These are people , mostly white males, who feel disrespected, displaced, and threatened by policies of diversity and inclusion. They seek security in religion and authoritarianism. Their insecurity makes them easy to manipulate by demagogues and savvy vested interests. These opportunists are creating a brand of Christianity that has no basis in the Gospels.
Baptist minister Jerry Falwell Sr.... once declared from the pulpit that integration “will destroy our race eventually”...
I hope he's right. I see no way to get beyond these stupid prejudices until we are all more or less the same color. Of course, human nature being what it is, we'll find some other way to discriminate, perhaps on the basis of eye color or the length of one's big toe.
As an aside, there's one big advantage to being an atheist. We can follow the teachings of Jesus without pretending he's the son of god or even that he was real.
If Jesus isn't real, someone created him and put words in his mouth. Whether they matter is a choice for every person to make for himself. As to whether his words are commanded, lots of those who profess to follow him seem not to observe his example. Indeed, many of them seem to inflict a cruelty on others, not the least of which is slavery, and justify it by saying it's commanded by god.
As an agnostic, I found some of the arguments in the article a little hard to follow, but if "Christian Nationalism is a corrupting force in America, and we, as Christians, must openly resist it" is the takeaway message, then I am absolutely in agreement.
Just yesterday I saw, randomly online, a snippet of a speech (or sermon) by Pastor Loran Livingston. I was all set to hear the usual self righteous, hypocritical, hate fuelled nonsense I am used to hearing from American Pastors. Instead I got a powerful message on why America is not, and has never been, a Christian nation because in the name of Christianity it embraced slavery and genocide.
I was very impressed, all the more so because I had never heard that message from a prominent representative of Christianity in the USA. We need much more of this. I know nothing about the good Pastor or his mission. It may be he has other views I would find objectionable, but that one powerful message impressed me mightily.
I think these Christian Nationalist take the Old Testament far more seriously than other branches of Christianity. The god of the Old Testament very much endorsed slavery and genocide.
Thank you for this piece. It pulled together many threads.
While the ending paragraphs seemed to indicate hope for the PCA, I don’t think there is any. The denomination’s roots are pulling it slowly to its extremes.
As a Jew, a member of a people (as opposed to a religion because I am by temperament and conviction an atheist), I consider anyone who claims special status due to his or her genes --- and that includes some Jews --- to be compensating for feelings of inadequacy, in many cases well justified. When one fears that one is a "loser", however that is construed, it is ever so comforting to take refuge in one's ancestry and claim superiority thereby. It is then very convenient to attribute one's lowly status as due to an evil conspiracy of some sort --- by, say, Jews, or communists, or Islamists, etc, etc. The evil group can be altered with the shifting times, but the basic script is always the same. This strategy has the enormous advantage that no effort of education or labor or achievement is necessary in order to claim that superiority --- you achieve that rank simply by being born to the right parents, sometimes known as the "lucky sperm club".
It would be truly refreshing if someone claiming that this or that group is inherently superior to all others if the claimant did not inevitably belong to the group himself.
It is rare to have consensus about the meaning of anything in the Bible but, in response to a question about paying taxes, an approved translation says
“Render that of Caesar unto Caesar”
IMO, the teachings of Jesus are to have us be the best people we can be — and that is separate from government.
I appreciate the sentiment behind this article, but I think the authors either understate or don’t fully appreciate the threat. There is a lot of scholarship out there tracing the evolution of the American Evangelical Church/SBC/homeschool movement showing that the leaders of these connected projects have always sought militant, male, White dominance and exclusive power. Even back in 2007 Chris Hedges wrote “American Fascists,” pointing directly at where we have arrived now.
While I agree with you, I think this piece is only a start. I attended a broadly evangelical college from 1977 to 1981 and all of these threads were present then as well.
Honestly this is why I'm currently having such a crisis of faith, as are several other women I grew up with. There are several people I follow online if my early millennial generation who feel the same. My friends, family, and I grew up in the evangelical church, many of us specifically Southern Baptist. We all feel completely betrayed by the people who taught us growing up, including our parents, who have bought into this fallacy. It makes us question if everything they ever taught us was a lie, down to the most basic Christian beliefs or even the existence of God. I personally feel so very very lost because I don't know what to believe anymore. If the Christians I know can speak out of both sides of their mouths like this and people who claim to be Christians act the way they do, what is Christianity except a great con?
