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The National Day of Prayer Task Force has adopted imagery and language that aligns with the "Seven Mountains" theology, a form of Christian Nationalism. This movement involves "dominionist" Christians seeking to take control of key institutions in American society, including family, education, media, government, business, arts/entertainment, and religion. The Task Force released a promotional graphic with militant imagery and a prayer that reflects these beliefs. Critics argue that this year's National Day of Prayer emphasizes a militant and conquering message. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the role of mainline Protestant clergy in promoting Christian Nationalism in the United States. It highlights the contrast between the prayer of the "QAnon Shaman" during the Capitol insurrection and the prayers of Senate Chaplain Barry Black and House Chaplain Margaret Kibben, who are paid by U.S. taxpayers to pray in the Senate Chamber. The article argues that the daily practice of having ordained Christian ministers pray on behalf of the U.S. Congress perpetuates the idea of the U.S. as a Christian nation. It also provides historical data on the religious affiliations of congressional chaplains, showing that mainline Protestant denominations have dominated these positions. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the concept of Christian Nationalism and its potential dangers to American society. The author argues that Christian Nationalism is not truly Christian or patriotic, but rather a political movement that seeks to impose its beliefs on others. The movement advocates for a strict interpretation of the Bible in all aspects of public life and views Christianity as superior to other faiths. The author warns that this ideology threatens both democracy and religious pluralism in the United States. [Extracted from the article]

The National Prayer Breakfast, a long-standing event in Washington, D.C., has come under scrutiny for its ties to the secretive Christian Nationalist organization known as The Family. Critics argue that the event, which is organized by the newly formed National Prayer Breakfast Foundation, raises concerns about the separation of church and state. While the event appears bipartisan and inclusive on the surface, it is overwhelmingly Christian and excludes non-Christians and those who identify as atheists or agnostics. Additionally, the event has faced controversy in the past, including the attendance of a Russian spy and political attacks by former President Donald Trump. Some lawmakers and organizations, such as Americans United, are calling for an end to the National Prayer Breakfast, citing its violation of church-state separation. [Extracted from the article]

The article announces the upcoming Summit for Religious Freedom (SRF), a national gathering that aims to equip attendees with the tools to combat Christian Nationalism. The SRF focuses on issues such as religious freedom, church-state separation, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights, racial equality, and protecting public schools. The event will feature keynote speakers Anthea Butler, a historian and expert on Christian Nationalism, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a proponent of church-state separation, and Erin Reed, a transgender journalist. The SRF offers both in-person and online attendance options and will be followed by virtual webinars to continue the activism. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the Christian influence within the Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) organization. The author, who is Jewish, acknowledges the Christian roots of the organization and the Christian-centric rhetoric used in their advocacy. They express gratitude for the surge of Christian advocates who are speaking out against Christian Nationalism, a dangerous political movement that distorts Christianity. The author hopes that Christian leaders will continue to emphasize the importance of church-state separation to American values and encourages them to partner with religious minorities and the non-religious in their fight for religious freedom. [Extracted from the article]

Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the House, has a history of promoting Christian Nationalism. He has worked as an attorney for Christian Nationalist legal groups and holds anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-reproductive freedom views. Johnson has made false claims about separation of church and state, including misrepresenting Thomas Jefferson's views. He has also advocated for evangelical Christianity in public schools, attacked LGBTQ+ rights, and worked to make abortion illegal. Johnson's elevation to Speaker of the House has been praised by Christian Nationalist groups, but critics argue that his extreme policy views are concerning. [Extracted from the article]

When I learned that Barton planned to bring out a book on Thomas Jefferson that argued that Jefferson was not a strong advocate of church-state separation, I obtained a review copy of his book and set to work writing a book-length review. Over a decade ago on August 9, 2012, Christian publisher Thomas Nelson made an announcement that was unprecedented for that company. [Extracted from the article]

Fighting forward: LGBTQ+ young people are under attack. In addition to the record hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have been introduced by Trump-influenced state legislators, several Trump-appointed federal judges have already ruled in lockstep with Christian Nationalist priorities across the country. Bjork-James argues that Christian Nationalism understands "LGBTQ movements as persecuting Christians, or persecuting children", and therefore LGBTQ+ people are "seeking to harm children and attack Christian culture.". [Extracted from the article]

That antisemitism fits well into the platform of Christian Nationalism because hate is critical to the upkeep of a white, Christian society. Cotlar attributes this, in part, to the lack of counterweights against Christian Nationalism within the religious community: "One thing that is different is that the counterweight to this Christian nationalism was always these mainline Protestant churches. [Extracted from the article]

In a way that reflected this evolving right-wing extremism within the leadership of the LCMS, I became the recipient of a batch of hate memes that originated with the executive director of LCMS' Lutheran Heritage Foundation. This led me to believe that many members in the LCMS may be unaware of the evolution of the denomination, where their donations are going and what the leadership of the LCMS is up to. They have become a petri dish for extremism bereft of any notion of the separation of church and state, a regrettable dystopian state of affairs for the LCMS and our country. [Extracted from the article]

Americans who embrace Christian Nationalism are much more likely to agree that America was destined by God to be a new "promised land" for European Christians. B I Editor's Note: i b I During Americans United's recent Summit for Religious Freedom, speakers exposed the extremism of Christian Nationalism. [Extracted from the article]

