From “American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays The Gospel and Threatens The Church” by Andrew L. Whitehead
Christian nationalism draws distinct and robust boundaries designating who is in and who is out. Quests for power motivated by fear require clear statement on who is on “our” side. “We” must know who we should be afraid of and why we must oppose them and their access to power at all costs. As we will discuss soon, these boundary lines are most often drawn using race and ethnicity, nationality, and religion. Christian nationalist rhetoric concerning the lines around “us” also involves aspects of both religious and national identities.
For instance, some Christians question the Americanness of anyone protesting under the banner of Black Lives Matter. In the next breath, they might hint at how these protests call into question how anyone associated with this group could be aligned with God’s desires. Additional examples abound, like Al Mohler drawing lines in the sand against “the Left.” The key factor is clearly highlighting who “we” are not. This is the quickest and easiest way to define who “we” are without having to make any definitive declarations concerning what “we” are for or what features define “us.” Christian nationalist rhetoric consistently resorts to demonizing an “other.” The other might be those of a different race, nationality, political ideology, or religion. This rhetoric claims there are people or forces we should all be very afraid of, as these people or forces are intent on diminishing us. Moreover, when Christian nationalism stokes the fires of fear because “they” are out to take our rightful power, violence is a natural result.