As I was watching my grandson play baseball a couple of weeks back, I spotted the following on the back of an acquaintance’s T-shirt: “The Constitution does not need to be rewritten; it needs to be re-read.”
I thought to myself, “This is the perfect message as we celebrate the birth of our great nation on July 4.”
America was established like no other nation in history. The U.S. Constitution, written in 1787, barred any official relationship between government and religion. Yet in 2024 we have a movement trying to tie religion to government, the Christian nationalist movement. For America to survive as a democracy, Christian nationalism must be defeated.
David Currie
On its website, Christians Against Christian Nationalism — an ecumenical organization founded by Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty — describes Christian nationalism as follows: “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.”
Re-read the Constitution. Article 6 says, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
Re-read the Constitution. The First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
It was ingenious on the part of our Founding Fathers. Re-read the quotes from our Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution:
“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries.” — James Madison
“Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine our civil rights.” — Thomas Jefferson
The Christian nationalist movement that is working to destroy our public school system by providing government vouchers to attend private religious schools is violating the Constitution. Re-read the Constitution.
The Christian nationalist movement that is seeking to put the Ten Commandments in the classrooms of every public school is violating the Constitution. Re-read the Constitution.
The Christian nationalist movement that seeks to force its specific religious values on women, LBGTQ people and people of color via government power is doing exactly what Thomas Jefferson warned against in his statement above, trying to use the power of government to force their views on others, which violates the Constitution. Re-read the Constitution.
“Our democracy will not survive if the Christian nationalism movement succeeds.”
America will not survive if any specific religion is supported by the power of government. Religious freedom is what makes America America. Our democracy will not survive if the Christian nationalism movement succeeds.
It is bad government and phony patriotism.
It’s also phony Christianity. Christ relied on the character of his life and teachings to attract believers, not government or force to create believers.
As Virginia Baptist preacher John Leland said in 1792: “Let every man speak freely without fear, maintain the principles that he believes, worship according to his own faith, either one God, three Gods, no God, or 20 Gods; and let government protect him in so doing.”
As a retired Baptist minister, I assure you there is no war on Christianity in America. Christians are not in danger of being arrested for their beliefs, only for actions that coerce and harm others. Enforcing one’s beliefs on others through government power is phony patriotism and phony Christianity.
Re-read the Constitution. Then re-read the Gospels. Remember: Christ refused Satan’s offer of power and domination over the world.
The danger to America is that we will turn away from the greatness of our Constitution and our country’s commitment to religious freedom for all people.
Work to preserve our democracy; re-read the Constitution. By doing so, you’ll also preserve our witness as Christians.
David R. Currie is a retired Baptist minister and a rancher who lives outside San Angelo, Texas. He has served on the board of the Interfaith Alliance in Washington, D.C., for more than 25 years, working to preserve religious liberty and our country’s democracy.
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The theology behind the Christian nationalist view on immigration | Analysis by Kristen Thomason
Franklin Graham is the poster child for Christian nationalism — and he’s a liar | Opinion by Mark Wingfield
America’s founding rejected a king and a state religion, Raushenbush and Bowen say