From Pastors In Schools To Jesus Apps, Christian Nationalists Push On
Pastors in public schools, Fox News praying with a Jesus app, an Oklahoma lawmaker who calls on men to “fight for Jesus” so the world will be “dominionized” and “conquered” for Jesus.
It’s just another day in the Christian nationalist push to bring their extreme brand of religion to the rest of the unfortunate Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhists and other assorted, non-Christian faiths as well as agnostics and atheists.
The latest issue involves Florida where the state Legislature passed a bill allowing volunteer pastors to provide counseling and more to public school students. Proponents argue that the law is non-sectarian and just opens another avenue of support for students. Opponents said the bill would extend Christian influence in schools and would allow pastors to evangelize while offering counseling without any training in psychological care.
Last year, Texas became the first state to allows school districts to bring chaplains into schools for counseling students. Similar bills have been introduced in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Utah.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that chaplains in schools would take on sensitive responsibilities, such as counseling students, but without the same qualifications as school counselors or other student support staff.
“And, because chaplains are typically not trained or certified to provide educational or counseling services to youth, students are likely to receive inadequate mental health support that, in some cases, may be harmful,” the ACLU reported.
The report said the plan also violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
“Allowing public schools to establish paid or voluntary positions for chaplains will inevitably lead to evangelizing and religious coercion of students,” the ACLU reported. “Courts have repeatedly ruled that it is unconstitutional for public schools to invite religious leaders to engage in religious activities with students or to promote religious doctrine to them.”
The growing crusade to install school chaplains in schools is a symptom of a rise in Christian nationalism. Typical of its strong proponents is Florida state Sen. Erin Gall, the sponsor of the Florida bill. A MAGA-supporting, trump follower, Gall said the bill doesn’t violate the constitution because it isn’t limited to Christian pastors but to pastors of any faith.
Gall, 46, has demonstrated her far right bona fides.
As a member of the Florida House of Representatives, in 2018, she voted against the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. The bill banned bump stocks, raised the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21, expanded the 3-day waiting period to rifles, and enacted red flag laws.
In 2020, another Grall bill required minors to obtain consent from at least one parent prior to obtaining an abortion. In 2022, Grall introduced a bill prohibiting abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for the life and physical health of the pregnant woman, as well as fatal fetal abnormalities. Grall co-sponsored legislation to bar instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
After she was elected to the state senate in 2023, Grail introduced the Heartbeat Protection Act, which makes abortion after six weeks illegal except in the event of rape, incest, human trafficking, a fatal fetal abnormality diagnosis, or when the pregnant woman’s life is in danger.
The bills were all signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a one-time candidate for the GOP presidential nomination.
She also introduced a bill to ban “diversity, equity, and inclusion” at public universities and another to boost penalties for prostitution in the state. Another would prohibit minors under the age of 16 from using social media sites and require the use of age verification to access such websites. Yet another would prohibit minors from accessing “harmful” websites, specifically those that depict sexual conduct.
Another supporter of the school pastor bill is Florida Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, who acknowledged that the bill would welcome bringing religion to public schools.
“I believe that sometimes the issue is with the soul and not of the mind, and that’s why I believe that this is a good option for our students in today’s day and age,” said Burgess.
Burgess’s right wing leanings were reflected in January 2021 when he introduced legislation to protect Confederate monuments; permit the state to overrule local governments’ decisions to reduce funding for police; waive sovereign immunity for municipalities so that local authorities could be sued for providing inadequate law enforcement; and block people injured while participating in protests from receiving damages, a bill aimed at silencing and criminalizing Black protesters.
The overall goal of many Christian nationalists is a key component of a plan known as Project 2025, which is being designed as a guide for a possible second trump term. Led by the right-wing Heritage Foundation, the plan says the goal is to “maintain a biblically based, social science–reinforced definition of marriage and family.”
One of the more brazen Christian nationalists indirectly involved with Project 25 is William E. Wolfe, a former official with the Pentagon and State Department under trump. Wolfe offered his response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Wolfe tweeted:
“We need to see the deeper spiritual realities at play. This ain’t just a political fight, it’s a spiritual war. Heaven and Hell are real. Demons exist. And there are two main demons being worshipped in America right now: 1) Molech, who demands child sacrifice (abortion) and 2) Baphomet, whose demonic goat-like representation is gender-bending (LGBTQIA+).
“The “Equality Act” and “Reproductive Rights” aren’t just “policies” that the radical Left/Democrats support, they are sacraments, acts of worship to their demon gods. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12.
