Folks who were paying attention didn’t really need Project 2025 to know the direction Trump and the far right were planning to take the country in. Back in 2022, it was obvious theocracy was approaching. And whether it was labeled Integralism or White Christian Nationalism, it was pretty clear that conservative Christianity would be taking a hold in the White House under a Trump presidency. The only real question was how strong the hold would be. Considering Trump just casually mentioned a Christian task force housed in the White House, it’s gonna be pretty strong.
Anti-Christian bias in the FBI? Maybe Trump is partial to some information in a secret dossier that the public isn’t privy to, but the FBI has skewed Christian for a very long time. There might be some debate over if the right “types” of Christian are filling the ranks, be they Mormon or Catholic, but unless there’s some secret Zoroastrian front calling all of the shots, whatever anti-Christian sentiment happening in the government is likely coming from other Christians squabbling over doctrinal differences.
What does the anti-Christian violence and vandalism he’s talking about even look like? Did it look like Dylann Roof shooting up a Black church and putting out his White pride manifesto before the cops took him to get Burger King? Or a Black church in Texas getting slurs spray painted and summarily burned down? Or are those examples too “DEI” for God to come into the picture? This isn’t to say that there aren’t legitimate state v. faith conflicts where Christians are often on the losing side, but forgive me for assuming that Quakers being drafted despite their pacifism or Jehovah’s Witnesses being forced to say the Pledge of Allegiance aren’t at the forefront of the discrimination the task force will be chasing down. Let’s not forget, this is Trump we’re dealing with. It is much more likely that the “real” anti-Christian violence the Faith Office chases down will consist of people being “too afraid” to say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays” or having to go through all of the trouble of getting to the Supreme Court before you can discriminate against gay people.
Funnily enough, there should be a very familiar example of anti-Christian bias involving Trump. I know that these last few weeks have felt like the last few months, but do you remember shortly after he was sworn in as Trump Coin Manipulator in Chief and sat for a sermon at Washington National Cathedral? You know, the one where the pastor asked him — one of the most powerful men in the world — to take to heart Jesus’s message and show mercy to the vulnerable? He wasn’t too happy about that:
The “so – called Bishop” has a name. She is Mariann Budde.
She had the audacity, in a House of God, to implore Trump to have mercy on LGBTQ youths. She further asked him to understand that all immigrants are not criminals.
Sounds like something a man named Jesus might do. pic.twitter.com/37gkhMzfmc
— Sis (@ResisterSis20) January 22, 2025
While the United States has no state language or religion, you don’t have to live here long to know that they are English and Christianity, respectively. With that in mind, there needs to be a bright line to make sure that “anti-Christian” doesn’t slip into anti-everyone else. What is the anti-Christian “violence” and “vandalism” we need protection from? Is it anti-Christian for a swearing President to opt out of putting their hand over the Bible? Upside down Bible photo-ops? What are the consequences for such transgressions? Will hosting book readings by drag queens be deemed “anti-Christian” because they don’t honor God? Who will be the arbiter of what does and doesn’t sufficiently honor God? Paula White? Will Klan rallies be protected by the First Amendment while protesting a Klan rally would get the Faith Office sent after you because, at the heart of it, the Klan is and has always been a Christian group? We used to have a strong First Amendment that would nip questions like this in the bud and protect members of a religious minority from the tyranny of whatever faithful were in power. Now, all we seem to have are thoughts and prayers.
Earlier: Whatever Happened To Separation Of Church And State?
Yuge Fan Of Adultery And Greed Praises Christian Nationalism
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
