Christian Nationalism + Politics in the United States and Poland

Christian nationalism in Poland and the United States has been on the rise, especially in

the last five years. I utilize these two countries’ most recent elections, the United States in 2016

and Poland in 2020, to argue that there has been an increase in support of conservatism and since

then more policies have been placed to push an extremist conservative agenda. Through history

and prior research, there is evidence that this nationalistic sentiment often comes from

evangelical Christians and attitudes that are prevalent throughout the Old Testament of the Bible.

Religious tolerance and tolerance for those who may have a different lifestyle (LGBTQ+, atheist,

etc.) is also a very important subject that comes up when discussing the effects of conservative

Christianity and politics.

Christianity itself is not a hateful or nationalistic religion. Despite this, we have seen an

increase in extremely conservative Christians engaging in hate speech and calling for Christian

ideals to be upheld in nations that are considered secular. This movement is called Christian

nationalism, “an ideology that fuses Christianity with civic life” (Davis, 2019). The ideology of

this movement comes straight from the Bible. Christian nationalism draws its roots from the Old

Testament, finding parallels between a country and “ Israel, who was commanded to maintain

cultural and blood purity, often through war, conquest, and separatism” (Whitehead et al., 2018).

Another aspect of Christian nationalism that is very important to note is its ties to

evangelicalism. Evangelicalism is often associated with Protestants who stress the authority of

the Bible and have a “born again” experience. We find that in the case of Christian nationalism,

evangelicalism can be trans-denominational, such as in the case of Poland which is a primarily

Catholic country. In defining these types of evangelicals, they have a set of core principles:
basing their faith on the Bible, personal conversion and salvation, spreading the faith and atoning

for sins.

So what Christianity in the United States was tied to politics in many ways,

especially when looking back to the first settlers on this land. The Puritans and Pilgrims were the

first people to bring Christianity to North America. As the colonies grew, it became evident that

there was an “emphasis on biblical Christianity, religious liberty...and a strong work ethic”

(Kurian et al., 2016). As time went on, the First Great Awakening happened which became the

start of evangelicalism becoming a norm in the United States. By the American Revolution, we

see how the founding fathers sought to establish a secular nation. While many of the documents

do mention God, it is meant to be taken “in a generic sense, and they make no reference to Christ

or Christianity” (Kurian et al., 2016). Thomas Jefferson added a clause in the Constitution that

specifically called for separation of church and state. This held true the newly created United

States would be a secular nation yet it would still “would hang on to its Christian culture and

character”(Kurian et al., 2016).

Fast forward to the 20th Century and we see where this modern “Religious Right” came

from. In the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter showed how one could be a conservative Christian

but still progressive political views. This ideology was considered the “Evangelical Left”. The

pushback to that was the “Religious Right” where “conservative Protestants joined conservative

Catholics and members of other Christian groups, including Mormons, to combat the perceived

threat of secularism”(Kurian et al., 2016). As the years went on, immigration was another factor

that made this “Religious Right” become stronger in their ideology as they perceived those who

were non-Christian to be the threat. This sentiment grew even further after 9/11. Following the
attacks on theTwin Towers, many Christians saw Islam as the enemy. This eventually gave rise

to the Christian Nationalist sentiment that we have seen in the last few years.

In 2015, we saw Christian Nationalism in America peak. Donald Trump campaigned for

president on the myth that the United States was founded on as a Christian nation. The most

interesting part of this election cycle is that Trump himself is not religious and in fact has proven

to not adhere to core Christian principles. So how did he win the Christian vote? For starters,

political party has a lot to do with how the conservative base in America votes. In this day and

age, the issues of “abortion and same-sex marriage are the glue holding the coalition of relgious

together” (Putnam & Campbell, 2018), two issues that Trump campaigned heavily on.

Evangelicals usually like to stay far from politics, but with the rising Christian nationalist

sentiment, many of them ignored Trump’s non pious manner as they knew the agenda they

wanted would get fulfilled by him. While Christian nationalism was growing far before this

election, Trump’s rhetoric appealed to this base. He used verbiage that sounded apocalyptic,

claiming that this election would be “conservative Christians’ “last chance” for citizens to

protect America’s religious heritage and win back a chance at securing a Christian future”

(Whitehead et al., 2018). In addition, he spoke a lot about the persecution of Christians in other

countries such as Syria, saying that without banding together now the US could reach that point.

Although now in 2020, years after this election, we have found that this Christian

nationalist sentiment and support for Trump has not dwindled. Despite him not winning the most

recent presidential election, “President Trump holds the distinction, however, of earning the

second-most votes all time. About 74 million Americans voted for him” (Montanaro, 2020). The

sheer number of votes shows how Christian nationalism is still alive and well in this country.

According to a study in 2020 conducted by Baker et al., there is a symbiotic nature between
Christian nationalism, xenophobia and Islamophobia. Trump and his administration played on

this by making non-Christian refugees look as if they are undeserving of federal resources. In

doing so, they normalized speaking out against minority groups in the name of religion and

showed an increase in xenophobic rhetoric.

