Why We’re Publishing “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists”

Every day brings news of Christian Nationalism continuing to gnaw away at American institutions:

• Laws targeting the LGBTQIA+ community, including banning gender-affirming care for minors, or discussing gender in schools described in any way other than as the traditional binary;
• Lawmakers placing the Ten Commandments or copies of the Bible in public classrooms, mandating moments of silence or public prayer, or redirecting public tax dollars to private, mostly Christian schools through school vouchers;
• The Defense Department using scripture in new promotional videos;
• Christian imagery and language used during the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol;
• The Project 2025 blueprint for constructing a U.S. government aligned with conservative Christian moral fundamentals, emphasizing Christian heritage as part of the national identity.

The threat Christian Nationalism poses to the ideals of compassion, diversity, and even the basic freedoms of speech and religion is more evident every day. But just as symptoms disclose a spreading disease, learning how to spot the symptoms of Christian Nationalism makes it easier to stop the scourge before it’s too late.

 In the past two years, Chalice has published two resources on Christian Nationalism. First was Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism, cowritten by Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood, which exposes the dangerous undercurrents of Christian Nationalism and cites how Mainline Protestants helped created the movement and still unwittingly support it through seemingly benign practices.

The follow-up is The Bible According to Christian Nationalists, Kaylor’s solo work focusing on Christian nationalism’s distortion and manipulation of scripture for political power. A Baptist minister and journalist who leads Word&Way, Kaylor exposes how Christian nationalists use the Bible as a prop, twist it through selective interpretation such as numerology and cherry-picking, and reinterpret passages to justify their partisan agenda.

Kaylor asserts Christian Nationalism’s goal is to put conservative Christians in charge of American society, leveraging power for their own benefit while making others subservient. For them, American and Christian identities are so inseparable that being a “good American” means being Christian—and that being a faithful Christian requires being pro-America. It also distorts the U.S. Constitution and founding ideals as being created to create a Christian nation while simultaneously disregarding the white supremacy inherent in a document that benefits slave owners. Kaylor demonstrates how Christian Nationalists' manipulation of the Bible leads to real-world violence—remember that strange Epiphany day in January 2021?—and advocates for a more faithful approach to biblical interpretation focusing on the teachings of Jesus and their full context.

Here's a surprise: This book is, at times and in the right places, funny. Kaylor engages in satire like a contemporary Will Rogers, with sarcasm and wit that lightens the mood. It’s also the only Chalice Press book that includes criticism of the author. “He’s a liberal nitwit,” said Albert Mohler, president of a Southern Baptist seminary. “Marxist pastor,” said noted pardoned federal convict Roger Stone. “A bad actor,” said Jenna Ellis, an attorney who worked to overturn the 2020 election. When that’s what Christian Nationalists say about your efforts for undo their work, you must be doing something right!

The rise of Christian Nationalism impacts more than government. It also tarnishes the name of Christianity as a whole, especially those congregations and individuals faithful to the call to care for our neighbors as much as ourselves. The American public’s perception of Christianity is highly polarized for this very reason. Identifying oneself as “Christian” is not nearly the automatic benefit-of-the-doubt-getter it once was. Christian Nationalism is a key reason. A Pew survey in 2025 found only 44 percent of Americans believe religion does more good than harm[1]; a different Pew study a year earlier said that 25% of respondents viewed Christian Nationalism unfavorably. At the time, more than half the respondents hadn’t heard or read about Christian Nationalism.[2] The Bible According to Christian Nationalists is Chalice’s contribution to improving that number.

As a publisher of stories about how Jesus’ message is needed in our world, Chalice Press insists on radical welcome and affirmation of the diversity entrusted to us by God. We seek justice and liberation in a world free of racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, and hate, and we stand with the marginalized communities Christian Nationalism targets. If you agree, recognizing the dangerous dogma of Christian Nationalism is crucial and urgent. We hope The Bible According to Christian Nationalists trains you to stop this movement in its tracks and to reestablish, together, the Good News as we heal the wounds inflicted on the nation we love.