The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy

by Philip S. Gorski

The chaos of the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, was bewildering for many. In part, because the violent riot was also a riot of images: a wooden cross and a wooden gallows; Christian flags and Confederate flags; “Jesus Saves” and “Don’t Tread on Me” banners; button-down shirts and bullet-proof vests.1 But these confusing—and even seemingly contradictory—symbols are part of an increasingly familiar ideology: “white Christian nationalism.”2 This book is a primer on white Christian nationalism, what it is, when it emerged, how it works, and where it’s headed. White Christian nationalism is one of the oldest and most powerful currents in American politics. But until the insurrection, it was invisible to most Americans. It was invisible to most conservative white Christians, because for decades it has been the water they swim in and the air they breathe.3 It was invisible to most secular progressives, because they live in a bubble of their own in which white Christian nationalism seems “fringe” rather than mainstream. But that bubble was burst on January 6, 2021, by the white-hot rage of pro-Trump insurrectionists. That rage had been building since long before the presidential election. Throughout 2020, President Trump routinely spouted debunked claims of mail-in ballots from pets, dead people, and undocumented immigrants, virtually promising rampant voter fraud come November.4 Following his election loss, he desperately stoked his followers’ rage via Twitter, sowing l...