Elissa, I wish you were correct, but that has not been true for quite some time. As they say, forewarned, is forearmed, so please let me explain.
Yes, Christian Nationalism is a white supremacist movement. However, white evangelicals are heavily invested in bringing black people and “others” on board, by folding Christian Zionism into Christian Nationalism.
Unfortunately, most people don’t realize that Zionism is a Christian concept that emerged during the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s. Working beside colonizing corporations, Catholic missionaries, and Protestant evangelicals, spread Christian Zionism around the world (which included Africa and North, Central and South America).
It was almost 500 years, before political Zionism entered the picture for European Jews. After the Holocaust, white Christian nations, including America, refused to take in Jewish refugees. That made Israel the only option available for Jews who’d survived the concentrations camps but refused to go home and live beside Christians who had sent them to the camps (then stole their homes, businesses, and possessions). To avoid any backlash at home, the leaders of White Christian nations backed the formation of Israel.
In 1971, then California Governor, Ronald Reagan argued that the establishment of the state of Israel, coupled with Israel’s acquisition of nuclear weapons, had set the stage for the final battle, as predicted in the bible, saying “For the first time ever, everything is in place for the battle of Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ”.
As President, Reagan sparked a resurgence of Christian Zionism. Beginning in the 1980s, Christian Zionism moved from an Anglo-American movement to a global movement and established strong roots in countries like Brazil, Nigeria, and South Korea.
By the time Trump ran for the presidency, in 2016, Christian Zionism, Christian evangelism, Christian Nationalism, the Republican Party and Billionaire-controlled Think Tanks and non-profit organizations were so tightly entangled, they were one in the same.
Today, there are less than 16 million Jews on the entire planet. Less than 6 million, including 1.8 million children live in America, and almost 7 million live in Israel. Members of America’s non-Jewish pro-Israel, Christian Zionist organizations, outnumber the entire Jewish American population by 5:1. Moreover, both Netanyahu’s and Trump’s largest, wealthiest, and most influential base of support in both America and Israel, are white Christian Zionists (not Jews).
Traditionally, black churches focused on Liberation Theology which revolves around Exodus, the Judaic story of Moses leading his people, Hebrew slaves, out of Egypt. By connecting Liberation theology to Zionism and Israel, white Christian evangelical leaders identified an opportunity to increase their numbers, voting power and financial support – hence their outreach programs to black people and other “others”.
For example, the non-Jewish, Christians United for Israel is both, the largest and most powerful pro-Israel lobby and Christian Zionist organization in the United States (more than 10-million non-Jewish members). In 2010, Christians United for Israel began expanding its membership with missions (aka outreach programs) among Latino and Black Christian evangelicals. By comparison, American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has 3-million members (which include both Christians and Jews).
Elissa, please do not mistake my efforts to report facts, for agreement. Watching Netanyahu enable white supremacists in America to seize control of Israel has horrified and sickened me. I am equally appalled by white supremacists working towards the same ends in Africa and South America. I write about his stuff in what feels more and more like failed hope and yet I keep writing.
In case anyone is interested in more information, here are some links to get you started
In 2023, less than a month after Hamas attacked Israel, Christians United for Israel was running ads in Times Square (New York City). Immediately, American politicians knew where as many as 90 million Christian Zionists, also known as Trump’s base, stood. Links to Christian Zionist ads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIgRyr_UaV0
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QzegfXRMZPU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQU-n-XVkkA
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cJZo85hcEE4
https://forward.com/news/144558/christian-backers-of-israel-reach-out-to-blacks/
