Connecting the dots

Documentary "Bad Faith" unmasks Christian Nationalism

I watched the documentary, “Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy” over the weekend. It is one of the most eye-opening narratives I’ve ever watched. It finally brought together all the threads of evangelical Christianity, white supremacy, Trumpism and current-day fascism into a coherent storyline with some historical context.

It’s important to understand that Christian Nationalism is not Christianity. It is a political movement that tries to co-opt Christianity, falsely claiming that America was founded as a “Christian Nation,” privileging Christianity over all other faiths. Masquerading as religion, this ideology exploits scripture and sacred symbols to achieve extremist objectives.

The tragic reality is that decent, actual Christians are duped and drawn in to this political conspiracy through their own churches!

Bad Faith shows how the ideology was conceived in violence, developed in secrecy and finally gained political power and a veneer of respectability within the Republican Party.

I have read a lot about this over the years, but Bad Faith connected the dots for me, starting with the KKK and Jim Crow to the Moral Majority and the politicization of right-wing evangelicals to Donald Trump, the Jan. 6 insurrection, the anti-abortion/anti-women campaign, Project 2025 and much of today’s Republican Party.

It made me realize how frighteningly close it all came to succeeding on Jan. 6, 2021, and how even that failure has not stopped its minions from continuing their Machiavellian fight. More importantly, I believe even Kamala Harris’ election will not deter these ideologues from their “God-given” mission. If anything, a Harris presidency will galvanize these dominionists [look it up!].

Christian Nationalists are wild-eyed scary extremists [picture Majorie Taylor Greene], but the important thing to remember is that they are organized, sophisticated, devious… and hiding in plain sight! Which is why the rest of us must stay alert. They cannot be ignored, minimized or written off, but with patience and persistence, they CAN be defeated, starting on Nov. 5 at the ballot box.