“God & Country,” a new documentary produced by Rob Reiner, opens with idyllic scenes of American churches and a speaker borrowing part of a well-known quote of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: “When I look at all the injustices of the world, and I drive past churches, I ask myself: What kind of people worship there?”
The goal of the documentary is to wake up churchgoing American Christians — who number in the many tens of millions — to the threat of anti-democratic religious extremism in the United States.
The film, which will open in theaters on Feb. 16 and was shown at a private premiere on Thursday at the Capitol, is perhaps the first Hollywood-adjacent effort to make the term “Christian nationalism” mainstream and to get Americans (specifically Christians) to engage in conversations about recent well-organized and well-funded efforts to officially merge church and state.
The 90-minute documentary, directed by Dan Partland, is inspired by the 2020 book “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism,” by Katherine Stewart. It includes a who’s who of prominent Christians — almost all Protestant or nondenominational — who have in recent years rung bells about growing anti-pluralistic, anti-democratic strains of religion in the United States, and about their symbiotic relationship with Donald Trump.
“Evangelicalism got married with a kind of political activism, and now evangelicalism has morphed into a cultural and political movement that some people are saying is better described as ‘Christian nationalism,’” Skye Jethani, co-host of the “Holy Post” podcast, says in the film.
“God & Country” illustrates this by weaving clips of prominent Christians floating antidemocratic ideas. John MacArthur, whom Christianity Today has called one of the most influential pastors in modern times, says: “No Christian with half a brain would say, ‘We support religious freedom!’ We support truth!”
The film tallies the billions of dollars that advocacy groups have spent in an effort to put their favored version of conservative Christianity in government, and quotes longtime political consultant and founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition Ralph Reed telling a gathering of the North Carolina branch of his group how it blanketed conservative Christians with texts, calls and home visits to get them to vote. “I don’t want to scare you, but we had 147 different data points we tracked.”
Phil Vischer, an animator who co-created the formerly Christian-themed children’s video series “VeggieTales,” says in the film that Christian Nationalism has exploded because many Christians have come to believe that the United States has a special God-ordained role.
“Here’s the thing: If I have decided that America is irreplaceable in God’s story … and democracy gets in the way, well democracy has to go,” Vischer said, describing this way of thinking.
A project of the Baptist Joint Committee, which advocates for religious pluralism, organized the premiere at the Capitol.
Washington Post religion reporter Michelle Boorstein talked with Reiner and Partland this week about the documentary and what it means to try to make conversation about Christian nationalism mainstream.
MB: What was the process like of trying to do a film on this topic? Was there industry interest? You said the idea came from someone who had worked for many years in Christian media companies and had become concerned.
DP: The people who felt most passionately were devout Christians. I came at this from the perspective of someone who was deeply concerned about what’s going on in American democracy. And certainly had started to understand the danger of any religious nationalist movement to a democratic society. But what I learned from deeply devout people is that this presents a significant danger to the church itself. They were deeply concerned about American democracy but also about the ways this Christian nationalist movement is distorting the views and mission of the church.
MB: Can you characterize the market for something like this? The term ‘Christian nationalism’ can seem academic, and of course the topic is volatile.
RR: It’s tricky because on the surface it seems very controversial.
DP: Just like we need independent journalism, we need independent cinema. I think mainstream outlets financing something like this is very dangerous. So it was made independently and we’re going out there independently. [Oscilloscope Laboratories is distributing the documentary.]
MB: Will it be challenging to get this to audiences who may identify with or empathize with the movement you’re criticizing here — conservative Christians? Is there a unique strategy?
RR: [The strategy] may be screenings in churches. One of the things [our advisers] talk about is getting people to watch this, and then ask others: “Will you watch this for me?” A lot of people don’t know what [the term Christian nationalism] means. And how does this differ from the traditional teachings of Jesus?
MB: What discussions did you have about the term, and the fact that many people don’t know it? Or that it can sound academic? Or anger some people?
RR: That’s the critical part of this, because people have to understand the difference between Christian nationalism, which essentially says, ‘My way or the highway’ and will resort to anything to get what they want, including violence, and the true teachings of Jesus about peace and love. We’re trying to get people to understand the difference, and that has been the challenge.
DP: I think the term is very problematic because it sounds pro-Christian and very patriotic. It doesn’t self-describe. The film takes time to explain … it’s actually not a faith at all, it’s a political ideology masquerading as a faith. And turns out it’s not very Christian and totally un-American.
MB: The movie highlights the threat of the movement and people. How did you think about this emphasis at a time when feeling under threat seems everywhere?
RR: It’s a threat to democracy and the other is, it’s a threat to Christianity itself. That’s what we tried to show. … And you can say, “Well, fear sells,” but this is reality. We see a part of this is the attack on the U.S. Capitol [on Jan. 6, 2021]. That actually happened. We’re not ginning up fear, it actually happened. What we’re saying is: At the roots is a political movement that will do anything to achieve its ends.
DP: You’re trying to accurately portray dangers but not fearmonger. I don’t want to make anything that just heightens division. But it’s a thing for us to check ourselves, as Americans, to grade this threat.
Christian nationalism seemed it might get in check following the insurrection. But it hasn’t really captured the public’s attention enough. We just installed Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House, who has overtly talked about the need to put more biblical teaching into the government. It’s fine and good — great! — to have your faith influence your political thinking, but the goal can never be to insert any particular faith into American law.
MB: Trump captivated a lot of Christians in 2015-2016 by talking about empowering conservative Christians, elevating the Christian nature of the country, giving their leaders power. Is 2024 different?
RR: I think it’s even more dangerous. Because all of the arrests and prosecutions and indictments for Trump for Jan. 6 have bolstered his political standing. I think we’re in a more dangerous place. The whole idea of Trump being anointed by God … it’s just being more and more amplified.
It’s a shrinking minority [of people who embrace these ideas] but a solidifying and hardening minority. In terms of history, we know that if you have 25 [percent] to 30 percent of a country that is doggedly pro-fascism — that’s enough to take over a country.
DP: These things are related. When the U.S. was 75 percent or more churchgoing Christians, they didn’t need Christian nationalism. They had a lock on their power, they felt their influence all the time on culture and government. But as it shrinks, they’re really feeling lack of political power.
MB: Do you think [President] Biden is the right person to address this challenge? Do you wish someone else was running?
RR: No, I think what he’s done is set the tone in 2020 when he talked about the soul of the nation. That theme is continuing, and he’s making the choice very clear. You can either choose democracy or you can choose this other way, which is authoritarianism, fascism. … He’s made it very clear [that] that is the fight that’s facing us. We’re definitely at a crossroads. And America is going to have to make the choice.
correction
A previous version of this article contained a quote from Skye Jethani that incorrectly said "you could say" instead of "that some people are saying." The correct quote is: “Evangelicalism got married with a kind of political activism, and now evangelicalism has morphed into a cultural and political movement that some people are saying is better described as ‘Christian nationalism.’” The article has been corrected.