I understand your crisis of faith; I am experiencing something similar. I have felt out of fellowship with my church community ever since Trump got elected. What do I have in common with people who ignore Christ's teachings for the sake of political power? It's like they are saying "yes" to what Jesus said "no" to. (Matt. 4) And yet, this is my tribe; these are my people. I don't know what to think or what do to except show love.
I really appreciate this article. I'm glad to know that people are seeing the danger of Christian Nationalism and are speaking out against it. Thank you.
My husband of 46 years and I raised our 4 sons in the SBC and A of G. Our second is gay, and severely traumatized even though we have been affirming parents. We left Evangelicalism in 2014 (?) after our church ignored bigotry towards our son, questioned our faith because we don't believe in a 6,000 year old earth, and we do believe in evolution (Mark is a PhD biologist). They rejected our youngest was struggling with addiction, and it was our fault.
In 2015, we moved to TX from NM, and did not think church was in our future because of the pain caused by the Baptist church we served in for 18 years. Then Trump happened, and they went all in on him. My extended family are still Evangelicals that are full on MAGA, and I consider them to be Christian nationalists now.
In my despair, I found Rachel Held Evans' "Searching for Sunday." She left for the SBC for the Episcopal Church. We decided to give it a try, and after 10 years in Texas as members of an Episcopal Church, my faith has grown, and I found peace. I'm the "black sheep," because I grew up being taught Episcopalians are not Christians. I rail against this. Social justice is the focus of our congregation in Black Mountain, NC, and LOVE and the Gospel are part of every sermon. I wish we had made the move before our gay son was traumatized.
I wish you well on your journey! I am totally available via PM.
I'm going to check that book out after looking into it. Thank you for the recommendation. I have to admit I don't know much about the Episcopalian church so looked it up as well. Maybe I'm finally at a place where I'm ready to start looking into things. I haven't felt so before.
I relate to a lot of what you're describing (raised in the IFB/SBC). When confronted with these same questions, I found comfort in knowing that Jesus will tell a great many terrible people "depart from me, I never knew you" despite the supposed great works they did in his name. Those works without love are blasphemy, and I think CNs don't have a shred of introspection about just how much danger they are in -- eternally speaking. You, on the other hand, clearly share God's heart. It's OK to grieve and ask questions. Job did. Theophilus did. And so if Christianity isn't a con, how much you care about right and wrong is the proof. He lives in us.
It is disillusioning to see people you know and trust saying things that don't align with what they taught you. We left our last church because that's how I felt.
Please know that there are amazing Christians who speak out against Christian Nationalism. I've found amazing ones here on Substack.
Because I felt so alone, I've written a few posts about what I'm feeling and experiencing. If you want to check them out, they might give you some comfort.
I don't have any words of wisdom, but it's helpful to know you're not alone.
A Christian and Nazi walked into a bar. Before them stood a scruffy looking man. "A jew!" They exclaimed. So they shot him dead. "Who was that?" the Nazi asked. "Some guy named Jesus" the Christian said looking in his wallet. "Vermin." the Nazi said. "I don't know him" said the Christian. "Nor I" said the Nazi.
I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this piece. I will continue to mull it over. I have found a great group of Christian scholars on the weekly podcast Convocation Unscripted. Kristin Kobes du Mez (Jesus and John Wayne), Robert P. Jones (The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and The End of White Christian America), Jemar Tisby (The Spirit of Justice and The Color of Compromise), and Diana Butler Bass (A Beautiful Year). Christian Nationalism is a regular topic, and they're all actively involved in "the resistance."
You listed some of my favorites! I also like Samuel Perry and Pastor Ben Cramer. I just started reading The Christian Past That Wasn't by Warren Throckmorton. It's really good!
Thanks for this theological wonkiness that ultimately points out an example of tribalism, except that to call Christian nationalists a tribe is an insult to indigenous Americans probably. My self-made bumper sticker says “Christian Nationalism is a Betrayal of Jesus”. My bumper is the only social media I have. Nothing about Christian Nationalism or anyone who supports it is consistent with Jesus’s moral code as depicted in the Beatitudes. I wish the liberals would wake up and learn the importance of the Bible so they could join in the resistance to this crap. They don’t have to be religious or Christian or anything. Just know what it says and stop looking down your noses at your overly-conflated understanding of the faithful. This is most definitely part of why we are here today. Militant atheism, agnosticism and the “I’m spiritual but not religious” are culpable.
