Christian nationalists' 'extreme beliefs' are fundamentally 'at odds with pluralistic democracy': conservative

In an Instagram post on July 22, 2022, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) declared, "I’m a proud Christian nationalist." Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is embracing the term "Christian nationalist" as well, and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) has complained that she is "tired of this separation of church and state junk" — inspiring The Lincoln Project’s Rick Wilson, a Never Trump conservative, to say that Boebert "can go to Iran" if she feels that way.

Another Never Trumper, Washington Post opinion columnist Jennifer Rubin, is also troubled by the popularity of Christian nationalism within the MAGA movement. In her February 9 column, Rubin cites a Public Religion Research Institute/Brookings Institution poll released a day earlier as evidence that "Christian nationalists, in fact, harbor a set of extreme beliefs at odds with pluralistic democracy."

Survey respondents were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with statements like: (1) "U.S. laws should be based on Christian values," (2) "Being Christian is an important part of being truly American," (3) "The U.S. government should declare America a Christian nation," (4) "If the U.S. moves away from our Christian foundations, we will not have a country anymore" and (5) "God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society."

READ MORE:More than 60 percent of Republicans want the United States of America declared a Christian nation: report

Rubin explains, "PRRI found that 10 percent ('adherents') of American adults believe in these ideas overwhelmingly or completely; 19 percent agree but not completely ('sympathizers'); 39 percent disagree ('skeptics') but not completely; and 29 percent disagree completely ('rejecters'). Who are these people? 'Nearly two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants qualify as either Christian nationalism sympathizers (35 percent) or adherents (29 percent).'"

The columnist adds, "Thirty-five percent of all Whites are adherents. Put differently, Christian nationalist adherents are a minority, but when combined with sympathizers, still comprise a stunning 29 percent of Americans — many tens of millions."

The poll, according to Rubin, shows that "Christian nationalists also make up the base of the Republican Party."

"If you thing this sounds like MAGA tripe," Rubin warns, "you’re right. This is the hardcore MAGA base…. To counteract Christian nationalism, we will need a positive, optimistic message that celebrates an inclusive, diverse democracy in which no American is more 'real' than another. What makes us unique — or 'exceptional' as the right likes to say — is that America isn’t defined by race or religion. Believers in American values have their work cut out for them."

READ MORE: 'QMaga': How QAnon, MAGA and 'Christian nationalism' have pushed the GOP into 'madness'

Read Jennifer Rubin’s full Washington Post column at this link (subscription required).