Band of Brigands: The Role of Religious Nationalism in North American Threats to the Rule of Law

Authoritarian attacks on foundational principles of the rule of law have escalated in the United States since President Trump’s inauguration. This column expands on my previous column and looks at the role of Christian religious nationalists who have joined politicians and billionaires in the Trump administration’s mission to dominate every branch of the US government and civil society, and to invert the rule of law in North America and globally.

Religious nationalism in a global context

Historical records are strewn with tragic results of entanglements among religious, economic, and imperial powers. Those whose lands, resources, and cultures have been overtaken in religiously-endorsed wars or oppression around the world are all too familiar with the catastrophic consequences for conquered, forcibly displaced, or colonized peoples. Black people and Indigenous Peoples in North America are among them.

None of the world’s major religions can claim exemption from becoming harnessed by illiberal political movements. Currently, Christian religious nationalists are backing authoritarian regimes in Russia, Hungary, and El Salvador, with which the Trump administration is aligned. Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian imperialism is supported by Russian Orthodox patriarchs and oligarchs. Victor Orbán has coopted religious leaders to consolidate authoritarian power in Hungary. El Salvador’s authoritarian President Nayib Bukele has mobilised religious nationalist language to consolidate power.

A band of brigands and thieves: Strange bedfellows

It has puzzled many that conservative Christians are sharing beds with authoritarians like Trump, Putin, Orbán, and Bukele, whose actions contrast grotesquely with traditional Christian virtues of peacefulness, kindness, truthfulness, and generosity to poor people and refugees. Trump’s Christian nationalist supporters remain undeterred by his lies, immorality, corruption, criminality, and brazen violation of the US Constitution and international human rights.

So far, nothing has dissuaded Christian nationalists from supporting the Trump administration’s systematic mass detentions and deportations without due process, which human rights experts have characterized as crimes against humanity. Even the deeply-rooted principle of habeas corpus, affirmed in the 1215 Magna Carta and the US Constitution, is in peril. Trump has threatened and extorted lawyers who have represented those opposing his actions. When Trump and his supporters dislike judicial rulings, they retaliate against the judges with defamatory vitriol and threats of impeachment or criminalization.

Christian nationalists’ support of Trump remains steadfast despite concerns expressed by numerous protestant and Catholic church leaders. In 2024 the late Pope Francis affirmed that “justice is fundamental for peaceful coexistence in society: a world without laws respecting rights would be a world in which it is impossible to live.” He added that the “practice of justice demands… honesty, integrity, respect for law and commitment to the common good.” Immediately after his recent election, Pope Leo XIV followed suit, advocating justice, human rights, public truth-telling, and media freedom.

Trump and his supporters denounced Pope Francis’s criticism of Trump’s deportation policies. Some Trump supporters derided Pope Leo XIV as “woke” and “Marxist.”

Since Pope Leo XIV is a member of the Augustinian Order, it is worth recalling Augustine’s 5^th century dictum that a republic without justice is nothing more than a band of brigands and thieves. Opposition Congress members are calling Trump a reverse Robin Hood – unjustly robbing the poor to give to the rich. Republicans’ 1,116-page tax and spending bill cuts social programs like Medicaid and food assistance. One Congressperson called the bill “the most massive transfer of wealth from the poor and the middle class to the rich in the history of the country.”

What is “Christian nationalism”?

Religious nationalism has been defined as the belief that a country has been founded by and for a particular religious community. Christian religious nationalists in the US believe that “being Christian is an important part of being truly American” and that US laws should reflect Christian values.

Christian religious nationalism goes beyond patriotism or civil religion which in the US sacralises the Declaration of Independence, flag, and Constitution. Christian nationalists go farther, seeking political power to enforce public conformity with their religious principles. Christian nationalists seek a unified approach by the executive, legislature, and judiciary, arguing that laws should privilege their particular ethno-cultural understandings of Christianity.

Christian nationalism as a response to ethno-religious threat?

Despite their outsized foothold in US politics, Christian nationalists are a minority in the US; between six and 10 percent are adherents, and a further 20 percent are sympathizers. While most Christian nationalists have White European ancestry, a quarter identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian, or other non-White ethnicities. In Canada, Christian nationalists comprise a minority of three percent.