Scaling The Summit: At Summit For Religious Freedom, AU Exposes The Dangers Of Christian Nationalism - And Urges Americans To Pledge Support For Church-State Separation Following an introduction by Brian Silva, AU's vice president of outreach and engagement, who oversaw the creation and execution of SRF, Laser took the stage to welcome attendees and unveil AU's new initiative to urge Americans to recommit to the separation of church and state. Keynote 1: Bradley Onishi The opening keynote speaker was Bradley Onishi, a professor of philosophy at the University of San Francisco, host of the "Straight White American Jesus" podcast and author of the recent book I Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism i (excerpted in the March 2023 I Church & State i ). Johnson's speech was followed by a panel discussion featuring Ranen Miao, a former member of AU's Youth Organizing Fellowship, and the Rev. Alex McNeil, a Presbyterian minister and activist for transgender rights who also serves on AU's Faith Advisory Council. [Extracted from the article]

Yet here again the claim we're countering is that somehow the Christian God ordained one land on earth, while the truth is the framers of the Constitution were asserting their own authority for the founding documents of the republic. If believers in the Christian nation mythology are correct, "We the People" really meant, and continues to mean: "We the Christian People.". [Extracted from the article]

B I Editor's Note: i b Church & State I is pleased to present this excerpt from Dr. Bradley Onishi's new book i Preparing For War: The Extremist History Of White Christian Nationalism - And What Comes Next I (Broadleaf Books). Escape From Christian Nationalism: Former Christian Nationalist Bradley Onishi Watched The Jan. 6, 2021, Assault On The U.S Capitol And Wondered, "Would I Have Been There If I Had Not Left The Movement?" Yet as a scholar who has been analyzing White Christian nationalism for years, I realized that the Capitol insurrection was the logical outcome of a half century of patriotic Christians preparing for combat. [Extracted from the article]

For example, a majority of Christian Nationalism adherents disagree that white supremacy is a major problem in the United States today, and seven out of 10 reject the idea that past discrimination contributes to present-day hurdles for Black Americans. A New Poll Reveals What Americans Really Think About Christian Nationalism. And nearly seven in 10 Christian Nationalism adherents agree that "[i]n a truly Christian family, the husband is the head of the household and his wife submits to his leadership.". [Extracted from the article]

You can get out, you demon", Locke shouted that May Sunday from the pulpit of Global Vision Bible Church's large tent where Locke holds revival-style services. When Americans United reported Greg Locke to the Internal Revenue Service earlier this year for violating the Johnson Amendment, it was far from the first time the Tennessee pastor made the news for his inflammatory actions and Christian nationalist rhetoric. [Extracted from the article]

Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union, told the Florida Phoenix that it's "concerning, and interesting, that this is coming from the governor's administration where he keeps accusing teachers of indoctrinating kids but then clearly seems to want to put out a civics class in which he's indoctrinating kids. Christian nationalism is being "baked into" Florida's new civics and government curriculum, according to teachers who attended state-sponsored training on Republican Governor Ron DeSantis' new education initiative. [Extracted from the article]

The Flag And The Cross: White Christian Nationalism And The Threat To American Democracy by Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, Oxford University Press, 176 pp. Gorski and Perry, he explains, "give clear and deeply researched examinations of critical ideas", and "show how white Christian nationalism is not simply a set of beliefs but a narrative, a deep story.". [Extracted from the article]

Christian nationalism relies on the mythological foundingof the United States as a "Christian nation", singled outfor God's providence in order to fulfill God's purposeson earth. The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC),the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) andChristians Against Christian Nationalism issued the63-page report titled "Christian Nationalism And TheJanuary 6, 2021 Insurrection" during a Feb. 9 virtualmeeting. During the unveiling of the report, Seidel, FFRF'sdirector of strategic response, called Christiannationalism "an existential threat to the Americanrepublic" and said he believes most Americans don'trealize how close the nation came to losing itsdemocracy. [Extracted from the article]

The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC),the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) andChristians Against Christian Nationalism issued the63-page report titled "Christian Nationalism And TheJanuary 6, 2021 Insurrection" during a Feb. 9 virtualmeeting. During the unveiling of the report, Seidel, FFRF'sdirector of strategic response, called Christiannationalism "an existential threat to the Americanrepublic" and said he believes most Americans don'trealize how close the nation came to losing itsdemocracy. Christian nationalism relies on the mythological foundingof the United States as a "Christian nation", singled outfor God's providence in order to fulfill God's purposeson earth. [Extracted from the article]

The article reports that several white Christian Nationalism contributes to the marginalization of Asian Americans. Topics include examines that manifestation of the growing white Christian nationalist movement and part of a long history of marginalization of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in the United States, including the continued fetishization of Asian women and a surge of anti-Asian hate related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The article offers information on events by the Americans United for Separation of Church and State to promote the separation of religion and government. It reports on the "The Thinking Atheist" podcast in which Americans United President Rachel Laser discussed Christian nationalism and threats to church-state separation. It also highlights the panel discussion "Healing the Nation in a New Administration" by the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications, as of June 2021.

An interview is presented with researcher Katherine Stewart at Americans United's National Advocacy Summit from September 13-15. Topics include asking about religious nationalism; decision for writing a new book 'The Power Worshippers' having a broader scope, examining the rise, and reaching the religious nationalists; and explaining about the various pundits pronouncing the death of the Religious Right as a political force several times.

The article focuses on effots of the U.S. President Donald Trump and members of the Trump administration, to push Christian nationalism in a series of speeches. Topics discussed include speech of Attorney General William Barr at the University of Notre Dame in which he attacked secular government; speech of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who boasted about making decisions based on his interpretation of Christian principles; and defence by Trump on his policy in Syria.