Orthodox Jews, Latter Day Saints, and the MAGA Movement: A New Lens on Christian Nationalism

Introduction

Research on Christian nationalism in the United States has largely focused on White Evangelical Christianity. However, the most widely used measures for assessing support for Christian nationalism—such as those employed by PRRI/Brookings (2023) and the General Social Survey (Gorski et al., 2022)—consistently capture significant numbers of non-Evangelical supporters and adherents. This paper, drawing on findings from a six-month comparative ethnography conducted among Orthodox Jews and Latter-day Saints (LDS) in the United States during the lead-up to and aftermath of the 2024 elections, argues that non-Evangelical support for the MAGA movement offers a useful lens for reconsidering the concept of Christian nationalism. Specifically, it does so by offering two interventions into the current discourse on Christian nationalism: (1) by distinguishing the overarching Christian nationalist meta-narrative from its particular Evangelical expression and (2) by highlighting the diverse leadership structures that facilitate Christian nationalist support beyond Evangelical contexts.

Christian Nationalism: Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives

To better understand the implications of studying Christian nationalism outside of an Evangelical framework, it is necessary to take stock of the prevailing definitions and assumptions within the field. One of the most cited contemporary definitions comes from The Flag and the Cross, in which Gorski et al. (2022) describe Christian nationalism as a "constellation of beliefs" (p. 14) that together form a "deep story" (Hochschild, 2016) about the nation’s past and a political vision for its future. This formulation is comprised of five key beliefs: (1) Christians should occupy a privileged position in society, (2) America was founded as a Christian nation, (3) the country's greatness is tied to its Christian character, (4) the United States has strayed from its Christian roots, threatening its greatness, and (5) political action—potentially including violence—is necessary to restore the nation to its Christian past.

While the aforementioned definition appears unambiguously Christian in nature, its categorization as such becomes more complicated when paired with empirical findings on the relationship between religious involvement and adherence to Christian nationalist beliefs. For instance, while Sherkat et al. (2023) find that Christian nationalism is "nurtured by regular religious participation" (p. 14) in predominantly White Evangelical churches, neither Gorski et al. (2022) nor Stroope et al. (2021) find a clear correlation between church attendance and agreement with Christian nationalist statements. This ambiguity challenges the prevailing narrative—originating with Goldberg (2006)—that Christian nationalism is fundamentally rooted in radical Evangelical preaching. In fact, the substantial number of non-Christian and ‘unchurched’ Americans who align with Christian nationalist ideology poses a direct challenge to the conceptual boundaries of Christian nationalism itself. If many of its adherents do not self-identify as Christians in a meaningful sense, what justifies categorizing their nationalism as Christian? 

This paper seeks to bridge the gap between Christian nationalism’s theoretical formulation and empirical expression by offering a qualitative analysis of how the Christian nationalist narrative manifests in non-Evangelical contexts—specifically, among Latter-day Saints and Orthodox Jews. What makes these two faith groups particularly compelling cases for comparison with Evangelical Christian nationalism is that each maintains strong symbolic boundaries separating their communities from "Gentiles" and has a history of fraught relations with Evangelical Christianity. At the same time, the 2024 PRRI report puts LDS support for Christian nationalism at 42%, and Jewish support at 8%. The fact that any members of these faith groups are capable of registering strong agreement to questions like, “I believe that being a Christian is an important part of being truly American” or “I believe that Christians should exercise dominion over all areas of American society” (PRRI, 2023; 2024) makes them worthy of investigation. 

Christian Nationalism as a Meta-Narrative

As outlined above, prevailing theoretical definitions of Christian nationalism are deeply intertwined with Evangelical political theology (e.g., dominion theology). However, among Latter-day Saints and Orthodox Jews—groups that explicitly reject Evangelical theology—Christian nationalist narratives still emerge, albeit in distinct forms. For example, within LDS circles, an adaptation of the Christian nationalist deep story can be found in a book titled America’s Destiny: Choosing God’s Will or Ours (Callister, 2023), which was widely circulated in the lead-up to the election. While conservative in tone and espousing a vision of America’s past as divinely ordained, dominion theology is nowhere to be found on its pages. Instead, a uniquely LDS notion of ‘building Zion’ in the United States becomes the driving force of the narrative. By examining the commonalities between the Evangelical, LDS, and Orthodox Jewish variations of Christian nationalism, this paper delineates a broader meta-narrative that transcends any single religious tradition, and replaces Gorski et al (2022)’s constellation of beliefs with a more abstract set of beliefs about the role that faith ought to play in the American civil sphere.  

Religious Authority and the Permeability of Christian Nationalism

Another key distinction between Evangelical and non-Evangelical Christian nationalism is the role of religious leadership in shaping these narratives. While Evangelical Christian nationalism is often framed as a movement driven by religious elites who disseminate its ideology through their congregations, LDS and Orthodox Jewish leadership have largely resisted their communities’ engagement with Christian nationalism. Instead, the propagation of Christian nationalist narratives within these groups occurs through mid-level religious figures, cultural influencers, and lay leaders who tailor the meta-narrative to fit their specific traditions and historical experiences. This decentralized dissemination highlights the adaptability of Christian nationalist narratives and their ability to take root even in religious communities whose formal leadership remains resistant

Conclusion

Taken together, these two features—(1) the existence of a Christian nationalist meta-narrative distinct from its Evangelical expression and (2) the decentralized pathways through which it spreads in non-Evangelical communities—prompt a rethinking of how scholars conceptualize Christian nationalism. Rather than viewing it as an extension of Evangelical theology, this paper argues that Christian nationalism should be understood as a broader ideological framework that different religious groups can adapt to their own historical and theological contexts. By expanding the scope of Christian nationalism beyond Evangelicalism, this research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of its diverse manifestations in contemporary American society.