Why you should be concerned about Christian nationalism

Blake Ziegler

Following Pope Urban II’s call to wage war on Muslims, members of the First Crusade took up arms and departed Europe to conquer the Holy Land. Before they arrived, though, Crusaders found themselves pillaging Jewish villages along their journey. The most notable of these incidents was the Rhineland Massacres of 1096, which is considered the first large-scale act of antisemitic violence in medieval Europe. Jewish towns in central and western Germany were attacked and plundered. Some Jewish residents fled while others found by the Crusaders underwent forced conversion or were killed.

As we all know, the Rhineland Massacres weren’t the end of Jewish persecution in Europe. The antisemitic attitudes that prompted them, especially calls for vengeance against “the murderers of Christ,” continued well beyond the 11th century with its climax of the Holocaust (although antisemitism is still very much alive in Europe today). The Disputation of Paris in 1240 involved Pope Gregory IX’s efforts to censor the Talmud, a collection of rabbinic commentary in Judaism, through the court of King Louis IX of France. In a broader effort to convert the Jews to Christianity, nearly 10,000 handwritten Jewish holy texts were burned on the charge of blasphemy.

In 1894, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jew, was arrested on the charge of spying for the Prussians following France’s loss in the Franco-Prussian War. Amidst accusations about his loyalty to France, Dreyfus was exiled to Devil’s Island on account of a colonel’s testimony. When later evidence showed that testimony was falsified, the French army attempted to cover up their mistake. Dreyfus was retried and acquitted following pressure on the army after the information was leaked. Still, he was found guilty and only freed after a presidential pardon. Global Jewry was shocked that such blatant antisemitism could occur in a nation that proclaimed liberty, equality and fraternity. Scholars view the Dreyfus Affair as emblematic of the tension between Catholic and Republican forces in France. Church supporters, including the Vatican’s official newspaper, viciously condemned Dreyfus and called for attacks against Jews for treason.

I share these historic episodes to showcase the marginalization and oppression that Jews have experienced throughout history. I especially want to note that these acts were committed by governments often hand-in-hand with the Church or were used by religious groups for nefarious purposes. These events in Jewish history drove many Jews out of Europe, a significant number of whom found themselves in the U.S. This includes my family, who fled the pogroms in Lithuania in the late 19th century. Today, 69% of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi or Sephardic, descending from the Jews of Central/Eastern Europe and Spain, respectively.

Although we may have left Europe, we carry our ancestors’ experiences with us. The intergenerational trauma of witnessing systematic antisemitism, often perpetrated by religious forces through the state, has left an indelible mark on American Jewry. Unfortunately, even Jews whose families came from places other than Europe also faced this religiously-fueled violence from the state. As a result of these experiences, American Jews have a unique attachment to the separation of church and state. We’re raised with the understanding that the lack of codified protection for religious liberty leaves us at risk. We’re weary of religious injections into politics, and that sentiment remains today.

A 2020 survey by Pew Research Center found that 63% of American Jews believe that houses of worship should stay out of politics. In fact, American Jews’ attachment to a strict wall of separation between church and state is often an explanation for our voting patterns. Scholar Kenneth D. Wald has argued that the Democratic Party’s historic emphasis on religious liberty and the separation of church and state is one of the primary contributors to Jews’ support for the party. The evidence is clear that we Jews take the separation of church and state seriously.

For that reason, I raise a concern about the deterioration of the wall between church and state in our country today. The rise of the Religious Right since the 1980s has led to candidates who fuel political division, promote disinformation and undermine democracy through religious rhetoric. Just last year, the Supreme Court turned its back on decades-old precedent to reintroduce prayer in public schools. As I’ve written before, the Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade also employed religious themes, ignoring the fact that some religions allow abortion in some circumstances, including Judaism. The Dobbs decision imposed the religious views of some on all Americans, eroding the separation of church and state further. s he then spoke about how, in her view, the University’s current accommodations for those with ADHD were somewhat lacking. s pecifically, she felt like too many of the accessibility measures were focused on providing extra time for assignments and tests. e xtensions didn’t necessarily help her because they didn’t address the fundamental challenges of time blindness, as it would just move the stress point of a deadline to a future date, rather than alleviating the primary source of the stress. We likened this strategy to someone moving further down the train tracks when she hears that a train is moving — even if it takes a little longer, the train will still come.

My worries don’t end there. Some members of this movement label themselves Christian nationalists, seeking to explicitly embed a Christian identity in our democratic institutions. Beyond breaking down the separation of church and state, we can see antisemitism and other anti-democratic efforts in these groups. For instance, alongside the Trump flags and crosses at the Jan. 6 insurrection, we also saw antisemitic messaging. Researchers at The Washington Post found a strong link between identification as a Christian nationalist with antisemitic views and QAnon beliefs. Ideologies like these can lend themselves to actual violence which we’ve already seen before. For instance, the shooter from the 2019 Poway synagogue shooting espoused Christian beliefs as the basis for his actions.

