Special report: Christian nationalism and Jan. 6

The Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty have together published “Christian Nationalism and the January 6, 2021, Insurrection,” a comprehensive report of how Christian nationalism played an integral role in last year’s Capitol insurrection. 

“Even with the voluminous coverage of the events of Jan. 6, 2021, one area that has not yet been studied enough is the role that Christian nationalism played in bolstering, justifying and intensifying the attack on the U.S. Capitol,” writes Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee.

The full report will be available in February. 

“Drawing on reporting, videos, statements and images from the attack and its precursor events, this report contains the most comprehensive account of Christian nationalism and its role in the Jan. 6 insurrection,” Tyler writes. 

The contributors include Tyler; Andrew Whitehead and Sam Perry, authors of Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States; Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism; Dr. Jemar Tisby, author of The Color of Compromise; and Andrew L. Seidel, director of strategic response at FFRF and author of The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American, which was just released in paperback with a new epilogue that’s about Jan. 6. 

The report includes an overview of Christian nationalist demographics and statistics, and a look at who is behind the network of money and power that support Christian nationalism. The bulk of the report includes the evidence compiled by Seidel. It concludes with potential solutions of how to combat Christian nationalism. 

“The scale and severity of the Jan. 6 attack warrant a dedicated report of this kind.”