Katherine Stewart, author
The Power Worshippers: Inside the Rise of Religious Nationalism

We hear daily news of Christian Nationalism, as if it’s something new. It’s not. It has a 50-year history as a modern movement - developing into what Ms. Stewart calls a “global holy war against a single, common, worldwide enemy: global liberalism.” She adds that “today’s movement leaders have declared a new holy war against America’s ethnically and religiously diverse democracy.”

Katherine Stewart pulls back the curtain on the inner workings and leading personalities of a movement that has turned religion into a tool for political power and domination in her book, The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. She draws from extensive research and interviews to tell the story of people – mostly men – whose driving passion and core values motivate them to seek power to control the lives of everyone.

What do we need to know about this movement? What can we do to stop it? Her book provides answers to those questions. You can learn more about Ms. Stewart at her website (https://katherinestewart.me/).

Katherine Stewart's book documents the many ways this movement has gained power and affects our lives in so many ways. Here are just a few brief excerpts:

“Their issues—the overwhelming preoccupation with sexual order, the determination to unite the nation around a single religious identity, the conviction that they are fighting for salvation against forces of darkness—have come to define the effort that has transformed the political landscape and shaken the foundations upon which lay our democratic norms and institutions....This is not a “culture war. It is a political war over the future of democracy. .. And its ultimate goal is power.” (Pp.2-3) 

“While many Americans still believe that the Christian right is primarily concerned with “values,” leaders of the movement know it’s really about power - they prefer autocrats to democrats.” (p.40)

Katherine writes about how increasingly Christian Nationalists insist that the separation of church and state was not the Founders intent and that a “wall of separation” does not exist.

“Over the past four decades, Christian nationalists have achieved remarkable progress toward a longstanding goal: to convert America’s public schools into conservative Christian academies, even as they weaken or even destroy public education altogether.” (p.186)

Katherine details the rise of a global movement and says: “America’s Christian nationalists have not overlooked Putin’s authoritarian style of government; they have embraced it as an ideal.” (p.272)

“We don’t need to create a new majority; we just need to give our existing majority the power to which it is entitled. Addressing gerrymandering, voter suppression, and other abuses of the electoral process that continue to hobble American democracy will be a central aspect of any effort to meet the challenge of Christian nationalism.” (p.276)

(All page references are from Stewart, Katherine. The Power Worshippers. Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.)