How Christian Nationalists Talk Amongst Themselves
The Russ Vought interview shows how Christian Nationalists view their faith as the Only True Faith (Scroll to the end to listen)
When the Centre for Climate Reporting leaked their hidden camera interview with Project 2025 contributor Russ Vought last week, quite a few readers sent it to me. I crafted a quick Substack note to address it because people clearly expected me to say SOMETHING.
I then went into our bedroom to have the PTSD attack men like Vought sometimes trigger.
I started this Substack in part to educate readers about the hidden meaning of Christian Nationalist language. We cannot defeat an enemy we refuse to understand. I hope I give voters a new dictionary of sorts to interpret what Republican politicians mean when they say things.
Even though I’ve had lots of therapy and done years of work on myself, the “smug, sanctimonious white man pontificating about the rightness of his Christian faith” aspect of this work still sometimes gets to me. I’m PTSD-ported back to the Christian Nationalist pews of my youth, where these men lorded and strutted like mini-gods. Especially when they say things like this:
Elsewhere in the conversation, Vought outlined views on religion and race that seem more extreme than those Trump has publicly articulated – including criticism of the right for what he described as an excessive focus on religious freedom.
In the conservative movement, “we’ve been too focused on religious liberty, which we all support, but we’ve lacked the ability to argue we are a Christian nation,” Vought argued – an idea he’s also talked about publicly. “Our laws are built on the Judeo-Christian worldview value system.”
He said that conservatives should push to have debates over whether to allow mosques to be built in America’s downtowns, and whether Christian immigrants should be prioritized over those of other faiths – ideas that run contrary to First Amendment protections.
“I want to make sure that we can say we are a Christian nation,” Vought added later. “And my viewpoint is mostly that I would probably be Christian nation-ism. That’s pretty close to Christian nationalism because I also believe in nationalism.”
Over the past 6 1/2 months, I’ve typed a lot of words about Christian Nationalism. Often, I’ve insisted that when Christian Nationalist Republicans use terms like religious liberty or religious freedom and conscience rights, they really mean religious liberty for me and not for thee.
Let’s dig into Vought’s comments highlighted in the CNN text above. They provide a window into just how radicalized many Christian Nationalist Republicans are.
I’m going to reorganize Vought’s comments to make a specific point about what he’s really saying: his Christian Nationalism is the Only True Faith.
We’ve lacked the ability to argue that we’re a Christian nation. Our laws are built on the Judeo-Christian worldview value system.
Christian Nationalist Republicans twisted the concept of our nation’s founding in part to align with their persecution complex. For decades, pastors in Christian Nationalist churches have trained their congregations to see persecution everywhere.
Amongst themselves, they openly state that Christians have a right to discriminate against others when they’re objecting to behaviors their Bibles condemn. They believe they have a God-ordained right to ban all abortion because their Bibles supposedly condemn it. Their Bibles don’t mention transgender human beings because God only created man and woman. They point to purported Biblical condemnations of everything from LGBTQIA+ people to women who don’t submit to men and claim their Bibles charge them with opposing “sin.” Anyone who disagrees is persecuting them.
It’s yet another example of their dogged lingual creativity. They can make anything a thought-terminating cliche.
An excessive focus on religious freedom.
Republicans like Vought disagree with a focus on religious freedom because they believe their practice of Christianity is the only TRUE faith. He wants Republicans to openly define religious freedom as being only for Christians like him. Those who choose to practice Islam, Judaism, paganism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and even Unitarianism don’t deserve religious freedom because they insist those faiths are cults. In their world, no cult deserves religious freedom protections.
Similarly, they teach that God created humans with a God-shaped void that only he can fill. They cannot allow people to choose skepticism or no faith as protected religious freedoms. It goes against their interpretation of the Bible.
Whether to allow mosques to be built in America’s downtowns.
Christo-fascists like Vought would outlaw the construction of any place of worship that isn’t his brand of Christian church. Because again, he believes Islam is a cult, not a real faith modality deserving of religious freedom. People like him believe they are charged to rid the world of false gods and heretical faiths. That starts with making it impossible to build places to worship.
Christian immigrants should be prioritized over those of other faiths.
Another way Christo-fascists plan to reduce American options for worship down to Christian Nationalist congregations? Keep immigrants from polluting our discourse with their supposed idolatry, their alleged false gods, their pagan ways.
People like Vought believe keeping immigrants of other faiths out will be half the battle, leaving Christo-fascist Republicans to focus their attention on ridding the country of offensive-to-them faiths at home.
I want to make sure we can say we are a Christian nation.
With this statement, Vought plainly reveals his Dominionist ties. He does not believe Jesus Christ will return in glory until he forces everyone in America to live by his religious tenets. Religious freedom will only exist for those who practice his One True Faith: Christian Nationalism. Religious liberty for me but not for thee.
Thanks, Andra. More proof that Project 2025 is happening now in Florida.⬇️
The legislature passed a law allowing untrained chaplains as “counselors” in public schools.The Interfaith Council( representing 9 faiths) was against the law. The Satanic Temple wants in and of course, DeSantis said they couldn’t participate. I guess only Christian Nationalist “counselors” need apply…
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/08/19/osceola-schools-considering-new-chaplain-program-and-the-satanic-temple-wants-in/?share=neshllonhstnwalotled
I want to know what is their "Final Solution to the Jewish Question."