In 2016, I witnessed a cataclysmic shift in our world:
the rise of white Christian nationalism.

I was fresh out of graduate school and paving a new path as a 26-year-old — feminist, progressive, and punk.

I didn’t identify as a Christian then, though my parents raised me in the Catholic Church. I knew the basic teachings and expectations, but I possessed frustrations that turned me into a cynic, despite a deep understanding of someone or something greater than myself looking out for me.

I was “tuned in,” as some would call it. I felt this presence deep in my bones and being. I couldn’t wrap my head around it — that is, until the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.

I was on fire. I passionately believed in candidate U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. In a way I never came across before, he spoke of equality for all. His political experience and work backed up everything he proposed and promised as a potential leader, unlike other political candidates to date.

This authenticity mattered to me. Sanders’ direct words and candor fueled the righteous anger within me: in the United States, I knew we needed healthcare for all, a re-distribution of wealth, and comprehensive reform to student loans and access to education. This change was dire for us and the planet.

A latent sensation of awareness started to take shape, and I began to see how economic vitality for all could impact each of us, even the wealthy, for the better. 

Over the next year, I campaigned locally for Bernie Sanders to become the next President of the United States. I was dedicated because there was too much at stake. Social justice issues — Black Lives Matter, Me Too, and Standing Rock, to name a few — drove me to look for solutions and to fight the good fight as Bernie had done for years.

Through this time, I returned to the teachings of Christ with genuine interest. His ancient words resounded with clarity, unlike the nicely curated, boxed versions given to me as a child at PSR (the Catholic Church’s version of Sunday School). I was hooked and began to call myself a follower of Christ.

Then it struck me: why aren’t more Christians discussing these social justice issues? Why aren’t they as fired up as I am? Don’t they see the social inequities of our world and want to do something about it? Couldn’t they see we have the power to enact Christly change through our actions and our shared community of democracy?

No Christians I knew were as fired up as I was, and I thought their silence and inaction were bullshit. How could they not be enraged like Jesus was in Jerusalem as he flipped tables of coins in the Temple? I could no longer stomach their feel-good message of marshmallow fluff.

Then there was a spattering of 2016 Republican presidential candidates identifying as Christians — Ben Carson, Donald Trump, and Ted Cruz.
The Christians I knew who were considering these candidates wanted to vote for them because “they call themselves Christians.” Seriously, I thought? None of these candidates have the record to call themselves Christians or followers of Christ’s teachings. These leaders' works or motivations do not reflect a Christly interior to me.
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I should have known, though — abortion. It’s the hot-button issue that gets all kinds of Christians riled up. For once, they’ll do something rather than talk about it, and they did: they elected Donald Trump in 2016 because he said he was against abortion.
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Claiming Trump was “the most Christian choice,” they paid no mind to his racist declarations, which have violently impacted our Hispanic communities. Never mind Trump’s “Grab ‘em by the pussy” display about women, forgetting that women are also heavenly images of God and that Jesus said, “To look at a woman in lust is adultery.” Does anyone care that Trump actively pushed out Black tenants from his rental housing? Nope, this, too, doesn’t phase these so-called Christian voters despite the Bible saying, "You shall always love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."
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Regardless of Trump’s sexist, transphobic, racist viewpoints and associations with people like sex offender and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, 8 out of 10 White evangelical Christians still voted for Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, according to NPR.

‍No doubt, white evangelical Christians will continue to vote for Trump or leaders like him. It’s their last stand in a country becoming more diverse and increasingly aware of its violent past and the human rights of our queer friends, BIPOC, and women.

Many of us saw white Christian nationalism on display during the January 6th Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. This movement seeks to fuse Christianity with our founding story as a country to serve white people, push out minorities, and dispel religious liberty. 
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They believe the United States was established as a Christian nation — that it’s divinely favored and exists to spread freedom, religion, and civilization. They consider our growing diversity and the expanding presence of non-Christians and immigrants as a threat to this mission and want to reclaim the U.S. for themselves. Phillip S. Gorski, co-writer and co-researcher of the book "The Flag and The Cross," sees white Christian nationalism as a danger to our democratic system.
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Here is where Faith is Feminist enters.

I developed this concept through my research of the Bible and as a Christian Feminist. As a Christian Feminist, I am committed to better understanding these ancient texts, questioning its origins and original intent through scholarly practice while informing others that white Christian nationalism is not the message of Christ.
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Faith is Feminist exists to set the record straight for Christians who weaponize Christ’s words for personal gain, to use these words to commit racist, homophobic, transphobic, and sexist acts. 
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I am here to state they are false in their depictions and perceptions of what Christly living is. I want to challenge them with a message of love and acceptance, no matter sexuality, preferred gender expression, skin color, or country of origin.

Through blog posts and interviews, I hope to motivate a change to see that true faith is feminist. 
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Christ said it best, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40, NIV)