Christian nationalism is linked to xenophobic views, fueled in part by fear that a population dominated by Christians of European ancestry is being overtaken by people with non-Western and non-Christian backgrounds. A related fear is that Christian values are embattled, marginalized, and silenced by a secular humanist, “leftist” agenda seeking feminist and gender equality and Indigenous, minority, and disability rights.

These fears drive support for Trump’s policies against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); abortion; sexual orientation and gender identity; and for mass deportation of “foreigners” and challenges to birthright citizenship. These ideas are threaded through The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 manifesto authored by right-wing conservatives and Christian nationalists, some of whom have been appointed to President Trump’s cabinet or senior positions.

Trump promises to support religious liberty. However, his efforts emphasise rooting out “anti-Christian bias,” even though the US is not listed among the numerous countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith. Trump’s White House Faith Office and his Religious Liberty Commission and Advisory Body are dominated by individuals associated with Christian nationalism.

Conservative Christians’ perception of embattlement helps to make sense of Christian nationalists’ comparison of Trump to the ancient Persian King Cyrus, who conquered the Babylonian empire. While Cyrus was not an Israelite, he is a biblical hero because he released the Israelites exiled in Babylon, sending them back to rebuild Jerusalem.

After Trump escaped a July 2024 assassination attempt, he said his faith deepened, and that God miraculously spared his life and chose him to save America and restore its greatness. This has led some of his supporters to compare him to the 4^th century Roman Emperor Constantine, who after his Christian conversion made Christianity the official religion of Rome.

“Christian nationalism”: A leftist “dog-whistle”?

Some Christians in the US and Canada balk at the term “Christian nationalism.” They see the term as a “leftist” smear aimed at silencing conservative Christians and denying their right to participate in public life. Others argue that the term is used too broadly to discriminate against “almost anything the contemporary left doesn’t like that Christians happen to do.”

However, some Trump supporters embrace the term Christian nationalism. Included are Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, Counselor to the President Steve Bannon, and director of the US Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought, a co-author of Project 2025. They are influenced by political theorist Stephen Wolfe, who defends Christian nationalism saying governments have a duty to promote “true religion” (Christianity). Wolfe repudiates women’s leadership and endorses sabbath laws, criminalization of blasphemy, and suppression of atheism.

Theologian Michael Bird criticizes Wolfe’s “vision for a nation as a grotesque perversion of Christianity.” A growing number of Christians, including evangelicals, denounce Christian nationalism, saying it poses a threat to democracy, perpetuates racism and misogyny, and countenances coercion and violence to accomplish its goals. With theologian N.T. Wright, Bird calls Christian nationalism a facade for “nakedly political, ethnocentric and impious ventures.”

Bird and Wright also suggest that the growth of this movement is partly a reaction to the “civic totalism” of a leftist “progressive post-liberal order that does not value the right to dissent, …ideological diversity, the necessity of public debate, or tolerate religions it cannot dictate to.” Wright and Bird defend classical liberal democracy to protect religious liberty from both Christian nationalism and civic totalism.

Catholic “integralism”

A close cousin of Christian nationalism is Catholic integralism, which can be traced to Constantine’s 4^th century fusion of the church and the Roman empire. Integralist movements emerged during the 19^th century to oppose Enlightenment ideas along with French and American revolutionary drives to separate church and state.

In 1965, Pope Paul VI displaced integralism; his encyclical, Dignitatis Humanae, says “constitutional limits should be set to the powers of government, in order that there may be no encroachment on the rightful freedom of the person and of associations.”

The past decade has seen resurgence of Catholic integralism. Some conservative “post-liberal” integralists, including Harvard constitutional law scholar Adrian Vermeule, believe the common good of society requires that governing authorities promote conservative Catholic values. Vice-President JD Vance has ties to Catholic integralists.

The US and Canada as Christian nations?

Christian nationalists argue that the US and Canada were founded as Christian nations and that their Christian foundations should be restored.

