The Rev. Dr. Mary Susan Gast will speak at Community Congregational Church on Sunday, October 26, at 4:00 pm on the topic of Christian Nationalism, its roots and impact.

She states, “In the late 1970’s a movement began to emerge in the U.S. that we now recognize as Christian Nationalism. ‘Christian Nationalism’ is not simply being Christian and being American. It is the fusion of one particular take on Christianity with a vision of the United States as the birthright of the descendants of white Christian European settlers.

Bishop William Barber has observed that the adherents of Christian Nationalism believe that Christianity ‘calls on us to be anti-gay, against people who may have had an abortion, against immigrants, and against the poor. But what the Scriptures actually say is that God loves all people.’”

Her presentation on October 26^th will examine the Biblical and historical bases for these diverse understandings of the application of Christian teaching, along with the effects of Christian Nationalism on our democracy and civil society.

Dr. Gast notes that the affirmation of Christian Nationalism among many current national leaders raises questions for many regarding the effects of that ideology on government policy.

“In August this year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth released a video on social media. It featured two pastors of Hegseth’s fellowship of faith asserting that women should not have the right to vote.

Doug Wilson, one of the pastors on the video, later affirmed to the Associated Press that he believes the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote ‘was a bad idea.’

In early September many members of the current administration attended the National Conservatism Conference. Speakers at the event included:

• • Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts endorsing ‘the righteous anger young men feel when our elites say they can be replaced by immigrants or machines’
  • Charlie Haywood, who has called for the ‘total denigration of ‘career’ as the main goal of women’
  • and U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt who declared America belongs to ‘us’. . . ‘the sons and daughters of the Christian pilgrims that poured out from Europe’s shores to baptize a new world.’

Gast is a Liberation theologian with advanced academic degrees from Michigan State University and the Chicago Theological Seminary.  Over the past 50 years she has made presentations in the U.S., South Africa, and China addressing the ways in which patriarchal and colonialist interpretations have distorted Christian teachings to the detriment of women and others regarded as not-quite-human.

Community Congregational Church is located at 1305 W. Second Street in Benicia. The event is free, and the public is invited.