Another side effect of Christian nationalism in the United States is the handling and

compliance during the coronavirus pandemic. According to a study this year by Perry et al.,

“Christian nationalism was the leading predictor that Americans engaged in incautious behavior

like eating in restaurants, visiting family/friends, or gathering with 10+ persons (though not

attending church), and was the second strongest predictor that Americans took fewer precautions

like wearing a mask or sanitizing/washing one's hands”. Many pastors at this time praised Trump

for upholding an anti-abortion agenda and used this as a tool to justify not complying with

Covid-19 regulations. They say that the pandemic is a way of God to impose divine judgment on

Earth and that this was a sign that he would get rid of those who are deemed “immoral”. Many

Christians who adhere to this ideology also believe that these precautions are a ploy to create a

war against religion since religious institutions were asked to host virtual services during the

height of the pandemic. The rhetoric from leaders like Trump have also created distrust towards

healthcare and science. Many conservative Americans “believe we rely too much on science and

not enough on faith, that scientists are hostile to faith”(Perry et al., 2020). These factors show

how Christian nationalism and politics has touched all parts of American society.

Similar to America, Poland has also seen similar situations regarding Christian

nationalism and society. To understand where Christian nationalism comes from in this country,

we have to look at the history of religion in Poland. Poland, originally a pagan nation, was one of

the last places in Europe to embrace Christianity. Missionaries were sent there in 994 to convert
the inhabitants here and by the “ the end of the twelfth century, paganism in Poland had been

largely extinguished”(Ramet, 2017). Fast forward to The Protestant Reformation, we see that this

split from the Catholic Church was mostly ineffective in changing Poles’ minds. In fact, only the

gentry class and nobility of Poland switched to Protestantism. Eventually Protestantism here

faded away as “the peasants were not caught up in the Reformation” and “there was the problem

of disunity among the Protestants” (Ramet, 2017). Between 1795 and 1918, Poland was

oppressed by the Prussian and Russian authorities. Through this difficult period the “Catholic

Church stood by the Polish nation and played a central role in preserving Polish culture and the

Polish language, and that the Church stood by the Polish people when they rose up against

Russian rule in the great rebellions launched in 1830 and 1863” (Ramet, 2017). This support

from the Church is what kept many people loyal to the religion.

Today, many researchers have found that despite the growing liberal views from the

younger generation in Poland many of them “ continue to identify overwhelmingly with

Catholicism, even while going their own way in sexual matters” (Borowik, 2016). This is due to

the strong faith the Polish people have in the Catholic church as they helped the Polish people in

their times of need throughout history. With Poland being 90 percent Catholic, you can see

through their official documents that although they are not technically ruled by Catholicism, they

include many Catholic teachings. For example, if we look at the Polish constitution, they

mention God many times. There is a call for religious tolerance but despite technically being a

secular state, they use a line alluding to the fact that one may not share the same God as a

Catholic or Christian. One part of the constitution that shows how much of an influence the

Church has on the state is Article 18. In this Article it states “Marriage, being a union of a man
and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood and parenthood, shall be placed under the

protection and care of the Republic of Poland” (Borowik, 2016).

Now looking at the most recent presidential election in Poland, we see how these

conservative Catholic views have become a form of Christian nationalism. In this election,

President Duda held very similar views to Trump. He represented the upholding of traditional

family values and campaigned on very right- wing nationalist policies. With the growing number

of people with liberal ideology, Poland has fought hard to maintain this traditionalism hence the

increase in Christian nationalist rhetoric and the outcome of this election.

Some of this Christian nationalist sentiment is tied to xenophobia and Islamophobia,

much like the United States. In Poland, Islam is the minority and with the increase in refugees

fleeing to Europe, it has increased hate speech and attacks on Muslims in this country. In

Warsaw specifically, there is a decently sized Muslim population. In an attempt to establish a

community for themselves they attempted to create “a Muslim Community Centre in Warsaw in

the early 2010s triggered anti-Muslim rhetoric, which approached the project as an unwelcomed

expression of radical Islam linked to terrorism”( Topidi, 2019). However, the difference between

Poland and the US in this case is that Poland has never experienced something as large as 9/11.

Their pushback to Islam is purely on what they have imagined Islamic communities to be if they

let them reside in their country.

Another issue caused by Poland’s increased Christian nationalism is that in a “little over a

year, hundreds of regions across Poland — covering about a third of the country, and more than

10 million citizens — have transformed themselves, overnight, into so-called ‘LGBT-free

zones’”(In Poland’s ‘LGBT-free zones,’ existing is an act of defiance, 2020). These zones are

places where Christian nationalist sentiment is basically written into local law. They say that
LGBTQ+ people disrupt traditional family values and these zones are meant to stop them from

practicing
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