American historians debunk these arguments, noting the founding fathers’ deliberate avoidance of an established religion. The 1776 American Constitution insists that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” The 1791 First Amendment prohibits the US Congress from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion…” The ACLU notes that decades of case law of the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) have maintained the separation of church and state, although some recent cases blur the lines of separation.

Canadian Christian nationalists say Canada’s original name, “Dominion of Canada,” was based on the bible verse, “He [God] shall have Dominion from sea to sea.” Historian Daniel R. Meister argues that the name “dominion” is more credibly traced to a compromise that “hinted at Canada being a British realm, while not overly offending a growing [US] economic and military power on the continent.”

The idea that the US and Canada are Christian nations is a colonial construct. Missionary activity was part of the European “civilizing mission” that involved political and economic expansion into other continents. The idea of a “Christian” North America is linked to the 15^th century “Doctrine of Discovery,” which was ostensibly supported by Papal authority. The doctrine was used to justify European political and economic control over Indigenous lands even after Pope Paul III condemned the idea in 1537.

The Doctrine of Discovery found its way into North American law as the doctrine of terra nullius (empty land). Nineteenth century colonial expansion involved usurpation of Indigenous lands and government-supported, church-operated boarding schools for Indigenous children, which are now acknowledged as seeking genocidal destruction of Indigenous identity, languages, cultures, and spirituality.

The Doctrine of Discovery persisted in SCOTUS pronouncements until 2005. In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada finally confirmed that the doctrine of terra nullius never applied in Canada. In 2022, Pope Francis apologized for harms against Indigenous Peoples by the Roman Catholic church. In 2023, he repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery.

Christian slave-traders and slave-holders used the bible to justify the trans-Atlantic trade of enslaved Africans to European colonies throughout the Americas, including Canada. Discriminatory colonial legacies continue in systemic racism against Black people and violations of Indigenous Peoples’ human rights. To suppress this history, Christian nationalists seek to ban “critical race theory.”

Repudiation of international law

Appeals to international law, international human rights law and institutions such as the United Nations (UN) have no persuasive effect on Christian nationalists. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 denounces the UN and its treaties, saying it is a project of the “woke left” to exercise “dictatorial powers over all nations without… democratic accountability.” This is palpably false. The US Constitution allows ratification of treaties only with approval of two-thirds of the elected Senate.

The Western foundations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments were undeniably influenced by Christian values, including principles of anti-discrimination and care for neighbours. When not denouncing international treaties, Christian nationalists undermine their meaning through interpretations that fit their own understandings of Christian morality. ‍

For example, US Christian nationalists’ assert support of “religious liberty” but selectively interpret it to combat anti-Christian bias while failing to ensure equal protection for people of every faith or no faith. Not even all Christians are guaranteed religious liberty. On 21 January 2025, the House of Representatives passed a resolution denouncing “political bias” by Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde. They took issue with her sermon at an inaugural prayer service in which she asked President Trump to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” including LGBTIQ+ people and immigrants.

Trump’s mass deportation policies apply to asylum seekers subject to persecution for their Christian faith. An Iranian Christian woman who sought refuge in the US now faces imminent deportation to Iran where Christian converts face extreme persecution.

People seeking refuge in Canada from US persecution have faced increasing hurdles. Asylum seekers who have first landed in the US are at particular risk because of the legal fiction perpetuated by the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA). The Canadian government now faces an increasing chorus of advocates demanding termination of the STCA, although the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) favours enhancing it.

Christian nationalism in Canada

Historians, sociologists and others have chronicled the history of US Christian nationalism, but there has been little examination of Christian nationalism in Canada.

In 2010, Canadian journalist Marci McDonald documented influences of evangelicals and Christian nationalists on the 2006-2015 Conservative government of Stephen Harper. Political scientist Daniel R. Meister, theology professor André Gagné, religious studies scholar Carmen Celestini, and others have more recently documented Christian nationalism in Canada.

As in the US, flashpoints in Canada have included controversies over reproductive rights, same sex marriage, gender identity, and immigration. Celestini has observed the transnational nature of Christian nationalism, noting that it is part of a “borderless North American Christian Nationalist populist political movement” that “no longer sees a border between the US and Canada.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some conservative churches claimed that government mandates for vaccinations, masking, and limits on gatherings violated their religious liberty. The conflict came to a head when the Canadian government required quarantines for unvaccinated truckers entering Canada.

