The Christian Nation We Aren’t Ready For

Should Christianity have political influence in America is a question that will become increasingly discussed in the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections. The fact of the matter is that Christianity is naturally going to influence our government and our nation, considering the number of Christians that live and vote in the United States. The more important question is what kind of Christians parishes and congregations are producing and whether they are adequately prepared to ensure the survival and flourishing of a free, ordered society.

Christian civilization isn’t simply created out of thin air with the use of banners, slogans, mottos, or declarations. It is cultivated by Christian men and women who have been formed in sacrifice, self-denial, courage, forgiveness, and the belief that they are called to serve a purpose and a Being higher than themselves. A nation incapable of governing its own appetites cannot preserve the noble, laudable aspects of its character no matter how many stump speeches end with, “God bless America.”

Apparently, America is facing an enormous Christian nationalism crisis. Depending on whom you ask, these Christian nationalists are the last fail-safe against full-scale national suicide or theocratic psychopaths no different than members of al-Qaeda or the IRA. The question, frankly, is lazy at best and wholly exhausting. Attempting to determine whether or not America is a Christian nation glances over the more important analysis of whether or not American Christians are actually Christian.

Secularism in the United States tends to view a robust, public witness to Christ with suspicion if not downright contempt. Christians and Christianity itself are castigated as remnants from a largely regrettable past replete with unforgivable sins and directives that are pointed to as the causes of every evil of Western civilization throughout the course of its history. Therefore, the definition of what a Christian is can only be thoroughly negative and worthy of sociopolitical ostracization.

Without explicitly stating it, modernity commands that Christians leave their Christianity at home and face the world with a completely secular set of ideas and criteria by which they make decisions. Once this is accomplished, modern society then congratulates itself on tolerating Christians—only after they have been rendered politically harmless.

A Christian who truly believes in the Gospel and participates in the life of his or her church will naturally carry the aspects of their Christianity into the voting booth with them. With the current uptick in church attendance and affiliation across the West—and especially in the United States—it would seem as if the tide is finally shifting away from postmodernist piffle back toward the timeless philosophy of Christ and His Church. However, the Christian-American should hold off on celebrating just yet.

Unfortunately, Christian nationalism has been largely co-opted by some members of the political Right who are more concerned with counting cultural cool than promoting policy and legislation that steers the country toward a more authentic expression of Christian ethics. A Christian country isn’t created by ensuring that there are American flags in churches or that Ten Commandments legislation is given a national audience. It is not cultivated by how many baptized, vocal Christians are elected or tweet “Christ is King” on their 𝕏 feeds. It is not solidified by “owning the libs.”

Christianity stripped of sacrifice and selflessness becomes tribalism with a crucifix. When Christ and His Church are seen as nothing more than assets to a team sport, the entirety of His message is manipulated and politicized beyond the point of recognition. If I self-identify as a conservative Christian but I abandon my marriage when it becomes difficult, consume pornography, refuse children because they inconvenience me, live beyond my means, despise my political enemies, and spend six hours a day staring at a phone, exactly what Christian civilization am I conserving?

A republic requires people to say “no” to survive. Political self-government without a voting population that practices personal self-government cannot survive. Catholicism teaches precisely what is needed in order for a man or woman to perform self-governance in a manner that will bear both spiritual and physical fruit in their lives. The virtues of temperance, justice, charity, and fortitude teach the Catholic Christian that we are capable of being wrong. But we are also capable of healing those wrongs with diligent prayer, self-reflection, an amended life, and the grace of Our Lord through the reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Modern culture asks us to express ourselves, find our truths, and slough off the things that deny us happiness. Christianity challenges us to deny ourselves, conform ourselves to the Truth of the Gospel, and take up our own crosses.

The real Christian nationalism crisis has to do completely with formation. As a high school teacher, I have the privilege of working with teenagers every day. Over the course of my career, I have become acutely aware of a difference in the kids that sit in my classroom every day. They are, more and more, finding their formation in institutions that teach them that their truest form of self and deepest experience of happiness comes from a lack of self-restraint.

A nation that trains its children from a young age to constantly look for ways to sate their basest desires and instincts will naturally attempt to form and cultivate governments that exist solely for that purpose. The opposite of a Christian nation may not be a state that denies the existence of God. It could very well be a state that recognizes God but fosters a deep egoistic emphasis on the self rather than the willingness to sacrifice for the benefit of the neighbor.

The answer to all of this is actually quite simple. If you want America to be a distinctly Christian nation, then that’s fine. Start producing more Christians. This starts in the home with families that understand that sacrifice is one of the essential building blocks of love and community. It is fostered by parents who are visible in their prayer, Catholic schools that are unapologetically Catholic in their character, people who forgive their enemies, and parishes filled with congregants who actually know one another and care for one another. Providing an example to the younger generation is the first step in ensuring that the Christians we are creating aren’t Christians merely in name only.

The fantasy is that Washington can restore a civilization that American families, churches, schools, and individuals are unwilling to live. Politics matter. Laws matter. Elections matter. But as Andrew Breitbart said, “Politics is downstream from culture,” and if Americans cannot govern themselves, eventually somebody else will. Looking into the culture to dismantle the insidious pitfalls and landmines that have taken the soul out of Christian life is the job of each Christian, first and foremost.

So, is America a Christian nation? That is increasingly beside the point. The more pressing concern is whether enough Christians are willing to live an authentically Christian life so that their families, schools, institutions, and, eventually, government are recognizably Christian?

Christian civilization will not be restored because a politician invokes God from behind a podium. It will be restored, if it is restored at all, by ordinary Christians doing extraordinarily unfashionable things—such as remaining married, raising children, controlling their appetites, honoring their obligations, forgiving their enemies, worshipping God, caring for their parents, and accepting that freedom sometimes means refusing ourselves what we desperately want. Perhaps before Christians worry about taking back their country, they should focus on taking back themselves.