Pocatello man to shine light on Christian nationalism and who it targets

POCATELLO – A Pocatello man who has studied religion plans to share his knowledge at a free event.

The second event in a series of three aimed at educating the public about Christian nationalism will take place on Tuesday at the Bengal Theater at 6:30 p.m. and is expected to end at 8 p.m. While the first — a talk by journalist Heath Druzin, focused on how the ideology has reshaped Idaho’s politics — this one will be led by local Keven Lewis.

Lewis earned his master’s degree in cultural anthropology, religious studies and Jewish Holocaust and Genocide studies from Middle Tennessee State University. The focus of his remarks are about the historical roots of Christian Nationalism, and how people can recognize when they’re being targeted for recruitment by its practitioners.

“The goal of these talks is to reach out to our Christian friends and neighbors and say, ‘I see your faith and I see how much it means to you and I see that it is beautiful and it is wonderful … but also, be aware of how people who may not share those same faith interests, or may not share that same love of their neighbor as you do, recognizing that there’s a better way forward for our national conversation,'” Lewis said.

While controversial figures like Christ Church Pastor Doug Wilson have received media attention, Lewis says people with “nostalgic affection” for Christianity are often targeted by the Christian nationalists, something he feels receives far less attention.

RELATED | A once-fringe Christian leader from Idaho gets warm welcome in Trump’s Washington

RELATED | These Idaho pastors explain plan for Christian nationalism at town hall

“These people are not hardened Christian nationalists like the Wilson Group, but they are the political target of the Christian nationalist minority,” Lewis said.

And Lewis said if those Christian nationalists stoke divisions between Americans in a way that’s advantageous for them, they can build a political coalition that works to achieve these goals held by the minority.

“If you can cause this group to be concerned or be fearful that this Christian identity in this country is fading away and is being replaced by secularism or atheism … then you can build a broad coalition to pursue ideologies or political goals that may not be what these people actually want,” Lewis said.

In his talk, Lewis said he’ll look at examples of this happening in the past.

“It’s going to look at these broad historical trends and how this has worked throughout history, particularly focusing on the co-option of this voter base with these appeals towards a nationalist impulse,” Lewis said.

Lewis hopes attendees will walk away with a wider understanding of Christian nationalism and how it’s working to reshape American politics.

“The goal is that people who come and listen to this talk are better equipped to understand Christian nationalism as a more broad occurrence, rather than a small segment of people in North Idaho,” Lewis said.