The Right is Scared of Muslim Radicals, But Christian Radicalism is Already Here
While Republicans sound alarms about Muslim extremism, Christian nationalists have already used biblical interpretation to justify wars and block climate action, all while claiming persecution.
Two weeks ago, Ted Cruz got schooled by Tucker Carlson on Iran policy. The Texas senator couldn't even name Iran's population while advocating for regime change, stumbled through biblical references, and eventually accused Carlson of antisemitism when pressed on his war hunger. But buried in their two-hour theological cage match was something far more revealing than Cruz's ignorance: a glimpse into how Christian radicalism has already captured American foreign policy while politicians like Cruz sound alarms about Muslim extremists who might one day, theoretically, pose a threat.
While Republicans shriek about Muslims implementing "Shariah law," Christian fundamentalists have already weaponized their interpretation of biblical prophecy to justify wars, environmental destruction, and the systematic exclusion of religious minorities from public life.
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Religious Justification for American Wars
George W. Bush didn't hide his divine mandate when he launched the Iraq War. In 2003, he told Palestinian leaders: "I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, 'George, go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan.' And I did… God would tell me, 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq.' And I did." This theology justified an invasion that killed over 100,000 civilians and destabilized an entire region for decades.
Bush's "God told me" statements reflected a long American tradition of invoking divine approval for expansionist policies, from Manifest Destiny's westward genocide to Cold War rhetoric about "godless communism." When politicians talk about American exceptionalism, they're often drawing from a well of Christian nationalist theology that sees the United States as uniquely chosen by God to reshape the world through force.
Michele Bachmann said in 2015, "We need to realize how close this clock is to getting to the midnight hour… We are literally watching Bible prophecy unfold before our very eyes." She connected her support for military escalation in the Middle East directly to biblical prophecy about the End Times. This is the mainstream evangelical framework that treats diplomatic solutions as opposing God's plan and views Middle Eastern wars as necessary precursors to Christ's return.
When Cruz cited the biblical blessing "Those who bless Israel will be blessed" to justify regime change in Iran, he was channeling this same apocalyptic Christianity that has shaped American foreign policy for decades. But the difference between Cruz and the Muslim radicals he fears is that Cruz has actual power to turn his religious extremism into dead bodies.
Biblical Climate Change Denial in Government
While Cruz worries about hypothetical Muslim threats, Christian radicals have spent decades using biblical interpretation to block action on the very real threat of climate change. Former Senate Environment Committee Chair James Inhofe brought a snowball onto the Senate floor to mock global warming, declaring: "God's still up there. The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous."
Inhofe cited Genesis 8:22, claiming God promised the climate would never drastically change. This selective fundamentalism, with strict biblical literalism on convenient issues while ignoring passages about welcoming strangers or economic justice, has become the standard playbook for Christian nationalist politics. This has led to decades of environmental policy shaped by theological interpretations that serve fossil fuel interests while the planet burns.
This radicalism was wielded by people who controlled key congressional committees and shaped national policy based on their reading of ancient texts. When Muslims suggest religious perspectives should inform governance, Republicans scream about theocracy. But when Christians do it, they call it values-based leadership.
Christian-Muslim Double Standards in Politics
The most insidious aspect of American Christian radicalism is how it operates through a double standard. Christianity gets portrayed as inherently peaceful while Islam gets essentialized as inherently violent. Marjorie Taylor Greene can declare "Islam is not a religion of peace" while ignoring Christianity's own bloody history of crusades, inquisitions, and colonial violence.
This sacred-secular binary allows Christian radicals to present their exclusionary policies as defensive measures against religious oppression rather than aggressive acts of dominance. Greene's recent tweet of a burqa-clad Statue of Liberty, meant to terrify Americans about Muslim political participation, echoed 19th-century anti-Catholic cartoons that depicted America under papal control.
When Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, appears poised to potentially become New York City's first Muslim mayor, the response from Christian conservatives reveals their true fear that religious pluralism will undermine their own theocratic project. Their panic is about losing their monopoly on using religious justification for political power.
Actual vs. Imagined Threats
These documented instances of Christian radicalism have shaped American policy with deadly consequences. The Iraq War alone cost trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives, justified partly through divine mandate rhetoric.
Meanwhile, the great Muslim threat Republicans constantly invoke remains largely theoretical. Muslim Americans make up roughly 1.1% of the population and hold minimal political power. The supposed creep of "Shariah law" exists mainly in Republican fundraising emails and Fox News fever dreams.
The real radicalism with actual power to reshape society has been operating through Christian nationalism for decades. It doesn't need to infiltrate American institutions because it already controls them. It doesn't need to impose religious law because it's already encoded Christian theological assumptions into American policy.
While Republicans search the horizon for Muslim bogeymen, Christian radicals have been remaking America in their theological image all along. The call is coming from inside the house — it's just wearing a cross instead of a crescent, so half the country pretends not to hear it.
But here's the harsh reality: the very Christian nationalist forces I'm exposing are actively working to silence journalism like this.
Christian nationalist organizations are systematically defunding any media that dares to call their radicalism what it is. They've mastered the art of crying "persecution" while wielding Supreme Court majorities and congressional power, and they're using that power to shut down critical coverage of their movement.
The reality is stark: we need independent platforms that can't be pressured into treating Christian nationalism as just another political opinion instead of the documented threat to democracy it represents.
Right now, less than 4% of my followers are paid subscribers. What could we accomplish with more support?
🔍 At 5% paid subscribers: I could investigate how Christian nationalist money flows through "religious freedom" organizations that lobby for theocratic policies.
📋 At 10% paid subscribers: I could create a comprehensive database tracking politicians who use biblical justification for policy decisions, from climate denial to war advocacy.
🎓 At 20% paid subscribers: We could develop educational resources exposing how Christian radicalism has shaped American foreign policy while Muslims get scapegoated for theoretical threats.
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References
Maddow, Rachel. "Why Tucker Carlson was so effective in roasting Ted Cruz." MSNBC, June 18, 2025.
Blake, Aaron. "What we learned from Ted Cruz vs. Tucker Carlson." CNN, June 19, 2025.
Keene, Louis. "How Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz's biblical bickering explains the MAGA divide on Israel." The Forward, June 19, 2025.
Street, Nick. "The Kingdom of God and American Exceptionalism." USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, April 3, 2017.
Cooperman, Alan and Smith, Gregory A. "The factors driving the growth of religious 'nones' in the U.S." Pew Research Center, September 14, 2021.
MacAskill, Ewen. "George Bush: 'God told me to end the tyranny in Iraq.'" The Guardian, October 7, 2005.
They are not Christians.
Sue has that right. They claim something they don’t understand. They are not Christians.