Grad student essay contest 2024 — 1st place: Ashley M. Wojcik

FFRF awarded Ashley $3,500.

By Ashley M. Wojcik

The first time I was exposed to the idea of Christianity being the perceived norm in my country, I was 10 years old. In my fifth-grade social studies class, we had a group discussion regarding differences in culture. The topic of discussion turned to Africa. One of my classmates’ older siblings had gone on a mission trip of some kind to an African country to preach the gospel and spread the “truth” as they saw it. My classmate spoke of how proud she was of her brother saving those poor souls in Africa who didn’t know Jesus as their savior — and therefore saving them.

My naive 10-year-old self asked how it was that the others were not “saved” if they do not know the alternative, and what happens if they are not told about Jesus? Did they really deserve to go to hell? My classmate’s answer was clear. “Yes. They are wrong and they should be punished.” 

Of course, my classmate also spoke from a place of childhood naivete, but the programming involved is very clear. Somehow, by the age of 10, a child had been convinced that anyone who was not of her family’s religion deserved to be doomed to eternal suffering.  This is the insidious message of American Christian nationalism: You are with us or you deserve to suffer. I find this viewpoint deeply morally repugnant.

At its core, Christian nationalism represents warped ideology intertwining Christian faith with national identity and divine governance. It asserts that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and that its laws should reflect this absolutely. This perspective undermines the principles of secularism, personal freedom and personal identity and choices that may not fall in line with these “laws.” These imposed beliefs go far beyond uncomfortable interactions with peers. They threaten our fundamental rights regardless of religious affiliation.

Christian viewpoints are given privileged status in the United States whether we acknowledge it or not. When we as a nation shape legislation and public policy in accordance with religious doctrine, we are giving deference to one belief over all others. The effects of this conditioning that affects a large percentage of our population is clear.

We see it every day during political debates, proposed legislative actions and statements explicitly focusing on Christian values. We see this when we consider the abortion debate and the loss of Roe v. Wade, gay rights and the controversy surrounding the repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, and the somewhat vilified concept of leadership arising from a culture that is not based in Christianity.

During President Obama’s terms as president, one only had to turn on any given talking head station to see discussions of his theorized Islamic beliefs. To them, the fact that their president might not be Christian was not just a difference in belief, but tantamount to evil itself. 

One of the most pressing concerns that I have is the nationalist impact on reproductive rights. Conservative public officials and lawmakers have pushed agendas openly protecting “Christian values” and have enacted increasingly restrictive abortion laws, infringing upon the reproductive autonomy of individuals. Such legislation undermines the personal choice that is completely elective abortion and also threatens ease of access in unfortunate situations such as devastating and fatal fetal genetic anomalies. To twist the debate into a black-and-white argument about “sin” is to refuse to acknowledge the reality of the issue entirely. We see similar advancement of nationalist agendas with regards to LGBTQ-plus rights. Conservative preachers and politicians frequently espouse homophobic and transphobic rhetoric, seeking to justify discriminatory policies under the guise of religious freedom. 

By holding Christianity over the rights of not only marginalized communities but our nation as a whole, Christian nationalism perpetuates systemic inequality, destroys our nation’s most cherished principles of equality and justice for all, and increases suffering and alienation of many who do not wish to participate or live our lives by that belief system. Therefore, Christian nationalism poses not only a grave threat to our personal freedoms, but to the future of our democracy. There are many of us who have come to grips with the idea that while we love our country, our country does not love us.

When Christianity is regarded as the “default” and a prerequisite for being a moral individual, there is no room for freedom. For these reasons, Christian nationalism is not only wrong but explicitly unAmerican. 

Ashley Wojcik, 30, attends Arizona State University as a pre-med student.

“After graduating high school, I worked as a medical transcriptionist for 10 years,” Ashley writes. “I am the first in my immediate family to go to college.  Eventually, I decided that I wanted to pursue becoming a medical doctor to further my interests in science and aiding others. For the last year and a half, I have been working as a certified clinical medical assistant in a local medical center, where I have learned the true value of health care workers and our impact on people’s lives.”