In January-February 2022, a truckers’ freedom convoy protest occupied parts of Ottawa and blockaded the Canada-US border, supported significantly by US-based Republicans. There were reports of major disruption and violation of rights of residents, including harassment, threats, assaults, racist and antisemitic symbols, and lawlessness. In stark contrast, convoy proponents and Christian media portrayed the convoy as primarily peaceful, reporting that Christians at the convoy participated out of “obedience to God” and provided a calming presence.

Canadian scholar Christine Mitchell analysed biblical messages and signs at the convoy, concluding that they suggested a “divinely-mandated mission” to overthrow the government. For seven days, Christian protestors conducted “Jericho walks” around parliamentary precincts, blowing horns to symbolize the biblical story of Joshua’s battle to destroy Jericho. Mitchell wrote, “one might wager that those truckers assume Parliament… will be destroyed unless people turn from their sin.”

While Christian nationalist influence on the Harper government is documented by Marci McDonald, current links to the CPC are unclear. The CPC leader Pierre Poilievre has no formal links to Christian nationalism, but he publicly associated himself with the 2022 trucker’s convoy and has cultivated the conservative Christian vote. Poilievre’s election campaign mirrored Trump’s rhetoric, criticizing “socialist” opponents, “woke” DEI policies, and denying the climate crisis, while supporting the oil industry. The CPC’s current Leader of the Opposition Andrew Scheer, a conservative Catholic, has been linked to “far right” Catholic activism and Christian nationalist views.

One of the oldest Canadian Christian nationalist groups is the Christian Heritage Party, founded in 1987. It ran unsuccessful candidates in four provinces in Canada’s recent election. Maxine Bernier’s far-right People’s Party of Canada mirrors Trump’s anti-DEI and anti-immigration policies. During the recent election campaign it joined hands with a BC-based Christian nationalist organization, Action 4 Canada. Bernier’s party won no seats but tripled its support since the 2019 election.

Other Christian nationalist groups include the Liberty Coalition of Canada, which conducts legal and “social advocacy to help transform our country to better reflect Biblical principles.” In the prairies, Take Back Alberta displays the slogan “faith, family, freedom,” demonstrates patriotic loyalty to Canada’s oil industry, and aligns with Alberta’s separatist movement.

Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith aligns herself with Trump. Her government recently passed a bill to facilitate a referendum on Alberta separation. First Nations plan a court challenge with reminders that Indigenous treaties preclude separation without First Nations’ consent.

Concluding reflections

Christian nationalists have demonstrated the intention to replace constitutional democratic governance and the rule of law with authoritarian understandings of Christianity that are at odds with fundamental teachings of most Christian faith traditions.

Christian nationalists have garnered political power in the US through longstanding collaborations with conservative politicians and billionaire allies. Christian nationalists are also seeking political power in Canada and have gained a political foothold, particularly in Alberta. While Christian nationalists are a minority throughout North America they mobilize outsized influence through church-based networks and social media megaphones.

In Canada, there is a need for better understanding of the goals and methods of Christian nationalists. This requires more interdisciplinary research and dialogue among diverse academics and practitioners, including Indigenous people, engaged in theology, religious studies, journalism, public administration, and law. This necessarily includes conservative Christians, who have the same rights as everyone else.

Disrespectful stereotyping, marginalization, and silencing of conservative Christians does not weaken Christian nationalism. Exclusion fuels a sense of embattlement and drives people towards politicians who cater to Christian nationalists. Virtues of respect, inclusion, and cooperation on matters of common concern are more persuasive.

Finally, the potential for defections from far-right political parties in North America is bound to increase as people’s fellow church members, friends, colleagues, or families are affected by US deportations, border harassment, firings, reduction in needed benefits, or threats to the sovereignty of other countries. Meanwhile those resisting human rights violations and opposing authoritarianism – from all faith communities – need support and encouragement, including advocacy by Canadian lawyers.