We might all be saying the same thing as nuance gets lost sometimes on a message board discussion.
I agree that the “conservative Christian” or evangelical movement is dangerous. But it’s a whole different animal than Christian Nationalism.
To me the average Stillwater Sunnybrook or Life Church or FBC or UMC church goer that makes a Facebook post or quip at Sunday brunch about the US being founded as a Christian nation is just parroting what their pastor or church group friend said without truly understanding the Gospels or US History. Dangerous in its own right on many levels. But these type have been around and mainstream for many decades.
True CN is on a completely different level. These people actually believe the genocide of Native Americans while bad was necessary to establish a country that would usher in their rule so that their version of Jesus would be the ONLY version of Jesus. Same goes for slavery.
We’re not talking about going back to the 1950’s here. We’re talking about a type of rule that would make everyone submit or you don’t eat, learn or heal.
That’s why I think it’s important to make the distinction bc Graham is right. The average evangelical or conservative Christian is not a CN. But he’s wrong in that we need to have that conversation and the media needs to differentiate and be honest about what CN means.
