FFRF Action Fund’s “Secularist of the Week” is a church historian and professor who has been an outspoken and early opponent of Christian nationalism, including at a recent Notre Dame conference.
Anthea Butler, an author and University of Pennsylvania professor, attended the annual Catholic Social Tradition Conference in late March, which was led by the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Social Concerns and cosponsored by the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. This year’s conference, “Signs of the Times: Interdisciplinary Responses to Religious Nationalism,” covered Christian nationalism’s presence in the United States, Latin America and the far right in Europe.
Butler appeared on the panel titled “What is Christian Nationalism?” and used her expertise to detail the scope of Christian nationalism in the United States. Butler explained that white Christian nationalism is “the operational religion of the land and the belief that Christianity should be the foundation for how the nation develops its laws, principles and policies.”
She added, “[Christian nationalism] is a takeover. It is a takeover of a nation that was founded on democratic principles.” Butler lamented that because of the embrace of white Christian nationalism, “Christianity has destroyed democracy in America.”
“My training really helped me to understand what is happening right now,” said Butler. She detailed how undocumented Latinos and other immigrants quickly understand the power that white Christian nationalists wield in the United States. “Native Americans, enslaved Africans and immigrants would accept and accede to this narrative of America as a Christian nation with white men as leaders.”
She also touched on the second Trump administration’s incessant attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies, relating the efforts to religious nationalism. She explained that within factions of Christian nationalists, “DEI” has become a disparaging insult or “a codeword for the N word.” Butler, a Black woman, said, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten an email that ended with ‘You’re just a DEI hire.’”
“You need to understand,” continued Butler, “that this brand of Christian nationalism does not want a Christian world, nor does it want democracy. It wants power.” Butler further explained that she’s “tired as a Black Catholic woman fighting not just for justice within the boundaries of this country but also in the church.”
Butler is a Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and the chair of the Religious Studies Department at the University of Pennsylvania. She wrote “White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America.” She also participated in the joint report on Christian nationalism at the Jan. 6 insurrection produced by the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Baptist Joint Committee.
Other panelists included Ryan Burge, a political scientist and professor at Eastern Illinois University, and Reggie Williams, a professor of theological studies at St. Louis University. Conference organizer Margaret Pfeil, assistant professor of moral theology at Notre Dame, moderated the panel. All panelists agreed that religious nationalism is hard to quantify, measure and define. Still, that white Christian nationalism is undoubtedly a major force that must be addressed in today’s political climate. Williams called Christian nationalism “the most important conversation that we could be having today.”
FFRF Action Fund thanks Butler and her fellow panelists for bringing awareness to the troubling and growing force of white Christian nationalism in the United States. Christian nationalism is ignored at the peril of our nation, and every effort to educate Americans on religious nationalism helps protect our secular democracy.
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.