White Christian Nationalism and Formation
White Christian nationalism shaped more than politics. It shaped our discipleship.
In this episode, Kristen traces the formation story beneath today’s headlines. Long before it became a political slogan, white Christian nationalism formed reflexes on what felt holy, what felt threatening, and what felt worth defending.
This conversation explores:
- How “chosen nation” theology reshaped American Christian identity
- Why security, order, and national blessing began to feel spiritual
- The rise of “law and order” rhetoric within white evangelical institutions
- The Moral Majority era and the consolidation of faith with political power
- The contrast between white Christian formation and the formation of the Black church
- How Jesus consistently refused the fusion of faith and empire
Through Scripture, including John 6, Luke 19, Mark 10, Mark 12, Mark 11, and John 2, we trace a clear pattern: Jesus repeatedly steps away from coercive crowns, mourns violent nationalism, redefines power, limits Caesar, and disrupts sacred systems that shield exploitation.
This is not an episode about condemnation.
It is an episode about formation.
Because if we want to be formed by Jesus and shaped by justice, we have to be honest about what shaped us first.
White Christian nationalism is not simply a political distortion. It is a distortion of discipleship.
And discipleship can be re-formed.
Further Reading: Books on White Christian Nationalism and Christian Formation
If you want to go deeper, here is a list of books that trace these patterns historically and theologically.
Some of these deeply shaped my thinking, particularly The Color of Compromise, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, and The Politics of Jesus. Others are on my own reading list, recommended by historians and theologians whose work I trust.
If you want to understand how white Christian nationalism formed and how we might be formed differently, these are solid places to start.
Core Recommendations
The Color of Compromise | Jemar Tisby
Traces how the American church has been complicit in racism from slavery through today.
Jesus and John Wayne | Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Explores how evangelical masculinity, militarism, and white Christian nationalism became intertwined from the Cold War through Trump.
The Flag and the Cross | Philip Gorski & Samuel Perry
A sociological study of white Christian nationalism as a cultural framework, not just a political movement.
Taking America Back for God | Andrew Whitehead & Samuel Perry
Data-driven analysis of who embraces Christian nationalism and why.
White Too Long | Robert P. Jones
Examines how white Christianity shaped racism and continues to perpetuate it, especially in the American South.
Historical Depth
The Cross and the Lynching Tree | James Cone
Essential for understanding how white Christianity spiritualized violence and how Black theology confronted it.
Baptizing America | Melani McAlister
Traces how American evangelicals came to see the United States as central to God’s global plan, particularly post–World War II.
One Nation Under God | Kevin Kruse
A historical account of how “Christian America” rhetoric was deliberately constructed in the 1950s as a corporate and political strategy.
Theological Depth
The Myth of a Christian Nation | Gregory Boyd
An evangelical critique of fusing faith with political power.
The Politics of Jesus | Obery M. Hendricks Jr.
Shows how Jesus’ ministry directly confronted empire and challenged systems of domination.
RESOURCES:
Holy Disruption: Reclaiming a Justice-Rooted Faith course info and interest list
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