The Growing Threat Of Christian Nationalism

It's been called "the greatest threat to religious freedom" in the country's history. We have elected officials openly calling themselves christian nationalists. So...what exactly is it?

How Christian Nationalism Poisons Christianity – Second Thought

New video every other Friday!

Citations and Further Reading:

-Taking Back America for God by Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry
-”Christian Nationalism is the Single Biggest Threat to America’s Religious Freedom”
-”Here’s where Christian Nationalism comes from, and what it gets wrong” by Ryan Sanders

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About Second Thought:
Second Thought is a channel devoted to education and analysis of current events from a Leftist perspective. Welcome!

[stephenrose]

It's so weird how some people picture Jesus as a capitalist-loving white American. I mean, he was literally a Palestinian.

If he was born today in the same place he was born 2k years ago, he would be born a Palestinian.

EDIT: To all the smooth brains commenting “He wuz a Jew”, I never said he wasn’t. Palestine isn’t a religion, it is a region of the world that has been documented atleast 500 years before Jesus was born. And furthermore, you are completely missing the point, but that’s to be expected from those that believe in the nonsense that is organized religion, that the fairy tale they’ve been told is completely true and correct and can’t be questioned

[firebadnofire]

Back when i was a Christian long ago, one of my pastors said "if you force Christianity on people, they just end up faking it. And faking your love for god is no better than not loving him at all". More Christians need to hear this

[TheLedaba]

As an european just watching the first 4 minutes is so surreal. Church shouldn’t be a entertainment event

[AllDogsAreGoodDogs]

"There I was - the only white guy in the Middle East..."
--Jesus giving a sermon

[manoson]

Eastern Europeans watching an American Pastor say their country was founded by orthodox christians:

[Raso]

Sure let's put some biblical laws into play. Let's limit interest rates. Let's forgive debt- ALL DEBT after a period of time. Let's enforce taxes. Let's feed the hungry and heal the sick.

[emeraldeea]

I don't think that guy knows what an "Orthodox Christian" is...

[isabelabeine]

I am not a Christian myself but I live in an area where Christianity is very influential. There are many Christians that I have met that are absolutely amazing people: kind, generous, and humble, like the Bible says to be. I’m saying this because you made a very interesting point on how Christian Nationalists are often not genuinely Christian (do not go to church regularly, read the Bible, etc.). I have met many of these people in my town as well and it is very true that they just pick and choose aspects of Christianity to support their bigotry, fully excluding the multiple passages in the Bible that contradict their statements. Many of them do not even go to church. There are exceptions, but in MY experience, true Christians are more likely to be sensible and good people in a general sense.

[DLFfitness]

“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
― Carl Sagan

[danescott]

Man, just seeing this title reminded me of my birthday a couple years ago.

Mom was screaming at me because I wouldn't support Trump, I told her that I had to question his motives and intentions because 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god'. Told her that I found idolatry focused on Trump and America to be deeply disturbing.

Then she shouted at me that questioning capitalism was the *real* idolatry.

I have not been more depressed and/or confused before or since.

[ewuraamaetruwaasam]

I am a Ghanaian. My Leadership 3 course introduced me to Western/American ideologies around Economics and social matters. I find this channel helpful in understanding certain things. Thanks for doing this.

[joshclark]

Grew up homeschooling in East Texas in the 1980s...so sad to know that the culture I grew up with is such a destructive force.

[michaelwalsh]

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in Old Glory and waving a cross" - Upton Sinclair

[DeadMindSociety]

16:26 "the god of christian nationalism is'nt so much the Abrahamic god, the god it's America"
Very well said.

[DarkArtistKaiser]

I love this idea of "Thats not how our founding fathers intended" is so obviously maliciously coded and repeated that it relies on no one actually bothering to read the bill of rights itself or the history.

Its even fucking stated that there would be a separation of Church and state, by the fucking founders themselves. This is at best absolute ignorance and at worse willful gaslighting/rewriting of history.

[MAGM]

I am an independent protestant christian and I am against any and all kinds of religious fundamentalism and/or nationalism. I believe and defend freedom of religion with complete separation of church and state (separation of religion and government). MAGM.😇✝️🙏🕊🌈🇵🇷🇺🇲

[koryeasterday]

I had a Christian county judge literally remove my first amendment rights. It’s the first time it’s ever happened in a civil court. I appealed it and won, but it still cost me a fortune.

[xjarheadjohnson]

This is why the American founding fathers deemed *ALL* religions unfit for modern governance.

_“The United States is not a Christian nation any more than it is a Jewish or Mohammedan Nation.”_
*- John Adams* (American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, Founding Father & 2nd president)

The *1st Amendment's Establishment Clause* prohibits the government from making any law, _“respecting an establishment of religion.”_

This clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion, but also prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over another. It also prohibits the government from unduly preferring religion over non-religion.

*Constitution Article VI Supreme Law - Clause 3 Oaths of Office*
_"The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; _*_but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."_*

This means nobody is ever required to swear on the Bible, or any other religious book for an oath of office. They may choose a religious book, but none is required.

_“...the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion."_
*-Treaty of Tripoli - June 7, 1797. Signed by President John Adams & Ratified UNANIMOUSLY, by the United States June 10, 1797*
....only a few times in history the Senate unanimously agreed on anything.

_“This would be the best of all possible Worlds, if there were no Religion in it”_
*-John Adams* )Letter from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, 19 April 1817)

_"The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."_
*-Thomas Jefferson* (Letter from Jefferson to John Adams, 11 April 1823)

_"The way to see by Faith is to shut the Eye of Reason."_
*-Benjamin Franklin* (Poor Richard's Almanac)

_“The study of theology, as it stands in Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on no principles; it proceeds by no authorities; it has no data; it can demonstrate nothing; and it admits of no conclusion....and as this is the case with Christian theology, it is therefore the study of nothing.”_
*― Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason (1794)*

[katmorgo]

I really appreciate your videos and how well researched they are. You definitely raise the bar with your discussion.

[nostrilnick]

And Ms. Bobert would know, being such a shining example of Christianity herself.