FFRF Action Fund’s “Secularist of the Week” is a religious studies scholar who is illuminating the role of charismatic Christians in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Our “Theocrat of the Week” is a Christian nationalist who is part of a coalition of Christian ministries suing the IRS to overturn the Johnson Amendment.
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Dave Kubal, the president of Intercessors for America (IFA), a Christian ministry that works to “inform, connect, and mobilize” a network of Christians in America, joined three other plaintiffs in a case filed last week against the IRS. The coalition is demanding the right of tax-exempt ministries to endorse political candidates without losing their tax-exempt status, essentially asking for the Johnson Amendment to be declared unconstitutional.
The Johnson Amendment, proposed by Senator Lyndon B. Johnson in 1954, dictates that 501(c)(3) nonprofit groups, including churches, cannot endorse or oppose political candidates. This ensures that groups privileged to receive tax-exempt contributions because they are educational, charitable or religious, are not misusing them for electioneering and partisan, political purposes. Kubal’s lawsuit argues that the free speech rights of Christian churches and organizations are “clearly chilled” by the IRS rule, even though the Johnson Amendment applies equally to all 501(c)(3) nonprofits.
In a blog titled “Are You a Christian Nationalist?” Kubal seemingly argues that Christians should not deny they are Christian nationalists. Kubal tries to depict Christians as a persecuted group.
“The uniqueness of America centers on this groundbreaking belief: It is God who gives us our rights,” he writes. “If you don’t agree that God gives us our rights, then you are out of sync with the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence, and 247 years of American history!”
Kubal has certainly earned his “theocrat” title.
Our “Secularist of the Week” is a religious studies scholar who studies the Christian nationalism that Kubal perpetuates. Matthew D. Taylor is an acclaimed expert in independent charismatic Christianity and Christian nationalism. He has a Ph.D. in theological and religious studies, with an emphasis in modern radical movements of Christians and Muslims. He challenges antisemitism, Islamophobia and Christian nationalism.
Taylor is the author of the upcoming book, The Violent Take it by Force, which details the history of the New Apostolic Reformation movement — consisting of evangelical Christians who believe they are waging spiritual battles on a massive scale — and its role on Jan. 6, 2021. Taylor spoke in July to FFRF’s Ozarks Chapter to discuss the growing threat of Christian nationalism.
He has exposed the meaning behind the “An Appeal to Heaven” flag present during the Jan. 6 riot, which was heavily associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement and was the flag that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito had flown at his beach house in 2023. Taylor lays out exactly how the flag became a commanding symbol for Christian nationalists and the New Apostolic movement, which believes itself to be ushering in a global Great Awakening and characterizes its leaders as apostles and prophets with spiritual authority endowed by God. Taylor explains how New Apostolic Reformation leaders promote “spiritual warfare” that aims to have Christians take “over America and other nations.” Leaders of this movement were among the first evangelical elites to endorse Trump in 2016.
Taylor was recently featured in a CBS News segment about how charismatic Christians are hoping to tip the election for Trump: “We are seeing here today the most targeted and tactical voter mobilization effort done by Christian nationalists ever.” Taylor warns that “if Trump wins, then that becomes a part of the impetus, that Donald Trump can say, ‘I don’t just have a democratic mandate, I have a divine mandate to change the country in accordance with the biblical values that these folks claim to have.’”
We thank our “secularist” for his crucial work publicizing this troubling movement. More Americans must be made aware of the real danger that awaits in November, in the form of Christian nationalism, and vote to protect our secular democracy from people like Dave Kubal.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.