Pentecostal and charismatic leaders unite to rebuke Christian nationalism

More than 60 Pentecostal and charismatic leaders have launched a website on which they’ve issued a lengthy statement opposing Christian nationalism.

I urge you to read the statement, because it’s about as clear and correct an articulation as I’ve ever seen of Christians’ proper—and improper—roles in political affairs.

As religion journalist Julia Duin reported for Newsweek.com, Christian nationalism seems to have made inroads into one more-or-less fringe branch of the Pentecostal/charismatic movement, the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR).

Frankly, I’d never heard of the NAR. Some of its adherents apparently took active parts in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol. The new statement and website serve as a rebuttal to them.

At least part of those in the NAR movement believe, as do other types of Christian nationalists, that the United States was ordained by God as a uniquely Christian country and should still be governed by Christian laws, principles and leaders. There’s often a tinge of white supremacy attached to Christian nationalism as well.

But, as Duin points out, roughly 73 million Americans are Pentecostal/charismatic Christians—23 percent of the nation’s population.

Worldwide, Pentecostals/charismatics (the terms are pretty much synonyms) constitute the second largest branch of Christianity, about 500 million strong. Only the Roman Catholic Church is bigger.

Adherents are distinguished by their belief in supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit such as prophecy, speaking in tongues and healing. For the record, I’m among that brand of Christians myself.

The new statement should remind us all that the vast bulk of Pentecostals/charismatics are not Christian nationalists, much less racists. Globally, the vast majority aren’t even Americans—or white.

One of the documents signatories is Craig Keener, a prominent scholar of the New Testament who teaches at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore.

Keener, who is white, is married to a black woman and was ordained in a predominately black Baptist denomination.

The idea that God favors one race or nationality above others is a misinterpretation of the scriptures, he said.

“It blinds us to God’s heart that’s for all people,” Keener told me. Equality before God “is a central emphasis in the gospel.”

He hopes the new statement helps clarify matters for Pentecostals and charismatics who could be tempted toward Christian nationalism, but also for outsiders who might assume most Pentecostals/charismatics embrace it.

The statement acknowledges that the term Christian nationalism means different things to different people. For some Christians, it “simply refers to a healthy form of Christian patriotism, of loving God and loving one’s country. In that sense, the term is benign.”

And sometimes, media outlets intentionally or not “put the worst construction on our words, take us out of context, falsely associate us with dangerous, fringe groups, and unfairly malign us.”

The document says it’s good—and biblical—to respect national borders and national authority, “in contrast to an international one-world government.”

However, the signatories reject as unbiblical “the belief that America is a uniquely chosen nation, similar to Old Testament Israel being the chosen nation of God.”

They “categorically and unequivocally” denounce any Christian nationalism that advocates for a violent Christian uprising against the government or the use of force as a means of advancing the gospel.

They reject all ideologies and movements claiming ethnic or racial superiority. Every race and ethnicity deserves dignity and respect, because all have been made in God’s image.

They reject any “triumphalist, top-down” religious takeover of society, and say they don’t know of any major Christian movement that does promote such an objective.

They say one’s Christian identity should never be confused or conflated with national identity, as if the kingdom of God and our particular nation were the same thing.

“In contrast,” they write, “we believe the biblical way to influence society is by living the (crucified) life in which believers lay down their lives in the service of others, resulting in human flourishing for the glory of God. This can include Christ-like engagement in every sphere of society.”

The leaders say it’s spiritually dangerous to confuse patriotism with spirituality, to “compromise our ethics to keep our party (or leader) in power” and to “make a human being into a political savior.”

I can’t say how much real-world impact this document will have. But it accurately summarizes how people who are serious about their faith should—and shouldn’t—approach the public arena.

I hope it might pull a few wavering souls back from using violence and bigotry on behalf of a faith that was defined from the start by peacemaking and unconditional love.

I hope it might also wake up a few of the secular critics who see a handful of Christians acting like nutjobs and lazily (or malevolently) pretend all of us are nutjobs.

Paul Prather is pastor of Bethesda Church near Mount Sterling. You can email him at pratpd@yahoo.com.