6th place — 2026 First in the Family essay contest: Carina Reyes Ortiz
FFRF awarded Carina $1,000.
By Carina Reyes Ortiz
I grew up in a Puerto Rican household where faith meant service, love, sacrifice and community. It sounded like Spanish Christian music playing through my grandmother’s house on Saturday mornings and looked like my mother praying quietly at night after exhausting days, while still finding the strength to raise four children.
Christianity, in my life, was never about power. It was about compassion. That is why white Christian nationalism feels so deeply offensive to me as both a Christian and a Latina. White Christian nationalism takes faith and turns it into a weapon. As the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty explains, “White Christian nationalism seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy.”
That distortion is dangerous because it pushes the idea that America belongs to one specific type of person: white, conservative, English-speaking and “Christian” in a narrow political sense. Historically, movements rooted in white Christian nationalism defended segregation and discrimination while using religion as justification.
Today, much of that same fear has simply been redirected toward immigrants and communities of color. As a young Puerto Rican woman from Philadelphia, I have seen the damage this mindset creates. I have heard immigrants described as burdens instead of human beings.
Through internships, I worked with Latino families navigating immigration concerns, housing instability and discrimination. Many of those families were deeply religious themselves, yet they were still treated as outsiders by people claiming to defend “Christian values.” That contradiction has always angered me.
There is nothing Christian about using religion to justify cruelty, racism or exclusion. There is nothing Christian about making immigrant families feel disposable while quoting scripture at the same time. White Christian nationalism distorts faith into something rooted in fear and superiority rather than humility and love. It is also a direct threat to our secular democracy. The United States was built on the principle that no single religion should control the government.
Once political power becomes tied to one religious identity, minority communities become vulnerable. People who do not fit that image of America begin to have their humanity questioned, their rights debated and their voices silenced. I refuse to accept the idea that patriotism belongs only to certain people or that God belongs only to certain communities.
My Puerto Rican identity, my faith and my voice belong in this country, too. I plan to study political science and pursue law because I want to fight for communities that are too often ignored or stereotyped. I want immigrant families, Latino communities and young girls who look like me to know they deserve dignity, protection and representation. Faith should never be used to make people feel smaller. If anything, it should challenge us to stand up louder for those whose humanity is constantly questioned.
Carina, 18, attends West Chester University and plans to major in political science.
“I’m a proud Puerto Rican student from Philadelphia,” Carina writes. “During high school, I earned an associate’s degree through the Community College of Philadelphia, graduating cum laude before even receiving my high school diploma. Alongside balancing high school and college coursework, I also dedicated my time to volunteering in elementary schools, mentoring younger students and encouraging them to believe in their own potential.”
