Jenna Ellis rages against Christian nationalism

Jenna Ellis, former lawyer for Donald Trump said News week She worries many people don’t see the dangers of Christian nationalism after some conservatives praised the vandalism of a Satanic temple display inside the Iowa Capitol building.

Ellis, who pleaded guilty to an accusation in the Georgia election subversion case, added: “We should advocate for a well-ordered society that protects religious freedom and liberty for all.”

Christian nationalism refers to a general belief that the United States should merge Christianity with the essential character of the nation. According to a 2022 Pew Center study, about 24% had an unfavorable view of Christian nationalism and 54% had not heard of the term.

“My opposition is to the ideology of Christian nationalism. A lot of people think, ‘I’m a Christian and I also believe in sovereign nations rather than globalism, so I’m a Christian nationalist,'” Ellis said. News week.

“But this is a dangerous misunderstanding of the anti-freedom ideology that leading proponents of Christian nationalism hold. They openly, but deliberately, vaguely advocate undermining the Constitution and the rule of law, replacing them with a theocracy, including laws on blasphemy, and criminalizing other religions and their practice.

“Our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian worldview that recognizes the right to religious freedom. The state cannot and should not coerce an individual into certain beliefs or restrict the free exercise of religion. This includes necessarily all belief systems, even atheism and the right to believe that God does not exist.

“The question is: who has the right to govern my conscience? World history has shown a persistent conflict between state and church. Our founders created a system in which the state cannot encroach on the right of an individual to freely exercise his religion or to compel him to practice his religion, and also to enforce this right in civil law when an individual seeks to violate the rights of another individual.

“As a Christian, I hate the statue that was placed in the Iowa Capitol. But I also recognize that in a well-ordered society, the state can and should punish individuals like (former congressional candidate who vandalized the Satanic Temple exhibit) Michael Cassidy. or BLM (Black lives matter) rioters, who destroy other people’s property, whether statues, storefronts, or other property. No one has the right to destroy other people’s property to promote their ideology. Our nation is founded on liberty and justice for all. »

His comments to News week came after sharing a series of posts on X, formerly Twitterwhere she unfavorably compared Christian nationalism to the BLM movement.

“The Christian nationalist crowd is the new BLM. Both cheer by tearing down statues and destroying property they don’t like in the name of their cause. Both are wrong,” Ellis said in a post on the 16 December.

The message followed a comment made by Turning point United States founder Charlie Kirk who praised Cassidy, from Mississippi, who was accused of vandalizing the Satanic Temple exhibit.

“A Christian veteran just decapitated a monument to Satan in the Iowa State Capitol. If that’s Christian nationalism, we need more of it. Heroes,” Kirk said in a Dec. 14 message .

Ellis, who describes herself as “a servant of Jesus Christ,” disagreed with Kirk in a response message opposing the destruction of property.

“I respectfully disagree. This is not the right solution,” Ellis said. “Christianity teaches that we “wrest not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness” (Ephesians 6).

“The Satanic statue has no more real power than an idol in Babylon. I hate that it was erected *anywhere*, especially in a State Capitol, but anarchy in the name of “Christian nationalism” completely misses religious freedom and the legitimacy of law.

“Destruction of property is no more acceptable to the Christian who hates a satanic statue than it is to the Satanist who hates a nativity scene.”

The Satanic Temple is a religious organization that uses demonic imagery to promote civil rights, egalitarianism, religious skepticism, social justice, secularism, and separation of church and state.

Conservatives and Christians who supported the vandalism of the Satanic Temple exhibit urged Ellis to defend his position.

“Christian nationalists are saying it loud and clear: They want blasphemy laws,” Ellis said in response to a comment from far-right activist Jack Posobiec, who said he believed the First Amendment had no never intended to cover blasphemy.

“Coerced religion and the punishment of civil government for non-compliance” This is the Christian Awakening. This is antithetical to everything the Founders stood for: liberty and justice for all. »

Ellis then held a poll on December 16 asking respondents, “Would you be OK with a Christian beheading a statue of Allah in the Iowa State Capitol?”

As of Sunday morning, 70.9 percent of the 32,425 respondents answered “Yes” and 29.1 percent answered “No.”

The former Trump lawyer responded that she thought many were “completely missing the point” because Christians do not believe in Islamic teachings and therefore need not be offended by the image.

News week has contacted Turning Point USA for comment through its website.

Updated 12/17/2023 at 11:54 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with Ellis’ comment.