 2024]

Studies opposition as well as support for Christian nationalism and examines how attitudes toward democracy and pluralism relate to survey classifications.

• [Fear and Loathing: How Demographic Change Affects Support for Christian Nationalism | Brooklyn Walker and Donald P. Haider-Markel | Public Opinion Quarterly | April 4, 2024]

Uses survey experiments to test how information about religious and racial demographic change affects support for Christian nationalism among white Christians.

• [Christianity’s Place in Politics, and ‘Christian Nationalism’ | Chip Rotolo, Gregory A. Smith and Jonathan Evans | Pew Research Center | March 15, 2024]

Examines public attitudes toward Christianity in government, biblical influence on law, church-state separation, and the meaning Americans attach to Christian nationalism.

• [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-by-state estimates of Christian-nationalist attitudes and examines their relationship with religious affiliation, political identity, and demographic characteristics.

• [New Survey Finds Pockets of Support for Christian Nationalism Across the Country | Jack Jenkins | Religion News Service | February 28, 2024]

Reports state-level survey findings about support for declaring America a Christian nation and basing laws on Christian values.

• [Poll: A Third of US Adults Are Christian Nationalists | Yonat Shimron | The Christian Century | February 10, 2023]

Reports PRRI/Brookings survey findings that classify Americans according to levels of agreement with statements used to measure Christian-nationalist beliefs.

• [Most US Republicans Sympathetic to Christian Nationalism, Survey Finds | Maya Yang | The Guardian | February 9, 2023]

Reports survey findings on Christian-nationalist attitudes and differences among Republicans, Democrats, religious groups, and demographic categories.

• [A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture | PRRI Staff | Public Religion Research Institute | February 8, 2023]

Introduces a survey-based typology of Christian-nationalist attitudes and examines associations with political, religious, racial, and cultural views.

• [45% of Americans Say U.S. Should Be a ‘Christian Nation’ | Pew Research Center | Pew Research Center | October 27, 2022]

Reports national survey results on whether Americans describe the United States as Christian, whether they think it should be Christian, and what respondents mean by the phrase.

• [Poll: Nearly Half of Americans Think the US Should Be a Christian Nation | Religion News Service | Religion News Service | October 27, 2022]

Reports Pew findings while exploring the very different meanings respondents attach to the phrase “Christian nation.”

• [Is Christian Nationalism Growing or Declining? Both. | Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry | The Washington Post | October 25, 2022]

Argues that explicit Christian identification may be declining while Christian-nationalist ideas remain politically significant among portions of the population.

• [Study: More Than 3/4 of Republican Evangelicals Want US Declared a Christian Nation | Religion News Service | Religion News Service | September 23, 2022]

Reports survey research on support for officially declaring the United States a Christian nation and examines differences by religion and political affiliation.

• [Americans Are Growing More Accepting of Christian Nationalism | Allyson F. Shortle | The Washington Post | September 1, 2022]

Discusses survey evidence and research on changing public attitudes toward statements linking American identity, Christianity, and government.

Race, Identity, Gender, Sexuality, and Belonging

• [Christian Nationalism, Race, and Contingent Support for Law Enforcement: Results From Two Survey Experiments | Christopher H. Seto, Popy Begum, Darci K. Schmidgall and Samuel L. Perry | Criminology | August 6, 2026]

Uses two survey experiments to investigate relationships among Christian-nationalist beliefs, racial identity, policing, and public support for law enforcement.

• [In God We Trust: Christian Nationalism, Political and Ethno-Racial Identities, and Distrust of Immigrants | Christopher H. Seto | Sociology of Religion | May 24, 2026]

Examines how Christian nationalism interacts with political and ethnoracial identity in shaping attitudes toward immigrants.

• [Religion Is Sometimes Raced: Christian Nationalism as In-Group Protection | Brooklyn Walker, Paul A. Djupe, Brian R. Calfano, Andrew R. Lewis and Anand E. Sokhey | Perspectives on Politics | October 14, 2025]

Examines how Christian-nationalist attitudes interact with racial group identity and perceptions of social membership and protection.

• [Understanding and Resisting Politicized, Patriarchal White Christian Nationalism | Bruce Gourley | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | October 1, 2025]

Examines the intersection of religion, race, gender hierarchy, and political power in one scholarly and advocacy conception of white Christian nationalism.

• [At NatCon, an Effort to Make Christian Nationalism a More Inclusive Movement | Jack Jenkins | Religion News Service | September 5, 2025]

Reports on National Conservatism Conference participants debating whether a Christian national identity can encompass Catholics, Protestants and Jews while remaining explicitly Christian.

