Christian Nationalism, White Nationalism, and What I Think... I Understand

Although I am a patriotic white Christian man, I know very little about either Christian Nationalism or White Nationalism. Most of what I’ve learned comes from books, podcasts, and online content. Aside from hearing the terms in the news, these ideologies have not been pressed upon me in the way movements like Climate Change, LGBTQ activism, or BLM have. In other words, I can still watch the NBA or NFL without reading “Christ is King” or “Jews will not replace us” inscribed on helmets or painted across the court. And before we commence, we should also note that the titles of Christian Nationalism and White Nationalism were given by their detractors and therefore imply a certain amount of bias.

An American flag in front of a church steeple with the words "Christian Nationalism, White Nationalism, and What I Think... I Understand".

So let me admit upfront—I’m only scratching the surface of two very complex ideas. What follows is based on limited research and reflection, so I welcome correction or further insight.

Christian Nationalism

Doug Wilson, one major leader—if not the foremost proponent—of Christian Nationalism, has been on my radar for years now. He first grabbed my attention and admiration in his traveling debates with renowned atheist Christopher Hitchens in Collision, a project organized by Christianity Today and later turned into the 2009 documentary. Although I have severe theological disagreements with Wilson pertaining to soteriology, there is much to commend in his dry intellectual passion, conservative wit, and authenticity to both defend and advance the Gospel of Jesus to the world.

Another leader of Christian Nationalism is Stephen Wolfe. In writing The Case for Christian Nationalism (2022), he advanced a theological and intellectual defense of Christian Nationalism. Both Doug and Stephen make the overall point, and I believe correctly, that we—mankind—will always find something to worship, and thus, something will always be worshipped. In secularism, the demos (the people) in democracy obtain the power and rule. Because of this, the state itself serves as god. Pointing this out, Wilson commonly says the only two options before us are Christ or chaos. On the back of his book, Mere Christendom, he asks the following questions:

Why are we so afraid of theocracy? What might happen? Might we go on a rampage and kill 60 million babies? Yeah, that would be bad. Better not risk it. Might we set up a surveillance state, with camera clusters pointed in every direction at all the intersections? Right—theocracies are terrible like that. The real reason why our current rulers want us to react violently whenever we hear the word theocracy is that petty gods are always jealous of their position, and dread any talk of a Lord who rose from the dead. — Douglas Wilson, Mere Christendom

The point is that America is already living in a theocracy, and the results are evident—they’re not good.

To be sure, every Christian should want to advance God’s kingdom, not only in seeing others become disciples of Jesus but in seeing God’s rules be implemented—first to their neighbors, then their city, state, and yes, even their nation as a whole. What do we think we’re praying for when we repeat Jesus’ prayer, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”?

But, besides voting for Christian leadership in our country, I am not sure how Christian Nationalism plans to functionally work. How to advance Christianity to the point that America becomes a distinctly Christian nation (like it was in the time of our founding) without violence while maintaining America’s founding principles of freedom of thought and religion is unknown to me and, needless to say, fraught with theological and political problems.

I should point out that the leaders of Christian Nationalism—at least the few that I am aware of—all seem to be born-again followers of Jesus. Many also come from Reformed traditions, where their eschatology significantly shapes their outlook.

White Nationalism

If I know little of Christian Nationalism, then I know even less about White Nationalism. From what I can tell, Nick Fuentes seems to be the movement’s spokesperson. Known as a far-right activist and livestreamer, much like Alex Jones, Fuentes, only 27 years old, is a young, single, white Catholic man. Although it doesn’t count as much in this day and age, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) continue to monitor his extreme activism and rhetoric. In addition to this, almost all online content providers like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok have banned him, along with banking institutions and other credit lenders.

Fuentes is a very smart debater and undeniably sharp. His blunt style resonates with many young men. His rancor, while over the top, is honest and should not be used to dismiss him nor his knowledge of culture, history, and politics. He has a large following of mostly young white men, who agree with his overall message that conservatism and Republicans are basically useless or politically compromised by Jewish influence. Besides being anti-democracy and anti-government, White Nationalism borders on being clearly antisemitic. Essentially, Fuentes has argued that the Jewish people are the mortal enemy of Christianity, and thus, the nation today.

To be fair, I don’t think White Nationalism argues that one race is genetically superior (at least not in its mainstream rhetoric). But it does seem to condemn other races or non-assimilating immigrants with such sweeping strokes as to appear clearly racist. One main focal point of White Nationalism is that immigrants, legal and illegal, have taken advantage of our Constitution’s liberties only to become anti-American. For instance, on Muslims and the Constitution Fuentes said, “The First Amendment was not written for Muslims... It was written for Calvinists... and it also was intended for citizens, not for immigrants.”

From my limited vantage point and knowledge, it does seem to me that White Nationalism uses the Christian faith (Protestant or Catholic) more as a cloak to advance their beliefs than being a central aspect of their ideology. I mean, if one is serious about the Christian faith, how could they hold that America should primarily be white? This isn’t to say that there aren’t some in the movement that aren’t sincere about their faith, but it seems religious beliefs take a backseat to its central aim to remake America as a white ethnocentric nation. This implies that White Nationalism would welcome any non-Christians into their movement, where I don’t think Christian Nationalism would.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Christian Nationalism and White Nationalism are not the same thing, but they do converge in some important areas. For instance, much like the quote from Wilson before, Fuentes is attributed to similarly saying:

“You know what democracy has given us? Obesity. Low rates of literacy. It’s given us divorce, abortion, gay marriage, liberalism, pornography. … Diversity. Yeah, the track record of democracy? Not so good.”

Both belief systems are fed up with abortion rates skyrocketing—even after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the over-sexualization of kids (and by that I mean drag queens thrusting their genitalia in faces of little children while the “parents” enthusiastically applaud), churches being forced to shut down while “essential” businesses like liquor stores and strip clubs remain open during a pandemic that was unscientific from the beginning. Both groups oppose transgenderism, out-of-control national debt, unaccountable politicians, open borders, and foreigners waving the flag of the country they immigrated from—all while breaking the laws of the country they live in, and in many cases, illegally live in.

While both Christian and White Nationalism proclaim the tagline that “Christ is King,” I think it’s evident that only Christian Nationalists believe it religiously and not just as a political jab in the eye of the Jewish people. So, although White Nationalists would agree that America should be a Christian nation, Christian Nationalists would not agree that America should be white. And while there are indeed aspects to both movements that I would disagree with, I do think it’s appropriate and even necessary to understand that the secular worldview is a hollow construct with nothing to offer. Both movements have identified a major, undeniable problem of our country. Their exact solutions and tactics, of which I am unaware, differ in how to fix it.

In the end, both face serious problems. Christian Nationalism must answer how it can advance Christ’s reign without undermining religious freedom. White Nationalism must explain how Christianity can coexist with an ideology that prioritizes race above the gospel.

Neither movement is likely to disappear anytime soon. That means Christians need to understand what each represents, where they overlap, and where they diverge. Only then can we follow Paul’s command to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

I hope I’ve at least helped start the conversation.

But what do you think?

Micah Coate, President and Host of Salvation and Stuff