H“Throw an egg out the window of a Pullman,” said social critic HL Mencken in 1925, “and you will hit a fundamentalist anywhere in the United States.” I often think of Mencken’s phrase when I read coverage of evangelical Christianity on left-wing websites such as Living room, rolling stone, Mother Jones, And MSNBC– drop an egg from a Boeing 737 30,000 feet over red America, and you’ll find a “Christian nationalist.”
The debate over Christian nationalism has exploded the last three years. The phenomenon has been blamed on the Trump presidency, the January 6 insurrection, the overthrow of Roe v. Wade, and the possibility of another victory for former President Donald Trump on Election Day. The latest offering in this vein is God and countrya documentary film coming to theaters this month.
Directed by Dan Partland and produced by Rob Reiner, God and country cleverly includes interviews with high-profile Christian intellectuals, activists, and authors, including Jemar Tisby, David French, Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Phil Vischer, Skye Jethani, Doug Pagitt, Rob Schenck, and CT editor-in-chief Russell Moore . Yesthe selection communicates, even these people think Christian nationalism is dangerous.
In a sense, God and country is a brilliant piece of documentary cinema. It succeeds in warning against political extremism in the name of Christ and makes a significant and necessary contribution to our understanding of American religion and politics in the Trump era.
Many scenes are difficult to forget: there are Seven mountain rulers in a crowded arena reciting the “Guardian’s Decree“, a prayer to “retake and permanently control positions of influence and leadership” in business, entertainment, media, government, family, education and religion. There are Christian flags and “Jesus Saves” signs at the Capitol as rioters smash windows and attack police. And there’s Christian Coalition politician Ralph Reed, who boasts about how his lobbying group would help turn North Carolina red using invasive voter data collection.
But even if the central message of the film is true: this kind of extremism East antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ—God and country suffers from a consistent failure to define its terms and distinguish its subjects. Ultimately, the film raises more questions than it answers and will be limited in its ability to persuade viewers who don’t already share its concerns.
Here is one such question: Is there a difference between American evangelicalism and Christian nationalism? If asked, I’m sure every evangelical speaking in the film would answer with a resounding yes, and I suspect the other interviewees as well as Partland and Reiner would too. But the distinction is blurred God and country.
For example, a few minutes into the film, by my calculations, 22 historical images flash across the screen as mid-20th century Pentecostal and prosperity gospel preacher Jack Coe performs the gospel song “The God of Job is true” plays in the background. A few of these images show Christians near an American flag, but most of them depict ordinary believers raising their hands in worship, bowing their heads in prayer, or listening a sermon. What makes them Christian nationalists? How are they a threat to democracy?
Likewise, footage of evangelist (and CT co-founder) Billy Graham appears in the film. The argument that he was a Christian nationalist, as the broader context and historical arc of the film suggests? Or, in another scene, we see the faithful singing the popular hymn “The faith of our fathers», which celebrates the Catholic martyrs in Reformation England. Does singing this song make someone a Christian nationalist?
It also remains to be seen whether evangelicals who want to apply our faith in public life are necessarily Christian nationalists. Again, I am convinced that the makers and participants of the film would answer in the negative. But there are several places in God and country– images of Jerry Falwell Sr. preaching against abortion and George HW Bush proclaiming himself pro-life and opposed to partial birth abortion, to name just two – where the narrative confuses politically active evangelicalism with nationalism Christian.
I suspect other experts made this distinction in their interviews, but only Moore’s definitive statement distinguishing traditional family and unborn child advocates from Christian nationalists survived Partland’s edit.
Likewise, what is the difference between Christian nationalism and the symbols of American civil religion? God and country leaves viewers with the impression that the slogan “In God We Trust” on our currency or “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance are somehow connected to what happened on January 6th. It is true that the differences between these vestiges of civil religion and the dominionism which underlies true Christian nationalism are not easy to parse. But Partland and Reiner seem uninterested in drawing a nuanced distinction.
This kind of vague history and language is unfortunate and will limit God and countrythe scope. This is a film for those who read these articles in Living room And rolling stone. For those already inclined to believe that conservative evangelicals are plotting to create a theocracy in the United States, God and country will confirm their fears about politically active born-again Christians and perhaps motivate them to vote in November. This will give the left side of the culture war a lot of extra ammunition and perhaps some new insight into the motivations of Trumpist evangelicals (but little sympathy for them).
This probably won’t change those motivations, though. Christians who supported the insurrection at the Capitol or attended MAGA rallies, if they are watching God and country They are unlikely to come away with a change of heart and mind. If you liked French before seeing the film, you might like it even more when you leave the cinema. But if you think it’s selling to the laity, God and country will only confirm this feeling of betrayal.
Some people interviewed in God and country call for a different type of “Christian nationalism,” one that cares for the sick, welcomes the stranger, and cares for the hungry. “If we do this right,” William Barber, co-chairman of the Poor People’s Campaign, says in the final scene, “what a country we will be!” » I hope this message reaches some evangelicals. However, as battle veteran against the type of extremism depicted in the film, I’m not optimistic that this will be the case, given the tone of the rest of the film.
We need a deeper, more complex conversation about evangelicals and politics. For all its cinematic brilliance, God and country he’s just preaching to the choir.
John Fea is distinguished professor of history at Messiah University and editor of Current.
