Christian nationalism
Based on Wikipedia: Christian nationalism
In 1942, a future Prime Minister of South Africa named B.J. Vorster made a declaration that still echoes today: "We stand for Christian Nationalism which is an ally of National Socialism. You can call this anti-democratic principle dictatorship if you wish. In Italy, it is called Fascism; in Germany, National Socialism and in South Africa, Christian Nationalism."
That blunt admission—linking Christianity, nationalism, and fascism in a single breath—might seem like a relic of a darker era. But Christian nationalism has proven remarkably durable, adapting to new contexts while maintaining its core premise: that a nation's identity, laws, and culture should be shaped by a particular vision of Christianity.
What Is Christian Nationalism, Exactly?
At its simplest, Christian nationalism is a form of religious nationalism that seeks to make Christian beliefs and values dominant in a country's political, cultural, and social life. But that definition barely scratches the surface of what this movement actually looks like in practice.
Think of it this way: patriotism says "I love my country." Nationalism says "My country is superior." Christian nationalism says "My country should be run according to Christian principles, and those who don't share these principles are less authentically part of the nation."
This differs from theocracy, where religious leaders directly govern. Christian nationalists in America, for instance, often view the country's founding documents—the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence—as divinely inspired, treating them almost like secular scripture. They want the Bible to inform national laws, but through democratic processes rather than direct rule by clergy.
It also differs from simple religious conservatism. Many devout Christians believe their faith should influence their politics. Christian nationalism goes further, asserting that national identity itself is inseparable from a specific Christian heritage—and that those outside this heritage are somehow less legitimate citizens.
A Global Tour of Christian Nationalism
Perhaps the most striking thing about Christian nationalism is how it manifests differently across the globe while maintaining common threads of exclusion, opposition to LGBTQ rights, and alliance with far-right political movements.
Hungary: The Template
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has become something of an international figurehead for Christian nationalism. He explicitly advocates for it not just within Hungary but as an international movement, building bridges with American and European Christian nationalists.
Yet Hungary's history with Christian nationalism runs much darker. The interwar regime of Admiral Miklós Horthy, which ruled from 1919 to 1944, is often cited by historians as a quintessential Christian nationalist government. Historian István Deák described it as a regime that "despised the French Revolution, spurned liberal and socialist ideologies" and "saw Hungary as a bulwark against bolshevism and bolshevism's instruments: socialism, cosmopolitanism, and Freemasonry."
When the Nazis overthrew Horthy in 1944, installing the Arrow Cross Party, the new regime shared the "National Christian ideology" but took antisemitism to murderous extremes, unleashing the Holocaust in Hungary. Holocaust survivor and researcher Moshe Y. Herczl documented how Hungarian media portrayed the swastika as "a symbol of the forces defending European Christian culture."
Curiously, a 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that only one percent of modern Hungarians identify as "religious nationalists"—the lowest figure of any country surveyed.
Poland: Crusaders and Neo-Nazis
Poland presents one of the most complex pictures of contemporary Christian nationalism. Robert Bakiewicz, who organizes the annual Independence March that draws tens of thousands, is a member of the traditionalist Catholic Society of Saint Pius X. In 2017, he gave a speech kissing a crucifix and calling for a crusade against "cultural marxists" and for a Catholic theocracy.
The march's slogans—"We want God" and "White Poland"—capture the intertwining of religious identity with ethnic nationalism. The All-Polish Youth, which caused international controversy when members were photographed saluting swastika flags, declares its aim to "raise Polish youth in a Catholic and patriotic spirit" under the slogan "Great Catholic Poland."
The former ruling party, Law and Justice, implemented near-total abortion bans and allowed many areas to declare themselves "LGBT-free zones." Critics accused the party of facilitating cooperation between conservative institutions and far-right extremists—including, allegedly, intervening to release a neo-Nazi activist convicted of attacking an LGBTQ event.
Finland: The Bible Belt and the Neo-Nazis
Finland's Ostrobothnia region—its Bible Belt—has been shaped by conservative Lutheran revivalism since the nineteenth century. What's less commonly known is that this same region gave rise to Finnish fascism. The Lapua Movement and the Patriotic People's Movement originated there, and revivalism was, historians note, "a dominant force among Finnish fascists and Nazis."
