One need only spend some time listening to Sister Mary Scullion (a liberal/progressive Catholic nun and activist in Philadelphia), Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg or members of an African Methodist Episcopalian (AME) congregation to realize that not all Christians identify with the brand of far-right Christian fundamentalism that President Donald Trump has been pandering to. And a group of at least 17 church leaders, united under the name Christians Against Christian Nationalism, has issued a dire warning about the dangers of far-right “Christian nationalism.”
In an official statement, the church leaders took issue with the Christian Right’s incessant attacks on other faiths and efforts to bring about a Christian fundamentalist theocracy in the United States.
“Whether we worship at a church, mosque, synagogue or temple, America has no second-class faiths,” Christians Against Christian Nationalism asserted. “All are equal under the U.S. Constitution.”
“Christian nationalism,” according to the church leaders, goes hand in hand with white nationalism and “provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation.”
The group warned, “Christian nationalism seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy. Christian nationalism demands Christianity be privileged by the state and implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian.” And their statement also stressed that “one’s religious affiliation, or lack thereof, should be irrelevant to one’s standing in the civic community.”
One of the church leaders who signed the letter was the Rev. Michael B. Curry, the Episcopal bishop who presided over the wedding of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle.
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