Christian nationalism is one of the great threats to religious freedom in America, and there’s a new, comprehensive report on the role it played in the January 6 insurrection. Amanda and Holly take a look at what the report tells us, BJC’s experience working with Freedom From Religion Foundation on this expansive project, and the reactions we continue to see. They discuss the different ways people – including researchers – view Christian nationalism, and they talk about what you can do to start to move the needle against this ideology so entrenched in our society. 

 

SHOW NOTES

Segment 1: Why do we need a report on Christian nationalism and January 6? (starting at 00:52)

The new report – Christian Nationalism and the January 6, 2021, Insurrection – is available for free download at the following links:

https://bjconline.org/jan6report/

https://www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org/jan6report

https://ffrf.us/jan6report

Watch the webinar releasing the report at this link.

Right after the January 6 attack, Amanda wrote this article for Good Faith Media: An Attack Done in Jesus’ Name

You can access the BJC Podcast series called “The Dangers of Christian Nationalism” at this link, including discussion guides for each episode. You can also visit the BJC Podcast feed on your favorite provider and scroll back to those episodes from 2019. 

 

Read and sign the Christians Against Christian Nationalism statement at https://www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org/

To learn more about the genesis of the report, see Chrissy Stroop’s piece for Religion Dispatches: New Report on (White) Christian Nationalism and the J6 Insurrection Shows Just ‘How Dire the Threat Is’

Check out this one-page resource: “What is Christian Nationalism?” 

 

Segment 2: A detailed breakdown of the Christian symbolism at the January 6 attack (starting at 16:38)

We played a clip of Andrew Seidel, a constitutional attorney at the Freedom From Religion Foundation who was the major contributor to the report. This portion of the webinar begins at 29:28.

Segment 3: Responses to the report (starting at 29:56)

Jack Jenkins of Religion News Service covered the report in this article: New report details the influence of Christian nationalism on the insurrection

Sarah Stankorb wrote this article for GEN magazine: White Christian Nationalism’s Threat Has Not Gone Away

Here are some actions mentioned that can help move the needle against Christian nationalism:

• If you are a Christian, sign the statement. 
• Share the statement with others, including on social media. 
• Watch and share webinars and resources available at: https://www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org/resources. Use those handouts to better define and understand the ideology, and start conversations with your social media networks.
• Lead small group discussions at your church or in your civic organization. The website has discussion guides and curriculum for different series of small group discussions.

Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC’s generous donors. You can support these conversations with a gift to BJC.