Is the far-left now trying to “Butker” Josh Hawley?

Much as liberals pilloried Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker for advancing traditional values in a May 11 commencement address, the opinion editor of the Kansas City Star Wednesday attacked the Missouri senator for his Monday speech promoting “Christian nationalism,” insinuating he wants a white male-led, anti-science theocracy that sidelines women and minorities.

Hawley touted the religion’s formative influence on Western democracies, and America’s need to recommit to such Christian ideals: “a nationalism driven not by conquest but by common purpose; united not by fear but by common love; a nation made not for the rich or for the strong, but for the ‘poor in spirit,’ the common man.”

Nowhere, in his nearly half-hour keynote speech to the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, D.C., did Hawley address the subjugation of women or minorities in a Christian nation – but Kansas City Star Opinion Editor Yvette Walker and her source on Christian nationalism do.

As reported by Walker, Andrew Whitehead, a sociology professor affiliated with Indiana University’s Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, takes a decidedly dim view of Christian nationalism.

“Whitehead identified four key elements in Americans surveyed that show how strongly they embrace Christian nationalism: Authoritarian social control (we live in a chaotic world and need order); Desire for a traditional social hierarchy (men lead; women support); Strict ethnoracial boundaries (white, natural-born, Anglo-Protestant); Populism and a tendency towards conspiratorial thinking (us versus them).”

“So if you really believe,” Walker concludes, “that we live in a chaotic world and need a white, male (human) savior to take America back from the bad elites, academics, scientists and media folks, then maybe you are a Christian nationalist.”

In an exclusive interview with The Heartlander Thursday, Hawley disavowed even reading the article, but had plenty to say about the left’s anti-Christian outlook and actions.

“You know, I don’t ever read anything the Kansas City Star writes on principle,” Hawley said. “They’re a joke, and such a disgrace. This is a paper, by the way, that wrote, as I recall, about [former Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo having stomach-staple surgery. It did a whole series of investigative pieces on him. That’s [their] level of ‘journalism.’ I mean, these are not serious people.  

“But in terms of the usual leftist ranting and raving about anybody who’s a Christian – and who thinks that Christianity is a good thing, and you know what, religious believers in public life and religious believers sharing their faith at work and in schools, that that’s good – they automatically say, ‘Oh, you’re a fascist, you’re insane.’ 

“Give me a break. This country was founded by believers, No. 1. Our constitutional principles come down to us from the Christian tradition. And I am not afraid to say that. It is the absolute truth, and because of that it has made us the freest, most humane, most just country in the history of the world.”

The Star quoted Hawley as telling the audience, “Some will say now that I am calling America a Christian nation. So I am. And some will say that I am advocating Christian nationalism. And so I do.”

But he also went on to compare Christian nationalism to other kinds through the millennia.

“The nationalism of Rome led to blood-thirst and conquest; the old pagan tribalisms led to ethnic hatred. The empires of the East crushed the individual, and the blood-and-soil nativism of Europe in the last two centuries led to savagery and genocide.

“By contrast, Augustine’s Christian nationalism has been the boast of the West. It has been our moral center and supplied our most cherished ideals. Just think: Those stern Puritans, disciples of Augustine, gave us limited government and liberty of conscience and popular sovereignty.

“Because of our Christian heritage, we protect the liberty of all to worship according to conscience. Because of our Christian tradition, we welcome people of all races and ethnic backgrounds to join a nation constituted by common loves.

“The truth is, Christian nationalism is not a threat to American democracy. Christian nationalism founded American democracy.”

“Is there any other kind [of nationalism] worth having?” he asked the crowd.

Christian nationalism, according to Hawley

How does Hawley define Christian nationalism himself?

“It is a nationalism that is based on Christian principles like liberty of conscience and the right to free speech and the right to worship and the right to free assembly, the rights of the individual,” Hawley told The Heartlander. 

