Looking for Christian Nationalists in Idaho’s GOP

I was at a Republican Party event in Pocatello last year, and there was a discussion at lunch about defining Christian Nationalists.  Unless someone tells you he is one, and some do, it’s not always easy to spot.  There are some people who are devout Christians, and it informs their decisions, including politics.  A friend from Delaware was a member of the Presbyterian Church in America, the conservative wing of the Presbyterian movement.  He was a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, and was asked about his faith at a debate.  He replied that he answered to voters and a higher power, which I would admire in any member of Congress.  But he wasn’t looking to install a theocracy.

Media Paints Most People of Faith as Dangerous

Many men and women like him in Idaho publicly proclaim their faith and try to live by it.  Many of them get tarred with the theocratic brush, and I admit that a dozen to 15 years ago I found it more attractive than creeping socialism.  But governments come and go.  There’s no permanence.

They May Be Few but Have Big Plans

I don’t doubt that there are committed Christian Nationalists in Idaho.  Put 20 people in a room, and you get many different views.  You put more than two million into a state, and you get even more.  The remnants of the state’s liberal media would portray all church-going Idahoans as dangerous, unless the pastor wears rainbow robes and promotes Proposition 1.  But there are adherents to theocracy here, as there are across America, and they’re getting some traction.  Click this link and read more.  The writer is ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America, and he’s concerned.