Why Josh Hawley's ahistorical 'Christian nation' nonsense matters

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Sen. Josh Hawley not only falsely claimed that the U.S. is a "Christian nation," he went on to endorse a right-wing concept called “Christian nationalism.”

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/josh-hawleys-ahistorical-christian-nation-nonsense-matters-rcna161078

With this recent history in mind, it was striking to see the far-right GOP senator make a similar mistake almost exactly a year later. HuffPost reported:

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is under fire after a speech Monday night in which he advocated “Christian nationalism” for the good of the nation. The Missouri Republican was speaking at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, D.C., when he attempted to put a positive spin on “Christian nationalism,” a far-right ideology that promotes the belief that America was founded as a Christian nation and that policy should be decided using a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible.

The Republican lawmaker wasn’t exactly subtle in his messaging.

“Some will say I’m calling America a Christian nation. And so I am,” Hawley said at the conference’s gala dinner. “Some will say I’m advocating Christian nationalism. And so I do.”

Link to tweet

.....Just as outrageous is the sentiment behind the rhetoric: Those who espouse the idea that the United States is a “Christian nation” appear eager to tell everyone else, “You’ll be tolerated, but you’re still The Other, relegated to second-class status.” It’s a sentiment at odds with our highest ideals, though Hawley doesn’t seem to care.

But then there was the rest of the quote, in which the senator boasted about “advocating Christian nationalism.”

The New York Times’ David French wrote a good piece on the radical philosophy earlier this year, explaining that Christian nationalism is rooted in the belief “that there should be Christian primacy in politics and law. It can manifest itself through ideology, identity and emotion. And if it were to take hold, it would both upend our Constitution and fracture our society.”

It’s an approach that starts with a radical premise — adherents of one faith tradition must enjoy exalted status in the United States — before advancing to insist that American Christians must rule, dictate and govern in ways they see fit.

To see and hear a prominent Republican senator publicly espouse such radicalism is chilling.

[live love laugh]

1. He's a Senator. What a disgrace.

[sanatanadharma]

2. All x-tian nationalists deny their God who said ...(its all in the Boble)

All x-tian nationalists deny their God who said, who taught understanding the difference and not mixing them up when one 'renders onto Caesar and renders onto God...'
The transient world and the absolute world do not play by the same rules. They certainly do not dance on the same platform.

A God identified with a single Nation is a small God, a limited God: a God with all the stumbling blocks of desire and prejudicial preference.