Exploration of the concepts and arguments surrounding the rise of Christian Nationalism
Christian nationalism now dominates in the USA and in Russia such that Christian values have been overtaken by the imperatives of maintaining political power at the expense of the example of Christ, his humility and his care of others upon which our successful, multi-millenial, Christian communities have been based.
The Cape of Good Hope
Nationalist Christianity is not new but the setting up of the Dutch East India Company in what was then known as the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 set the scene for a complex history of land take-over from native Khoikhoi accompanied by warfare, the use of local people for cheap labour in the mining industry and then the imposition of ideas of separation between the native population, the Dutch colonisers and other immigrant groups. This seems to have been based on a fear by the Dutch of being absorbed into the local, native cultures which they regarded as inferior. This was accompanied by slavery which evolved into indentured labour. A male, secret society dedicated to the advancement of the Afrikaner people, The Bruderbund, proposed racial separation in 1933. Over time, diverse legislation used to differentiate racial groups, culminated in the declaration of Apartheid or separation in 1948. This was based on the view that the white racial group was in charge and should act as “guardians” for other racial groups some of which had their own lands.
The Dutch Reform Church (a Calvinist church formed in the Dutch Republic in 1571) used a number of biblical references to justify their ideas of separation, such as the story of the Tower of Babel whose builders separate into a number of groups divided by language (Deuteronomy 32:8). Noah's curse on Canaan son of Ham, who had embarrassed the patriarch by pointing out his nakedness when drunk on wine, was also projected onto racial relationships. “Cursed be Canaan; lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers” (Genesis 9: 25). Perhaps most pertinent of all, Joshua 9:27 describes how, after a prolonged war and the destruction of many tribes, the Gibeonites are spared by Joshua, but they are to become “hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation...”, in other words, a subject people. The story of the Khoikhoi in the Cape recapitulates that of the Gibeonites under Joshua's armies.
When the Lights Went out All Over Europe
In Europe prior to WWII, Christian Nationalism was manifested by what is now known as Clerical Fascism. A key example of a Christian nationalist was Alois Karl Hudal (1885–1963) who became Bishop of Aela and was involved in German/Austrian politics between the two World Wars. He moved from a position of criticism of National Socialism to full support by 1937 when he wrote his book “The Foundation of National Socialism” which caused him to be increasingly ignored by Rome after a period of familiarity with the Curia.
So why was Hudal attracted to fascism? The key movement toward National Socialism for such people seems to have been associated with a fear of Communism (specifically Bolshevism) and the so-called Bulwark theory: the need to protect Rome from invasion from the East by Russian Communism which, it was believed, would have destroyed Christianity. There was also the hope of the reunification of Rome and Catholicism with the Eastern Orthodox, and rescuing the “crushed” Russian Orthodox church.
The Bulwark theory led to support of National Socialism on the grounds that it would defend Christianity, despite crucial Nazi ideologues such as Alfred Rosenberg and Ernst Bergman despising Christianity, considering it “alien to Germanic Genius”. On the other hand, we are told “The condemnation by the Holy Office of Rosenberg's The Myth of the Twentieth Century in 1934 and, shortly thereafter, of Bergmann's The German National Church had been based on Hudal's assessment of those works.”
Hudal wrote: "If National Socialism wants to replace Christianity by the notions of race and blood, we will have to face the greatest heresy of the twentieth century. It must be rejected by the Church as decisively, if not more severely, than L'Action Française with which it shares some errors. But Rosenberg's doctrine is more imbued with negation and creates, above all in the youth, a hatred against Christianity greater than that of Nietzsche...” (L'Action Française was a right-wing, conservative, monarchist, anti-French-revolutionary group of Catholics who were eventually disowned by the Church in 1926, but who were revived under Petain and his Vichy government)
Despite these criticisms Hudal appears to have moved steadily towards supporting National Socialism. At the same time he started to make anti-semitic statements. Post-war he organised the so-called Ratlines which facilitated the escape of hardline Nazis to South America and the Middle East, including Adolf Eichmann who had been responsible for the practical implementation of the Holocaust and who was finally kidnapped by Israel and executed in May 1962. He also arranged escapes of some allied prisoners of war.
