What is Christian Nationalism, and what do Christian Nationalists believe?
We hear secularists in the media and other progressive groups mistakenly cast a wide net, suggesting that a Christian Nationalist is any Christian who votes Republican and opposes abortion, is in favor of our government supporting Israel and upholding second amendment rights, etcetera-so they’ve basically weaponized the term Christian Nationalist as a pejorative against traditional Christians.
This article will not capture every nuance of this enormous topic. It is a movement that has become more prevalent in the past year or two, especially since Charlie Kirk’s death in September of 2025. Instead, this will be a top-level overview to try to explain what this is, and what parts of this are problematic for Christians.
You might be asking yourself, aren’t Christian nationalists simply Christians who love their country? The answer is no; that would be patriotism. Patriotism is an appropriate love that Christians, along with their fellow citizens, have toward their country. Biblical Christianity and patriotism are fine together. We are not sinning if we are patriotic, as long as our focus doesn’t get skewed.
Patriotic Christians who are biblically grounded recognize they are citizens of heaven first and citizens of America – or whatever nation they are from – second. Philippians 3:20 states it clearly: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Patriotic Christians know we have far more in common with Christians living in other countries than non-Christians from our own neighborhoods.
Our faith is rooted in the proclamation of the Gospel, the teachings of Scripture as 100 percent true, and personal transformation through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are part joined together as Christians into a kingdom that transcends earthly powers. Christian nationalism might sound biblical, but its focus is very different from what I just described.
So then what is Christian Nationalism? Words matter, and we need to define what this is. Here is a definition – this one is pretty generic you can find on an Internet search: Christian Nationalism is a specific identity as well as a theological and political ideology that seeks to “bring the Kingdom of God to Earth,” through coercive laws and cultural dominance to bring about a golden age of Christian dominance before – or “so that” – Christ can return.
There is a mandate that in order for the United States to survive, we must put the right Christian leaders in power who will:
- Explicitly identify America as a “Christian nation.”
- Shape laws and institutions to enforce Christian moral and religious norms
- Conform citizens to biblical Christianity
How close is this definition to what Christian Nationalists say about their own beliefs? I like to start with going to the sources for their own definition. Sweeping generalizations aren’t helpful, so it’s important to go directly to leaders in the movement, to “the horse’s mouth” if you will. There are two websites created by CN groups: Christian National Alliance (Now ChristianNationalism.com), and ChristianNationalist.com.
According to the nonprofit Christian National Alliance, America can only be made great again by adhering to the virtues of what it calls the Three Cs: Christianity, Culture, and Capitalism. They add the Bible as a blueprint for a lawful society.
The Alliance says this: “We assert that our nation’s culture is built upon Christian values, and the attempt to separate God from American life only serves the destructive element that has derailed America from its original intent. Through the Three C’s we seek to stop that destruction and return America to its rightful course.”
Whenever you hear a Christian Nationalist website or speaker make a declaration like that about their tenets, ask yourself one question: “How?” How are you going to return America to its rightful course? Also ask what they mean by certain terms like rightful. What is a rightful course? That might sound simplistic, but asking people to define words helps you think critically with discernment, because your idea of words and terms like “a rightful course” might mean something very different than the way a Christian Nationalist defines it.
This Alliance advocates for Ten Christian Nationalist Position Statements which you can read for yourself here. While I was over there I read a statement that I want to highlight: “Christian Nationalist Alliance upholds the belief that politics is just as capable of saving souls as other forms of Evangelical outreach. By pursuing Godly laws and examining our society through the lens of our faith we ensure that society will be safer for believers and non-believers alike.”
I have questions. How can politics save souls? What other forms of evangelical outreach are there besides The Gospel that can save souls? Which Godly Laws are you talking about? How can pursuing Godly laws make our society safe for believers and non believers? Should our focus as Christians be on safety?
And one more question: Is it possible that we have conflated our country and our faith?
To be clear, only a faith in Jesus Christ can save souls. This happens when an individual comes face-to-face with the truth of her great need for a Savior who can wash away her sins and regenerate her soul. Faith comes by hearing the Gospel or Good News about Jesus, and not through hearing about politics.
The Alliance site also says it seeks to serve Christian Nationalists in their crusade to “Make America Righteous Again.” That is one of many slogans we’ve seen that go beyond Tee shirts. These groups will often quote 2 Chronicles 7:14. “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”
Check out this clip:
Two things about this clip: The first is the implication that Christians are to blame for America’s depravity, because we failed to act. This goes hand in hand with the Christian Nationalist’s view of eschatology or end times, that our focus needs to be on taking back America’s government and culture, to clean it up so that Jesus can return. More on this in a moment. The second thing is the context of the verse in 2 Chronicles which is often used by Christian Nationalists out of the Scriptural context.
