These Idaho pastors explain plan for Christian nationalism at town hall
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MOSCOW, Idaho (Lewiston Tribune) — Christ Church Pastor Doug Wilson said Thursday he thinks Moscow is becoming a “working prototype” of what a Christian nationalist society would look like.
He made these remarks during a town hall organized by University of Idaho student group Collegiate Reformed Fellowship at the UI Administration Building.
The town hall focused on Christ Church’s controversial goal to assist in creating a Christian nationalist society. Wilson, King’s Cross Pastor Toby Sumpter and New Saint Andrews College Pastor Jared Longshore were the three speakers who answered questions from the audience. Approximately 70 people were in attendance.
The three pastors frequently spoke about modeling America after what society was like during the country’s founding. That was when the founders were largely Protestant, Sumpter said, and states that signed the Constitution were “overwhelmingly Christian.” Longshore said Christian nationalism means putting God over the state.
The pastors claimed they want to make that happen through evangelizing, and planting schools and churches to persuade people of their worldview.
Wilson said members of minority religions would have “more liberty than they do” now under a Christian nationalist society. However, he later added that a person would not be able to get a permit to build a Hindu statue, and that public spaces belong to Christ and church bells, not Muslim prayer.
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Wilson said he is not in favor of an official state religion, but he does want governing authority to recognize the “true God.”
Wilson claimed that people would not be persecuted for differences of opinion in a Christian nationalist society, but a person “blaspheming” in public spaces should be detained, particularly if it’s violent blaspheming.
Wilson, Longshore and Sumpter stated their opposition to gay marriage, and Wilson said governments should not support LGBTQ pride parades or events. Sumpter argued that the end of the traditional nuclear family is similar to a nuclear fallout. He said scripture taught that homosexuality defiles societies and makes societies sick.
He said the “destruction” of the American nuclear family leads to abortion, crime and higher suicide rates.
The pastors also addressed previous news reports that members of Christ Church want to repeal the 19th Amendment that paved the way for women’s right to vote. Wilson said he is not trying to reverse the 19th Amendment “right this minute” but wants American elections to be the same as Christ Church’s elections.
Christ Church elections count the votes of households, not individual people, he said. Wilson said women can represent the household if they are widowed, divorced or single.
Wilson said he does not want Christian nationalism to be established through a hostile takeover, but rather through years of evangelizing. He said a “working prototype” of this is happening in Moscow, where multiple churches and schools affiliated with Christ Church have been established.
Amy Mazur, a 15-year Moscow resident who attended the town hall, told the Moscow-Pullman Daily News before the event that Christ Church is not interested in bettering the Moscow community, but rather wants to turn Moscow into a Christian town.
She criticized the church trying to grow its influence through buying properties in Moscow and not participating in “interfaith community building” with Moscow’s other churches.
Mazur also disapproves of Wilson’s involvement with members of the Trump administration, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who is a member of Wilson’s national Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. The values they espouse, she said, are immoral and unethical.
“Everything is wrong about this,” she said.