This Christian (Baptist turned Episcopalian) joined the resistance when DT became the nominee in 2016. My entire Christian extended family (not our children) is Evangelical, most don't know scripture very well, and love DT. I agree Christian nationalism is a betrayal of Jesus. I was a Republican until 2016 as well. I would now describe myself as "center left," and my husband is a little more liberal. He is a newly retired professor and university dean.
We know the importance of the Bible, and I find your broad brush a little offensive. My ignorant family didn't move beyond their elementary Sunday school understanding. I do not see "militant atheism" as the issue. It's a lack of desire to learn more of the Bible's teaching, to accept people with different views, and racism. They don't approve of our multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-faith country. Our academic colleagues and friends respected our faith, and we love people... unlike the family member that said I'm going to hell for voting for a Democrat. I don't feel it's fair to say non-believers are driving this.
Fair enough. Sorry to offend. But the entire Democratic Party leadership has decidedly abdicated any narrative about religion. I may be misguided in attributing DNC approaches to all liberals. But I spoke directly to my Democrat Senator saying the party needs to elucidate a place on the religious spectrum and she just blithely moved on to the next person attending the gathering. She had nothing to offer. Pete Buttigieg made some gains. James Talarico is inspiring. But I also work in an academic setting and have experienced the uncomfortable silence when I say that I am a Christian. Both of our experiences are true no doubt. Ultimately it’s Biblical ignorance anywhere on the spectrum that is potentially harmful to our multicultural, all-welcoming ethos. I appreciate your perspective and I’m sorry for the schism you experience with your family-of-origin. May God bless.
I'm old but I was taught to leave out religion when talking about politics because you don't actually know the faith or lack of it of the person you're talking to. There are so many variations in Protestantism and Catholicism with varying demands for Biblical literacy that you're bound to inadvertently run afoul of someone's beliefs somewhere. I suspect that is the source of the DNC's lack of narrative on religion. An individual's politics may be informed by the religion they ascribe to. I'm not sure an organization like the DNC can claim a religion that is ascribed to. We can't expect an auto mechanic to know about dental things, why should we expect the DNC to know about the various religions of those who call themselves Democrats.
Except that 50 years ago the Republicans got in bed with the Evangelicals and effectively convinced large portions of the voting public that Democrats are godless, immoral and directionless. Democrats and anyone who is a progressive could at least try to take on this lie and spell out a moral code. The Beatitudes would be a great place to start for those who are Christian. For those who aren't Christian, they can share their own faith's moral framework which will no doubt have similarities. For those who have no faith, they could at least acknowledge the corruption that is Christian nationalism instead of dismissing religion as existing only for anti-intellectuals. My point is: real harm is coming to this country because progressives won't discuss theology....real, real harm.
Excellent article and much appreciated. I wonder, though, if you'd be willing to acknowledge that there is something in the DNA of conservative American Presbyterianism -- tracing its geneology as it does to the fundamentalist side of the fundamentalist / modernist controversy, and before that, to the pro-slavery side of antebellum theological debates -- that causes the arc of its commitments to bend towards Christian Nationalism? You kind of suggest Christian Nationalism is an anomaly within your denominational / confessional history, but I don't think that's so, going all the way back to the Pilgrims. As a PCUSA person (the modernist side of the lineage, with its own attendant problems) and an appreciative reader of Barth and Bonhoeffer -- figures often criticized by conservative Presbyterians -- I say semper reformanda and applaud your stand while also wondering if it's really self-critical enough.
Southern Presbyterians went afoul often, we link Dabney as an example of that, and the introspective PCA report on race.
The RPCNA and other anti-modernists excommunicated slavers, though. And the PCUS was very modernist and had plenty of the Southern Presbyterians in it.
My great uncle (PCUS/PCUSA minister), was confronted for baptizing a black child in his church in Chattanooga during the 60s or 70s.
I think that is precisely what they were getting at here:
"But, sadly, many of their contemporaries rejected this call, either participating in atrocities like slavery and segregation or looking the other way when their coreligionists did. This tendency to sanctify or at least excuse racism scarred Baptist, Presbyterian and other denominations with regional divorces. There are tragic historical linkages between conservative Protestant theology in the United States and racism, as Christians have read their political preferences and racial prejudices into scripture."
These are people , mostly white males, who feel disrespected, displaced, and threatened by policies of diversity and inclusion. They seek security in religion and authoritarianism. Their insecurity makes them easy to manipulate by demagogues and savvy vested interests. These opportunists are creating a brand of Christianity that has no basis in the Gospels.
