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Christian Nationalism

Who's Who In 'God & Country'

"God & Country," a new documentary(link is external) about Christian nationalism, is set to be released this week. Produced by Rob Reiner and based on Katherine Stewart's book “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism(link is external),” the film explores that ways(link is external) in which far-right Christian activists use and misuse religion and the Bible for political purposes and the role that Christian nationalism(link is external) played in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

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The roster of right-wing figures featured in the film reads like a who's who of Right Wing Watch posts over the years; the film’s credits include thanks to Right Wing Watch for providing source material. In anticipation of the film's release, we have put together his a quick overview of just who these activists are to help viewers understand their views and roles within the larger Christian nationalist movement.

  • Greg Locke is a radical right-wing pastor(link is external) and fervent(link is external) conspiracy theorist(link is external) who pastors Global Vision Bible Church(link is external) in Mt Juliet, Tennessee. Locke has incessantly(link is external) refused(link is external) to accept(link is external) that President Joe Biden(link is external) won the 2020 election(link is external) and he was among the speakers(link is external) at rally in Washington, DC, the night before the insurrection. Locke's sermons frequently consist of him screaming conspiracy theories(link is external) from the pulpit.
  • Charlie Kirk is a right-wing commentator(link is external) and youth organizer who has increasingly embraced(link is external) overt Christian nationalism in recent years(link is external). Kirk created a faith branch of his Turning Point USA organization, called TPUSA Faith, which he uses to mobilize churches to get politically engaged, often by spreading flagrantly untrue Christian nationalist pseudo-historical disinformation.
  • Rick Wiles is a far-right(link is external) pastor and host of an End Times program called “Trunews," which he uses to spread(link is external) bigotry(link is external), wild(link is external) conspiracy theories(link is external), and undisguised(link is external) antisemitism(link is external). Wiles and his network nevertheless regularly received(link is external) press credentials from the Trump White House.
  • Lance Wallnau is a self-proclaimed Christian nationalist(link is external) who rose to prominence by declaring(link is external) that Trump had been anointed by God to serves as a "modern-day Cyrus." A leading proponent(link is external) of Seven Mountains Dominion theology who is heavily focused(link is external) on mobilizing conservative Christian voters(link is external) to turn out(link is external) in 2024, Wallnau is an unabashed Trump cultist.(link is external)
  • Kenneth Copeland is a multimillionaire televangelist(link is external) and Christian nationalist(link is external) who served on(link is external) the Trump campaign's Evangelical Executive Advisory Board and proved(link is external) to be one of(link is external) Trump's most loyal sycophants(link is external). even telling voters(link is external) that God would ensure they would be "blessed financially" for voting for Trump.
  • Like Copeland, Jesse Duplantis is a multimillionaire televangelist who loves owning private jets(link is external) and spreading(link is external) Christian nationalist disinformation.
  • Gene Bailey is a host of the "FlashPoint" program, which airs on Copeland’s Victory Channel network. "FlashPoint" began ahead of the 2020 elections and was created to rally Christian conservatives to vote for Republican candidates and Trump in particular. Since the election, the program has consistently pushed(link is external) the false claim that the election was stolen from Trump and spread misinformation about the Jan. 6 insurrection, as well as any number of other baseless conspiracy theories.
  • Jim Bakker is a televangelist who was convicted(link is external) by a jury of 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy and sentenced(link is external) to 45 years in prison for having bilked members of his Praise The Lord ministry. Following his early release from prison, Bakker returned to television with a program focused on preparing Christians for the fast-approaching End Times by peddling fear(link is external), buckets of survival food(link is external), and bottles of a silver solution that could supposedly be used as a possible cure for the COVID-19 coronavirus. Bakker's network eventually faced a series(link is external) of legal problems(link is external) for making(link is external) the COVID claims.
  • Jerry Falwell was one of the founders of the religious-right movement when he launched the Moral Majority(link is external) in the late 1970s. Known for his fiery opposition to reproductive rights, LGBTQ equality, and anything else that he felt violated his personal understanding of the Bible, Falwell is probably most well-known for blaming “pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way” for the 9/11 attacks.
  • Like Falwell, Pat Robertson was also a titan of the religious-right, creating the Christian Coalition out of the remnants(link is external) of his failed 1988 presidential run. For decades, Robertson served as the host of "The 700 Club," using it as a daily platform from which he unleashed(link is external) bigoted attacks and baseless fearmongering.
  • Ralph Reed was tapped by Robertson to serve as the head of the Christian Coalition in the 1980s. Reed quickly transformed the organization into a religious-right powerhouse and himself into a right-wing power broker. After leaving the Christian Coalition in the 1990s, Reed became a high-profile political consultant and even attempted to launch a political career, only to see his campaign implode amid reports(link is external) that he had used lobbying prowess to benefit corrupt gambling interests. Reed eventually resurfaced as the head of a new religious-right organization called The Faith & Freedom Coalition.
  • Tony Perkins is the head of the Family Research Council, a powerful(link is external) religious-right organization(link is external) that established close ties(link is external) to the Trump administration(link is external) and had many connections(link is external) to the events that unfolded on Jan. 6. Every year, FRC organizes a "Pray, Vote, Stand(link is external)" conference (formerly known as the Values Voter Summit(link is external)) that brings together dozens of Republican elected officials and far-right activists.
  • Jerry Boykin is a Christian nationalist(link is external) colleague of Perkins' at the Family Research Council, where he serves as executive vice president(link is external). A former high-ranking military officer, Boykin retired amid controversy after declaring(link is external) that the “war on terror” was really a spiritual battle between Muslims and “Christian America.” In his position at FRC, Boykin has continued to attack(link is external) Islam, LGBTQ people(link is external), and spread wild conspiracy theories.
  • Michael Flynn is a right-wing(link is external) conspiracy(link is external) theorist(link is external) who briefly served(link is external) as Trump's national security adviser before he resigned and pleaded guilty(link is external) to lying to the FBI during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Pardoned by Trump(link is external), Flynn has been a loyal surrogate(link is external) who has cultivated close ties(link is external) to the fringes(link is external) of the far-right movement(link is external), where he has been hailed as a hero(link is external). A proponent of spreading(link is external) Christian nationalist disinformation, Flynn has openly proclaimed(link is external) that "we must have one religion." He is expected to be given a high-level position if Trump returns to power.
  • Televangelist Paula White served Trump as spiritual adviser and White House aide, playing a key role(link is external) in creating deep ties between religious-right organizations and activists and the Trump administration by granting them(link is external) unprecedented access(link is external) to the Oval Office. In this capacity, White once declared(link is external) that to oppose Trump was to oppose God. She opened Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021 rally with a prayer(link is external) asking God to give the assembled MAGA activists “holy boldness.”
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