Several podcasters are taking aim at Christian Nationalism. One of them, Warren Throckmorton, a retired professor of psychology at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, recently produced an episode of his “Telling Jefferson Lies” podcast that raises an interesting question.
The title of the episode, “The O’Connor Question,” refers to a comment made by late Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who, in a 2005 church-state ruling, challenged those who would redraw the lines between church and state.
Queried O’Connor, “Why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly?”
It’s a compelling question, but during the podcast episode, another question came up that is equally important: Who benefits from the destruction of the church-state wall?
Jemar Tisby, an author, speaker and historian, challenged podcast listeners to ask themselves who would benefit if Christian Nationalists were to succeed in their goal of “making America great.”
Who, Tisby asked, is empowered by the fake history of Christian Nationalism? Who is disempowered? Whose stories are not told?
“Great for whom? That’s the question we must ask,” Tisby said.
As Tisby noted, the America that Christian Nationalists harken back to didn’t work for millions of Americans. It didn’t work for African Americans. It didn’t work for LGBTQ+ people. It didn’t work for women. It didn’t work for the poor.
Who did it work for? Who did it empower? Whose stories did it elevate? Tisby’s answer was stark: “Mainly white men.”
Christian Nationalists have a story they tell about America. It’s inaccurate, misleading, exclusionary and even offensive, but they tell it with great vigor anyway.
If you’re a racial minority, if you’re a non-Christian, if you’re a nonbeliever, if you’re LGBTQ+, if you’re a feminist, if you’re a progressive Christian, you have no place in this story – and they don’t want to hear yours. They want to pretend like your story doesn’t even exist, that it’s not a genuine part of the American experience.
But it is. Your reality, your existence, your story are an integral part of what make America, well, America. Christian Nationalists fear words like “diversity,” “pluralism” and “multi-culturalism.”
We must embrace them. And along the way, be sure to keep telling your story. When Christian Nationalists try to shut you done, just tell it all the louder.