• [Jesus and John Wayne Wannabes: How Christian Nationalism and Femininity Shape Extreme Politics Among Men in the US | Paul A. Djupe | Sociology of Religion | March 8, 2025]

Studies how Christian nationalism, gender attitudes and conceptions of masculinity relate to extreme political attitudes among American men.

• [Christian Nationalism Is Unbounded by LGB Identity | Brooklyn Walker and Paul A. Djupe | Politics, Groups, and Identities | February 14, 2025]

Investigates whether sexual identity changes the relationship between Christian-nationalist beliefs and political attitudes.

• [Our Kind of American: Christian Nationalism, Race, and Contingent Views of Cultural Membership | The Sociological Quarterly | The Sociological Quarterly | July 7, 2023]

Studies how Christian nationalism relates to exclusion, assimilation and definitions of American cultural membership across racial and ethnic groups.

• [Why White Christian Nationalism Isn’t Going Away | Samuel L. Perry and Andrew L. Whitehead | TIME | November 13, 2022]

Argues that Christian nationalism is a durable cultural framework rather than simply a response to a particular political candidate or election.

• [Yale Sociologist Phil Gorski on the Threat of White Christian Nationalism | Mike Cummings | Yale News | March 15, 2022]

Interviews sociologist Philip Gorski about the historical development, racial dimensions, religious symbolism, and political influence of white Christian nationalism.

• [Divided by Faith (in Christian America): Christian Nationalism, Race, and Divergent Perceptions of Racial Injustice | Samuel L. Perry, Ryon J. Cobb, Andrew L. Whitehead and Joshua B. Grubbs | Social Forces | November 11, 2021]

Examines racial differences in how Christian-nationalist ideas relate to perceptions of discrimination, policing and racial injustice.

Government, Elections, Political Actors, and Institutions

• [Christian Nationalists Are Behind Trump’s Smithsonian Attacks | Caroline Cook | Baptist News Global | September 2, 2026]

Presents an opinion analysis connecting disputes over Smithsonian historical interpretation with competing Christian-nationalist and pluralist narratives of American history.

• [Doug Wilson Says Mamdani Voters ‘Should Lose Their Citizenship’ | Brian Kaylor | Word&Way | August 24, 2026]

Reports on a Christian-nationalism forum involving Douglas Wilson, Albert Mohler, Paul Miller and others and their disagreements over citizenship, religious tests, pluralism, and political authority.

• [A ‘Nonbeliever’ in Congress Argues New View of Religion Is Gaining Ground on the Hill | Michelle Boorstein | The Washington Post | August 19, 2026]

Examines congressional debates over secular government, church-state separation, Christian nationalism, and the appropriate influence of religion in American public life.

• [No Surprises: Religious Liberty Commission Draft Report Advances Christian Nationalism | Alessandro Terenzoni | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | July 2, 2026]

Analyzes a federal religious-liberty commission draft report from the perspective of a church-state separation advocacy organization.

• [Trump’s ‘Christian Nationalism’ Is Neither of Those Things | Matt Ford | The New Republic | June 3, 2026]

Offers a critical interpretation of contemporary uses of Christianity and nationalism in American politics and disputes whether the resulting movement reflects either concept coherently.

• [Rep. Tom Suozzi: Faith Should Be Freely Embraced, Not Politically Imposed | Tom Suozzi | America Magazine | June 1, 2026]

Presents a Catholic politician’s argument for a public role for faith while opposing government-imposed religious identity.

• [The Trump Admin Is Hitting Americans With Incessant Christian Nationalism: Americans United Is Hitting Back | Andrew L. Seidel | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | June 1, 2026]

Presents an advocacy organization’s assessment of federal actions it views as promoting Christian nationalism and weakening church-state separation.

• [Americans United Denounces National Day of Prayer as Christian Nationalism | Americans United Staff | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | June 1, 2026]

Critiques government involvement in a National Day of Prayer and connects the controversy to broader debates over government endorsement of Christianity.

• [Thousands Gathered in Washington for an America-Themed Prayer Rally | Tiffany Stanley | Associated Press | May 17, 2026]

Reports on a large national prayer gathering that blended Christianity, patriotism, American history, and contemporary political themes.

• [Trump to Join Prayer Gathering Criticized for Promoting Christian Nationalism | Peter Smith | Associated Press / PBS News | May 14, 2026]

Reports on a large Washington prayer event and competing interpretations of its blending of Christianity, American patriotism, and national political identity.

