Rob Reiner's God & Country Doc Exposes Toxic Political Power of Christian Nationalism

By Bill Berkowitz /Daily Kos

God & Country is a new documentary produced by Rob Reiner and his wife Michele. The film examines the rise of Christian nationalism; the way activists use the Bible to justify their political positions, and its growing political influence. Reiner, best known for his acting role in the 1970s sitcom “All in the Family” and for directing a series of beloved comedies, including This is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that “For decades, I was aware of… what we call now Christian nationalism. It’s a political movement, really, certainly not a spiritual or religious movement, and it started gaining more and more strength.”

For decades Religious Right leaders/Christian nationalists have been stigmatizing and attacking opponents, raising large amounts of money, building huge flocks based on faith, fear and anger, launching multi-million-dollar media empires, and becoming the face of conservative evangelical Christianity. While a series of sexual and financial scandals have thinned their ranks, for many among them, the only thing they haven’t gotten away with is murder!

However, the January 6 invasion of the Capitol, and their touting of Donald Trump’s big lie that the election was a fraud, shined a blazing spotlight on Christian Nationalism.

David French called January 6th, the day “a violent Christian insurrection invaded and occupied the Capitol.” The attack “occurred days after the so-called Jericho March, an event explicitly filled with Christian-nationalist rhetoric so unhinged that French, Senior editor of The Dispatch, a columnist for Time, and the author of the book Divided We Fall, “warned that it embodied ‘a form of fanaticism that can lead to deadly violence.’”

It was not surprising that so many In Christian nationalists took part in the January 6 Insurrection. After all, in Christian nationalist circles, Donald Trump is often referred to as the “anointed one.”  

In February 2022, a report titled “Christian Nationalism And The January 6, 2021 Insurrection,” was issued by a joint project from Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) and the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF).

Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry, authors of Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States, are among the contributors to the report. They wrote: “Survey after survey finds that close to half of Americans are at the very least supportive of the fusion of Christianity with American civic life. These Americans believe that Christianity should influence our public policies, sacred symbols, and national identity.”  

In reviewing God & Country -- whose official trailer can be seen here

-- which recently opened in select theaters around the country, The Progressive magazine’s Annie Laurie Gaylor wrote:

• God & Country opens with footage showing the horrors of the January 6 insurrection complete with crosses, Jesus placards, and prayers on the Senate floor. Almost as chilling is seeing an American flag flying side-by-side with a Christian flag. Director Dan Partland does an excellent job homing in on the Christian nationalist ranting of current and historic televangelists: from Jerry Falwell to today’s Greg Locke, and political leaders such as Ralph Reed, Tony Perkins, and Michael Flynn.

The film is based on Katherine Stewart book The Power of Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. She pointed out that “In a country where 40 to 50 percent of the people don’t vote, you don't need a majority to dominate an election cycle. All you need is a disproportionately activated and motivated and organized minority.”

Among those interviewed are North Carolina-based activist Bishop William Barber, New York Times columnist David French, Christianity Today editor-in-chief Russell Moore, Sister Simone Campbell and Phil Vischer, the co-creator of the Christian cartoon series “VeggieTales.”

Research and background material for the film was provided by Right Wing Watch, a project of People For the American Way, the organization founded by the late Norman Lear, the creator of “All in The Family,” and a number of other popular television series. Right Wing Watch’s Kyle Mantyla recently noted that “The roster of right-wing figures featured in the film reads like a who’s who of Right Wing Watch posts over the years; the film’s credits include thanks to Right Wing Watch for providing source material. In anticipation of the film’s release, we have put together his a quick overview of just who these activists are to help viewers understand their views and roles within the larger Christian nationalist movement”.

Rob Reiner told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that making God & Country was a difficult project to navigate because it is “a very delicate subject to take on, because the one thing we didn’t want to do was bash Christianity, and the film does not do that. ‘It’s the exact opposite, actually.”

He added: “They believe that America should be a white Christian nation, and it is ordained by God to be a white Christian nation,” said Reiner, adding that its followers are “willing to go to the lengths of violence to get their way.”

“The ideology of Christian nationalism, which has become deeply entrenched in American society over centuries, will take generations to dismantle,” said Amanda Tyler, executive director of Baptist Joint Committee and organizer of the Christians Against Christian Nationalism initiative “Christianity does not and cannot unite Americans under a national identity. As we learn more about Christian nationalism, how it debases Christianity, and how it threatens to destroy American democracy, we are even more convinced of the need for a national commitment – from religious and secular groups and individuals – to furthering the American ideal that our belonging in society is not in any way conditioned on or connected to our religious identity.”