Should we apply this verse to the United States and to Americans? Will God heal our land if we would just pray, repent and live righteously? Those are all good things to do and of course we are told throughout Scripture to do these things out of obedience and not out of expectation or entitlement. Consider the context: This verse was specifically for ancient Israel under the Old Covenant, not modern nations like America, which operates under the New Covenant through Jesus Christ; We are not guaranteed national salvation if we do these things. And again, we can ask the question – how? If we apply this verse to America, does that mean that all of the shootings and stabbings, crime sprees and thievery will stop? The truth is, we can’t make a nation of wicked people righteous without them hearing and believing the Gospel. I often say, we’ve become so focused on reclaiming America that we forget to proclaim Christ.
This doesn’t mean Christians in America should avoid faithfully applying biblical principles to public life, culture, and governance—we can and should do that, but without the extremes of ethno-nationalism, theocracy, or of making our nationality an idol.
Let’s take a look at the second site, ChristianNationalist.com. This site was created within the past 3 months by by Andrew Torba, the CEO of social media platform Gab, this recently published site fleshes out the foundations of the Christian Nationalist Vision: “To Restore Christendom For The Glory of God.” Its definition goes like this: “Christian Nationalism is loving your neighbor by ordering your nation—its laws, culture, and institutions—toward the good, the true, and the beautiful under the kingship of Jesus Christ.”
That sounds perfectly true and biblical, does it not?
Even the tagline for this website reads “Christ is King.” That sounds biblical too. And of course Jesus IS King. But this is another one of those slogans used often by Christian Nationalists, not to humbly acknowledge Christ before non believers, but more as a power statement to taunt and belittle. Christ is King of all creation – not King of America. Remember, Jesus rejected that earthly title when His followers wanted Him to be Israel’s conqueror. “My kingdom is not of this world,” He said.
On this site, there are five foundations of Christian Nationalism that Torba outlines. We’ll take on the first two and let you discern the rest on your own. The first foundation is:
Christ’s Universal Kingship and Dominion Mandate. The site asserts that Jesus Christ holds absolute authority over all nations and creation, citing Matthew 28:18; Psalm 24:1. So far so good. But then Torba’s site mandates Christians to exercise dominion in every sphere or mountain of American life, including family, culture, politics, and economics—as a conquest – not to be passive but to aggressively and proactively take control.
When you hear terms like Dominion over mountains, or Spheres of Influence, that refers to something called the Seven Mountain Mandate, associated with the New Apostolic Reformation. It teaches that Christians are called to exert influence or dominion over seven areas of society—religion, family, education, government, media, arts/entertainment, and business—in order to transform culture, advance God’s kingdom on earth, and pave the way for Jesus Christ’s second coming.
NAR leaders teach that these mountains are demonic battlegrounds that we as believers must “invade,” “occupy,” or lead from the top in each to bring about societal renewal and prepare for Christ’s return. The concept goes back to 1975, when Youth With a Mission or YWAM founder Loren Cunningham and Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) founder Bill Bright independently claimed to receive similar, extra-biblical divine revelations about influencing seven cultural spheres for evangelism and discipleship purposes. More recently, pastor Lance Wallnau made the “Seven Mountain Mandate” popular by reframing it as a call for aggressive cultural conquest. Wallnau, along with Bethel Redding church’s Bill Johnson, teamed up in 2013 to co-author the influential book titled, Invading Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate.
We don’t need conquest in any earthly sphere, and Jesus doesn’t promise to come back if we do. Evangelism builds the Church, not the state.
And of course all of that is not to say that we shouldn’t be salt and light in the world. We certainly should! And if you’re a godly man who wants to run for political office as a vocation, by all means, please do so! We need more godly men making godly decisions in our government.
But that’s not what Dominionism is. Dominionism is more like the idea of intentional conquest through infiltrating politics, not by sharing the gospel and getting up every day and walking worthy.
It’s taking matters into your own hands in order to try to make happen what you think God’s plans are. Kind of like what Sarah did by giving Hagar to Abraham in order to make God’s promise of a son happen. But that wasn’t God’s way, and neither is this.
The next foundation of Christian Nationalism is: Biblical Nationalism and Ethnic Identity.
Torba says, “The “multicultural” America you’ve been sold is a complete sham—a modern invention forced upon a nation against the will of its people. America was founded as—and remained for nearly two centuries—an overwhelmingly European Christian nation. The deliberate demographic transformation of America is not a conspiracy theory. It is a documented policy, and it is destroying the nation our ancestors built.”
Torba is reframing America as a “European Christian nation” and that we must preserve our distinct ethnic (in other words, Caucasian), and cultural identity against demographic threats. Again I would ask, “How?” When you say “preserve,” how are you going to do that, Mr. Torba? On your website you lament the fact that America is now less than 56% white. Even if you were to deport everyone who is here illegally, how are you going to preserve whiteness? We are a melting pot of people of all types of skin shades who are here legally and have been for generations.
Using verses like Acts 17:26; Deuteronomy 32:8, he says that all nations are divinely ordained as ethnically distinct, ancestral groups with borders set by God. He also uses Nehemiah 13 as an example we should be following, because as he says, “Nehemiah not only built a wall but strictly enforced separation, removing foreigners who threatened the spiritual and cultural integrity of the nation.”