• [National Prayer Breakfast or Christian Nationalism Breakfast? | Robert P. Sellers | Baptist News Global | March 2, 2026]

Questions the relationship between the National Prayer Breakfast, political power, Christianity, and the idea that America possesses a privileged Christian identity.

• [Trump Dump: How AU Fought Trump’s Christian Nationalist Agenda This Year | Americans United Staff | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | December 22, 2025]

Reviews policies and controversies that the church-state advocacy organization characterized as manifestations of Christian nationalism during 2025.

• [JD Vance, Playing Unifier, Declares the US ‘a Christian Nation’ | Mark Silk | Religion News Service | December 22, 2025]

Examines a public declaration that the United States is a Christian nation and the tensions between that formulation and religious diversity within conservative political coalitions.

• [Netroots Nation: Why We Put Christian Nationalism at the Center of the Conversation | Adriyanna R. Andrèus | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | August 21, 2025]

Describes an advocacy organization’s efforts to make Christian nationalism and church-state separation prominent topics within progressive political organizing.

• [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]

Analyzes state-level Christian-nationalism estimates alongside 2024 presidential voting patterns while controlling for other state characteristics.

• [Trump Has Put Christian Nationalists in Key Roles — Say a Prayer for Free Speech | The Guardian | The Guardian | April 16, 2025]

Examines appointments and policies that critics connect to Christian nationalism, particularly regarding religious freedom and government power.

• [The Top Ten Church-State Stories of 2024: Final Five | Rob Boston | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | December 12, 2024]

Reviews major 2024 controversies involving religion, government, public schools and Christian-nationalist political activism from a separationist advocacy perspective.

• [The Top Ten Church-State Issues of 2024: First Five | Rob Boston | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | December 11, 2024]

Surveys church-state disputes involving public education, government religion and Christian-nationalist arguments during 2024.

• [How Project 2025 Impacts the Separation of Church and State | To The Contrary | PBS | September 6, 2024]

Examines proposals affecting religious liberty and church-state relations and discusses competing interpretations of their relationship to Christian nationalism.

• [The Christian Nationalism We Need | Josh Hawley | First Things | September 4, 2024]

Presents an affirmative conservative case for a form of Christian nationalism based on Christian moral influence, national solidarity and public recognition of religion.

• [How a Movement to Resist Christian Nationalism Took On Project 2025 | Ruth Braunstein | Religion News Service | August 16, 2024]

Reports on religious and civic organizations mobilizing against policies they associate with Christian nationalism and Project 2025.

• [Josh Hawley’s Strange New Twist on Christian Nationalism | Brian Kaylor and Jeremy Fuzy | Word&Way | July 10, 2024]

Examines Hawley’s public embrace of the Christian-nationalism label and compares it with his previous descriptions of Christianity and American national identity.

• [The Full Armor of God: The Mobilization of Christian Nationalism in American Politics | Paul A. Djupe, Andrew R. Lewis and Anand E. Sokhey | Cambridge University Press | June 15, 2023]

Examines how political organizations and networks activate Christian-nationalist identities and translate them into political behavior.

• [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]

Uses national survey data to examine whether Christian-nationalist beliefs independently predicted voting behavior in the 2016 presidential election.

Democracy, Extremism, January 6, and Political Violence

• [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]

Studies whether exposure to Christian symbols and nationalist rhetoric associated with January 6 produced religious or partisan backlash among Americans.

• [What’s the Connection Between Evangelicalism and Conspiracy Theories? | Amar D. Peterman | The Christian Century | April 10, 2026]

Reviews scholarship on evangelicalism, conspiracy beliefs, political identity, and Christian nationalism while emphasizing the diversity within evangelical Christianity.

• [An Army for God: Gun Ownership, Christian Nationalism, and Support for Political Violence | Donald Haider-Markel, Brooklyn Walker and Abigail Vegter | Social Science Quarterly | April 2, 2026]

Investigates relationships among Christian nationalism, firearms ownership and expressed support for political violence.

• [Christian Nationalism, Apocalypticism, Outgroup Hate, and Support for Violent Extremism | James A. Piazza | Defence and Peace Economics | January 10, 2026]

Tests whether apocalyptic expectations and attitudes toward social outgroups help explain the statistical relationship between Christian-nationalist beliefs and support for political violence.

• [‘The Devil Is Not Gonna Win’: How Charlie Kirk Became a Christian Nationalist Martyr | The Guardian | The Guardian | September 20, 2025]

Examines religious narratives, political activism, and martyr imagery surrounding Charlie Kirk within parts of the Christian-nationalist movement.