Hudal excused his ratline activity as "a charity to people in dire need, for persons without any guilt who are to be made scapegoats for the failures of an evil system." It is believed he ran them from his Church Santa Maria Dell'Anima in Rome and shelter was given to escapees in various monasteries and convents.
A Modern Version of Nationalistic Christianity: J.D. Vance 2026, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith. Harper Collins, 288p
Early in the book promoting Vance promotes Christ's teaching. However in the “Epilogue” the whole idea of Catholicism unwinds in a five-page tribute to Charlie Kirk (pp280-285) whose assassination clearly affected Vance deeply. “Charlie was perhaps my best friend and closest confidant in the world of politics.” (p280) “Charlie taught me to love all parts of the Christian Communion.” At his best, he shined as an amazing example of Christian charity. At his worst he was a sinner like all of us” (p283,p284).
Wikipedia introduces Kirk as follows: “His rhetoric was described as divisive, racist, xenophobic, and extreme by groups that studied hate speech, including the Southern Poverty Law Center. Kirk disagreed with critics who said hate speech created a toxic online environment, arguing: "Disagreement is a healthy part of our systems." Kirk's positions have been described as far right by a variety of outlets and academics, others state that these positions are now in the mainstream of American conservatism.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Kirk
It was surely a grave misjudgment on Vance's part to say that as a sinner Charley Kirk was like the rest of us? Whilst we can sympathise with Vance mourning a close friend and ally, the grim truth that Vance evades is that Kirk was not like the rest us, he was actually pursuing and spreading a profound hatred of “the other”, those who did not share the racial origin or social norms of his own identity.
Vance wrote: “ [Pope] Francis's life – and death -- showed how easy it is to allow politics to lead one's faith, rather than the other way around” The root of the Trump/Vance problem with Pope Francis is to be found in his criticism of the immigrant round up in the US promoted by the US administration in Trump's inaugural speech and carried out by ICE (US Immigration enforcement). Trump had said: “With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense. First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”
Trump's address led to the famous riposte by Pope Francis, for which Trump and Vance do not seem to have forgiven him, in which Francis deplores “the major crisis that is taking place in the United States” inherent in the arbitrary accusation of criminality made against migrants fleeing “injustice extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, and instead he promotes“infinite and transcendent dignity”. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2025/documents/20250210-lettera-vescovi-usa.html
Surely underlying these statements is an extraordinary ignorance of both Christianity and Communism? Why does he not appear to know that Marx defined religion as “the opium of the people” and Communists sought to suppress it, in both Christian and Islamic communities? The comment demonstrates a characteristic American obsession with communism whilst not really understanding what communism is, so that is often confused with socialism or mere communitarianism. Perhaps more damaging is the underlying idea that any doctrine including a demand for the care of others is really communism, although again Vance equivocates and mentions the alternative that Pope Francis wished to uphold traditional ancient social doctrine.
In his latest book (P196 ) Vance's personal need to dominate hits one hard at times whilst reading this book.
“In the same way that it’s important for the vice president of United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”
Although the above events are taking place in the USA it has also started to infect the UK too. The Cambridge-based theologian and ex-advisor on Policy to the political party Reform (resigned 4/09/2026) Dr James Orr has replicated some of the thoughts to which Pope Francis had objected. In a recent question and answer session orientated around Dr Orr's close relationship to Reform, he deplored “no civilisation has invited invaders in and put them up in four-star hotels” instead he associated immigrants with rapists and describes sympathy for the poor and destitute immigrants as “toxic empathy”. (ref: https://www.jamesorr.uk/p/no-civilisation-has-invited-invaders )
As an antidote to the above, a look on the positive side, here is a a profound and lively alternative to the self-seeking and bullying underlying the thoughts and actions of the present US administration:
1."The indiscriminate generosity and the willingness to mix with unsuitable people were already, in the first Christian generation, just difficult enough for the Gospel writers to scratch their heads and cough just a little bit about it. But they could not deny it or suppress it. It was too vividly remembered. Jesus sought out company, and the effect of his presence was to create a celebration, to bind people together." (P42)
2."Reverence for the bread and the wine of the Eucharist is the beginning of reverence for the whole world in which the giving of God's glory is pulsating beneath the surface of every moment." Willams, Rowan 2014 Being Christian. SPCK. (P50)
Memorial to French Resistance Fighters victims of Fascism, Pont du Garrit, Perigord Noir. France.
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