General Assembly committee publishes a resource to help Presbyterians confront Christian nationalism
GACEIR document includes a liturgical witness against the growing movement
LOUISVILLE — The General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations has a recent resource to help Presbyterians learn more about confronting Christian nationalism.
The two-page document includes answers to frequently-asked questions and “God of All,” a liturgical witness against Christian nationalism by the Rev. Dr. Whitney Wilkinson Arreche and the Rev. Dr. Jacob Bolton. The authors acknowledge the influence of the writer and poet Cole Arthur Riley.
“The Presbyterian Church has had long-standing interfaith dialogue partners and it is incumbent upon us to stand with them when they are under assault, directly or indirectly, by Christian nationalism,” committee members said. “Recent events such as the second Trump Muslim ban and the antisemitic attacks in Washington and Boulder, Colorado, are examples that leave those communities with psychological and political tolls, and a cost that could include loss of power long struggled for. This kind of toll is not felt by the mainstream Protestant community unless we confess our part in it.”
“This new resource from GACEIR was conceived towards diminishing that damage,” committee members said, “and helping us stand with those under attack.”
“As a member of First Church in New York City, which we also know as ‘the Fosdick Pulpit,’ I am very aware of our history when 100 years ago, Harry Emerson Fosdick preached against fundamentalism, with a packed sanctuary spilling onto the street,” said Noushin Darya Framke, a ruling elder and GACEIR member. “We are in much need of leaders today who will speak out against white supremacy and Christian nationalism from the pulpit, in the same courageous way that Fosdick did, because both ideologies hurt the church.”
According to the new resource, Christian nationalism is a political ideology that seeks to merge Christian identity with American civic life and national identity. It asserts that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and should continue to be governed according to what the proponents of Christian nationalism see as Christian values or biblical principles.
The GACEIR resource states that Christian nationalism conflates religious and political authority in an idolatrous way, contradicts the teaching and example of Jesus, and undermines pluralism and religious liberty. It also “reduces Christianity to a narrow cultural identity over the universal tradition Jesus stands for.”
Acts that qualify as Christian nationalist actions include changing school curriculum to include biblical education, banning books from libraries if you disagree with the content, and pushing for anti-immigrant policies that aim to stop demographic changes.
The document points out that religious nationalism “is not exclusive to Christianity. It’s a global pattern where religion becomes fused with political identity, ethnicity, and power, often leading to exclusionary or supremacist ideologies.”
“The core issue is not the religion itself, but how it’s co-opted for political and nationalist goals.”
The liturgical witness against Christian nationalism includes four scriptural references: Isaiah 56:1-8, John 18:28-40, Acts 10:34-38 and Revelation 22:1-5.
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