Christian Nationalism = Theocratic Fascism

By David Starr

On July 23^rd in Tampa, Florida, the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit had Marjorie Taylor Greene speak on behalf of the reactionary cause of the religious right. It was a regressive farce. 

Greene proudly declared herself a “Christian nationalist.” She said, “I’m a Christian. How many Christians do we have here? I also call myself a Christian nationalist and that’s not a bad word. That’s actually a good thing, right? I think that’s what the Republican Party should be about.” (Remember, Democrat Nancy Pelosi once said that we need a “strong Republican Party,” even though she opposed the Trumpites)

It’s easy to translate the words “Christian nationalism” into what it really means: theocratic fascism. What Greene is really saying, whether she knows it or not, is that she is a theocratic fascist. Oh, she is sounding sincere about it, thinking that she and her ilk represent the will of U.S. citizens. But what they really represent is the worst of what the United States has to offer. As a part of the right-wing agenda, theocratic fascism brings out the ugly side of U.S. politics and culture. Historically, traditionally, it supports and/or tolerates anti-immigrant racism, anti-Muslim behavior, homophobia, myths of white supremacy, extreme militarism, and an ultra-nationalist foreign policy.

Greene thinks there’s nothing wrong with prioritizing Christianity as a governing force. Theocratic fascists believe in the entwinement of church/state power, something the U.S. founders rejected because they learned from the bloody history of Medieval Europe with its practice of such power. But Greene’s outlook defies facts and truths and is thus a potential violation of the U.S. Constitution and a potential threat to the degree of democracy that exists in the United States.

Theocratic fascism is nothing new in the U.S. In the 1970s, Paul Weyrich, a founder of the religious right, was trying to find a way to attract believers to gain strength in numbers in order to support right-wing objectives. Unfortunately, he was successful. Abortion became a hot button topic. Now theocratic fascists think they have gotten a victory with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. But it’s not over. Many proponents of reproductive choice have raised hell, making this a continuing struggle.

Theocratic fascists are serious in their behavior within the right-wing agenda when it comes to overturning church-state separation. There was a 2021 survey put out by the Pew Research Center which revealed that 77% of Republicans were “church-state integrationists.” While they are still in the minority, theocratic fascists have large numbers of individuals. But they still need to be called out by more enlightened people, whose numbers far exceed them.

Theocratic fascists on the Supreme Court have led the way in trying to erode the wall separating church and state. Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, etc. are Medieval in their thinking in regards to defining what the United States is. They and others like them claim that the U.S. is a Christian nation. And they favor religious doctrine taking over the federal government, thus combining church and state power. To reiterate, the U.S. founders rejected the entwinement of church/state power with the U.S. Congress making no law establishing a religion. But like Greene, other theocratic fascists are potentially violating the Constitution.

In her warped imagination, Greene embraces the term “Christian nationalist” like wearing a badge of honor. She plays on victimhood in an attempt to strengthen and justify her convictions. But what it amounts to is that Greene and other theocratic fascists are trying to impose a form of totalitarianism, where one can’t question or criticize religion because a jealous god won’t allow it. But it’s folly to pluck one religion out of the many and claim that it has monopoly on the absolute truth. Besides, imposing theocratic fascism would deny the rights of others who are not Christian.

Marjorie Taylor Greene will continue to go around and pontificate, seeing her religion as the only true one. The totalitarianism of theocratic fascists like herself is an ugly thing; something that does not compliment the degree of democracy in the United States. They represent a clear danger. They must be overcome.