Wokeism is the New Christian Nationalism

As we lead up to what is sure to be a contentious election here in the United States, the liberal media I read at my day job and listen to for my own self-edification has begun hand-wringing about the latest and greatest threat to our nation. According to them, that is Christian Nationalism. Specifically, White Evangelical Christian Nationalism allegedly in practice, or soon to be so, in the upper echelons of the US government.

While I am flattered that this crowd believes that American Christians are united enough to pose a significant threat to the status quo, I regret to inform them that Christian nationalist policymakers are already firmly entrenched in the seats of power. However, these policymakers are not waving the flag of the increasingly secular and divided Right. It is in fact the liberal leftists who have chosen to adopt a subset of Christian ideals and go on a new Crusade.

This not-so-new religion is called Wokeism. Maybe you have heard of it. Like any other religion, it has its sacred texts, taboos, heresies, liturgical rites, penances, priests and priestesses, sacraments, and creeds. And this religion is far more of a threat to our country and its free marketplace of ideas than Christian nationalism ever was or will be. Because let’s face it — the number of Americans identifying as Christian and the number going to church every week (or even once annually) is dwindling.

Though Wokeism is a tree that produces rotten fruit, we must not forget its strong Christian roots. Specifically, its strong Protestant roots.

The Christian nationalist, post-Protestant Wokeist prioritizes “the rhetoric of conversion and confession and self-scrutiny, the iconoclasm and occasional anti-Catholicism, the idealization of communities of virtue and the accusatory frenzy of online witch hunts,” according to Ross Douthat. ”If you can’t see the Protestant roots of wokeness, you aren’t paying attention,” he claims. Between Protestantism’s rebellion against authority and Gnosticism, which believes all matter (including the body) is evil, the mustard seed was planted.

But let’s start at the beginning — Original Sin and the Fall. According to the Wokeists (and Calvinists), Men, Women, and Others were born totally depraved. Because of this, none of our acts are fully pleasing to God and we commit evil continuously, even if we sometimes achieve relative good. What are some sins we can commit? In the woke Garden of Eden, the snake would have offered Eve the white privilege fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Tolerance and Bigotry. Adam and Eve would then have proceeded to misgender each other and violate each other’s bodily autonomy. They would then march out of Eden — Adam in front, of course — to create a new colonial project, causing environmental carnage along the way.

The practitioners of Wokeism believe that they are righting wrongs perpetuated on marginalized scapegoats throughout history. In fact, under their code of canon law, they could count Jesus of Nazareth as one such scapegoat — He was poor, a minority, and falsely accused, imprisoned, and executed. Defund the police, am I right? He also strongly rebuked hypocritical religious leaders and cautioned against the desire for wealth. Importantly, He preached equality between men and women, a radical idea for the time. More importantly, He taught the beatitudes, part of the Wokeist’s Rule of Life.

The Wokeists dispense with all of Jesus’ teachings that include any variation on “Thou shalt not,” but they do hold to the sixth verse of the beatitude discourse — that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied. Unfortunately, they too often take this satisfaction into their own hands, not waiting for God’s providence. When they’re not busy burning the churches of heretics, books by Judith Butler and Ibram X. Kendi help them to perform the spiritual works of mercy — “counseling” the doubtful and “instructing” the ignorant into conversion.

One of the key ways that the Wokeists perform another spiritual work of mercy — admonishing the sinner — is by policing any speech that may hurt someone else’s feelings or hamper their autonomy. Misgendering should be a crime, according to millennials. If your child comes out as transgender, parents and friends should never question their identity, not even once. That’s not a breastfeeding mother, silly, that’s a chestfeeding birthing person. Using an exclusionary word like “mother” may harm a marginalized group’s self-conception. If you dare to question implicit bias and DEI workplace training in public, your statements “could be reasonably viewed as offensive” and it would be better off for everyone if you were fired.

If you challenge climate science orthodoxy, you’ll face an Inquisition and reprogramming, says the European Central Bank. The Wokeist-in-Chief clarified his statement: “I used the word ‘reprogram’ when I meant — should have used — ‘train.’” Whoopsie! At least he made plain that diversity and inclusion were still “deeply embedded” in the bank’s culture. He can retain his Wokeist bona fides and his membership card for the Climate Elect.

If you state that marriage is a monogamous institution fit for one man and one woman, and that two parents are better for children, you are met with the reply that marriage is an institution of white supremacy, despite its being instituted by brown people millennia ago. Single motherhood is totally fine, they say. Polyamory is completely harmless and even preferable, more realistic. It takes a village, right?

As with marriage, so with the other six sacraments. Instead of the sacrament of confession, they have acknowledgement of your privilege. Instead of priests receiving holy orders, they have TikTok witches. Instead of anointing the sick, enter reiki healing and tarot readings. Instead of baptism, medical transition. Instead of the Most Holy Body and Blood, they zealously guard the Most Holy Sacrament of Abortion, the questioning of which is verboten.

As you can see, humans are fundamentally religious, whether they like it or not. All of us worship something, even if that something is ourselves. All of us live under vows, even if that vow is that there are no vows, so anything is permitted. In my view, it’s no wonder that members of the New Atheism movement have directed their withering critiques away from the Christians and onto the Wokeists. They’ve seen illiberal, religious fanaticism before, they believe, so they know it when they see it. For their wrongthink and their insistence on scientific realities like biological sex, they too have been disinvited from the Wokeist club.

But let’s get back to the Christian nationalism that the Wokeists are concerned about. As Politico puts it, “Christian nationalists in America believe that the country was founded as a Christian nation and that Christian values should be prioritized throughout government and public life.” Shock! Awe! If that is what their definition of a Christian nationalist is, then I guess that includes me and the Wokeist. This country was founded as a Christian nation. And Christian values should be prioritized in this country. 

The Wokeist and I just disagree on which ones.