Baptist minister Jerry Falwell Sr.... once declared from the pulpit that integration “will destroy our race eventually”...
I hope he's right. I see no way to get beyond these stupid prejudices until we are all more or less the same color. Of course, human nature being what it is, we'll find some other way to discriminate, perhaps on the basis of eye color or the length of one's big toe.
As an aside, there's one big advantage to being an atheist. We can follow the teachings of Jesus without pretending he's the son of god or even that he was real.
If He wasn’t real, what he said doesn’t matter. If He wasn’t the son of God, what He said isn’t commanded.
If Jesus isn't real, someone created him and put words in his mouth. Whether they matter is a choice for every person to make for himself. As to whether his words are commanded, lots of those who profess to follow him seem not to observe his example. Indeed, many of them seem to inflict a cruelty on others, not the least of which is slavery, and justify it by saying it's commanded by god.
I really wish we could call it something besides “Christian“ nationalism because there’s nothing Christian about it.
No true Scotsman fallacy. They identify as Christian so that is what they are.
As an agnostic, I found some of the arguments in the article a little hard to follow, but if "Christian Nationalism is a corrupting force in America, and we, as Christians, must openly resist it" is the takeaway message, then I am absolutely in agreement.
Just yesterday I saw, randomly online, a snippet of a speech (or sermon) by Pastor Loran Livingston. I was all set to hear the usual self righteous, hypocritical, hate fuelled nonsense I am used to hearing from American Pastors. Instead I got a powerful message on why America is not, and has never been, a Christian nation because in the name of Christianity it embraced slavery and genocide.
I was very impressed, all the more so because I had never heard that message from a prominent representative of Christianity in the USA. We need much more of this. I know nothing about the good Pastor or his mission. It may be he has other views I would find objectionable, but that one powerful message impressed me mightily.
I think these Christian Nationalist take the Old Testament far more seriously than other branches of Christianity. The god of the Old Testament very much endorsed slavery and genocide.
Thank you for this piece. It pulled together many threads.
While the ending paragraphs seemed to indicate hope for the PCA, I don’t think there is any. The denomination’s roots are pulling it slowly to its extremes.
And as always, don’t forget the #EpsteinFiles.
As a Jew, a member of a people (as opposed to a religion because I am by temperament and conviction an atheist), I consider anyone who claims special status due to his or her genes --- and that includes some Jews --- to be compensating for feelings of inadequacy, in many cases well justified. When one fears that one is a "loser", however that is construed, it is ever so comforting to take refuge in one's ancestry and claim superiority thereby. It is then very convenient to attribute one's lowly status as due to an evil conspiracy of some sort --- by, say, Jews, or communists, or Islamists, etc, etc. The evil group can be altered with the shifting times, but the basic script is always the same. This strategy has the enormous advantage that no effort of education or labor or achievement is necessary in order to claim that superiority --- you achieve that rank simply by being born to the right parents, sometimes known as the "lucky sperm club".
It would be truly refreshing if someone claiming that this or that group is inherently superior to all others if the claimant did not inevitably belong to the group himself.
It is rare to have consensus about the meaning of anything in the Bible but, in response to a question about paying taxes, an approved translation says
“Render that of Caesar unto Caesar”
IMO, the teachings of Jesus are to have us be the best people we can be — and that is separate from government.
Thank you for this examination, it is a very important exploration.
I appreciate the sentiment behind this article, but I think the authors either understate or don’t fully appreciate the threat. There is a lot of scholarship out there tracing the evolution of the American Evangelical Church/SBC/homeschool movement showing that the leaders of these connected projects have always sought militant, male, White dominance and exclusive power. Even back in 2007 Chris Hedges wrote “American Fascists,” pointing directly at where we have arrived now.
While I agree with you, I think this piece is only a start. I attended a broadly evangelical college from 1977 to 1981 and all of these threads were present then as well.
I found this extremely helpful in making sense of the factions. Sincere thanks.
Honestly this is why I'm currently having such a crisis of faith, as are several other women I grew up with. There are several people I follow online if my early millennial generation who feel the same. My friends, family, and I grew up in the evangelical church, many of us specifically Southern Baptist. We all feel completely betrayed by the people who taught us growing up, including our parents, who have bought into this fallacy. It makes us question if everything they ever taught us was a lie, down to the most basic Christian beliefs or even the existence of God. I personally feel so very very lost because I don't know what to believe anymore. If the Christians I know can speak out of both sides of their mouths like this and people who claim to be Christians act the way they do, what is Christianity except a great con?