This connection persists. The Revivalist Lutheran Evangelical Association of Finland sends its priests to be ordained in the Russian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria because of that church's opposition to LGBTQ rights and women in ministry. A Finnish Christian nationalist media ecosystem has emerged, including newspapers, websites, and television channels. Theological magazine Vartija documented an informal network of over five hundred religious members of the far-right Finns Party.
One newspaper, Magneettimedia, was published by the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement and funded by a department store tycoon who was also a Holocaust denier. At its peak, it reached 660,000 households.
Russia: The Imperial Dimension
President Vladimir Putin has positioned himself as a global leader of Christian nationalism and Christian right movements. Under his rule, the Russian Orthodox Church has gained enormous power, and Putin maintains close relationships with successive Patriarchs of Moscow.
The Russian Imperial Movement exemplifies where this can lead. Designated a terrorist organization by the United States, this neo-Nazi Christian nationalist group trains militants across Europe and has recruited thousands of fighters for its paramilitary Imperial Legion, which participates in the invasion of Ukraine. The group networks with American extremists through the Atomwaffen Division.
Other Russian Orthodox-aligned groups have pursued violence in the name of their faith. The Russian Orthodox Army committed sectarian violence and antisemitic attacks in the Donbass region. And in a gesture that horrified many, the Russian Catacomb Church canonized as martyrs two Russian nationalists who had collaborated with the Nazis—honoring their "anti-communist stance" despite their wartime crimes.
Ukraine: An Uncomfortable Alliance
Ukraine's situation is particularly complicated given the Russian invasion. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which split from Moscow's authority, aligns with far-right Ukrainian nationalists on certain issues—particularly opposition to LGBTQ rights.
Since Kiev Pride began in 2015, it has faced attacks from a coalition of religious and far-right groups. One priest prominently called for "patriots" to "crush" the parade. The response came from groups like "Tradition and Order," which uses the slogan "Nation, Faith, Family" and includes both Christian nationalist and neo-Nazi organizations.
Dmytro Korchynsky, leader of the Christian nationalist Brotherhood, described his group as the "Orthodox Taliban"—a comparison that captures both the religious fervor and the extremism of the movement.
Serbia: Fascist Saints
Serbian Action adheres to the ideology of World War Two fascist movements and Nazi collaborators, organizing annual memorial marches for figures like Milan Nedic and Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović, an early supporter of Adolf Hitler. The group advocates accelerationism—the idea of hastening societal collapse to rebuild it according to their vision—and supports overthrowing the government for an Orthodox monarchy.
South Africa: Apartheid's Christian Foundation
Vorster's 1942 declaration wasn't mere rhetoric. When the National Party implemented apartheid, the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa provided theological justification for racial segregation and hierarchy. While the party primarily served Afrikaner nationalist interests, Christian nationalism allowed them to incorporate other groups into their program of racial hierarchies by framing it as a divine ordering of society.
Today, sixteen percent of South Africans identify as religious nationalists—one of the higher figures globally.
Brazil: The Catholic-Evangelical Coalition
Brazilian Christian nationalism emerged from an unusual alliance between Catholics and Evangelicals, united in opposition to what they describe as "moral relativism, social liberalism, alleged neo-Marxism, and LGBTQ rights." Thirteen percent of Brazilians now identify as religious nationalists.
Ghana: Tradition Against the West
In Ghana, Christian nationalism frames itself as defending traditional identity against Western progressive ideas. Its adherents seek to uphold "Christianity, social conservatism, and antagonism to Western ideas such as LGBTQ equality" as markers of authentic Ghanaian identity. Seventeen percent of Ghanaians identify as religious nationalists—the highest figure in Pew's survey.
The Pandemic Surge
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated Christian nationalist organizing in unexpected ways. In Canada, anti-lockdown sentiment became a recruitment tool. Liberty Coalition Canada gained support from elected politicians while arguing in their founding documents that "it is only in Christianized nations that religious freedom has ever flourished."
The group attracted support from American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Canada First, an offshoot of Nick Fuentes's America First movement. Many of its leaders are pastors who accumulated millions in potential fines for violating public health protocols.
Only three percent of Canadians identify as religious nationalists—but that still represents roughly one and a half million people.
Britain: The Quest for Legitimacy
In 2006, the British National Party—a fascist organization—launched what the BBC described as stepped-up efforts "to present itself as a staunch defender of Christianity," using images of Jesus and Bible quotes in campaign materials.