• [‘Reactionary Nihilism’: How a Rightwing Movement Strives to End US Democracy | Adam Gabbatt | The Guardian | January 19, 2025]

Discusses Katherine Stewart’s analysis of networks connecting Christian nationalism, wealthy political donors, religious activism, and anti-government movements.

• [Money, Lies, and God: Investigative Journalist Katherine Stewart Gives an Early Look at Her New Exposé of Christian Nationalism | Rob Boston | Americans United for Separation of Church and State | January 2, 2025]

Interviews Katherine Stewart about networks, funding and organizations she associates with contemporary Christian-nationalist political activism.

• [Christian Nationalism and Support for Leaders Violating Democratic Norms During National Emergencies | Samuel L. Perry and Joshua B. Grubbs | Politics and Religion | September 19, 2024]

Tests whether Christian-nationalist beliefs are associated with willingness to tolerate political leaders violating democratic rules during national crises.

• [Christian Nationalism and Violence Against Religious Minorities in the United States: A Quantitative Analysis | Nilay Saiya | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | September 2, 2024]

Uses quantitative methods to investigate relationships between Christian-nationalist attitudes and hostility or violence directed toward religious minorities.

• [Revealed: Documents Shed Light on Shadowy US Far-Right Fraternal Order | Jason Wilson | The Guardian | March 19, 2024]

Reports on a private organization whose members discussed Christian political order, national identity, and strategies for influencing American institutions.

• [Revealed: US Conservative Thinktank’s Links to Extremist Fraternal Order | Jason Wilson | The Guardian | March 11, 2024]

Investigates connections between conservative intellectual institutions and a group advocating a more explicitly Christian conception of American political order.

• [America’s Proclivity for Extremism Has Religious Roots | John Fanestil | TIME | October 4, 2023]

Uses episodes from American religious history to connect national exceptionalism, revivalism, political extremism, and contemporary Christian nationalism.

• [Christ, Country, and Conspiracies? Christian Nationalism, Biblical Literalism, and Belief in Conspiracy Theories | Brooklyn Walker and Abigail Vegter | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | May 8, 2023]

Examines whether Christian nationalism and biblical literalism independently relate to belief in political conspiracy theories.

• [Faith Leaders Ask Why Jan. 6 Report Left Out Christian Nationalism | Jack Jenkins | The Washington Post | December 29, 2022]

Reports criticism from religious leaders and scholars who believed the congressional January 6 report gave insufficient attention to Christian-nationalist activism.

• [‘Christian Nationalism’ Threatens Democracy, Some Experts Say | Oren Oppenheim | ABC News | November 7, 2022]

Surveys scholars, activists, and religious figures on Christian nationalism, including disagreements over its definition and its implications for democratic government.

• [Takeaways From the AP/FRONTLINE Michael Flynn Investigation | Michelle R. Smith | Associated Press / FRONTLINE | September 7, 2022]

Examines Michael Flynn’s political activism, religious rhetoric and involvement with movements promoting explicitly Christian conceptions of American government.

• [Report on Christian Nationalism and the January 6 Insurrection | Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and Freedom From Religion Foundation | BJC | February 9, 2022]

Collects research on Christian symbols, organizations, rhetoric, and participants connected to January 6 while distinguishing Christian nationalism from Christianity generally.

• [How the Capitol Attacks Helped Spread Christian Nationalism in the Extreme Right | The Washington Post | The Washington Post | January 26, 2022]

Reports on the adoption of Christian-nationalist language and symbols by segments of the extremist right following the January 6 Capitol attack.

• [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]

Examines factors that mediate the association between Christian-nationalist beliefs and support for the January 6 Capitol attack.

• [‘I Don’t Want Everybody to Vote’: Christian Nationalism and Restricting Voter Access in the United States | Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead and Joshua B. Grubbs | Sociological Forum | January 3, 2022]

Studies statistical relationships between Christian-nationalist beliefs and attitudes toward voting access and electoral participation.

• [Taking the White Christian Nationalist Symbols at the Capitol Riot Seriously | Robert P. Jones | Religion News Service | January 7, 2021]

Analyzes Christian imagery displayed during the Capitol attack and places it within a longer history of white Christian nationalism in the United States.

Public Policy and Social Issues

• [Green Christian Nationalists? How Issue Framing Moderates the Link Between Christian Nationalism and Environmental Protection | Samuel L. Perry and Laura Upenieks | The Sociological Quarterly | June 17, 2026]

Tests whether religious versus secular framing of environmental issues changes the relationship between Christian-nationalist beliefs and environmental attitudes.

• [‘Christofascism’ Is Here: Inside the Slow Demolition of US Public Health | Adrienne Matei | The Guardian | May 3, 2026]

Investigates Christian conservative influence on public-health policy and uses the contested concept of “Christofascism” as part of its analytical framing.