“All those things that we cherish as Americans, and we kind of sometimes take for granted, all those things come down to us from the Christian political tradition. You go back to ancient Rome or any of the other old nations, you’re not going to find individual liberty. I mean, not at all. Right to free speech? Forget about it. Nowhere. Not in ancient Greece, not in the Italian city-states. Nowhere. 

“You find it in the United States of America, and other places where the Christian tradition had influence – because Christians came to believe that, you know what, only God has the ability to speak directly to the individual, not government. Our rights come from God, not government. And that has been just central for us as a nation.”

The Heartlander asked Hawley if there were any women or minorities in attendance and, if so, whether they objected to anything he said.

“Yeah, the room was full of people of all faiths, by the way, folks from the Jewish faith, folks from other faiths. And of course they didn’t disagree with it or object to it, because it’s true. I mean, it is just a fact that this has been a nation influenced by – and decisively influenced by – Christian ideals. Our history is deeply rooted in the Christian tradition. And that’s, by the way, why we protect the religious liberty of all. 

“You notice who’s … out on college campuses screaming death to Israel and shouting to kill Jews? It’s not Christians. It’s the radical secularist, crazy people. They’re the ones who are the fundamentalists. Christians are the ones who say, ‘Hey, let’s protect the rights of all.’ 

“But listen, what’s our national motto? In God we trust. What’s our Declaration of Independence say? That our rights come to us from a Creator, and therefore are inalienable and can’t be taken away [by] government. That’s what it means to be a Christian nation.”

The real bigotry ‘is on their side’

The Star columnist asserts that, “Women followers of Christ led in the early church. Jesus preached to a multicultural following. Jesus invited everyone to the table. Where and how does Christian nationalism apply here?”

“Oh, these are insane people, you know? And also, they’re bigots,” Hawley says of the left generally when advised of that passage, which seems to imply women and minorities are marginalized by Christian nationalism.

“Let’s just be honest about it. The left … they’re really anti-Christian bigots. These people do not want religious faith in public life. These are the same people who apologize for the anti-Jewish Hamas demonstrations everywhere. These are the people who chant pro-Palestinian slogans. Why? Because they hate the biblical tradition. They hate religious influence. 

“I just say to those folks, listen, you want to go tell Dr. King that he shouldn’t have cited the Bible and the Christian political tradition for the civil rights revolution? You want to go tell Abraham Lincoln that he shouldn’t have cited the Christian political tradition in holding this country together in the Civil War? 

“What do you think unites Americans? It’s ‘in God we trust.’ It is our belief in the inalienable rights that come to us from God. Those are religious principles. That’s what unites us. These other people are fanatics.”

Is this kind of molecular scrutiny of Christian advocacy, so seldom trained on other movements, fair or unfair?

“Well, of course it’s not even-handed,” Hawley says. “But hey, I welcome it because it just shows how rabidly anti-Christian and how rabidly bigoted most of the media is, and all of these establishment people. They hate Christians. They hate people of faith. They want us to shut up and sit down. 

“We saw this during COVID. They come in and close down all the churches. The liberal dispensaries of drugs can all be open, right? If you want to go get a needle and shoot up your arm, you know, in liberal California, that’s all open. But a church? No, absolutely not. A church is a public health threat. 

“They really showed their cards. These people don’t want any religion in this country. And they’re just nuts. Most Americans are religious, and that’s a good thing.”

So, is Hawley getting the Harrison Butker treatment? Is he being “Butkered”?

“Oh, well, listen, it would be an honor to be alongside Harrison Butker in just about anything. 

“I think the more these people talk, the more the leftists and the secularists talk, the more people realize how nuts they are. Let’s not forget, these are the people who say there’s no difference between a man and a woman – there’s no such thing as a man and a woman. They want us to fly the trans flag over every schoolhouse, every public building in America, but they want to tell you if you want to talk about the Bible you’re a bigot. 

“No, I don’t think so. I think the bigotry is on their side.”