Christian nationalism keeps on giving...

An armed insurrection AND a continuing pandemic

So far this year, Christian nationalism has gifted us with an armed insurrection, and there’s growing evidence that says people who embrace that ideology are also delaying our reaching herd immunity (which is only achievable when a substantial portion of the population has been vaccinated).

In fact? A December study, “How Culture Wars Delay Herd Immunity: Christian Nationalism and Anti-vaccine Attitudes,” says:

…as Americans evaluate decisions to vaccinate themselves or their children, those who strongly embrace Christian nationalism—close to a quarter of the population—will be much more likely to abstain, potentially prolonging the threat of certain illnesses.

From a July study, “Culture Wars and COVID‐19 Conduct: Christian Nationalism, Religiosity, and Americans’ Behavior During the Coronavirus Pandemic,” the politicalization that has defined the country’s response to the pandemic didn’t spring from the ooze that is Republican or Democratic thought, but from an

…ideology that connects disregard for scientific expertise; a conception of Americans as God's chosen and protected people; distrust for news media; and allegiance to Trump―Christian nationalism. 

That disregard, from an August study, “Crusading for Moral Authority: Christian Nationalism and Opposition to Science,” is not new, and is tied to Christian nationalism’s goal to:

…establish a particular and exclusivist vision of Christianity as the dominant moral order.

Meanwhile (from the study linked above):

…adherents feel threatened by challenges to the epistemic authority undergirding that order, including by aspects of science perceived as challenging the supremacy of biblicist authority.

I’d say we should pray for them, but time is short and I think I’ll concentrate on people for whom there’s still hope. To hell with them, she said sweetly.