I understand your crisis of faith; I am experiencing something similar. I have felt out of fellowship with my church community ever since Trump got elected. What do I have in common with people who ignore Christ's teachings for the sake of political power? It's like they are saying "yes" to what Jesus said "no" to. (Matt. 4) And yet, this is my tribe; these are my people. I don't know what to think or what do to except show love.
I really appreciate this article. I'm glad to know that people are seeing the danger of Christian Nationalism and are speaking out against it. Thank you.
My husband of 46 years and I raised our 4 sons in the SBC and A of G. Our second is gay, and severely traumatized even though we have been affirming parents. We left Evangelicalism in 2014 (?) after our church ignored bigotry towards our son, questioned our faith because we don't believe in a 6,000 year old earth, and we do believe in evolution (Mark is a PhD biologist). They rejected our youngest was struggling with addiction, and it was our fault.
In 2015, we moved to TX from NM, and did not think church was in our future because of the pain caused by the Baptist church we served in for 18 years. Then Trump happened, and they went all in on him. My extended family are still Evangelicals that are full on MAGA, and I consider them to be Christian nationalists now.
In my despair, I found Rachel Held Evans' "Searching for Sunday." She left for the SBC for the Episcopal Church. We decided to give it a try, and after 10 years in Texas as members of an Episcopal Church, my faith has grown, and I found peace. I'm the "black sheep," because I grew up being taught Episcopalians are not Christians. I rail against this. Social justice is the focus of our congregation in Black Mountain, NC, and LOVE and the Gospel are part of every sermon. I wish we had made the move before our gay son was traumatized.
I wish you well on your journey! I am totally available via PM.
I'm going to check that book out after looking into it. Thank you for the recommendation. I have to admit I don't know much about the Episcopalian church so looked it up as well. Maybe I'm finally at a place where I'm ready to start looking into things. I haven't felt so before.
I relate to a lot of what you're describing (raised in the IFB/SBC). When confronted with these same questions, I found comfort in knowing that Jesus will tell a great many terrible people "depart from me, I never knew you" despite the supposed great works they did in his name. Those works without love are blasphemy, and I think CNs don't have a shred of introspection about just how much danger they are in -- eternally speaking. You, on the other hand, clearly share God's heart. It's OK to grieve and ask questions. Job did. Theophilus did. And so if Christianity isn't a con, how much you care about right and wrong is the proof. He lives in us.
I'm sorry you're having a crisis of faith.
It is disillusioning to see people you know and trust saying things that don't align with what they taught you. We left our last church because that's how I felt.
Please know that there are amazing Christians who speak out against Christian Nationalism. I've found amazing ones here on Substack.
Because I felt so alone, I've written a few posts about what I'm feeling and experiencing. If you want to check them out, they might give you some comfort.
I don't have any words of wisdom, but it's helpful to know you're not alone.
Ok to PM you?
Hi Erin,
Sure. I haven't used PMs on Substack before, but I think I have my settings set up correctly. 🙈
The Case for Christian Nationalism - talk about a call back
A Christian and Nazi walked into a bar. Before them stood a scruffy looking man. "A jew!" They exclaimed. So they shot him dead. "Who was that?" the Nazi asked. "Some guy named Jesus" the Christian said looking in his wallet. "Vermin." the Nazi said. "I don't know him" said the Christian. "Nor I" said the Nazi.
I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this piece. I will continue to mull it over. I have found a great group of Christian scholars on the weekly podcast Convocation Unscripted. Kristin Kobes du Mez (Jesus and John Wayne), Robert P. Jones (The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and The End of White Christian America), Jemar Tisby (The Spirit of Justice and The Color of Compromise), and Diana Butler Bass (A Beautiful Year). Christian Nationalism is a regular topic, and they're all actively involved in "the resistance."
You listed some of my favorites! I also like Samuel Perry and Pastor Ben Cramer. I just started reading The Christian Past That Wasn't by Warren Throckmorton. It's really good!
Thanks for this theological wonkiness that ultimately points out an example of tribalism, except that to call Christian nationalists a tribe is an insult to indigenous Americans probably. My self-made bumper sticker says “Christian Nationalism is a Betrayal of Jesus”. My bumper is the only social media I have. Nothing about Christian Nationalism or anyone who supports it is consistent with Jesus’s moral code as depicted in the Beatitudes. I wish the liberals would wake up and learn the importance of the Bible so they could join in the resistance to this crap. They don’t have to be religious or Christian or anything. Just know what it says and stop looking down your noses at your overly-conflated understanding of the faithful. This is most definitely part of why we are here today. Militant atheism, agnosticism and the “I’m spiritual but not religious” are culpable.
