Christianity is getting a bad rap these days, and many Christians in the United States are living in fear.

No, they are not afraid of trans people or drag queens or lesbian and gay people. They are afraid of so-called “Christian nationalists” who they feel have hijacked and perverted Christianity for devious purposes. The nationalists are “a specific subset of conservative Christians,” reports a group called Faithful America. They are “false prophets.”

“It (Christian nationalism) often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation,” which is why you will also often hear the related and important term “white Christian nationalism.” Christian nationalism also falsely teaches that there is no separation of church and state — and that conservative Christians should seize complete power by any means necessary.

Driven by that lust for power, Christian nationalism is the ideology that inspired and guided the deadly January 6 insurrection; organizes countless attacks on the equal rights and religious freedom of non-Christians, immigrants, women, the LGBTQ community, people of color, and other Americans; and now threatens to incite a new wave of political violence with never-ending rhetoric about “holy war,” the “armor of God,” and “the angel of death” coming for the movement’s political opponents.

Christian nationalism is a political ideology and a form of nationalism, not a religion or a form of Christianity. It directly contradicts the Gospel in multiple ways, and is therefore considered by many Christian leaders to be a heresy. While Jesus taught love, peace, and truth, Christian nationalism leads to hatred, political violence, and QAnon misinformation. While Jesus resisted the devil’s temptations of authority in the wilderness, Christian nationalism seeks to seize power for its followers at all costs.

As a Theosophist, I know the value of true Christianity in this world. It shares an underlying principle with all major religions: brotherly love. And like so many people around the world, I have been appalled by what Republicans and fellow extremists have been imposing on Americans. But I didn’t realize until yesterday, when I came across a petition calling on Christians to reject Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign, the serious threat they pose to Christianity itself.

Yes, I signed the petition. And I read some of the literature on Faithful America’s site, whose motto beside their logo is: “Love thy neighbor. No exceptions.” I recognized it immediately as the spirit of true Christianity, which loves all people equally and would never seek to force its values on others.

Pro-democracy, pro-love Christians must speak out together to show the country that Christian nationalism does not represent Jesus or our faith. When we do this, we prove that the biggest critics of the Christian-nationalist ideology are in fact Christians, and thus disprove the source of its biggest power: the false perception that the religious-right speaks for all American Christians.

On one hand, it was a relief for me, really. My heart was gladdened to see the “religious right” does not speak for all American Christians, who see the actions and hate of Republicans and their extreme followers as an abomination — a word used in the Bible to describe something very evil in the last days of civilization as we know it.

On the other hand, I realized that true Christians in the United States may be persecuted, too, if the Republicans and their minions prevail. How long would it take before all Christians would be forced to fall in line with white Christian nationalists or suffer the same erasure minority groups are facing now?

Make no mistake about it: the Republicans and their extremist followers have declared war on true Christianity. That is the bottom line of the so-called culture war in the United States.

And we all should care about that, no matter your faith or lack thereof. You don’t need to believe in any religious mumbo jumbo and supernatural entities to support people who truly believe in brotherly love, and who are standing up against one of the greatest potential evils of our time.

So why not sign the petition and show some support for them, wherever you may live in the global village?

Sign for love over hate.

— Jillian