“I think the proof points about just how central Christian nationalism — we should call it white Christian nationalism — was to the planning and the execution of the insurrection is really undeniable,” Huffman told Religion News Service in an interview.
Asked by Rep. Jerry McNerney, a California Democrat, to define the “fundamental core” that unites Christian nationalists (“I don’t think it’s belief in Jesus,” McNerney quipped), Perry argued it was an “ethno-culture.”
“This blends the idea of kind of an ethnic identity — this is the white part of it, but also ethnic implies a part of culture,” Perry said. “Religion is a part of this, but also an understanding of white — not necessarily white race, but whiteness. This combination of perceptions (that) the nation rightfully belongs to ‘people like us’ — and by people like us I mean, the ethno-culture, the white Christian conservative, traditionalist, almost certainly native born.”
Multiple lawmakers, such as Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, expressed concern about the role of Christian nationalism in ongoing fights with school boards across the country. School board meetings have become a staging ground for heated disputes over COVID-19 restrictions and supposed use of critical race theory, featuring many activists who have invoked religion. Several candidates currently running for school board seats across the country, Pocan said, appear to be tied to Christian nationalism.
Raskin also mentioned Christian nationalism’s pervasive role in ongoing political disputes.
“More than a year later, Christian nationalists continue to join forces to try to challenge our democratic institutions and values — whether it’s in the suppression of voting rights or the promotion of various culture, more battles, including to my mind the utterly fraudulent attack on critical race theory,” he said.
Seidel agreed, noting he planned to send testimony to the Jan. 6 selection committee on the subject. He argued that while there was a “moment of shame” among Christian nationalists immediately following the insurrection, many have since “adopted the insurrection and seem emboldened by it.”
He pointed to data showcased by Perry during his presentation that showed shifting views of the insurrection among Christian nationalists over the past year. In February 2021, immediately after the insurrection, 75% of white Americans who scored highest on Perry’s Christian nationalism index — a series of questions that gauge Christian nationalism — said those who attacked the Capitol should be caught and prosecuted. By August of that same year, the number dropped to only 54%.
By contrast, those who scored the lowest on the Christian nationalism index barely budged in that same timeframe, with around 95% saying both times they were asked that the insurrectionists should be caught and put on trial.
Similarly, slightly less than 15% of hardline Christian nationalists in February 2021 agreed with the statement “I stand with the protesters who stormed the Capitol.” Come August, that number went up to 26%.
Raskin also asked whether panelists believed Christian nationalism played any role in inspiring what he described as “the medieval violence” of Jan. 6.
Seidel responded by arguing that prominent Christian nationalists used “very militant” language in the lead up to Jan. 6, often couched in the rhetoric of “spiritual warfare.”