This Christian (Baptist turned Episcopalian) joined the resistance when DT became the nominee in 2016. My entire Christian extended family (not our children) is Evangelical, most don't know scripture very well, and love DT. I agree Christian nationalism is a betrayal of Jesus. I was a Republican until 2016 as well. I would now describe myself as "center left," and my husband is a little more liberal. He is a newly retired professor and university dean.
We know the importance of the Bible, and I find your broad brush a little offensive. My ignorant family didn't move beyond their elementary Sunday school understanding. I do not see "militant atheism" as the issue. It's a lack of desire to learn more of the Bible's teaching, to accept people with different views, and racism. They don't approve of our multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-faith country. Our academic colleagues and friends respected our faith, and we love people... unlike the family member that said I'm going to hell for voting for a Democrat. I don't feel it's fair to say non-believers are driving this.
Fair enough. Sorry to offend. But the entire Democratic Party leadership has decidedly abdicated any narrative about religion. I may be misguided in attributing DNC approaches to all liberals. But I spoke directly to my Democrat Senator saying the party needs to elucidate a place on the religious spectrum and she just blithely moved on to the next person attending the gathering. She had nothing to offer. Pete Buttigieg made some gains. James Talarico is inspiring. But I also work in an academic setting and have experienced the uncomfortable silence when I say that I am a Christian. Both of our experiences are true no doubt. Ultimately it’s Biblical ignorance anywhere on the spectrum that is potentially harmful to our multicultural, all-welcoming ethos. I appreciate your perspective and I’m sorry for the schism you experience with your family-of-origin. May God bless.
I'm old but I was taught to leave out religion when talking about politics because you don't actually know the faith or lack of it of the person you're talking to. There are so many variations in Protestantism and Catholicism with varying demands for Biblical literacy that you're bound to inadvertently run afoul of someone's beliefs somewhere. I suspect that is the source of the DNC's lack of narrative on religion. An individual's politics may be informed by the religion they ascribe to. I'm not sure an organization like the DNC can claim a religion that is ascribed to. We can't expect an auto mechanic to know about dental things, why should we expect the DNC to know about the various religions of those who call themselves Democrats.
Except that 50 years ago the Republicans got in bed with the Evangelicals and effectively convinced large portions of the voting public that Democrats are godless, immoral and directionless. Democrats and anyone who is a progressive could at least try to take on this lie and spell out a moral code. The Beatitudes would be a great place to start for those who are Christian. For those who aren't Christian, they can share their own faith's moral framework which will no doubt have similarities. For those who have no faith, they could at least acknowledge the corruption that is Christian nationalism instead of dismissing religion as existing only for anti-intellectuals. My point is: real harm is coming to this country because progressives won't discuss theology....real, real harm.
Excellent article and much appreciated. I wonder, though, if you'd be willing to acknowledge that there is something in the DNA of conservative American Presbyterianism -- tracing its geneology as it does to the fundamentalist side of the fundamentalist / modernist controversy, and before that, to the pro-slavery side of antebellum theological debates -- that causes the arc of its commitments to bend towards Christian Nationalism? You kind of suggest Christian Nationalism is an anomaly within your denominational / confessional history, but I don't think that's so, going all the way back to the Pilgrims. As a PCUSA person (the modernist side of the lineage, with its own attendant problems) and an appreciative reader of Barth and Bonhoeffer -- figures often criticized by conservative Presbyterians -- I say semper reformanda and applaud your stand while also wondering if it's really self-critical enough.
Southern Presbyterians went afoul often, we link Dabney as an example of that, and the introspective PCA report on race.
The RPCNA and other anti-modernists excommunicated slavers, though. And the PCUS was very modernist and had plenty of the Southern Presbyterians in it.
My great uncle (PCUS/PCUSA minister), was confronted for baptizing a black child in his church in Chattanooga during the 60s or 70s.
I think that is precisely what they were getting at here:
"But, sadly, many of their contemporaries rejected this call, either participating in atrocities like slavery and segregation or looking the other way when their coreligionists did. This tendency to sanctify or at least excuse racism scarred Baptist, Presbyterian and other denominations with regional divorces. There are tragic historical linkages between conservative Protestant theology in the United States and racism, as Christians have read their political preferences and racial prejudices into scripture."