Over the past couple of years, I’ve spoken to numerous churches, denominational groups, and universities about Christian Nationalism. In those presentations, I often warned pastors, music leaders, and others that they would particularly feel pressure near July 4, 2026, to incorporate nationalist songs, themes, decorations, and more in church services. Well, here we are, and I honestly feel like I didn’t emphasize enough how bad things would be.
The Fourth of July, which Kristin Du Mez has rightly called the “high holy day of Christian Nationalism,” each year brings an unhealthy and even heretical mix of “God and country.” But special anniversaries are worse. And that’s where we find ourselves this week with the Semiquincentennial.
I’ve been warning about this year because of something I noticed while Beau Underwood and I were researching and writing Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism. We pointed out a spike in Christian Nationalist rhetoric and activity during the Bicentennial in 1976, which was particularly a temptation since that year July 4 fell on a Sunday. Realizing what had occurred that year, we noted in the book that came out over two years ago that we expected a similar spike for the Semiquincentennial.
“We have documented efforts by mainline Protestant preachers to speak out against Christian Nationalism. Some use the Sunday near Flag Day or the Fourth of July as a timely opportunity to offer this timely witness,” we wrote. “The need for this kind of approach might be particularly strong in 2026 as the nation celebrates its 250th birthday; the Bicentennial in 1976 resulted in a swell of Christian Nationalism in churches.”
Screengrab of Sunday worship at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, on June 26, 2026.
Flash forward and it’s even worse than we anticipated given all that’s occurred since then, especially with Donald Trump returning to the White House and thus supporting Christian Nationalists with the presidential bully pulpit. Throw in the rise of Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump administration officials like Secretary of Pulp Fiction Pete Hegseth and we’re experiencing a torrential downpour of fake Christian Nationalist history, dangerous attacks on church-state separation, and heretical claims that treat the nation like an idol.
As an example of what I mean, let’s tune in on a Christian Nationalist service from Sunday (June 28) where the red, white, and blue replaced the red letters of Scripture and Old Glory supplanted God as the center of the worship service. Honestly, there are numerous services we could choose from to see this phenomenon at play. Beau and I highlighted a few in Baptizing America, and a couple of years ago I unpacked at A Public Witness the service just before the Fourth of July at First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
But for this issue, let’s virtually trek deep in the heart of Texas to see how “God and country” too often looks more like country as god. We’re off to Prestonwood Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist megachurch, for a service featuring Trump evangelical advisor Jack Graham, Christian music star Michael W. Smith, the U.S. military, some fake history quotes, and more red, white, and blue decorations than you’ll find in a Hobby Lobby.
‘Stars and Stripes Forever’
After a quick welcome from the worship leader, Sunday’s service at Prestonwood began with the church’s choir and musicians performing a medley of the songs of the various branches of the U.S. military. As they started each branch’s song and the logo of that branch filled the massive video screens in the sanctuary, a uniformed member walked onto stage to massive applause. The dozens of show lights above the stage were set to red, white, and blue, while numerous flag banners hung around the sanctuary. With each of the uniformed members standing on stage at the end of the medley, the crowd erupted with cheers and a standing ovation as American flags waved on each of the video screens.
With American flags still waving on the screens along with nationalist scenes like the Washington Monument, Liberty Bell, Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, Capitol, and White House, the service then included patriotic hymns that are more about the nation than God, including “God Bless America” and “America the Beautiful.” The service then included special music by contemporary Christian music star Michael W. Smith. In between songs, Smith joked that he and Pastor Graham “could probably get in a fight for who’s the most patriotic because I love this country.”
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