The Evangelical Covenant Church provides these resources as a starting point for engaging with Christian nationalism. Please note that while these recommend resources are intended to help Covenanters define, understand, and respond to the growing problem of Christian nationalism, these resources are not produced by the Covenant and therefore will not be perfectly aligned with our affirmations and denominational ethos. The Covenant Executive Board has commissioned a formal Resource Paper on this topic, which will involve broad denominational engagement and prayerful discussion before being submitted for final approval at an annual meeting. In the meantime, we hope these resources are helpful.
Books
Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor
Caleb Campbell | InterVarsity Press
Equips Christians to minister to their Christian nationalist neighbors — understanding the movement’s appeal, addressing its talking points, and engaging with love and practical wisdom rooted in the gospel.
American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church
Andrew L. Whitehead | Brazos Press
Examines how the idols of power, fear, and violence corrupt American Christianity — and points toward practices and postures that confront Christian nationalism with a faithful way forward.
The Religion of American Greatness: What’s Wrong with Christian Nationalism
Paul D. Miller | IVP Academic
A conservative scholar’s case that Christian nationalism is an illiberal political theory — at odds with both the genius of the American experiment and a biblical vision of justice.
Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States
Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry | Oxford University Press
The landmark sociological study of Christian nationalism — what it is, who holds it, and how it shapes attitudes on race, gender, and democracy. Essential background reading.
Strange Worship: Six Steps for Challenging Christian Nationalism
Drew J. Strait | Cascade Books
Drawing from biblical studies, theology, and peace studies, this book offers congregations tangible steps for resisting political idolatry, violent extremism, and dominion theology.
American Christian Nationalism: Neither American nor Christian
Michael W. Austin | Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
A concise, accessible case that Christian nationalism contradicts both American values — liberty, equality, justice — and Christian virtues like humility, faith, and love, with a constructive vision for faithful civic engagement.
Another Gospel: Christian Nationalism and the Crisis of Evangelical Identity
Joel Looper | Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
An evangelical theologian’s argument that Christian nationalism is not a distortion of the gospel but a replacement of it — and a call to recover the church’s true identity and primary allegiance.
Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding a True Faith
April Ajoy | Worthy Books
Part memoir, part guidebook: a content creator and podcast host recounts growing up inside Christian nationalism and charts how she found her way to a truer, more inclusive faith.
The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here
Kaitlyn Schiess | Brazos Press
Traces America’s history of invoking Scripture in political life — highlighting faithful applications and serious distortions — and offers tools for more responsible biblical engagement in public discourse.
How to Be a Patriotic Christian: Love of Country as Love of Neighbor
Richard J. Mouw | InterVarsity Press
Navigates between Christian nationalism and cynicism about country, making the case that healthy patriotism is possible — rooted in love of neighbor and oriented toward the common good.
Videos
Christian Nationalism and Our Families
InterVarsity Press
InterVarsity Press (IVP) hosted a two-part webinar series to help parents and caregivers thoughtfully engage the topic of Christian nationalism.
The Bible and Politics—How to Spot the Misuse of Scripture by Politicians and Activists
Holy Post Media
We see the Bible being misused and abused for political gain all the time, and the rise of Christian nationalism is making things even worse. But does that mean the Bible should never be mixed with politics? Not necessarily.
Discussion Questions
- Have you noticed Scripture being used in a way that frames it as only for America and never against the United States?
- The Bible points out Israel’s present and historic sins. Why is it controversial when modern Christians do the same thing regarding the United States?
- Have you noticed the very particular idea of what “Christian” means in the Christian nationalism movement?
- How does the Word of the Lord critique your personal standard of what is good and right?
- When have you experienced the tendency to read Scripture in a way that condemns others’ sins but not your own?
- Recognizing the foundational beliefs some of our country’s founding fathers held, what do we miss when America is declared to be a Christian nation, built on Christian principles?
Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?
The Gospel Coalition
Russell Moore on whether America is a Christian nation.
Discussion Questions
- What benefits could come from presenting God as being in covenant with the US in order to bless the US as a special people—a new Israel—as a group covenanted under Christianity?
- Why does it matter whether the US was founded as a Christian nation?
- Why does Russell Moore caution us to guard against assigning the US a providential place that Scripture never assigns us?
- Where have you seen biblical passages, such as 2 Chronicles 7:14, misassigned to the United States?
- How does applying promises to the United States that were made to Israel cause missional misalignment?
