Nation

For months, we’ve documented the appearances, rhetoric, and political activities in religious settings of candidates running for office on a platform of Christian Nationalism. Many voters rejected this worldview to a shocking degree in Tuesday’s midterm elections. In this edition of A Public Witness, we take a look back at our earlier reporting on various races, and we consider the ongoing test facing American democracy.

As the Supreme Court hears Brackeen v. Haaland, what is at stake for most interested parties is the decades-old Indian Child Welfare Act. The act was meant to stop Native American families from being separated by child welfare agencies and private adoption services and instead seek placement for children within a federally recognized tribe. But some also see it as case about religious liberty.

Political operatives were keeping an eye on Mastriano because of how the Pennsylvanian deployed Christian nationalist themes to secure the hard-line religious right base. Mastriano broke out of the Republican primary pack by cloaking himself in one of the most vocal strains of Christian nationalism: anti-pandemic restrictions, pro-conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and dubious of separation of church and state.

In this issue of A Public Witness, Brian takes us inside the latest iteration of the ReAwaken America Tour that occurred Nov. 4-5 in Branson. Based on what he heard from the stage and what he saw walking around inside the event, it was clear they see this as a church gathering. So, Brian shares highlights of the event by considering it in the form of a church service.

Andrea Marta of Faith in Action argues that this year we are increasingly seeing how white Christian Nationalism is dominating midterm election campaigns and contributing to voter suppression tactics. While advocacy efforts cannot be limited to the ballot box, voters of faith, especially Black and Brown voters, will ensure elected officials are held accountable and everyone’s sacred right to vote is protected.

The ad is the latest sign that DeSantis may be making a play to become the anointed candidate of conservative religious voters. Doing so would likely challenge the electoral ambitions of former-President Donald Trump, who may end up facing off against DeSantis in the Republican presidential primaries.

Over the weekend, the ReAwaken America Tour rolled into Branson, Missouri. This traveling variety show of Christian Nationalism, anti-vaccine rhetoric, QAnon conspiracies, and election denialism featured significant political figures in the MAGA world.

One candidate in Georgia’s Senate contest warns that “spiritual warfare” has entangled America and offers himself to voters as a “warrior for God.” But it isn’t the ordained Baptist minister who leads the church where Martin Luther King Jr. once preached.

Each faith leader took turns denouncing ReAwaken and its headliner, General Michael Flynn, in front of a mobile billboard that offered messages like “stop twisting our faith to attack democracy” and “beware of false prophets.” The ministers also called out other notable far-right speakers at the event, such as Mike Lindell, Clay Clark, and Eric Trump, for their COVID-19 conspiracy theories and continued election denialism.

As the Jan. 6 insurrection showed, our democracy is under attack. And Christian nationalism, which seeks to privilege one faith tradition over others, has fueled the anti-democratic efforts. Rather than serving as a balm for our fractured nation, religion is being used to further divide us.