Let me be clear: My criticism is not against Christianity or any other faith. Religion is a beautiful experience as one seeks a spiritual connection. My critique is against the minority who misuse religion for ulterior motives. Part of the reason I came to Notre Dame was for interreligious dialogue; for which I’m grateful for all the friendships I’ve made. There is a reason for concern about the politicization of religion and the threats we face in our country today. I fear that history will repeat itself. For the sake of all our religions and our democracy, we have an obligation to stand against this hatred.

Blake Ziegler is a senior at Notre Dame studying political science, philosophy and constitutional studies. He enjoys writing about Judaism, the good life, pressing political issues and more. Outside of The Observer, Blake serves as president of the Jewish Club and a teaching assistant for God and the Good Life. He can be reached at @NewsWithZig on Twitter or bziegler@nd.edu. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

For today’s column, I wanted to finally place ADHD at the forefront. For me, the main difficulty with writing a full article about ADHD was general nervousness about misrepresenting or misunderstanding aspects of others’ experiences. e ventually, I determined that I could alleviate this concern by interviewing one of my friends from the Liturgical c hoir who has ADHD. We had already had some previous conversations at “choir dinners” where we had discussed our experiences with neurodivergence, so I felt like she would be a great resource for learning more about the experiences of those with ADHD. Fortunately for me, she obliged, and we met in the comfortable third-floor c oleman-m orse lounge for a conversation.

I began by asking her what she thought were some of the misconceptions people had about ADHD. r ight away, she identified the common trope of individuals with ADHD as lazy and unmotivated, as if ADHD was simply an excuse for not getting things done. r esponding to these harmful stereotypes, she pointed out how most people do not recognize the specific obstacles folks with ADHD face. For example, she described the challenge of time blindness, in which someone doesn’t “feel” a deadline until it’s right upon her. Another obstacle she identified was how she struggled to start tasks because there were so many that she had to complete. b oth examples helped me to recognize how I’ve taken my ability to plan tasks well in advance for granted, as I hadn’t given enough thought to how some people’s minds might have to work harder to accomplish the same goal. Internally, I connected this to my experience with autism, as people might not recognize how much more work I have to do to participate in social settings, something others might not view as challenging at all.

After mentioning these more general stereotypes, she then also reflected on some misconnections she’s encountered as a woman with ADHD. s he referred to the underdiagnosis of women with ADHD, something that I was familiar with. We discussed this situation of how neurodivergent women, whether they are autistic, have ADHD or have a different condition, are often dismissed whenever they outwardly struggle to adapt to neurotypical standards. s he then described the stereotype of women with ADHD as “ditzy,” an example of how negative perceptions of ADHD can intersect with misogynistic tropes. We both emphasized the need for more inclusive diagnostic criteria that could ensure that neurodivergent women, along with minority groups who face similar obstacles, obtain the resources they need and deserve.

When I asked if she had any solutions in mind for this dilemma, she admitted that it was difficult to come up with any specific ones. For her, making these educational processes more inclusive for people with ADHD would necessitate a more fundamental rethinking of how assignments and tests are designed. e ventually, we approached something that resembled a solution. We discussed how educators at n otre Dame could work proactively with students with ADHD to help them develop planning habits, such as looking at a syllabus and creating a detailed planner. Given how energyintensive planning can be for those with ADHD, having someone assist in a collaborative manner is not only helpful but necessary in many cases. m ore generally, we determined that processdriven approaches would be superior to deadlinedriven approaches.

Finally, she brought up the challenges that people with ADHD face in terms of over-stimulation, something that I could deeply empathize with. s he described living with ADHD as always having a “ton of tabs open” in her brain, a phenomenon that especially occurred in locations with multiple sights and sounds. As someone who also occasionally struggles with overstimulation, I felt validated, and we proceeded to laugh in disbelief of all the people who study in Duncan s tudent c enter (seriously though, how do you all do it?).

This conversation not only gave me incredible insight, making me aware of terminology that helps to explain the ADHD experience, but it also demonstrated the importance of neurodivergent people having open forums to discuss their stories with other neurodivergent individuals. m y friend stated that she felt more comfortable talking with me about ADHD than with many of her other peers at n otre Dame. I agreed. We need spaces for collaborative neurodivergent storytelling, not only to discuss the challenges we’ve encountered but also to demonstrate pride in who we are.

Jack Griffiths is a senior at Notre Dame majoring in English with a supplementary major in global affairs. His areas of interest include neurodivergence, migration and the intersections between faith and public policy. When he’s not writing, you can find him singing with the Liturgical Choir, walking around the lakes or playing Super Smash Bros with folks in his dorm. He can be reached at jgriff22@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.