Is Christian Nationalism an existensial threat to American Democracy?

[Missy]

I've posited this as a question, but honestly I think the only correct answer is "yes". Really I just wanted to know what different peopel thought of this video I found.

https://youtu.be/RTmlNvf5lRs

[stormwyrm]

These Christian Nationalists, or Dominionists, have long been derisively called the American Taliban.



They've indeed been playing a very long game, since at least the Reagan years, and the modern era has seen much of their work finally come to fruition.

[Clio]

So I haven't watched that video, but my thesis research is on white supremacists in the 21st century United States. Christian nationalism often goes hand in hand with white nationalism, and even according to the FBI, DHS, and even West Point, for many years (from at least 2019-2022) white nationalist and far-right ideological domestic terrorism were considered the topmost threats to national security and citizen safety. Obviously we have seen that the violence of these groups are becoming more noticeable, so yes. Christian and/or white nationalism are huge threats to not only American democracy, but our very safety and lives. I went to a drag show in December and there was a bomb threat called in, so police and K9 units were all around the place. Not to mention the protestors outside claiming we were all going to hell. This threat is not something to take lightly, especially as many Christian/white nationalists are also gun fetishists who believe that eliminating LGBTQ+ people, racial minorities, and immigrants are the only way to "save the western world."

Sorry. This is a subject I'm very passionate about and unfortunately do a lot of research on, so I can't overstate how much this is indeed a threat. I used to be a conservative evangelical Christian. I believed all that crap about LGBTQ+ people and how the world was sinful, etc. I was able to break free of that brainwashing and now I'm a quaker. I still consider myself a Christian, but only in the barest most spiritual sense. I do not support the vast majority of American Christian churches, and have seen first hand how their indoctrination can lead to horrible consequences. There are some good Christians out there, but we HAVE to denounce the rising tide of hatred and extremism that many Christians are contributing to.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/04/white-supremacists-terror-threat-dhs-409236

https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/s894/BILLS-116s894is.xml

https://www.splcenter.org/news/2022/12/28/dangerous-devotion-congressional-hearing-examines-threat-white-christian-nationalism?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8qmhBhClARIsANAtboebpKiw07MeiR4G23YTtEIP6r12qzVc9BHVq4133kQ9erB1QK9XBXIaAnruEALw_wcB

https://isps.yale.edu/news/blog/2022/10/understanding-white-christian-nationalism

[Trigon]

The answer is an unequivocal "yes". You may find this video by the Brookings institute quite useful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZLpF-w8-lE

[CopperLily]

Yes. Full stop.