PSYCHOLOGY Concepts and Theories: Christian Nationalism

Christian nationalism is a term for a subculture whose members identify their nation as having a Christian heritage and a God-given purpose. Members believe their nation must return to their understanding of Christian social and moral values to be blessed by God.

Christian Nationalism is a social construct commonly used in the United States, which has a large percentage of people who identify as Christians.

In the United States, Christians who present with a common set of beliefs considered to represent Christian nationalism are mostly, but not exclusively, evangelicals.

Perspectives on Christian Nationalism

Andrew Whitehead and his colleagues have written about Christian nationalism based on studies using a 6-item Christian Nationalism scale.

In a 2020 interview with Paul Rosenberg of Salon, Whitehead offers the definition in the quote below.

Your book is about "Christian nationalism." Let's start with explaining what you mean by that.

When we talk about Christian nationalism, we identify it as a cultural framework that is all about trying to advocate for a fusion between Christianity, as they define it, and American civic life. This Christianity is something more than just orthodox Christian belief — it contains and overlaps with a number of other things. It operates like a signal to those that hear it, to a certain population, to say "people like us," which is generally white, native-born, culturally Christian. So it intertwines not only with narratives about the Christian heritage of the United States, but also different traditions and symbols and value systems, and really is a fusion of these identities, put together to create what they see as the "ideal" America. (Rosenberg, February 29, 2020)

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Davis notes features of Christian nationalism in a 2022 paper.

While Christian nationalism draws from general theories of religious nationalism (e.g. Brubaker 2011; Aho 2013), it involves several particular features. First, it is more than just civil religion, instead blending religious particularism, victimization and messianism together (Gorski 2020). Within the Christian nationalist’s worldview, there is a persistent fear of persecution, that America has not just strayed from its birthright as a Christian nation but that there are liberal forces conspiring to actively prevent government from embodying Christian values. Second, it also incorporates views about racial order and social hierarchies. Whiteness plays a role (Gorski and Perry 2022), as does gender, and its theological roots are less about morality or virtue and, instead, involve ideas about power and who should wield it.

Read more about the concept worldview.

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A quote from Miller who wrote an article in an evangelical magazine, Christianity Today, offers a general definition as follows.

Christian nationalism is the belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way. Popularly, Christian nationalists assert that America is and must remain a “Christian nation”—not merely as an observation about American history, but as a prescriptive program for what America must continue to be in the future. Scholars like Samuel Huntington have made a similar argument: that America is defined by its “Anglo-Protestant” past and that we will lose our identity and our freedom if we do not preserve our cultural inheritance. (Miller, 2021, February 3)

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I wrote about the 6-item scale elsewhere (Sutton, 2022) but I will include the items here because they offer a look at one operational definition that has been referenced in the articles or books mentioned below (Cooper-White, Davis, Rosenberg).

Christian Nationalism Scale items

The federal government should declare the United States as a Christian nation.

The federal government should advocate Christian values.

The federal government should enforce strict separation of church and state. (reverse coded)

The federal government should allow the display of religious symbols in public spaces.

The success of the United States is part of God's plan.

The federal government should allow prayer in public schools.

Cite this post

Sutton, G. W. (2022, June 13). Christian nationalism. Psychology Concepts and Theories. Retrieved from https://suttonpsychology.blogspot.com/2022/06/christian-nationalism.html

References

Cooper-White, P. (2022). The Psychology of Christian Nationalism. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.

Davis, N. T. (2022). The psychometric properties of the Christian nationalism scale. Politics and Religion.(unpublished draft version date 05/11/2022). Retrieved from https://psyarxiv.com/sntv7/download/?format=pdf

Miller, P. D. (2021, February 3). What is Christian nationalism. Christianity Today. Retrieved from https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/february-web-only/what-is-christian-nationalism.html

Rosenberg, P. (2020, February 29). Sociologist Andrew Whitehead: How Christian nationalism drives American politics. Salon. Retrieved from https://www.salon.com/2020/02/29/sociologist-andrew-whitehead-how-christian-nationalism-drives-american-politics/

Books

The Psychology of Christian Nationalism by Pamela Cooper-White

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