Guest Post: Anne Selman Raybon
“That’s sacrilegious.”
I was teaching an adult Bible Study class at First Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina. I’d asked the regular teacher if I could teach the class over four Sundays as a trial run for a unit on Christian Nationalism that I’d developed. After a session on the rise of nation-states, and the predominance of Christianity in the United States, we were now discussing the consequences of combining religion and nationalism.
One woman had not seemed completely convinced that Christian Nationalism was a serious threat to our country and our faith until the moment she saw a widely-disseminated photo of three Trump supporters at a rally wearing red t-shirts emblazoned with the words, “In God We Trump.”
The Power of Education
I’ve been concerned about the growth of Christian Nationalism for years, ever since 1979 when my dad stepped out of our pastor’s car and said in utter disgust, “that’s the last church convention I’m ever going to.” He’d just gotten home from the Southern Baptist Convention in Houston, Texas. Not much made my dad angry, but he was there when the fundamentalist machine began to accelerate, and he could see how this movement, when at full speed, could wreck the nation and religion he loved.
I’ve watched Christian Nationalism grow for the last 40-plus years. But I’m not a senator, an influencer, or a freedom fighter. I’m a veteran middle-aged middle school history teacher, and I can write lesson plans. So, I did what I could, and I spent last summer and fall writing, refining, and finally presenting this unit to adult learners.
I took what I learned from that experience and refined the lessons even further, making it suitable for college/university and upper-level high school students. The entire unit is now freely available on the Teachers Pay Teachers site. It includes:
- Relevant National Council for Social Studies and Common Core Standards
- Numerous links to documents, articles, and videos — for both instructors and learners
- Sample activity worksheets
- Image examples
This post offers a brief outline, highlighting both the importance of the topic and the underlying pedagogy I used when developing it.
Rise of Nations and Patriotism vs Nationalism
Most people think we humans have organized ourselves into nations for millennia. But nations became the predominant way of ordering our world only in the early 1800s. During the nineteenth century, peoples around the world drew boundaries, chose forms of governments, and began to jockey for power. A big part of nation-building is deciding who’s in and who’s out. This approach often leads to patriotism — a reasonable level of devotion, pride, and support for one’s country. However, when patriotism begins to warp into nationalism — a more extreme view where loyalty to the nation-state surpasses all other interests — those who belong begin to make life very difficult for those who do not.
To help students understand these distinctions, we begin with a simple exercise in which students identify some of their primary characteristics — both who they are and who they are not. Then, students place themselves somewhere on a Patriotism-Nationalism continuum.
Following this initial reflection, we review some vocabulary terms (e.g., sovereign, conscription, subjugate) before watching this Kahn Academy video that covers the rise of Nationalism from 1750-1914. After reviewing the content, students are given an opportunity to place themselves, again, on the Patriotism-Nationalism continuum. This exercise provides an opportunity to notice any changes that might have occurred now that they have a better understanding of the main ideas.
Christianity in America
Next, we examine the central role Christianity holds in United States culture. Students are asked to predict the percentages of people in the U.S. belonging to various world religions. Then, they read this document and compare their perceptions with reality.
They are also asked to peruse the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, noting what those documents say about the stated relationship between the government and religion.
Finally, we explore the concept of Nativism — the view that native-born or long-established residents should be given priority over immigrants. This notion has been alive and well since its beginnings in the 1850s, and students explore the concept in Kahn Academy’s article about Nativism and the Know-Nothing Party. Then, students create a list of characteristics that seem to align most closely with Nativism in the U.S.
Fusing Nationalism with Christianity
Once students understand the concept of Nationalism and the central role of Christianity in U.S. culture, they can begin to explore how they are fused in the Christian Nationalist movement. Essentially, the closer a person is to the ideal of a white, able-bodied, employed, married, Protestant male, the more they are seen to be a “real American.” The further a person deviates from these ideals, the more suspect they are in terms of their identity as an American.
We examine this fusion more closely, as a class, by exploring images and symbols. First, students are divided in small groups. Each group is asked to create and name a logo that combines two distinct products (e.g., Nike Swoosh and Starbucks Mermaid). After sharing their logos, we discuss the marketing power of such combination images.
Then, students find online images that combine Christian symbols with national symbols (e.g., an American flag with the word “Pray” in the place of the 50 stars, someone holding a Bible and praying in front of the Capitol building). These images form the basis for discussions about how the Christian Nationalist movement might affect individuals, group members, those excluded from group membership, and our overall culture.
It’s also important for students to recognize that not all Christians are Christian Nationalists. In fact, there has been a robust response by many Christians who have explicitly rejected the tenets of Christian Nationalism.
What Can Students Do?
Finally, we explore steps students can take to oppose Christian Nationalism — a viewpoint that favors authoritarianism, violence, exclusion, distrust, fear, and hatred in personal relationships as well as in matters of policy and law.
It’s important for students to realize they are not powerless. Concerned Americans can, and should, take action. We can educate ourselves; call out Christian Nationalism when we see it; donate our money and our time; vote; and warn loudly of its dangers through social media, to our families and friends, in our communities, and to our elected officials.
Whenever Americans study WWII, the Holocaust, Anne Frank, Corrie Ten Boom, or read books, or watch movies or TV shows about the fascist era, we often say to ourselves, “If I had been there, I would have seen what was coming. I would have spoken out. I would have resisted. I would have done everything in my power to stop the madness.”
Your time has come.
About the Author
Before coming to public education in 2007, Raybon earned an M. Div., served as a campus minister, and had a career in non-profit management that spanned three states, 24 years, and a variety of agencies including Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill and the Alzheimer’s Association. While working as a Teacher Assistant at Isaac Dickson Elementary School in Asheville, NC, she also served as a Regional Director of AYUSA, placing high school exchange students, and Executive Director at Kid’s Voting of Asheville. She has taught 6th Grade Sunday School for 17 years. The common thread has always been involving individuals, families, and children in making a difference in their communities.
Outside the classroom Raybon is an avid singer, reader, miniature model builder, and player of games, including an appearance on Jeopardy! with Alex Trebek. She and her husband enjoy watching British and other European crime dramas (with the captions on) and traveling to new places. Their two adult children are married and making a difference in their own communities, something they learned from their very first teacher.