A word of advice for the American Christians opposed to Christian nationalism: if you want to be able to work effectively with secular progressives who support the freedom of and from religion, try not making concerns about the “witness” of “the church” the cornerstone of your public statements on the matter.
For those who don’t speak evangelical Protestant, which is unfortunately the native idiom of my childhood, when “witness” is used as a noun like this, it more or less translates to “reputation” or “attractiveness”. You see, we evangelical kids were always taught if we lived as “good Christians” should – maintaining, in other words, a powerful “witness” – outsiders who observed us would want the peace and purpose we supposedly had, thus leading to conversion opportunities. Of course, we were also supposed to make active attempts to convert others, frequently referred to as “witnessing” (or “sharing the gospel”).
While the phrasing is common, it’s specifically been on my mind since 18 August, when Andrew Whitehead – an associate professor of sociology at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis and one of America’s most prominent commentators on Christian nationalism – invoked it in an opinion piece for Religion News Service titled Why Christian Nationalism makes American Christians less Christlike.
