Project 2025 would serve to further crystalize and federalize the Christian nationalist agenda. The 900-plus page “Mandate for Leadership” book of policy proposals includes multiple concerning elements from a religious freedom perspective. Project 2025 would expand upon the Trump administration’s efforts to expand religious exemptions and gut civil rights protections for people of minority faiths, women, and people who are LGBTQ, which CAP documented with the ACLU and Movement Advancement Project in 2020. While the Heritage Foundation coordinates Project 2025, a who’s who of radical organizations serve as advisory board members, including the following Southern Poverty Law Center designated hate groups: Alliance Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, and the Center for Immigration Studies. These efforts are part of the broader mission of Project 2025 to disempower everyday Americans while lavishing the rich and powerful.
Throughout American history, there have been several periods where an explicitly Christian far-right-wing shaped politics. These attempts to advance Christian nationalism are often deeply intertwined with white supremacy. One of the first goals of today’s Christian nationalism is the injection of more state-sponsored religion into public schools. While questions regarding the role of faith in public education—such as school prayer or creationism—seem to have been settled over the last half-century, Christian nationalists are attempting to raise the issue once again. Ultimately, they seek the desecularization of the government. Recently, Louisiana became the first state in the country to pass a law requiring the 10 Commandments to be displayed in every public classroom. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) told parents who oppose the bill, simply, “Tell your child not to look at them.” By making Christianity the norm and forcing children to be conscientious objectors, these policymakers are promoting a dangerous in- and out-group dynamic. Louisiana is not the only state moving in this direction. In Oklahoma, the top educational official ordered public schools to integrate the Bible into their curriculum and the state attempted to approve a religious charter school with public funding. Texas, Florida, and Louisiana have passed laws allowing chaplains to hold official roles in public schools. These laws and directives indicate the goal of Christian nationalists to fuse church and state.
While the legislative danger of Christian nationalism is already pressing, it could lead to even more corrosive effects. This avid belief in religious investiture is eerily similar to historical trends that have led to the endorsement of authoritarian leaders and their movements. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) believes that he has been chosen by God to lead the Republican Party through its “Red Sea” moment. Johnson similarly believes that members of Congress have been placed there by God and under God’s authority. He is a longtime ally of David Barton, the pseudo-historian who teaches the United States is a “Christian nation.” (Though the majority of Americans are Christians, the nation does not have an official religion.) Under the religious dogma of those like Speaker Johnson, their authority does not come from the democratic will of the people but rather from the divine will of God—a dangerous preclude to a theocratic, autocratic state. This belief that God is on their side contributes to a false righteousness and inability to compromise.
Religious fervor is not only a battle of policy or philosophy, but an impetus for violence. The riots, lynchings, and brutality of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and Know-Nothing Party were motivated by a hatred of the “other,” both racial and religious. The crosses embroidered on the robes of KKK members are also emblazoned on the lawns of those who dared to be Black, Jewish, or different. This is not an issue of the past. Political violence is on the rise, and Christian nationalists are often at the center. This rhetoric was instrumental to the violent insurrection on January 6, where rioters hoisted Christian (e.g. “Appeal to Heaven,” “I am with you, – God”) and Confederate flags with gallows fashioned in between. This falsehood of a divine right—imbued through religious imagery and rhetoric—cannot be disentangled from the violence these groups perpetrate.
Faith leaders across backgrounds can agree that these actions are reprehensible and do not align with their beliefs. The strongest response to religious extremism is not anti-religious sentiment from secular opponents or religious retreat from public life by moderate and progressive religious leaders but instead more proactive and inclusive proclamations of faith in defense of democracy. In direct opposition to the regressive ideology of Christian nationalism stands the progressive legacy of religious leaders who preach expanded freedoms and emphasize the diversity of our nation. 19th-century Oklahoma preacher George S. Fulcher called for a stand against the KKK, noting “there must not be within its membership a single true Christian, for when the fiery cross rises over a submissive people, the true Christian must have perished in the death struggle for liberty.” Clergy and lay activists helped lead the abolitionist and Civil Rights movements. While Christian nationalists seek to pervert religion into a tool to bludgeon others, many faith leaders preach tenets to their congregation that mirror the foundational American ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
As Christian nationalists attempt to claim an exclusive interpretation of religion, it is more vital now than ever to end the perceived monopoly of the right on religion. Faith leaders across religions and denominations must come together to emphasize the benefits of inclusion rather than its imposition. The division between church and state serves both actors, allowing each to act free of the restraints of the other. Not only are state religions systems of subordination, they are also increasingly restrictive. Though the way your practice faith may be “acceptable” now, that may not be the case 10 years from now. And even if you can remain part of the in-group, what about your neighbor? Furthermore, when you open the door between church and state, it goes both ways. That state will more easily be able to insert itself into the practices of religious institutions. Strong secular democracies are good for religious freedom and religious freedom is good for democracy. Christian nationalism only serves to hurt and homogenize.
Like all Americans, congregations will benefit from a robust, progressive agenda, both materially and morally. The institutional divide between church and state is of the utmost importance, but that does not mean religion does not inform how we view the world. Though specific doctrines and practices differ, religions across the world share a care for others and the Earth. A belief that everyone deserves to have housing; to raise their family in a safe environment; and have peace. In a 2022 interview with CAP, Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, one of the most influential Christian leaders in social justice, affirmed:
The question shouldn’t be whether Christians are called to be engaged in politics but of how we engage. Following Christ has profound political, economic, and social implications. Participating in our democratic system, to protect the most vulnerable and to promote justice, is integral to Christian discipleship.
The regressive far right seeks to move America back, while the rest of this beautiful, multicultural country seeks to move forward.
Though the rise in political violence and religious fervor is frightening, community leaders can act. Clergy and other faith leaders should speak out against anti-democratic, violent, ethnonationalism. Though it may seem obvious, having well-respected members of communities speak truth to power is vital. Religious centers of all backgrounds should encourage their congregations to be engaged in the political sphere, as their morals do not exist in a vacuum. This could mean something as big as leading a voter registration drive at your synagogue, mosque, or church. Alternatively, it could be as small as driving one friend to the polls. Faith leaders can advocate for issues that align with their dogma across sects and faiths: helping the less fortunate, supporting children and families (such as social programming and robust economic policies) issue advocacy, community, and inclusivity instead of imposition.
Democracy needs constant defending from all of us. In the face of hate, violence, and Christian nationalism, America needs faith leaders to lead the charge against theocratic ethnonationalism, now more than ever.