Christian Nationalists like Torba want to apply these ethnic, spiritual and physical boundaries as a mandate for America today. I wholeheartedly agree on their stance that unchecked illegal immigration must be shored up. And I do get the concern about certain Islamic groups whose stated goals are to disrupt Western life and take over by sheer numbers to occupy America and other countries around the world for Islamic control. These groups do not represent all Muslims who are here. But all are part of a dangerous deception and they are our mission field. Revelation 5:9-10 talks about redemption “out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” to affirm the multiethnic church. Whether living here in America or around the world, these are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and someday we will be worshipping God together around His throne. We need to be unified and identified by the Gospel, and not by ethnicity.
There’s also a whole section on this site about the “Jewish Question.” There is a very long section in that site of all the ways Jews are to blame for what’s wrong with America, and how we as Christians need to take back those spheres of influence from them. Torba says that from the economic and financial mountain all the way to the entertainment and media industries are controlled by Jews for their own gain. He says, “When a tiny minority holds disproportionate power over information, finance, law, and culture, it raises legitimate questions: Do their interests align with ours? Are they using their influence to serve the American nation or their own group?”
We’re starting to see that many popular voices and influencers, who say they are “just asking questions,” are echoing these thoughts to their large audiences, and it’s beginning to have an impact on The Church.
What does the Bible say about the Jewish Question?
It is true that Jews rejecting Christ are under judgment (like all unbelievers), but God has not cast them off. Paul says in Romans 11:1-2, “I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.”
Salvation is in Jesus alone. Acts 4:12 says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
We as Christians have been graciously grafted into God’s covenant people as it says in Romans 11, but Paul issues a stern warning against arrogance or boasting over the natural branches that were broken off because of unbelief. This grafting imagery seems to go against the idea that the church has fully replaced Israel or that God has forever cast them off.
Like we said with the Muslims neighbors, Jews who reject Christ need the Truth of the Gospel. We have the true Light of Hope in Jesus, and we need to bring that to them, not bop them over the heads with platitudes like “Christ is King – convert or else.”
This ethnic purity element to this movement is hard to ignore. I used to think that this was an unfair caricature of this camp, but it turns out that in the past year or so, racism and antisemitism have become a hallmark of extremism among its vocal influencers.
Not all Christian Nationalists have gone this far, but many of them are starting to delve into those waters and have become what some have called the “Woke Right,” based on their racist views, extreme patriarchal bents, and propensity for conspiracy theories. I hadn’t heard that term until recently, and wondered if there is a difference between Christian Nationalism and the Woke Right. Yes, there is overlap and I’m seeing that they are not exactly the same. While both place an emphasis on taking back elements of our culture and governmental structure to control morality. The Woke Right are a fringe group including people who profess Christ together with those who reject Christ and who take that movement to extremes we just talked about.
If you’re wondering how this is happening, it’s the voices of influencers with massive platforms who are feeding these ideas into these folks, namely Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Joel Webbon, and the host of the Stone Choir podcast, Corey Mahler, just to name a few. By the way, those I’ve mentioned all claim to be Christians who also support Torba’s Christian Nationalist website and mission.. When you examine the shocking statements they make, you’ll need to discern whether you know them as Christians by their fruits. Not surprisingly, popular Pastor Doug Wilson also is a huge fan of Torba’s mission and has endorsed him.
Why is Christian Nationalism so alluring? Because we all see how increasingly broken our nation and our world has become. Just like Jesus said it would be. Christian Nationalism seeks to fix the brokenness. They wage war against the breakdown of family, abortion, educational secularism, critical theory, homosexual marriage, mutilating children after telling them they were born into the wrong body, all things that the Bible says are sin. We would agree with the moral stances they take – which are mostly biblical issues. And again, it is good to take a stand and speak out against those things, even in the public arena if you have such a platform. So don’t be tempted to swing to the other side of the theological ditch to avoid the Christian Nationalist label by thinking you shouldn’t ever influence culture or politics. God may have providentially placed you where you are to speak truth into these things for His Glory. Just make sure your focus is on Him.
How do we avoid the problematic areas, and what are they? I would disagree with dominionism and the conquest mentality of the 7 Mountain Mandate. I disagree with the idolatry of conflating Christ’s spiritual kingdom with American political power. I warn against prioritizing cultural warfare over Gospel proclamation. I absolutely disavow racial and ethnic extremism, or the quest to preserve white Christian identity.
One other problematic area that I firmly disagree with in Christian Nationalism is their willingness for their cause to partner with false teachers and join hands with heretical speakers who are not people Christians should be listening to, all in the name of a political win or a cultural victory. We’re seeing this in national conferences and other media platforms. Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization has ramped up ecumenicalism since his assassination. In short, Kirk’s murder has turbocharged TPUSA’s ecumenical Christian Nationalist engine, resulting in a nightmare of deceptive doctrine and politicized faith. I’m going to take that on in an upcoming article.
