Political Power Won’t Fix Christian Nationalism

In the last few years, some commentators have become concerned with “Christian nationalism,” by which they mean primarily evangelical Protestants who support former President Donald J. Trump and believe that America is or ought to be a Christian nation. So-called Christian nationalists call themselves by a different name: patriots. Pastor Ken Peters even named his church in Lenoir City, Tennessee “Patriot Church.” Peters was in part the subject of a recent National Public Radio report on Christian nationalism in America. In one of his sermons, “How Satan Destroys the World,” Peters says, “Don’t let the mainstream media or the left tell you that we were not a Christian nation … You know why there’s churches everywhere and not mosques? Because we’re a Christian nation!”