Growing up in Sunday school, I memorized the biblical scripture Matthew 25:35, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” In youth group, we packaged care packages for homeless shelters and served meals at local community centers in Camden. My pastor preached that loving your neighbor was not just a suggestion, but the heart of our faith.
That version of Christianity is starkly different from what is unfolding in our politics today. With the rise of white Christian nationalism and inhumane treatment by ICE, it is now vital for churches to stand up against the harmful rhetoric that MAGA christianity uses to promote hate rather than love.
Regardless of your religious background–or lack thereof–the rise of Christian nationalism should concern you. Specifically, “MAGA Christianity” or “white Christian nationalism” is a political movement that uses religious language to justify policies that contradict the very faith it claims to represent. The evidence extends beyond rhetoric and has even cultivated into action. In July 2025, the Department of Homeland Security posted recruitment videos quoting Bible verses to justify hunting down immigrants. One video featured Border Patrol agents in tactical gear with the verse from proverbs: “The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are bold as a lion”, labeling immigrants as “wicked”. Another DHS video, later deleted, showed armed agents preparing for raids while quoting Isaiah 6:8, “Here am I, send me,” casting immigration enforcement as a divine mission. Paula White-Chain, appointed by Trump to lead the White House Faith Office, argued that Jesus would have been “sinful” and not “our Messiah” if he had broken immigration laws when fleeing to Egypt as a refugee– a distortion used to defend family separation policies. Meanwhile, Trump has revoked protections that kept ICE agents out of places of worship– resulting in families being separated on the steps of churches. These are not isolated incidents, but a coordinated effort to merge church and state under a version of Christianity that has abandoned its foundation of love– a faith whose central figure was born a refugee, lived among outcasts, and commanded his followers to welcome the stranger.
During the 2025 National Prayer Service, Bishop Mariann Budde made a plea to President Trump, asking for mercy toward immigrants “who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat-packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals.” However, Trump ridiculed her publicly. This is the same administration that has invoked Christian values while conducting ICE raids that separate families, implementing mass deportations, and creating an atmosphere of fear so harmful that hundreds of students now stay at home from school, terrified of losing their parents. By posting scripture to justify deportation, the Department of Homeland Security has essentially weaponized the Bible– even though biblical scripture commands believers to welcome and love their neighbors.
Whether you’re Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, or anything else, white Christian nationalism threatens everyone. Today, Christianity is being twisted to justify immigration crackdowns. Tomorrow, it could be used to justify another form of discrimination. This is not about Christianity versus other religions, but rather the extent of how religious tradition can be weaponized for political control.
My generation sees this contradiction and is leaving in unprecedented numbers. Among Gen Z, atheism has risen to 31 percent— double that of older adults. Adults question why the younger generation is rejecting the values that religion teaches, however, I would argue my generation is simply rejecting the hypocrisy of institutions that preach love on Sundays while practicing exclusion the rest of the week. I was raised to believe that faith calls us toward justice, compassion, and protection of the vulnerable– but it is hard to see that in today’s portrayal of Christianity.
It is important to point out that churches can have a voice against the noise. During times of uncertainty, American religious institutions have not always been complicit in state power– but in fact have often stood against it. During the Underground Railroad, churches acted as sanctuaries hiding enslaved people seeking freedom. During the Civil Rights Movement, Black churches became centers of resistance.
Today, some congregations are living out this tradition, declaring themselves sanctuary spaces for immigrants facing deportation by providing legal aid and resources for vulnerable community members.
The question now is whether more churches will find the courage to reclaim their faith from those who weaponize it. Will they speak out against policies that tear families apart? Will they provide sanctuary for those being persecuted? Will they choose to “love thy neighbour,” during a time where hate and inhumane treatment against the marginalized are only heightened?
The Christianity I was raised in taught that “faith without action is dead,” and our churches must make the choice to stand up. This choice they will make will define not just the future of American Christianity, but whether religious institutions have any moral credibility left at all.
