Is California Governor Gavin Newsom a “Christian nationalist?” Considering his speech at a press conference two weeks back, the answer could easily be yes.
Speaking alongside California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Kim Johnson on October 28, Gov. Newsom announced legal action against the Trump administration as the federal government’s shutdown began to impact SNAP benefits.
The record-breaking shutdown lasted 43 days. As a result, funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program had expired on November 1, the first funding lapse in the program’s 60-year history, impacting the roughly 42 million Americans who receive SNAP aid.
Thankfully, President Trump signed a continuing resolution (H.R. 5371) on November 12, reopening the government through January and restoring the program’s funding.
At the press conference, Gov. Newsom pointed to his time at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit institution. He was raised Catholic.
“I spent a little time at a wonderful Jesuit university. If there was anything I remember about my four years with Fr. Coz, is that the New Testament and Old Testament have one thing dominantly in common,” Newsom contended, citing Matthew, Isaiah, Luke and Proverbs in particular. “It’s around food. It’s about serving those that are hungry.”
“It’s not a suggestion in the Old [and] the New Testament. It’s core and central to what it is to align to God’s will. Period. Full stop.”
“These guys need to stop the B.S. in Washington,” Newsom continued. “They’re sitting there in their prayer breakfasts. Maybe they got an edited version of [President] Donald Trump’s Bible, and they edited all of that out … Cruelty is the policy.”
For years, many on the Left have anxiously warned about the rise of Christian nationalism as an extreme threat to our republic.
“The problem with Christian nationalism isn’t with Christian participation in politics but rather the belief that there should be Christian primacy in politics and law,” wrote David French in the august pages of The New York Times last year.
“It can manifest itself through ideology, identity and emotion. And if it were to take hold, it would both upend our Constitution and fracture our society.”
Writing in CNN last month, senior writer Zachary Wolf charged that the Trump administration has “blurred the lines between church and state.”
“Christian nationalism is the concept — rejected by many scholars — that the US was formed as a Christian nation and that Christianity should imbue its laws,” Wolf summarized.
So, which is it? Does Christian nationalism pose a grave threat to our way of life? Or can politicians — like Governor Newsom — make political arguments based on the Bible and Christian faith?
Unfortunately, someone failed to inform the California governor that blurring the lines between church and state is out of bounds for the modern Left. Politicians advocating for a particular policy outcome based on their own faith are no longer in vogue with most Democrats, who are increasingly secular.
Leftists today demand — at least from conservative Christians — the total “separation of church and state.”
This may come as a surprise to many, but the phrase appears nowhere in the U.S. Constitution.
In fact, the phrase was first penned by President Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut.
Professor Daniel Dreisbach has observed, “No phrase in American letters has more profoundly influenced discourse and policy on church-state relations than Jefferson’s ‘wall of separation.’”
And yet, Dreisbach continues, “There is little evidence that Jefferson thought this figure of speech expressed a universal principle, encapsulated the most salient features of his church-state views, or was his definitive word on the First Amendment.”
Furthermore, presidents down through the centuries have used overtly religious language in addressing the American people and exhorting them to act towards a particular end.
President George Washington wrote, “It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.”
Likewise, President Abraham Lincoln urged during the Civil War, “[We must] fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and union.”
No matter what the Left might say, the United States has a long history of politicians using religious arguments to direct the action of the American people, advocate for certain policy outcomes, and encourage Americans in times of trouble. Only recently has this behavior been deemed “Christian nationalism” when done by individuals on the Right.
Thanks to the California governor, no conservative Christian should fear being deemed a Christian nationalist. If Gov. Newsom can use his personal faith and Scripture to demand funding for SNAP benefits, Christians on the Right can use the Bible and faith to advance our arguments, too.
Zachary Mettler is a staff writer and communications liaison for The Daily Citizen at Focus on the Family. In his role, he writes about current political issues, U.S. history, political philosophy, and culture. Mettler has been featured in The Daily Signal, Life News, The Colorado Independent, and The Millennial Review. In his free time, he enjoys reading, running, hiking, backpacking, and walking his dog. Find his writing at: https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com
