Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 28:2 (Summer 2024)
Article: The Many Lives Of American Christian Nationalism
Author: John D. Wilsey

The Many Lives Of American Christian Nationalism1

John D. Wilsey

John D. Wilsey is Professor of Church History and Philosophy, Chair of the Department of Church History and Historical Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. He is also a research fellow at the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy, an initiative of First Liberty Institute. Dr. Wilsey earned his PhD from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina. He is the author of numerous articles and the following books: Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer (Eerdmans, 2025); God’s Cold Warrior: The Life and Faith of John Foster Dulles (Eerdmans, 2021); Democracy in America: A New Abridgment for Students (Lexham, 2016); American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion: Reassessing the History of an Idea (InterVarsity Press, 2015); and One Nation Under God?: An Evangelical Critique of Christian America (Pickwick, 2011). Dr. Wilsey is an elder at Kenwood Baptist Church at Victory Memorial, Louisville, Kentucky. He is married to his wife, Mandy, and they have two daughters.

Almost three years ago, something called “Christian nationalism” hit American mainstream culture, in the wake of the 2020 presidential election and the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. Numerous books have appeared that explore the phenomenon historically and sociologically. They tell us how Christian nationalism is racist, sexist, homophobic, right-wing, and even a heresy departing from the Christian faith. Our national conversation about this thing called Christian nationalism became mainstream as a response to the so-called Age of Trump.

But nationalism—especially religious nationalism—is nothing new, nor is it best understood in monolithic, simple terms. It is multifaceted, emerges from diverse ideologies, and changes as time and circumstance progress. It is manifested in both political and religio-philosophical terms. Since the colonial founding, Americans have participated in creating complex

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and contested nationalities. They have been divided in their visions for the nation, represented at times by loyalists against patriots, Hamiltonians against Jeffersonians, Unionists against Confederates, and segregationists against integrationists. Still today, we find competing nationalisms on left and right. Why should we be surprised? This process of national identity-creation is ongoing.

American history is a demonstration of the complexity of nationalism. In all our social media hot takes on Christian nationalism, we miss how nuanced nationalism has been in the American experience. The whole project of the revolution and the Cons...