The promise (or threat) of “Christian nationalism” is becoming increasingly discussed, yet no one seems to agree on what Christian nationalism is. So, before we can explore if Catholics can support this view, we first have to settle its definition.
Critics of the idea usually define it in terms of Handmaid’s Tale fever dreams, depicting religious leaders as directly controlling the government and instituting irrational, downright evil policies—like turning women into slaves. Defenders of this idea can be found across a wide spectrum, with a few unhinged people in the mix. For example, some Protestant Christian nationalists may advocate for public displays of Catholic worship to be banned; certainly, this would be a non-starter among Catholics.
But the most prominent defenders of Christian nationalism put forward a fairly minimal definition that most Catholics could support.
Stephen Wolfe, for example, defines it as “a totality of national action, consisting of civil laws and social customs, conducted by a Christian nation as a Christian nation, in order to procure for itself both earthly and heavenly good in Christ.” Andrew Torba says it is “a spiritual, political, and cultural movement comprised of Christians who are working to build a parallel Christian society grounded in a Biblical worldview.”
As a Catholic, I could agree with these goals, though I personally lean more towards “Catholic integralism,” which roots authority on moral matters in the Catholic Church’s teaching rather than on amorphous Christian principles.
Does that mean I want a theocracy that oppresses other religions? Not at all. The Second Vatican Council taught that religious freedom “has to do with immunity from coercion in civil society. Therefore it leaves untouched traditional Catholic doctrine on the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion and toward the one Church of Christ.” When Pope Leo visited the European nation of Monaco this year he said:
You are among the few countries in the world to have the Catholic faith as a state religion. This faith places us before the sovereignty of Jesus, who calls Christians to become in the world a kingdom of brothers and sisters – a presence that does not cast down but raises up, that does not separate but connects, always ready to protect every human life with love, at any time and in any condition, so that no one is ever excluded from the table of fraternity.
Christians might disagree about where to draw the line between outlawing evil and merely using social customs to shame it. Still, we should be able to agree that, as a society, it is better to aim for people to live good lives and not merely pleasurable ones. So, here’s a simple argument in favor of “Christian nationalism”:
- All laws are based on ethical systems.
- Some ethical systems are better than other systems.
- Christian ethical systems are better than secular systems.
- Therefore, laws should be based on Christian ethical systems.
There’s nothing wrong with the state publicly acknowledging that Christianity is not like every other religion. In fact, Christianity’s unique ability to explain why there are any moral obligations at all and why all human beings have equal dignity results in the best outcomes for the state. Thus, it makes sense for the state to adopt at least some of those principles in its laws so that it best protects human dignity and promotes human flourishing.
So, what kind of Christian state would I want to live in?
How about one where it’s illegal to dismember babies in the womb? Or illegal to create them in labs and sell them even to unmarried men through commercial surrogacy.
A state where sperm donors don’t father thousands of children who will never know their father. Where porn that destroys children’s minds and their families is basically illegal, especially AI content involving children, which some judges argue is protected under the First Amendment.
Above all, it would be a state where the highest value isn’t liberty, but God, who is the Good itself.