“It’s time for Christians to call on America to repent of our idol worship of demons and return to the One True Living God and His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Maybe God raise up more idol smashers for our days yet.”
Wolfe, an influential right-wing voice, is the executive director of the Center for Baptist Leadership that has advocated ending sex education in schools, surrogacy, and no-fault divorce.
Wolfe also is a close associate of Russell Vought, who was budget director for trump and now is president of the Center for Renewing America, one of the right-wing organizations behind Project 2025. Vought and Wolfe spent time together at Heritage Action, a conservative policy advocacy group. Vought has praised their yearslong partnership.
“I’m proud to work with @William_E_Wolfe on scoping out a sound Christian Nationalism,” Vought posted on X in January 2023.
Last Sunday, Christian nationalism was in full sight as viewers watching Fox News were asked to bow their heads in prayer during a commercial by the bible app, Hallow.
“It’s the 5th Sunday of Lent, and our prayer series continues with the reading of prayer from the Hallow app,” said host Pete Hegseth. “We all need it, let’s do it this morning, close your eyes — if you would, bow your head.”
Hegseth then offered a religious reading as his co-hosts bowed their heads.
“Jesus, today we begin the holy period of passion tide,” Hegseth read, as the text of a prayer appeared on-screen. “In these last two weeks of Lent, help us understand the mystery of your sacrifice and surrender, make us keenly aware of your love for us. We ask that you make yourself known to us, help us to feel the grace of your presence.”
Hegseth praised Christ for the “selfless love you showed on the cross” before announcing the paid advertisement, the reason for the Sunday school-like intermission.
Hallow is a leading prayer and meditation app created in 2018, in part to provide support for people who were suffering from the isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hallow was founded by Alex Jones and two other classmates at Notre Dame University. Jones is no relation to Alex Jones, the InfoWars conspiracy theorist.
Hallow and other prayer apps have received tens of millions of dollars in investment funding while using popular actors to publicize the app. Actor Jonathan Roumie, who portrayed Jesus in The Chosen, has appeared in ads for the app. while in April 2022, Hallow announced a partnership with American actor Mark Wahlberg.
Walhberg is an acclaimed actor but he has a history of decidedly, non-Christian acts. In June 1986, a 15-year-old Wahlberg and three friends chased after three black children while yelling “Kill the nigger, kill the nigger” and throwing rocks at them. The next day, Wahlberg and the others followed a group of mostly black fourth-graders (including one of the victims from the previous day) taking a field trip on a beach, yelled racial epithets, threw rocks at them, and “summoned other white males who joined” in the harassment.
In April 1988, Wahlberg, then 16, assaulted a middle-aged Vietnamese-American man on the street, calling him a “Vietnam fucking shit” and knocking him unconscious with a large wooden stick. Later the same day, he attacked Johnny Trinh, another Vietnamese-American, punching him in the eye. In August 1992, Wahlberg attacked and serious injured a neighbor Robert Crehan, while another man, Derek McCall, held the victim on the ground.
Hallow raised $40 million in 2021 from investors including the tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, a leading trump supporter.
Pray.com, an app for daily prayer and bedtime Bible stories that was founded in 2016, has raised at least $34 million from investors, including Kleiner Perkins, the Silicon Valley venture firm. Ministry Brands, includes dozens of software and payments brands tailored to faith-based organizations. It was acquired in 2016 for $1.4 billion by Insight Partners.
In 2021, the Glorify app raised $40 million in Series A funding led by the venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from SoftBank Latin America Fund, K5 Global and a long string of famous individuals, including Kris Jenner, Corey Gamble, Michael Ovitz, Jason Derulo and Michael Bublé.
And then there is one of the most shameless Christian nationalists, Oklahoma freshman state Sen. Dusty Deevers, who called on men to “fight for Jesus” so the world will be “dominionized” and “conquered” for Jesus.
Deevers, 45, graduated from Oklahoma City University in 2001 and the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2008. Before his election, Deevers ran the Elgin pharmacy in his hometown of Elgin where he also is pastor of the Community Church of Elgin.
An anti-vaxxer, Deever compared vaccine mandates to the Nazi Nuremberg Laws.
This year, Deevers wrote a bill classifying abortion as homicide, which allows both doctors and mothers to be prosecuted. Violators could face up to the death penalty if charged with first-degree murder, though the bill makes exceptions to save the life of the mother and for spontaneous miscarriages. The bill also allows for wrongful death lawsuits on behalf of fetuses.
He also advocates ending no-fault divorce and banning pornography. On Jan. 29, the porno proposal was mocked during Jimmy Fallon’s monologue for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.