The party founded the Christian Council of Britain, led by a reverend. Its founder, John Tyndall, had always linked Christian ideas to racial concepts, with his magazine Spearhead declaring that "the white race thought of itself as Christendom" and "many of us still think that today."
When a list of party members leaked in 2008, it included multiple vicars. One writer in the party's magazine argued that Christians should resist the threats of atheism and Islam by voting for the BNP, calling the struggle "political and social as well as spiritual and theological."
The American Variant
American Christian nationalism asserts that the United States is a country founded by and for Christians. But it has distinct characteristics that set it apart from European versions.
Researchers describe it as "a fusion of identitarian Christian identity and cultural conservatism with American civic belonging." It overlaps with Christian fundamentalism, white supremacy, Christian supremacy, the Seven Mountain Mandate movement (which seeks Christian dominance over seven spheres of society), and dominionism (the belief that Christians should exercise dominion over all aspects of society).
Most researchers characterize Christian nationalism as "authoritarian" and "boundary-enforcing." But recent scholarship has identified an intriguing development: libertarian, small-government ideology and free-market economics have become integrated into American Christian nationalist identity. This represents an evolution from earlier forms of the movement and creates sometimes contradictory impulses—authoritarian cultural vision combined with anti-government economics.
American Christian nationalists tend to view the Constitution and Declaration of Independence as divinely inspired documents, almost like secular scripture that established America as a chosen nation.
The Common Threads
Across these vastly different contexts—from Brazilian megachurches to Finnish Lutheran revivals to Russian Orthodox militants—certain patterns emerge.
First, opposition to LGBTQ rights serves as a unifying cause. This isn't incidental; it provides a clear boundary marker distinguishing the "true" nation from its enemies, framed as a defense of tradition against moral corruption.
Second, Christian nationalism consistently allies with far-right and sometimes explicitly fascist movements. The historical connection to Nazism and fascism isn't aberrant—it's a recurring pattern from Horthy's Hungary to apartheid South Africa to contemporary European neo-Nazi groups.
Third, Christian nationalists tend to view their project as defensive. They're protecting a Christian civilization under siege from secularism, Islam, Marxism, or Western liberalism, depending on the context. This defensive framing justifies aggressive action.
Fourth, the movement increasingly operates as an international network. Orbán builds ties with American conservatives. Russian movements train European militants. American preachers influence Brazilian politics. The nation being defended may be local, but the movement is global.
What Christian Nationalism Is Not
Understanding Christian nationalism requires distinguishing it from related but different phenomena.
It's not simply being a religious Christian who votes. Millions of Christians bring their faith to their political decisions without believing that citizenship should be defined by religious identity.
It's not equivalent to all religious conservatism. Many religiously conservative people accept pluralistic democracy and don't seek to make their faith legally mandatory for others.
It's not quite theocracy, though it overlaps. Theocrats want direct religious rule; Christian nationalists often work through democratic forms while seeking to reshape the demos—the people who count—along religious lines.
And it's not monolithic. Brazilian Catholic-Evangelical coalitions differ from Finnish Lutheran revivalists differ from Russian Orthodox imperialists. Local context matters enormously.
The Enduring Question
Christian nationalism forces a fundamental question: what is a nation, and who belongs to it?
The nationalist answer grounds belonging in shared heritage, culture, religion, often ethnicity. The civic answer grounds belonging in shared commitment to principles and participation in institutions. Christian nationalism insists that authentic belonging requires both—you must share the heritage and the faith to be fully part of the nation.
This is why Christian nationalism consistently allies with movements that draw other boundaries: ethnic, racial, cultural. The logic of boundary-drawing, once started, tends to multiply. If true nationals must be Christian, perhaps they must also be white, or straight, or native-born.
From Vorster's South Africa to Orbán's Hungary to the militias of the Donbass, Christian nationalism has repeatedly answered the question of who belongs by listing those who don't: Jews, Muslims, LGBTQ people, liberals, cosmopolitans, immigrants. The cross becomes a sword; faith becomes fortress; nation becomes tribe.
Whether this represents Christianity or its betrayal is a debate Christians themselves must settle. What historians can observe is the pattern: when Christianity and nationalism fuse, the results have rarely been gentle, and the list of those excluded has always grown.