Fritz Lampe: We Belong 12, Contextual Frameworks of Christian Nationalism
GUEST AUTHOR. Frederick (Fritz) Lampe (PhD, Syracuse) is an applied cultural anthropologist who studies, researches, and writes about religion and the role it plays in shaping social ideas and practices. Ordained as a Lutheran pastor, his interest in the culture-religious dynamic emerged when serving as Lutheran Chaplain at the University of Technology in Papua New Guinea followed by ten years in Alaska, and then doctoral research in East Africa. Retired from Northern Arizona University, he enjoys life in the Colorado foothills.
Part II: America’s Origin Story and Today’s White House
Ted writes. Here Fritz Lampe continues his detailed dissection of Christian nationalism (Cn) by looking through an anthropologist’s microscope. The symptoms are ominous, perhaps even fatal. We need a diagnosis that could lead to a successful therapy.
Fritz Lampe writes. In my previous post I included basic anthropological approaches to cultural phenomena, specifically religious movements. I also highlighted some of the ways stories of identity and origin shape the moral codes being enforced through Executive Actions.
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In what follows I will parse some of the underlying frameworks and the context from which it emerges in order to contextualize Cn’s current rise. In the third column post I will use this complexity to suggest ways for readers to engage with people with what is becoming a potent socio-religio-political force, Cn.
America’s Origin Story
Philip Gorski, a Yale historian, introduces the origin story Cn tells itself.
“The Deep Story runs like this. America was founded as a Christian nation. The founders were orthodox Christians. The founding documents were based on, quote, biblical principle or perhaps even divinely inspired. The United States has a special role to play in history . . . [as the] chosen nation in order to carry out [God’s] mission” (Gorski and Stern 2025).
Origin stories, sometimes called “myths of origin,” are used to explain who a particular people are, why they are where they are, and their uniqueness contra others. The Cn origin story casts America’s founders as Christian. But the fact is that the founders represented many Protestant movements and Roman Catholicism while heavily influenced by Deism. In distinction from traditional Christians, deists held that “human experience and rationality – rather than religious dogma and mystery – determine the validity of human beliefs” (Holmes 2006). In short, it is misleading to assert that all of America’s founders were of one mind regarding the Christian tradition.
Gorski and Stern go on to describe Cn’s version of the divine blessing bestowed on the US: prosperity and power. According to Cn, God’s covenantal relationship with America is in jeopardy and so it is up to the faithful to restore it to its rightful place as a Christian nation. This includes reclaiming its place over those threatening its existence including non-white, non-Christian, non-native born people.
Project 2025 and Today’s White House
Project 2025, discussed below, is being used to direct current White House administrative policies. In an interview on the PBS Newshour David A. Graham, author of The Project (2025), was reported as writing: “Project 2025 envisions America where abortion is strictly illegal, sex is closely policed, public schools don’t exist, and justice is harsh, all in accordance with fundamentalist Christian principles” (Barron-Lopez 2025).
The Heterogeneity of Christian Nationalism
Is Cn a homogenous movement? In a word, no. Although many report Cn as being largely composed of poor, uneducated, white, evangelicals (see Fisher Jr. 2024), this is not accurate. Racial ascription begins to complicate individuals aligning with Cn. Some Black Protestants are sympathetic to the general goals of Cn although a coalition of leaders have distanced themselves from the current movement, calling out its underlying racism (Fisher, 2024) (Anthony & al, 2025).
Hispanic Protestant Americans generally support Cn’s goals while Hispanic Roman Catholics do not. The former who self-identify as white are “more likely to hold Christian nationalist views (58%) than those who identify as nonwhite (43%). Hispanic Catholics, however, show the reverse. Non- White Hispanic Catholics are more likely to identify with Christian nationalism (36%) than white Hispanic Catholics (25%)” (Huizar-Hernandez 2025; see Hertzler-McCain 2024). It is unclear how these numbers might change with deportations of immigrants extending far beyond the original promise of only deporting those deemed to be dangerous to society. The ways whiteness is determined and defined by Latinos is in contrast to the ways some advocating for white racial purity do may also reshape opinions on Cn.
The claim by adherents that Cn is a dominant force appears to be inflated. Rather, an estimated 10% of the US population consider themselves adherents to Cn, 20% are sympathizers, numbers that have remained constant since first polled in 2022 (PRRI, 2025).
