Baptist leader, Rep. Maxwell Frost urge Christians to reject Christian nationalism

Media Contact: Karlee Marshall | [email protected] | 580-224-1817

WASHINGTON – Amanda Tyler, executive director of BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty) and lead organizer of the Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign, testified before the U.S. House Oversight’s Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs at a hearing on “Faith Under Fire: An Examination of Global Religious Persecution.”

“Faith is indeed under fire around the world,” she said. “The best way we can make a difference is by not adding more fuel to the fire of religious extremism and nationalism. Instead, we should focus on being a role model to the world by ensuring the institutional separation of church and state, which protects all of us,” Tyler said during her testimony.

“The single greatest threat to religious liberty in the United States today – and thus our reputation as leaders in the fight for religious liberty to the rest of the world – is Christian nationalism,” she said. 

A highlight of the hearing was an exchange between Tyler and Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla. The congressman spoke persuasively about the need for Christians, like himself, to combat Christian nationalism. 

The Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign is a growing movement of 35,000+ Christians from across the country who’ve signed a unifying statement of principles. “Conflating religious authority with political authority is idolatrous and often leads to oppression of minority and other marginalized groups as well as the spiritual impoverishment of religion,” the statement reads, in part.  

This was the third time Tyler has testified before Congress. In an appearance in 2022, she became the first person to testify before Congress about the harms of Christian nationalism. She previously testified in 2018 before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution at a hearing on “Threats to Religious Liberty Around the World.” 

You can read Tyler’s written testimony here. 

You can watch the recording of the full hearing here.

You can find photos for media use here.

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 BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty) is an 87-year-old religiously based organization working to defend faith freedom for all and protect the institutional separation of church and state in the historic Baptist tradition. BJC is the home of the Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign.