Christian supremacy refers to both the belief that

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

to other

religions Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, t ...

and a form of

identity politics Identity politics is politics based on a particular identity, such as ethnicity, Race (human categorization), race, nationality, religion, Religious denomination, denomination, gender, sexual orientation, Socioeconomic status, social background ...

that asserts that

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

are superior to others and are, therefore, better suited to rule. Christian supremacy overlaps with—and can be considered a core tenet of—

Christian nationalism Christian nationalism is a form of religious nationalism that focuses on promoting the Christian views of its followers, in order to achieve prominence or Dominion theology, dominance in political, cultural, and social life. In countries with a ...

. The

New Apostolic Reformation The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a Christian supremacist theological belief and controversial movement associated with the far-right that combines elements of Pentecostalism, evangelicalism, and the Seven Mountain Mandate to advocate for s ...

, a dominionist political movement, is described by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' and scholar Bradley Onishi as promoting Christian supremacy through a mix of hard-right politics and supposed prophecy. Joseph Wiinikka-Lydon of the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...

and religion scholar Matthew D. Taylor point to the Seven Mountain Mandate as the plan for Christian dominance and supremacy.

Discourse

Christian supremacy has a long history within Christianity with much of its basis coming from ideas of

Christendom The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...

which seeks a hegemonic form of religious, cultural and even political conformity across various forms of

Christian theology Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Ch ...

. Christian supremacy and its adherents primarily follow Dominion theology which traces much of its roots from the Reformed Protestant influenced

Christian reconstructionism Christian reconstructionism is a fundamentalist Calvinist theonomic movement. It developed primarily under the direction of R. J. Rushdoony, Greg Bahnsen and Gary North and has had an important influence on the Christian right in the Unit ...

with the

being considered a direct decendent of the Reconstruction movement. Additionally, Southern Poverty Law Centre identified

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Integralism In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism () is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues the principle that the Catholic faith should be the basis of public law and public policy within civil society, wherever the ...

as a related form of Christian supremacist ideology and theology.

Christian fundamentalism Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British an ...

is a major undercurrent and central ideology of Christian supremacy. Additionally,

premillennialism Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the Earth (the Second Coming) before the Millennium, heralding a literal thousand-year messianic age of peace. Premillennialism is based upon a liter ...

and, to an extent,

postmillennialism In Christian eschatology (end-times theology), postmillennialism, or postmillenarianism, is an interpretation of chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring ''after'' (Latin ''post-'') the "Millennium", a ...

have been considered influences upon Christian supremacy over their emphases on the end times, especially within the

; its broader relative, the

Apostolic-Prophetic Movement The Apostolic-Prophetic movement (AP movement) is a US-based Christian movement founded in the early 2000s. It is a network of non-denominational alliances of independent churches and ministries. Overview The AP movement is rooted in the C ...

; and

Evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

, in general. Christian supremacy may coexist with Christian antisemitism and

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

to varying degrees, while

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

transphobia Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender or transsexual people, or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to socia ...

, and

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...

maintain a significant presence within Christian supremacist discourses, often through the belief in and promotion of conspiracy theories such as the LGBTQ grooming conspiracy theory and Cultural Marxism. Additionally,

sectarianism Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or Religious violence, religious conflicts between groups. Others conceiv ...

can arise between denominations of Christianity as they vie for supremacy. Christian supremacy often intersects with other forms of supremacy, such as

White supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

, and as a result, various White Christian supremacist groups exist, such as the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

and

Christian Identity Christian Identity (also known as Identity Christianity) is an interpretation of Christianity which advocates the belief that only Celtic and Germanic peoples, such as the Anglo-Saxon, Nordic nations, or the Aryan race and kindred peoples, are ...

. Scholars such as Jenny L. Small and others have highlighted the fact that Christian supremacy is related to Christian privilege and Christian hegemony, which is characterized as a system of interlocking discourses that privileges Christians and marginalizes non-Christians, thus assuming the universalization of

Christian values Christian values historically refers to values derived from the teachings of Jesus Christ. The term has various applications and meanings, and specific definitions can vary widely between denominations, geographical locations, historical context ...

. Christian hegemony and privileges are deeply embedded in Western societies, which sustain Christian supremacy. Even when religious plurality is formally acknowledged, the entrenchment of Christian values serves to obscure and sustain Christian privilege.

History

Additionally, particularly in Western contexts, Islamophobia is becoming more often seen as a structural element of Christian supremacist ideology. According to Junaid Rana, Islamophobia is a racial project with roots in colonial Christian frameworks that cast Muslims as the " Other" in a hierarchy of civilizations worldwide, rather than only a reaction to security concerns or religious disagreements. In this context, Christian supremacy can function as both a religious and cultural identity marker, shaping notions of national belonging and societal norms.

In the United States

Christian supremacy was used as one justification for stealing lands from Native Americans and enslaving Africans around the founding of the United States. The philosophy that gave Americans entitlement to the land inhabited by natives is known as Manifest Destiny. In the 1930's,

Father Coughlin Charles Edward Coughlin ( ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin, was a Canadian-American Catholic Church, Catholic priest based near Detroit. He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the Lit ...

believed in and hoped to promote Christian supremacy by recruiting a militia he called the Christian Front.

Erik Prince Erik Dean Prince (born June 6, 1969) is an American businessman, investor, author, and former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and the founder of the private military company Blackwater. He served as Blackwater's CEO until 2009 and as its chairman u ...

of the mercenary company Blackwater was accused of being a Christian supremacist and deploying Christian supremacists to Iraq that he hoped would murder Iraqis. The company used large amounts of imagery from the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

. The growing role of Christian supremacy in the GOP since Donald Trump's election in 2016 has drawn concern from leaders of other faiths.

Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights and social justice activist, Baptists, Baptist minister, radio talk show host, and TV personality, who is also the founder of the National Action Network civil rig ...

and Doug Pagitt both called for Christians to reject Christian supremacy ideas promoted by Trump in 2020. The storming of the US Capitol following the fallout of false accusations of electoral fraud was partially motivated by Christian nationalism which was undergirded by notions of Christian supremacy with many rioters flying the Appeal to heaven flag and extensive use of Christian imagery albeit with heavy use of militarized themes. In 2021,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

published an article outlining how some

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

Christians felt discrimination within their churches, citing professors Lucas Kwong and K. Christine Pae on the connections between white supremacy and Christian supremacy. Kristin Kobes Du Mez described

Mike Johnson James Michael Johnson (born January 30, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2023. A member ...

as believing in Christian supremacy. Dutch Sheets has promoted the belief of Christian supremacy.

Ziklag Ziklag () is the Bible, biblical name of a town in the Negev region in the southwest of what was the Kingdom of Judah. It was a provincial town in the Philistine kingdom of Gath (city), Gath when Achish was king. Its exact location has not been id ...

was described by Matthew D. Taylor as a Christian supremacist organization working to ensure the election of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in 2024.{{Cite web , last1=Kroll , first1=Andy , last2=Surgey , first2=Nick , date=2024-07-13 , title=Inside Ziklag, the Secret Organization of Wealthy Christians Trying to Sway the Election and Change the Country , url=https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ziklag-secret-christian-charity-2024-election , access-date=2024-10-09 , website=ProPublica , language=en

Discourse

History

In the United States

See also

References

Further reading