What matters is that a significant number of Americans believe that it is.

“All of us should thank God every day we live in a country where we do not have to fear government persecution for expressing our beliefs.”53

Why is this important? Obviously it would be a mistake for sociologists or other observers to conclude that “religious commitment” necessarily inclines Americans to hold more conservative political positions. In fact, religious commitment often appears to do the opposite.

other words, for many Americans, Christian nationalism captures a cultural vision of whose country the United States really is (“ours”), and consequently who are the “others” or “outsiders” (“Muslim terrorists” and “violent Mexican immigrants”). Americans who sensed a

Finally, proponents of Christian nationalism have consistently viewed their mission through the lens of apocalyptic Christianity.

To the extent that such views become reflected in public policy, the growing percentage of Americans who are not Christian will undoubtedly feel ostracized, treated as though they are not fully American.

Matthew does not consider the possibility that the values of other nations might somehow augment or improve America’s core values. Rather, he sees the situation in terms of purity and corruption.

It is a lens through which all Americans experience and interpret the social world, and the rejection or embrace of it motivates them toward very different ends.

Appeals to someone’s religion, in this case Christianity, may involve a plea to live out transcendent Christian values of love, mercy, or justice. Appeals to Christian nationalism, by contrast, involve either a proprietary claim or a call to arms, always in response to a perceived threat. In short, Christian nationalism is all about power.