Not all white evangelicals subscribe to Cn nor are all people promoting its goals evangelical. People interested in defending western culture find Cn a useful tool as they seek to achieve their aim of reclaiming a white-centric nation (see Gorski, Perry, and Tisby 2022, 8ff).
Christian nationalism’s current rise has links to people working in the current White House administration. In a widely reported hidden-camera interview, Russell Vought (hereafter, RV) self-identifies as a Christian nationalist (Reporting, 2024).
Project Esther as a Death Star
New Director of the Office of Budget Management and reported architect of Project 2025, Russell Vought, described his formation of the Center for Renewing America as “An organization that I helped turn into the death star . . . I think you have to rehabilitate Christian Nationalism” (0:53/9:51). One of the Executive Actions that came out of his team’s work is evident in a position paper outlining ways to respond to those showing support for Palestinians.
A recent New York Times article on Project Esther (PE) highlights its goal to shut down any pro-Palestinian movements in the United States (K.J.M. Baker 2025). The project’s authors argue that challenges to Israel’s right to exist are similar to events in Persia in the mid-fourth century BCE. PE’s subtitle is “A National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism.” It goes on to provide a blueprint to ensure prosperity and security for all Americans. People drawing attention to the plight of Muslims in general or Palestinians in particular vis-à-vis Israel should be considered a part of the Hamas Support Network (HSN) and in direct conflict with American values, its citizens, and national interests.
Project Esther’s conflation of people calling for the protection of Palestinians includes imploring Americans to stand up to those threatening Israel and its interests. The Project closes using words inscribed on the Holocaust Memorial and attributed to Martin Niemoller, “Then they came for me – and there was no one let to speak for me” (Marcuse 2014).[4]
Some Jewish bloggers and organizations quickly distanced themselves from PE. Their response is titled: “Project Esther Isn’t for Us – And It’s Not About Our Safety.” They went on to argue “It’s a political weapon – used to silence dissent, target progressives, and push a far-right agenda that puts all of us at risk” (Lawson 2025). Some Jewish organizations equated this as an example of Cn (Ward and Sentner 2025; Omer et al. 2025).
The recent release of a declaratory letter, signed by people who have served in various organizations in the past, calls for respecting free speech, due process, freedom of the press, and academic freedom while cautioning against the exploitation of Jewish fears (Democracy, 2025). Project Esther’s emphasis on Israel is very deliberate. Eschatological models used by Cn include a belief that God’s promises to Abraham and subsequently with Israel are unconditional and eternal.
Cn as International
Yet this movement is not new or a uniquely American phenomenon. Christian nationalist movements are not limited to the United States. Anthropological research in Oceania, Africa, and Latin America demonstrate elements similar what is occurring in the United States.[5] For example, anthropologist Naomi Haynes’ description of Cn in Zambia seems applicable; Cn is “the broad but nevertheless explicit convergence of visions of national identity or destiny with narratives of Christian election or providence” (Haynes, 2021, p. 215).
My own experiences overseas and in campus ministry echoes this. Phrases such as “chosen generation” and “holy nation,” inspired by 1 Peter 2:9, regularly appear in prayer and praise in Pentecostal and Evangelical study and worship. This phrase is a part of a larger collection of teachings leading some to believe God has called the current generation to actualize a holy nation by uniting national policies with conservative Christian principles.
Endnotes
4 Niemoller’s words, etched on the Holocaust Memorial, are being used as a rallying cry by people resisting current Administration actions, including limiting open debate, shutting down diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, deportations and imprisonment of immigrants within the United States — it is interesting that the HF is using the same words as a call to action in the P.
5 The reasons for this replication are complex, including the diffusion of cultural concepts of personhood accompanying neo-Pentecostal and Evangelical movements emanating from the United States over the past few decades.
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[i] Niemoller’s words, etched on the Holocaust Memorial, are being used as a rallying cry by people resisting current Administration actions, including limiting open debate, shutting down diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, deportations and imprisonment of immigrants within the United States — it is interesting that the HF is using the same words as a call to action in the P.
[ii] The reasons for this replication are complex, including the diffusion of cultural concepts of personhood
accompanying neo-Pentecostal and Evangelical movements emanating from the United States over the past few decades.
[iii] The reasons for this replication are complex, including the diffusion of cultural concepts of personhood
accompanying neo-Pentecostal and Evangelical movements emanating from the United States over the past few decades.