Debunking Christian Nationalism: Guidance from John Courtney Murray, S.J.

Dear Friends and Readers,

I offer this essay with excerpts from my book, Contemporary Theologians (pp.139-147), as a contribution to the on-going effort to preserve our democracy.

Fr. Jim Bacik

In a 2022 interview, respected Baptist theologian Amanda Tyler declared: “I believe that the single biggest threat to religious freedom in the United States today is Christian Nationalism.” She argued that it is antithetical to the constitutional ideal that belonging in American society is not predicated on what faith one practices or whether someone is religious at all. It is a political ideology, that perpetuates “the false narrative that to be a true American one must be Christian.“ Tyler claimed this ideology undergirds islamophobia, antisemitism, and violent actions such as the January 6 insurrection. This striking claim calls for explanation.

An October 2022 study by the Pew Research Center featured this headline: “45% of Americans say that the United States should be a Christian nation.” The study also found that 37% think the founders of America originally intended for the U.S. to be a Christian nation and 64% think the U.S. is now a Christian nation.

Before the 2024 election, The National Catholic Reporter published an article by Ruth Braunstein entitled “Catholic Christian Nationalism is having a Moment,“ claiming Catholics are emerging as Christian nationalism’s “muscular champions.” The article identified vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance as a prominent example, suggesting he “shares many of the same policy goals as popular forms of Christian Nationalism,“ and Steve Bannon, who was raised as a Catholic but now refers to himself as “a proud Christian Nationalist.“

Finally, in an article entitled “What is Christian Nationalism?” Paul D. Miller, professor of international affairs at Georgetown University, tried to show what Christian Nationalism looks like in practice. For example, it looks like the 45% of Americans who believe the United States should be a Christian nation; the 44% who believe that God has granted America a special role in human history; and like the 35% who believe that a citizen should be a Christian to be a true American. Miller went on to describe Christian Nationalism as an “attitude, a stance toward America and the world, a way of situating ourselves and our nation in a moral and theological framework.” In this framework Christians are America’s first citizens, architects and guardians who have the right to define the nation’s culture and identity. In short, Christians invented America and they have the right to stay on top. Amanda Taylor’s claim may sound hyperbolic, however, a good case can be made that Christian Nationalism poses a serious threat to our democracy.

To debunk Christian Nationalism, let us turn to John Courtney Murray, S.J. (1904-1967), the most influential theologian the Catholic Church in the United States has produced, who devoted much of his life to exploring the relationship between religion and society. Throughout his distinguished career, which included three decades as professor of theology at Woodstock College in Maryland, he labored mightily to demonstrate that it is possible for Catholics to be both loyal members of their church and patriotic citizens of their country. In the process, this scholarly and urbane man won the respect of academics from various religious traditions and helped to create the open climate which made possible the election of John F. Kennedy as the first Catholic president.

Murray, who wrote lucid and graceful prose, is best known as the architect of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious Liberty. Though silenced by the Vatican in 1955, he saw his views on religious liberty vindicated by the majority of bishops at the council. He facilitated this striking development of church doctrine by combining a brilliant historical analysis of the intent of official church teaching on the topic with an insightful examination of democratic structures in the United States. Through this scholarly effort he was instrumental not only in freeing Catholics from the suspicion of being unpatriotic, but also in bringing the American political experiment with religious liberty into the official consciousness of the whole Catholic Church.

In his classic study of the American proposition, We Hold These Truths (America Press,1985), Murray emphasized the importance of civil discourse and constructive dialogue as a means of living effectively in our pluralistic society. Building on a long tradition, he insisted that a political community is formed by persons “locked together in argument” and passionately engaged in reasonable discussion of significant issues. Such conversations require not only mutual trust but also a common language, initial points of agreement, and a core of commonly-held truths. We can argue constructively only within a context of fundamental agreement.

Murray feared the “modern-day barbarians,” who reject the role of reason in public affairs and who resort to the rule of force and fear. Barbarians replace dialogue with monologue, reason with passion, and civility with harsh rhetoric. They think they have exclusive hold on the truth and are called to convert or coerce others to their way of thinking. Such barbarism, which tempts even good citizens, makes conversation impossible and deprives society of the necessary resources for achieving unity in the midst of diversity.

One of John Courtney Murray’s enduring contributions is his analysis of the religion clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The non-establishment and free exercise clauses are not “articles of faith” but “articles of peace.” He insisted that it was wrong to “dogmatize” these articles as some Americans tend to do. We should see them not as the work of theologians or political philosophers, but as the work of lawyers and statesmen. They are not a theology to be believed, but rather a practical agreement to be implemented. They have made it possible for Americans of various religious views and mindsets to live together in harmony and to work collaboratively for the common good of the country.

At the Second Vatican Council (1962 to 1965), John Courtney Murray celebrated the success of his long scholarly work when the universal church accepted freedom of religion as a fundamental human right. Today Murray encourages the American Church to resist the efforts of Christian Nationalists to transform our democracy into a biblically based theocracy. In making his case, Murray drew on the experience of Catholic immigrants in the United States. Between 1820 and 1920 some 20 million Catholics came to the United States where they encountered the nativist prejudice and its political expression in the Know Nothing party. Protected by the religion clauses of the first amendment, many of them were able to succeed politically, socially and economically in their new country despite many restrictive laws and customs at the local level. The Catholic Church in the United States has thrived without any special privilege or recognition by the federal government.

Reflecting on this experience, Catholics should be respectful of Christian nationalist citizens and their goal of raising and improving the moral life of our society. We should support their positive goals; for example, reducing crime, lowering divorce rates and limiting abortions. At the same time, we must be clear that their project to establish a Christian country is fundamentally flawed. It is unconstitutional, it violates the non-establishment clause of the First Amendment, and it will do harm to the country as a whole. Catholics have a moral obligation to resist this dangerous ideology. The experience of the Catholic Church in the United States suggests that Christian Nationalists should pursue their laudable goals not by establishing a theocracy but by dialogue and collaboration.

Recalling the positive history of their church in the United States, Catholic Nationalists might reconsider their support for a theocracy that grants special privileges to Christians. Grateful for the good life they enjoy in our democracy, they might want to make sure non-Christian citizens continue to have this same opportunity.

Christian Nationalism, which is supported by large numbers of American citizens, is indeed a serious threat to our freedom and our democratic way of life. Today, John Courtney Murray, who had such remarkable influence at the Second Vatican Council, calls on the Catholic community to do all we can to maintain our democratic institutions that provide the opportunity for all American citizens to flourish.