Christian Nationalist
A political ideology blending Christian faith with nationalist politics, often asserting that a nation's identity and laws should be grounded in Christian values and heritage.
A political movement or ideology that intertwines Christian religious identity with nationalist politics, typically advocating that a nation's founding, laws, and cultural identity are fundamentally Christian. Adherents often argue for Christian influence in government policy and public institutions. The term gained prominence in U.S. political discourse in the 2010s–2020s, particularly in debates over church-state separation and religious exemptions from secular law.
What this means in real life
A voter supports a political candidate partly because they believe the candidate will protect 'Christian values' in schools and courts, viewing national strength as dependent on maintaining Christian cultural dominance in public life.
What it isn’t
It is not simply being Christian and patriotic—many Christians are patriotic without believing the nation's identity or laws should be explicitly Christian. It's a specific political ideology, not a religious belief alone.
Commonly misused online
Online, the term is often used as a blanket insult for any conservative Christian with political views, rather than specifically describing those who fuse religious and nationalist identity into a unified political ideology.