The Rise of Christian Nationalism: Film Screening and Panel Discussion Featuring Former Church Members
In this CNN documentary, which first aired on CNN March 22, Pamela Brown examines the growing influence of Christian nationalism in American society; exploring how a movement once largely confined to the margins of white evangelical culture has gained new visibility and political power.
CNN Chief Investigative Correspondent Pamela Brown examines the growing influence of Christian nationalism, an ideology rooted in the belief that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and that its laws and institutions should reflect Christian values. Through immersive reporting and on-the-ground access, the film explores how a movement once largely confined to the margins of white evangelical culture has gained new visibility and political power.
“My reporting for this hour began early last year when I visited Moscow, Idaho to interview Pastor Douglas Wilson. The response to that report was overwhelming and highlighted the need to better understand this movement working to redefine America as a Christian nation in the home, in a marriage, in schools and in government,” said Brown. “We embedded with a community under Pastor Wilson’s umbrella and spoke to women who have left the church and are now sounding the alarm. No matter where you live or what you believe, what we learned is especially consequential at this moment.”
In “The Rise of Christian Nationalism,” Brown travels to faith-centered communities where Christian nationalist ideas shape daily life, education, and governance. She sits down with prominent religious leaders who have helped build networks of churches and schools designed to instill a strict, literal interpretation of the Bible. She also speaks with women who are former church members, sharing accounts of religious trauma, rigid gender roles, and in some cases, abuse within Christian nationalist communities.
Featured panelists, all of whom appear in the film, are:
- Margaret Bronson was raised in a theonomist cult in Southeastern Pennsylvania. She escaped at 19 and now lives with her husband and 4 children and has dedicated her life to helping others escape their cults. She is a co-founder of DeconstructionDoulas.com, a peer support network that helps people leave high-control religious communities and supports those who have escaped.
- Katie Jennings was raised in the “shiny happy people” cult of IBLP (Institute of Basic Life Principles) in central Texas. She married young and was a trad-wife for 15 years, homeschooling 6 kids and living as a missionary and pastor’s wife in a reformed Christian denomination overseas. Katie was forced to deconstruct when the systems that promised to protect her failed to do so, and she has spent the last few years working hard to find the path to healing for herself and her family.
- Abi Bechard is the oldest of 10 children and a homeschool alumna. Her deconstruction from the CREC (Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches) began in earnest after abuse was discovered in her family of origin and her body and mind broke down in motherhood. Now she owns a local third space and is passionate about healing through communal embodiment.
All are survivors of evangelical/fundamentalist sects. In an evangelical/fundamentalist context, “survivor” can mean any number of things. In this context, we use the word “survivor” to refer to anyone who has left a religious/spiritual context in which they experienced spiritual, emotional, sexual, psychological, and/or corporal abuse. Many fundamentalist sects, especially, teach corporal punishment and complementarianism (ie strict gender roles that includes male supremacy/control) as a spiritual mandate. These teachings often lead to domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence. Paired with a high-control and deeply authoritarian church leadership structure, these teachings are particularly dangerous and often ignored completely within fundamentalist and evangelical Christian traditions. LifeWay Research — a leading evangelical research firm measuring needs in the church and culture — in its own 2014 study found 74% of pastors underestimate DV in their congregations, 42% rarely or never speak about it, and 62% provide couples counseling to DV victims – a practice DV experts consider dangerous or potentially lethal.
