Op-ed: U.S. not formed as Christian nation
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This week marks the one-year anniversary of the insurrectionist attacks on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. These attacks constituted no less than a coup attempt by approximately 1,000 or more of those loyal to former President Donald Trump as they laid siege to the seat of U.S. government during a routine, and in previous years uneventful, certification of the results of a free and fair presidential election.
Results and analysis of a new research collaborative on the role religion played that day offers interesting information and insights. The Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History have teamed up to provide a detailed look at religious involvement in the attack. The project is called "Uncivil Religion" and can be found at uncivilreligion.org.
To quote from the home page of the website, "religious symbols, rituals, identities, banners, signs and sounds suffused the events surrounding the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. This project begins to trace the thread of religion that wound throughout that day through pieces of digital media. It does this in two ways. First, there is a collection of essays that analyze individual pieces of media from Jan. 6 in order to explain the role religion played that day. Second, there is a series of galleries that contain pieces of media that represent the variety of ways religion 'showed up' on Jan. 6. This project is illustrative and not exhaustive. There is so much more to be found, said, and documented about the role of religion on Jan. 6 and this project will continue to grow."
Projects like this are of the utmost importance. Religion, particularly evangelical Christianity, was a central motivating factor and theme of these events. Christian symbolism, quotes, bible verses and more were everywhere in the footage and pictures taken from the attacks. At the core of this Christian extremism is what is known as Christian nationalism. Christian nationalism is a theocratic movement defining the U.S., in this case, as a Christian nation and in many cases adhering to the pillars of what is referred to as Dominionism. Dominionism is a theological worldview that proposes that there are seven "mountains" that Christians must control to prepare the world for the return of Christ. These "mountains" are government, education, media, arts and entertainment, religion, family and business.
Christian nationalism is a grave threat to democracy and to constitutionally guaranteed freedoms both of and from religion. It overlaps nicely with the authoritarian worldview of those who support Donald Trump and his dictatorial tendencies. Trump not only instigated the events of Jan. 6 with his Big Lie that he lost the 2020 election, but he continues to exhibit a disregard for democracy, recently declaring his support for Hungarian dictator Viktor Orb'n.
American Atheists, a national organization for which I am a representative in West Virginia, recently released its 2021 State of the Secular States report. This report, now in its fourth annual edition, "provides the most comprehensive review ever of statewide laws and policies affecting church-state separation and religious equality in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico." The report can be found at states.atheists.org. Countering Christian nationalism and its accompanying threats to our Republic starts at home and this report breaks down how that effort is progressing, or not, state-by-state.
At every turn, Christian nationalism must be challenged, in ways both big and small. When the Family Policy Council of West Virginia put up a nativity display inside the WV capitol building rotunda, American Atheists and the West Virginia ACLU answered by putting up displays in the same area of the rotunda. The American Atheist display was a banner that said, "This season, no matter what you celebrate or why, happy holidays from your atheist neighbors" and included the American Atheists name and logo. The other display was a Festivus pole with signage explaining the holiday and quoting Jerry Stiller, who portrayed the character on Seinfeld who created the holiday.
The U.S. is and has always been a secular constitutional democratic republic, not a Christian nation. Religious affiliation is not a requirement for citizenship or for holding public office and our government recognizes no official religion. For freedom to truly ring in this land, that is the way it must stay. Especially if you're a Christian, it has never been more important for you to speak up and speak out against Christian nationalism than it is today.
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Eric Engle is an assistant state director in Parkersburg with American Atheists.