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

by Philip S. Gorski

What connects these stances to each other is a particular understanding of freedom, order, and violence with deep roots in American history.13 Freedom is understood in a libertarian way, as freedom from restrictions, especially by the government. Order is understood in a hierarchical way, with white Christian men at the top. And violence is seen as a righteous means of defending freedom and restoring order, means that are reserved to white Christian men. This understanding of freedom, order, and violence is the heart of white Christian nationalism. We can now start to see how the various pieces of the political vision fit together. Government regulation infringes on the freedom of white Christians. So do mask mandates and COVID lockdowns. “Urban crime” and “racial riots” threaten the social order. They must be met with force by the police or, barring that, by good Christian men. Thus, the need for access to firearms. The general principle is this: white men must sometimes exercise righteous violence to defend (their) freedom and maintain social (and racial) order. It is freedom for “us” and authoritarian social order for “them.” This “us vs. them” tribalism may seem un-Christian, the glorification of violence even more so. But not if seen through the lens of the end times theology we mentioned earlier, with its sharp division between a good “us” and “evil” them, and its gory tales of “spiritual warfare.” The goal is to forever redeem and restore a lost world corrupted by “...