When casting my eye over this year’s list of books to review, Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism immediately stood out as a book covering an issue that I had wanted to explore further. Author Michelle Goldberg travels across America in the run-up to the 2004 election, observing and reporting on the “growing influence of dominionism – the doctrine that Christians have the right to rule non-believers”.

It is a controversial subject that has proved increasingly topical - being particularly synonymous with the ‘compassionate conservatism’ governing of the Bush White House. As Goldberg explains, she “started this book in part because I was terrified by America’s increasing hostility to the cosmopolitan values I cherish.”

Goldberg begins by addressing the roots of Christian nationalism, its recent history and what she views as the growing power exerted by the widespread movement. A prominent theme throughout her investigation is its link with the Bush administration, primarily the Faith Based Initiatives launched under Bush, and both the positive and negative influences of such schemes (for example, publicly funded drug-rehabilitation programs with help from prayer and scripture).

She essentially questions the transfer of money and power between Republicans and the religious right, especially in the sense that, instead of solid data and studies to justify their work, they solely rely on biblical scripture, which some people, particularly US citizens of different faiths, would potentially oppose. It boils down to that old debate over separation of Church and State. Religion and Politics rarely mix easily.

Goldberg highlights the sporadic growth of the so-called megachurches, (in 1970 there were 10 of these types of church, now there are more than 880), which contain hundreds of Christian nationalists under one roof, or as Goldberg describes them, “tightly organised right-wing political machines”. The power that such movements can wield is enormous and any previous potential to persuade has, under the Bush administration, metamorphosed from a burgeoning movement to an established realm at the core of American culture in 2007.

The part Christian nationalism plays in education is immense, particularly in relation to the growth of homeschooling in the US and the Patrick Henry College in Virginia, which was the first college in the US specifically for homeschooled undergraduates. (In 2004, 7% of White House interns were Patrick Henry graduates, including one of Karl Rove’s staff). The introduction of ‘Intelligent Design’, or ‘creationism’ into the school curriculum is another issue. Goldberg emphasises that one can believe in both God and evolution, but that supporters of intelligent design are too rigid to be impartial, although the fact that 65% of Americans favour the teaching of creationism alongside traditional evolutionist theories in itself proves that generally Americans seem to find two options more attractive than one. 

Goldberg highlights the controversy caused in some areas by the introduction of sexual abstinence programs and communities where health centre staff turned to God to decide whether a female customer should be handed over the morning-after pill. She illustrates perfectly this sense of widespread and growing influence of these Christian right agendas that are permeating the lives of ordinary Americans.

Particularly illuminating is Goldberg’s point that “the things that so many Islamic fundamentalists hate about the West – its sexual openness, its art, the possibilities it offers for escaping the bonds of family and religion, for inventing ones own life – are what the Christian Nationalists hate as well”, although this could well be the thoughts of any hard-line Christian. She assesses the mixture of religion and politics in the Bush White House and its impact on the current political and social climate in the US, catapulted onto the centre stage in the aftermath of 9/11.  The recently deceased Christian fundamentalist and televangelist Jerry Falwell suggested that “the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and lesbians…the ACLU” were partly to blame for the attacks. Christian nationalism is known for its bigotry, anti-feminism and extreme homophobia - “the foundations to their beliefs.”

It is this extremism that led to the Christian Social Services Division of the Salvation Army in New York City being radically purged of gay and non-Christian staff, resulting in eighteen former staff members together with the ACLU, suing the Salvation Army and the city, state and federal government. The Justice department ruled against them because a rule of Bush’s Faith-based policies is that religious groups can hire or fire staff based on their religious views. It is this some may say interference, which calls into question the motives of the ‘policy wonks’. Such interference from the government (and in Britain this would be a severe case of the nanny-state rearing its head) is also however an erosion of civil liberties, which US citizens have been significantly affected by since 9/11, specifically following the Patriot Act in the wake of the terrorist attacks. 

She notes the increasing religious polarisation in the US, “As Christian nationalism becomes more militant, secularists and religious minorities will mobilise in opposition…thus we’re likely to see a shrinking middle ground, with both camps increasingly viewing each other across a chasm of mutual incomprehension and contempt.”

Goldberg acknowledges the imposed limitations to Christian nationalism – the Constitution, the Courts and Capitalism. In other words, the usual checks and balances, but somewhat surprisingly she predicts that a Democrat win in 2008 will not necessarily reverse the growth and influence of Christian nationalism. That it will be the over-represented conservative states in the Electoral College, together with the growth of those Christian megachurches (not forgetting the socio-political messages stemming from the White House’s Christian-right agendas) that will continue to dominate US political culture. This would certainly support the arguments for a review of the electoral voting system; if it needs to be more demographic and representative then they would need to look at alternate options.

Kingdom Coming is an eye-opening, fascinating peek into the epicentre of the American religious right. What is most revealing is not the fact that the Bush administration streams their messages, but the extent to which it runs through every vein of policy.

Goldberg gives a passionate report painting a genuine picture of her experiences in the world of Christian nationalism, albeit from the perspective of a Jewish “urbanite”. Though obviously sceptical, she puts herself in the position of many who feel genuinely threatened by the rise of Christian nationalism in their nation, and predicts what the future may hold. Goldberg conveys a current anxiety in America that extends “into paranoia and hatred” of fellow citizens, going so far as to link the appearance of it with Fascism. She also worries about the lack of the “entire social mechanism by which truth is distinguished from falsehood” – and therefore ultimately and unfortunately, the demise of democracy.