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🕊️ The Cross Is Not a Flagpole: Dismantling Christian Nationalism

  • Justin Hurtado
  • May 13
  • 5 min read

Updated: Jun 16



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📍 Introduction

Let’s be honest: There’s a movement out here cosplaying as Christianity, draped in red, white, and blue, with just enough Scripture to feel holy.


They call it Christian, they call it patriotic, but what they’re preaching isn’t the Gospel. It’s control.


Christian nationalism has confused Caesar for Christ and the Constitution for the Commandments. It is not faith—it’s an idol in a red baseball cap.


This blog is my pastoral call-in and call-out. For the hurt and disillusioned.For the clergy holding the tension.For every queer kid kicked out of church. For every pew-sitter wondering, “Is this what Jesus would want?”


Let’s name it. Let’s trace it. Let’s dismantle it—together.


🔍 What Is Christian Nationalism?

Christian nationalism is not a denomination. It’s not a theology.It’s a political ideology that claims the United States is a Christian nation and should be governed according to Christian values—specifically, white evangelical Christian values.


According to sociologists Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry, Christian nationalism is less about theology and more about power. It’s about shaping public life to reflect a narrow interpretation of Christianity, often at the expense of pluralism, democracy, and human dignity.


Here’s how it usually plays out:

  • Calls to "restore America’s Christian heritage"

  • Christian-only laws and monuments

  • Biblical justification for anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-immigrant policies

  • Claims that God has uniquely chosen America for divine favor

It’s not new. But its rebranding under “MAGA,” “family values,” and now Project 2025 has given it more platform than it deserves.


📖 But What Does the Bible Say?

Here’s the Gospel truth:

  • Jesus never sought political power (John 18:36)

  • The early Church thrived under empire without becoming it

  • Paul declared, “There is no Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free…” (Gal. 3:28)

  • Jesus taught us to “love our neighbors”—not legislate our beliefs over them (Matt. 22:39)

  • Mary’s Magnificat didn’t glorify the rich and powerful; it lifted the lowly and scattered the proud (Luke 1:51–53)

Christian nationalism is not biblical. It’s blasphemy wrapped in a flag.


⚖️ What About the First Amendment?

The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion.It prevents the government from:

  • Establishing a national religion

  • Favoring one religion over another

  • Requiring a religious test for office

  • Forcing anyone to practice a faith they don’t follow

As journalist Scott A. Leadingham from the Freedom Forum explains:

“Christian nationalism is not about theology. It’s about politics.”

You can believe in Christian nationalism. That’s your right.But the moment you try to legislate it—that’s where the Constitution steps in.


🚦 Green Light / Red Light (Adapted from the Freedom Forum)

To help us think clearly, here’s how the First Amendment actually works in public life:


🟢 Green Light (Protected)

  • Students praying in public schools (voluntarily)

  • Religious monuments displayed alongside others

  • Beliefs influencing political positions (without forcing them)

🔴 Red Light (Unconstitutional)

  • Mandatory school prayer

  • Making Christianity the official U.S. religion

  • Barring non-Christians from holding office

  • Laws that explicitly enforce Christian doctrine


This is not about suppressing Christianity. It’s about protecting everyone’s right to believe—or not.


🧠 Who Believes in Christian Nationalism?

You’d think it was everyone from the way media covers it—but the data says otherwise.

  • Only 5% of U.S. adults have a favorable view of Christian nationalism

  • White evangelicals are most supportive (66% either adhere or sympathize)

  • Other Christian groups—like Black Protestants and Hispanic Catholics—support it far less(Pew Research Center & PRRI, 2022–2024)

Christian nationalism is loud, not large. Funded, not faithful.


⚠️ Enter: Project 2025

Let’s name what’s really happening here: Project 2025 is a policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation to institutionalize Christian nationalist ideals at the federal level.

Here’s what it proposes:

  • Dismantling the Department of Education

  • Ending all DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs

  • Restricting LGBTQ+ rights and gender-affirming care

  • Imposing conservative Christian values in health care, immigration, and education

  • Prioritizing religious affiliation in public policy


And let’s be clear: This plan was built for a future administration to implement immediately.

It’s a theocratic wish list dressed up as patriotism.


✝️ What the Church Actually Teaches

Even conservative Christian leaders have warned against nationalism:

“The church, faithful to its calling, does not pledge allegiance to any nation but to Christ.”— National Council of Churches

The Old Catholic Church, in apostolic tradition, affirms:

  • The separation of church and state

  • The dignity of LGBTQ+ people

  • The full inclusion of all in the life of the Church

  • Resistance to any ideology that seeks to control in the name of Christ


🧎🏽 “I Kneel for the Cross” — Or Do We?

That viral image—“I stand for the flag, I kneel for the cross”—sums it up.But here’s the thing:

Kneeling for the cross means serving the least of these, not denying their rights.Standing for the flag doesn’t mean sacrificing the Gospel at the altar of nationalism.


You can’t follow Jesus and chase power.You can’t wash feet and break laws that oppress.You can’t carry the cross and the flag like they weigh the same. One calls you to die to yourself. The other asks you to dominate others.


❤️‍🩹 A Pastoral Call for the Wounded and the Watching

If you’ve been hurt by Christian nationalism—shamed, erased, excluded, exiled—let me say this:

You were never the problem.God’s love is not a gate to guard. It’s a table to expand.

There is a place for you in the Church.A real Gospel. A real Christ. A real home.

And if you’re in a community that’s starting to preach American exceptionalism with your communion?It’s okay to leave. That’s not leaving God—it’s returning to God.


📣 What Can You Do?

  1. Educate yourself

    • Read about Christian nationalism from diverse theological sources.

    • Start with PRRI, Pew, and the Freedom Forum.

  2. Talk to your people

    • Speak truth in love. Share facts, not fear.

    • Use Scripture as a bridge, not a weapon.

  3. Show up for others

    • Advocate for the marginalized.

    • Support inclusive churches.

    • Vote your values—with Christ’s actual values.

  4. Refuse silence

    • Neutrality benefits the oppressor.

    • Your voice is part of God’s liberation work.


📚 References


💬 Final Word

This is not about winning a debate.This is about reclaiming a faith that has been held hostage by empire.

I’m not here to fight for the Church’s comfort. I’m here to fight for its soul.

Because the Gospel is not up for political negotiation. And the cross is not a flagpole.

Amen and amen.

 
 
 

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