|
Christian nationalism is not Christianity
By: Chenele Dixon
Shared with the author’s permission.
I am a Latter-day Saint, a woman and an Idahoan. If Christian nationalism has its way, my faith and my voice would be pushed out of the public square.
Christian nationalism is not about faith. It is about power. It insists America must be defined by one rigid version of Christianity and that anyone outside of that mold is somehow less American or less Christian. That ideology would silence millions, including members of my own faith, while corroding our democracy from within.
We see this ideology gaining traction here in Idaho. Lawmakers push bills privileging one religion under the guise of “values.” School voucher schemes siphon public dollars into private religious schools while starving rural districts. Candidates backed by groups like the Idaho Family Policy Center talk of “taking back Idaho for God,” as if people of other faiths — or no faith — don’t belong. And local activists demand libraries purge shelves and public schools adopt Bible classes in the name of “Christian values.”
The rhetoric behind these moves is even more alarming. Idaho Family Policy Center president Blaine Conzatti has drawn a sharp line between “historic Christianity” and the faith of Latter-day Saints, signaling that in his view, people like me don’t qualify as Christian at all. Meanwhile, Doug Wilson, the Moscow pastor whose influence reaches far beyond Idaho, has argued that voting should be led by households through men and that women should not hold public office “as men do.” These are not fringe opinions. They are the logical extension of Christian nationalism: disenfranchising women, diminishing religious minorities and narrowing who counts as a “true” American.
Contrast that with the gospel of Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mount, He blesses the poor, the merciful and the peacemakers — not the powerful or partisan. He commands us to love our neighbors, not draw lines around which neighbors count. He warns against hypocrisy and pride, even as Christian nationalism feeds on both. Most clearly, Jesus taught we cannot love God while hating our neighbor.
As a Latter-day Saint, I know the costs of religious exclusion. My faith tradition was once driven out of communities, targeted by mobs and even killed for our beliefs. Here in Idaho, from 1884 to 1908, the infamous “Test Oath” barred Mormons from voting or holding office, effectively silencing an entire community. That history is not distant. It is a reminder of what happens when political power is fused with religious dogma.
And we should remember that Idaho was among the first states to give women the vote in 1896. That was progress. Yet today we hear echoes of voices suggesting women don’t belong in the voting booth or the halls of power. That is regression — and it should alarm every Idahoan.
Idaho is not a theocracy, and it must not become one. We pride ourselves on strong families, earnest faith and boundless freedom. But when politics weaponize religion, all three come under threat. We fracture communities. We marginalize minorities. And we take Christ’s name in vain by turning Him into a political weapon.
The brilliance of America has never been in declaring ourselves a “Christian nation.” It has been in building a free nation — where everyone can worship (or not) according to conscience. That freedom allows faith to flourish; coercion crushes it. Abandoning that principle betrays both the Constitution and the gospel of Christ.
If Idaho wants to defend faith, family and freedom, we must reject Christian nationalism. What our state needs is not politics in religious clothing, but people of all faiths — and no faith — living out Christ’s command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
That is strength. That is freedom. That is the Idaho I want my children and grandchildren to inherit. |
|
