Genesis of Christian Nationalism
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In recent years, the Christian right has become an increasingly powerful force in American politics. The belief that God has called on conservative Christians to rule over society has extended into all levels of government, from school boards to the White House.
Many pundits call this movement Christian nationalism. But while it may seem like a phenomenon born out of our current political moment, it represents the culmination of various movements with roots that trace back decades. The more extreme elements didn’t just materialize a few years ago. They’ve been there from the start.
The New Christian Right
In the beginning — in this case, the 1970s — some Christians feared their influence in society was waning. The Supreme Court had outlawed school-sponsored prayer and Bible readings and had legalized abortion.
In response, religious figures began to organize around the idea that they had a duty to bring Christianity back into public life. Several Christian-influenced organizations, including Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority and James Dobson’s Family Research Council, were soon formed and went on to shape Republican policies for decades to come. Evangelical Protestants of different denominations joined forces and united with conservative Catholics, like Paul Weyrich, the founder of the think tank the Heritage Foundation, to advance their shared political goals. Under the banner of “pro-family politics,” the New Christian Right movement fought against abortion access, feminism and gay rights as attacks on traditional family values.
Jerry Falwell:Televangelist who founded the Moral Majority, which mobilized conservative Christian voters for the Republican Party. Falwell, who died in 2007, also founded Liberty University.
James Dobson: Prominent evangelical leader and founder of Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, which helped shape the politics of family values. Dobson is 88.
Paul Weyrich: Founder of several organizations in addition to the Heritage Foundation, Weyrich helped craft a coalition between conservative Catholics and evangelical Protestants that would extend into the present. Weyrich died in 2008.
Evangelicals Become a Voting Bloc
The National Affairs Briefing Conference, Dallas, Texas, Aug. 22, 1980
Inside a red-rimmed sports arena, more than 15,000 evangelicals gathered with conservative activists to discuss how to get Christians more involved in politics.
They had come to an event known as the National Affairs Briefing because the evangelists Billy Graham and Bill Bright reported that God had issued each of them the same warning: America had only 1,000 more days of freedom. After speaking with the pair, televangelist James Robison said God had urged him to host a conference that would “refocus the direction of America.”
The sea of believers roared as Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan took the podium.
“This is a nonpartisan gathering, and so I know that you can’t endorse me,” Reagan said. “I want you to know that I endorse you and what you are doing.”
The moment underscored an important shift in American politics, helping to cement evangelical Christians as a reliable conservative voting bloc.
But while Reagan took the spotlight, backstage in Dallas, Robert Billings, a Reagan campaign adviser who had helped found the Moral Majority, nodded to a less prominent visionary: R.J. Rushdoony, the father of a more extreme movement known as Christian Reconstructionism.
“If it weren’t for his books, none of us would be here,” Billings remarked, as recalled in an essay by Gary North, an economic historian and Rushdoony’s son-in-law.
“Nobody in the audience understands that,” replied North.
“True,” said Billings. “But we do.”
Billy Graham: A pioneer in televangelism who met with every president from 1950 to 2010, but later said pastors shouldn’t get too close to politicians. Graham died in 2018. His son Franklin Graham is an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump and spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.