About CACN PDX
The why, what and how.
Why this, why now?
As Christians we believe it’s the responsibility of Christians to expose and oppose extremism within our own religion. As followers of Jesus, we are moved by compassion and truth to call out its heretical nature and its very real harms and injustices. Christian nationalism is in no way Christian - except in name alone.
We recognize that this co-opting of Christian language to justify its own harmful agenda harms the witness of who Jesus is and who His followers are called to be. We work to recognize where CN has colored our understanding of God and the message of the gospel and reclaim the truth together.
Christian nationalism is so deeply ingrained in our society, and so rarely declares itself openly, that spotting and naming it requires learning, careful thought and study. That’s why we work to educate our Subscribers, Churches, Allies and the Public. What is Christian nationalism? Where did it come from? How is it showing up now? What’s the danger in it?
Want us to speak at your Church, group or gathering? Email us at CACNPortland@gmail.com.
Living Our Faith in Action
As a faith-based activist organization we seek to move beyond learning and sharing opinions to taking action. We’re a diverse group of Christians coming together to love our neighbor well. We stand in solidarity with those harmed by CN.
We’re working to be one part of the growing resistance against Christian Nationalism’s fascist, anti-democratic, ableist, misogynistic, white supremicist power grab for political and social control.
But we don’t want to spend all our time calling out and distancing ourselves from the false and the harmful. We want to say what we’re for. Not just what we’re against. We want to model a different way - in word and in action. We want to demonstrate a way that we think is more faithful to who Jesus is and the way of love that He teaches.
Whether it’s providing a safe space for each other to process, handing a microphone to those who have been silenced and marginalized, supporting the organizations who are already doing this good hard work day in and day out, raising awareness about CN, or showing up in person at local demonstrations to be a peaceful presence and faithful witness.
What kind of community are you looking to build here?
We’re hoping to build a community of people who are also desiring to oppose Christian Nationalism. That opposition can take so many different forms.
We want to bring together those who:
- are hungry to be a part of a community taking action
- feel isolated in their beliefs
- feel grieved and disoriented by the impact of Christian Nationalism
- are already taking action but want to scale their impact and swap best practices
- are responsible for the spiritual well-being of their communities and want to help combat CN within a church community
- sense a call to love your neighbor more faithfully during this time
- simply longing for a place to be with others who understand the dangers of CN
What can you expect to find here?
It’s important to understand that this Substack is a conglomeration of our various contributions. This means a couple of things:
First, we’re all volunteers and we post as we’re able and feel led. Which means that we don’t have a set schedule for how much or how often we’ll post.
Second, we all bring our different perspectives, writing styles and passions to our posts. Some posts will be collaborative efforts while others will be solely from individuals. We hope to offer grounding devotionals, prayers, creative works, educational posts, current and historical socio-political takes and more.
The unifying theme is that we identify as Christians who are opposed to CN and the way it’s impacting people and communities.
Third, as a faith-based activist community, CACN is made up of people from many faith traditions, theological perspectives, and lived experiences. We all, in spite of our many different backgrounds, unite around Jesus-shaped care for our neighbors and together take a stand against CN. Our writing reflects this diversity.
We believe that meaningful community does not require uniformity. We believe it’s possible to build deep community, shared purpose, and collective action without requiring total agreement. Belonging does not depend on sameness. We are committed to a model of belonging that allows for difference.
That means that unless a post is clearly labeled as an official CACN statement, it is reflecting the views and experiences of the individual contributors rather than a single, unified CACN position.
Aside from original posts from CACN Portland group members, we hope to amplify the voices of the people already doing this work by highlighting opportunities to get involved and help out. We may re-stack posts and share external links from resources that we hope add value to this bigger work of opposing the ideology of CN.
Beyond Substack - Getting Involved
For those of you who are itching to take even more action and are searching for a movement to join where you can add your presence, your voice, your passions, talents and energy, then we invite you to become a member!
Don’t already know what that will look like for you? Are you still learning about CN and trying to find your place in all this? Come check us out! We’re a body made up of different parts all coming together to oppose CN and care for those harmed by it. You’re welcome here!
We would love for you to join us! Sign up to join our CACN Portland group here.
Thanks for reading CACN-PDX! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.
Want us to speak at your Church, group or gathering? Email us at CACNPortland@gmail.com.
Learn more about the national Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign here. From there you can join an existing local group near your or start your own.
Have questions? Email us at CACNPortland@gmail.com.
You write: “Christian nationalism is in no way Christian - except in name alone.”
I have been thinking about this a fair bit lately, and I am not sure it is true. If you take “Christianity” to mean the collective beliefs and actions of people who use that name throughout history, the current encarnation in the US is part of a long and popular tradition. Christians have been a destructive, violent, and self-enriching force since Christianity was made the state religion of Rome in 380 AD.
Of course, those who interpret theology differently, who focus on social justice and liberation, have been there all along! But, I wonder if positioning ourselves as outside of this bloody tradition doesn’t prevent us from seeing the ways that we might be contributing to and benefiting from Christian Nationalism—even in the smallest ways.
I’m not totally sure about this. What do you think?
You've raised some really good points. I personally read the statement as meaning "Christian" = of Christ, and CN is a movement that is not at all based on Christ's teaching or example. Unfortunately, as you said, it is far from the first time professing Christians have done horrible things in the name of Christ.
You're right, it's important for us to be aware of the historical ways Christianity has been used as a weapon or tool for self-serving purposes, because we could start to use it the same way if we're not careful. I think stating that CN is not Christian can be a way to call out not only CN, but also past abuses of power, as being not of Christ. Our dismantling of racist and bigoted assumptions that are core to CN can also involve dismantling the false or downplayed, whitewashed histories we've been taught and acknowledging that what went on was actually wrong and a big deal.