'Mystical racism': Christian nationalists believe they're 'under attack by demonic forces'

19 February 2024

a silhouette of a man with his hands up

To many far-right white Christian nationalists, the United States' 2024 presidential election goes way beyond policy. They view the election as a battle between good and evil and see 2024 GOP frontrunner Donald Trump as the only one who can protect them from heathenism.

In an op-ed published by the Daily Beast on February 19, journalist Alec Dent argues that "mystical racism" and a terror of non-white cultures are major motivators for the Religious Right in 2024.

"From Black Lives Matter to corn — yes, even the plant kingdom isn't safe — fringe right-wingers believe America is under attack by demonic forces, and those demonic forces are almost invariably tied to non-white communities," Dent explains. "There's a long history of Europeans instinctively writing off aspects of other cultures as demonic, with the rationale always rooted in a deep sense of cultural superiority and racial animus."

Dent stresses that as goofy as it sounds, parts of "the radical right" associate corn with Aztecs and really do view corn-based products as an attack on white fundamentalist Christianity.

"Pockets of anti-immigration opponents on the far right are using the corn-Aztec narrative as evidence of cultural barbarism — to show Mexicans just aren't like white Americans," Dent observes. "And something as simple as a plant is used as guilt by association…. Even Christians aren't safe from race-based accusations of demonry."

Dent continues, "During a 2022 interview, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said that 'Satan is controlling the (Catholic) Church' because of its pro-migrant stance. There isn't enough space to include the countless examples of Protestant National Conservative-types accusing the Catholic Church of being satanic because of its strong social justice-based stance on immigration and race. Framing these issues in religious terms gives right-wing extremists just enough cover to claim that what they're arguing isn’t actually racist."

Read Alec Dent's full Daily Beast op-ed at this link (subscription required).

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