• [Christian Nationalism and Educational Policy in the United States | Kevin J. Burke and Heidi Hadley | National Education Policy Center | November 4, 2025]

Reviews how Christian-nationalist ideas intersect with debates over public-school curricula, religious instruction, parental authority, and educational governance.

• [The Gathering Storm in the Evangelical Field: Education, Christian Nationalism, and Racial Inequality | David Sikkink | Sociology of Religion | November 3, 2025]

Studies divisions among American evangelicals over racial inequality and analyzes how education and reactions to Christian nationalism influence those differences.

• [‘Testing Ground for Project 2025’: Behind Oklahoma’s Rightwing Push to Erode the Line Between Church and State | The Guardian | The Guardian | February 27, 2025]

Reports on Oklahoma disputes over religion in public schools, Bible instruction, church-state boundaries, and competing visions of a Christian nation.

• [Christian Nationalism and Opposition to Reallocating Police Funding to Other Social Services | Jessica Liberman, Derek Lehman and Atsuko Kawakami | Sociology of Religion | November 18, 2023]

Examines whether Christian-nationalist attitudes predict opposition to shifting police funding toward alternative social services.

• [Liberty for Us, Limits for Them: Christian Nationalism and Americans’ Views on Citizens’ Rights | Joshua T. Davis, Samuel L. Perry and Joshua B. Grubbs | Sociology of Religion | May 8, 2023]

Studies how Christian-nationalist attitudes relate to competing understandings of civil rights and liberties for favored versus disfavored groups.

• [How Christian Nationalism Seeped Into Home Schooling | Bob Smietana and Emily McFarlan Miller | The Washington Post | December 23, 2022]

Examines the history of conservative Christian homeschooling and its intersections with ideas about Christian government, family authority, and national identity.

• [Christian Nationalism Links Gun Rights and ‘Christian Nation’ Ideals in Dangerous Mix, Tyler and Hollman Say | Jeff Brumley | Baptist News Global | June 27, 2022]

Reports a Baptist Joint Committee discussion of relationships among Christian-nationalist ideas, gun rights, religious liberty and national identity.

• [Christian Nationalism and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Uptake | Katie E. Corcoran, Christopher P. Scheitle and Bernard D. DiGregorio | Vaccine | October 2021]

Uses national survey data to examine associations between Christian nationalism and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination.

• [Culture Wars and COVID-19 Conduct: Christian Nationalism, Religiosity, and Americans’ Behavior During the Coronavirus Pandemic | Samuel L. Perry | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | July 26, 2020]

Examines how Christian-nationalist attitudes correlated with behavior and risk perceptions during the early COVID-19 pandemic.

• [Redefining Refugee: White Christian Nationalism in State Politics and Beyond | Breanne Leigh Grace and Katie Heins | Ethnic and Racial Studies | June 2, 2020]

Examines Christian-nationalist rhetoric surrounding refugee policy and definitions of national belonging.

• [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]

Examines the relationship between Christian nationalism and attitudes toward gun regulation after controlling for other religious and political factors.

• [A More Perfect Union? Christian Nationalism and Support for Same-Sex Unions | Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry | Sociological Perspectives | April 6, 2015]

Examines Christian nationalism as an overlap of national and religious identities and its relationship to attitudes toward same-sex marriage and civil unions.

Global and Comparative Perspectives

• [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 | Sociology | April 24, 2026]

Tests whether the concept and measurement of Christian nationalism developed in the United States can be meaningfully applied in a substantially different political and religious setting.

• [Exploring Christian Nationalism at the 2026 Global Christianity Conference | Chase Viscuse | University of Chicago Divinity School | February 4, 2026]

Discusses scholarly examination of Christian nationalism within a broader international conversation about Christianity, politics, and national identity.

• [Christian Nationalism and Attitudes About Democracy in Africa | John Ishiyama | Politics and Religion | September 15, 2025]

Extends Christian-nationalism research beyond the United States by examining relationships between Christian national identity and democratic attitudes in African countries.

• [Japanese Evangelicalism Was Once Nationalistic | Christianity Today Contributor | Christianity Today | May 2025]

Uses Japanese evangelical history to reflect on the relationship between Christianity, nationalism, militarism and contemporary American evangelical political identity.

• [Video: Yang Scholars 2025 — Christian Nationalism in Global Perspective | Harvard Divinity School | Harvard Divinity School | March 5, 2025]

Places American Christian nationalism in comparative global perspective and examines similar relationships among religion, national identity and political power elsewhere.