One Nation Under God: The recent rise of Christian nationalism in politics needs to be quelled before it transforms the state of our country

First, Roe v. Wade was overturned. Now, frozen embryos count as children — according to the Alabama Supreme Court — and presidential candidate Donald Trump has been closing rallies with 15-minute prayer-like sermons.

One common thread connects these political events: the evident rise and influence of Christian nationalist beliefs in politics.

The recent rise of Christian nationalism in politics needs to be quelled before it upends core American values of equality and diversity or distorts society into operating under a Christian belief system for generations to come.

Christian nationalism is when Christian values permeate policy making and are allowed to hold equal value to constitutional principles. In a democracy where church and state are supposed to remain separate this is simply unacceptable.

In a year when political tensions are already high — the imminent presidential election, polarized political parties and a ballot full of hot button issues — the rise of support for politicians actively working to push Christian agendas is negatively impacting our generation’s ability to establish much-needed trust in our government.

The problem isn’t with religion in general — individuals should be allowed to believe in and practice the ideologies of their choosing — the issues arise when these subjective ways of perceiving the world are impressed upon others outside of their community. 

Specifically when it comes to politics, one group’s guiding principles shouldn’t take precedence over all others. It is entirely within one’s rights to be opposed to abortion because of religion, but limiting access to in vitro fertilization for everyone because of one group’s morals has blurred the line between religion and government. 

Along with having “An Appeal to Heaven” flag hanging in his Capitol Building office, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has been quoted saying “go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s my worldview,” according to The New York Times. This kind of blatant assertion of a viewpoint that promotes the supremacy of one religion over others is dangerous.

The “An Appeal to Heaven” flag was first created amidst the Revolutionary War, adorned with an antiquated phrase from the 1700s. Since then, it’s morphed to represent the vision of an exclusively Christian American society and has been twisted to fit the ideologies of the Seven Mountain Mandate. The flag should not be hanging in the Capital.

The Seven Mountain Mandate is essentially a prophetic belief that categorizes society into seven core groups and claims that God wants Christians to rise to the top of each of the groups, and from there, Christianity is intended to spread throughout every aspect of society. 

Laws and policies should provide equal protection to all citizens regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. In March, a bill eradicating state funding for teaching diversity, equity and inclusion in all public schools was passed by Alabama Republicans. This also prevents transgender students from using the gendered bathrooms that they identify with despite contradicting the core value of equality that America was built on.

In his 2024 campaign, Trump has capitalized on religious conservatives using a blatant technique to appeal to these voters by selling bibles. Many of his supporters are evangelical voters who support him for the conservative Supreme Court he helped to facilitate which can be connected to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, according to The New York Times. 

If the government starts to implement more biased and religiously-based legislation, this will be detrimental as it would not be inclusive of all perspectives and lead to a dominance of the Christian faith. This would send the message to current students that Christians get a louder voice in the government than other religions and denominations.

Young people need to vote against policies that are direct reflections of a select group’s religious beliefs. It’s important to remember the vitality of maintaining the distinction between religion and politics. Even if you identify with ideas proposed by politicians who also support Christian nationalist agendas, take a step back and remind yourself of the slippery slope that comes with a biased and subjectively-ruling government.

This mindset is particularly important for first-time voters, who may be planning to make an “educated” guess when casting their vote, and who are susceptible to be swept up by the same beliefs as their parents or skip voting all together. Now more than ever, it’s imperative to go into any election with a strongly developed understanding of all candidates and perspectives in order to form your own opinions. 

Despite the negative implications of Christian nationalism, its infiltration hasn’t gone so far that we can’t re-strengthen the separation between church and state through more conscious voting practices and not letting Christian nationalist beliefs guide our country.