- What does it look like for us to give a faithful gospel witness today?
The REAL Problem with Christian Nationalism
Holy Post Media
Christian Nationalism has been in the news a lot lately, but what exactly is it, what’s the real problem it poses, and what does pudding have to do with it? Skye Jethani answers these questions and shows that Christian nationalism and the prosperity gospel have a lot more in common than what we might think — Jesus isn’t the goal, but a means to receive what they really want.
Discussion Questions
- How does this video highlight the importance of a life with God for a genuine Christian faith?
- What makes Christian nationalism seem attractive, or at least benign, on the surface?
- If Jesus is the means to an end, such as power or God’s blessing, then Christian nationalism is idolatry. Why does it seem harder to denounce Christian nationalism as heretical than it is to recognize the idolatry of the prosperity gospel or other heresies?
- How have you seen Christianity used by Christian nationalists or the Christian nationalism movement as a tool to gain cultural and political power?
- What makes Christian nationalism dangerous?
- How can we demonstrate healthy patriotism while also rejecting Christian nationalism for the idolatry it is?
Podcasts
What’s Christian Nationalism Anyway? A Missionary to Christian Nationalists Shares His Story.
National Association of Evangelicals
In 2020, Pastor Caleb Campbell watched Christian nationalism take over large swaths of his congregation in Phoenix, Arizona. He thought about giving up on the church, but over the years, he came to see himself as a missionary to Christian nationalists.
Discussion Questions
- How have you experienced Christian nationalism as syncretism?
- Have you experienced broken relationships due to Christian nationalism?
- Have you recognized Christian nationalism in the church? If so, how?
- How have you been formed in ways that have melded nationalism and Christianity?
- What do you think about seeing Christian nationalists as a mission field in the U.S.?
The Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent Bacote
The Trinity Forum
As the lines between faith, politics, and patriotism have become, in some quarters, increasingly blurred, it is increasingly important to understand the origin, ideas, and consequences of Christian nationalism — what it means, why it matters, and how best to respond.
Discussion Questions
- How did this podcast distinguish patriotism and Christian nationalism?
- What gospel distortions did this podcast help you identify?
- What does a healthy Christian expression of patriotism look like?
- Have you noticed Christian nationalism making Christianity a servant of the nation?
Paul Miller | Nationalism vs. Patriotism: What’s the Difference?
National Association of Evangelicals
What is Christian nationalism? And how is it different from patriotism? Join Walter Kim and Dr. Paul Miller as they discuss the roots of Christian nationalism in America and what it looks like for evangelicals to be politically engaged in a Christ-honoring way.
Discussion Questions
- What is the role of our faith in public life?
- How do we discern which Christian values we pursue through the church and which to pursue through the state?
- How do we foster what is best within patriotism?
- What’s the difference between patriotism and nationalism?
- What is the difference between Christian principle and Christian power?
- How can we be principled as Christians in our civic engagement?
Andrew Whitehead & Samuel Perry: Christian Nationalism in the USA
Gravity Commons
Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry cowrote Taking America Back for God on the growing presence of Christian nationalism in the United States. Orienting their research around the “unholy trinity” of power, boundaries, and order, Andrew and Sam chat about how to identify Christian nationalism.
Discussion Questions
- How did this podcast help you understand Christian nationalism?
- How would you define Christian nationalism after listening to this?
- In what ways is Christian nationalism unaligned with the gospel of Jesus Christ?
- What tools did this podcast offer for walking with people who believe in Christian nationalism?
- How can you help people understand the difference between patriotism and Christian nationalism?
Evaluating Christian Nationalism
The Gospel Coalition
Ligon Duncan, Bob Thune, Andy Davis, and Philip Ryken examine Christian nationalism, differentiating it from patriotism and exploring its influence on Christian identity and societal engagement.
Discussion Questions
- How can Christian nationalism distort our hierarchy of affections or loyalties?
- How have you seen Christian nationalism elevate our nation to a God-like status that opposes biblical teachings and truth?
- In this podcast (recorded in 2024), Ligon Duncan says Christian nationalism “represents a tiny, tiny, politically uninfluential group. What governor, senator, congressman is out there advocating for anything like Christian nationalism, or who would be open to that?” Two years later, we see politicians and ministers who are proudly identifying as Christian nationalists. What do you think this means?
- How do we as Christians exemplify Christian convictions as we civically engage?
