A Liberal
Dose
August 11,
2022
Troy D.
Smith
“Why I am
not a Christian Nationalist”
I’m going to start off this week by making a statement
that would not have seemed the least bit controversial a few years ago, and in
fact would have been considered self-evident (“duh,” as we used to say when I
was a kid): Words matter, context matters, and history matters.
Now, though… a lot of people tend to disagree with
those thoughts. Definitions of words, meanings behind phrases, actual historic events,
and even the most basic scientific facts are routinely tossed aside if they
conflict with what certain people “feel” is true. This makes it hard to reason
with such folks (which is, I suspect, the point).
I’ve been trying for years to help people understand
the real meaning of words like nationalism and fascism, and still meet
resistance. And now a lot of people are proudly proclaiming themselves to be
Christian Nationalists… without knowing what that actually means. “Well,” some
folks seem to reason, “I’m Christian, and I’m proud to be a Christian… I’m
American, and I’m proud to be an American… so I guess I’m a Christian
Nationalist. And if you tell me Christian Nationalism is a bad thing, you must
be saying I should be ashamed to be a Christian and an American.”
Let me tell you a couple of things about myself.
First: I love my little hometown of Sparta, and am proud to be from here. I
love Tennessee, and I love the United States of America. I am proud of what
this country can be when it’s at its best, and of what it was meant to be and
could be and should be. This is why I am willing to work hard to do my part to
make it closer to that ideal. I get teary-eyed when I talk about what America
is supposed to be, and of how we need to all make sure it is that. I am a patriot.
But I am not a nationalist.
I have studied a lot about various religions and
spiritual approaches -I respect them, and find things to learn from them. I
will take a firm and unyielding stand on behalf of anyone in this country
believing and worshipping in whatever way they choose. That said, I am a
Christian. When I was the age my students are now, I was doing mission work in
South Florida and in New York City, working with Haitian immigrants and serving
in French-speaking congregations. Both places were very dangerous in the 1980s.
I walked in on drug deals in Florida, I was working in Brooklyn neighborhoods
torn by racial strife, crime, and riots. My life was (very credibly) threatened
on many occasions, but I believed I was helping people and doing God’s work.
For the last eleven years (since my return to Sparta) my family has attended
the Sparta First United Methodist Church- come visit us, or listen to our
service on the local radio station Sundays at 11. Point is: I am patriotic, and
serious about it, and I am a Christian, and serious about that. But I am not a
Christian Nationalist.
Christian Nationalism is the belief that America is
and was meant to be a Christian country, with other religions tolerated at best
(and maybe not even that), as long as they understand their subordinate
position. It is the belief that America is, in fact, God’s chosen country -and
allowing other religions equal standing is therefore betraying God (and
weakening the country). It is the belief America should be a theocracy, with
the government enforcing that.
That is not democracy, it is not freedom, and it is
not Christian. Such thinking is, in fact, condemned by most mainstream
churches. It is, though, authoritarian hyper-nationalism. That is also, by the
way, the definition of fascism.
It is also not historically accurate. Which is why its
ardent supporters would rather you not learn actual history.
More to come.
--Troy D.
Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at
Tennessee Tech. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.
You can find all previous entries in this weekly column HERE
A list of other historical essays that have appeared on this blog can be found HERE
Author's website: www.troyduanesmith.com
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