Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy

To quote Barry Goldwater, hardly a "liberal Democrat": "Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the (Republican) party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them."

And here we are, December 2024, a month away from the inauguration of the second non-consecutive term of a convicted felon who nearly half the country blindly support, millions even saying he was "sent by God." This infuriating but essential documentary explains how we got here. The seeds were planted in the post-Nixon mid 70s by John Bircher Dominionists like Paul Weyrich and Jerry Falwell, both of whom rose to political prominence under Reagan. The documentary fails to mention Jim Watt, who in addition to canceling the "bad influencers," the Beach Boys, from their annual July 4th National Mall concerts, was a devout Dominionist and hater of all things related to environmental protection. And now, the ghosts of these people (Falwell Sr., Weyrich, Watt, Reagan and also brimstone and hellfire nutjobs like Pat Robertson) are beaming from hell at the destruction a second Trump term is bound to unleash in Regime #2.

Republicans/MAGA blather on about "the Swamp" and "Deep State" in Washington. Christian Nationalism, which is really code for the KKK, and Evangelical Dominionism is the actual Deep State in Washington. The swamp is about to get deeper with zealots like Mike Johnson, who flies a Christian Nationalist flag (not an American flag) outside his office in the Capitol, leading the charge. Negative reviews from users are clearly from MAGAs and other snake oil believers who will not accept a separation of church and state in this country, as the Founding Fathers proclaimed. Boebert says that's "junk," so that ends that.

A staggering documentary that should have been streaming nonstop before the November 2024 Election. Welcome to Gilead, America.

It is rather funny how this entire film exposes Stephen Ujlaki's ignorance of how PEACE is derived among mankind. HINT: it's not democracy. Democracy is what has created this ugly binary of competing horror we enjoy today and marginalizes those intellectual heirs of America who DO understand where peace comes from.

Yes, a powerful force of christian nationalism is indeed a threat, but not TO "democracy" but BECAUSE OF democracy. A democracy that wields power it SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAD. (see America's Counter-Revolution: The Constitution Revisited by Sheldon Richman) If one wanted to end this threat by christian nationalism, one must look seriously at WHY democracy enables it, but this film looks PAST that fact.

This film could have proposed the cure to their stated problem by proposing the US initiate and pass a Separation of State & Economy amendment which would instantly close the loophole, not just for christian nationalism, but authoritarian nationalism of ANY FLAVOR, and this government would become limited to its original intent - the objective protection of individual rights of every single individual. The entire industry of political lobbying and political news-making would be permanently sidelined because there is no central authoritative power to be bought or brokered.

Imagine that - no centralized bully in DC or state capitols. A scary thought indeed. Now that is a documentary this creator should take up next!

Before you vote, you should watch this. The key to a functioning democracy is education and critical thinking skills. This video at least gives the viewer somewhere to start when preparing the basis for their electoral choices in the coming and all subsequent elections. While this movie may not replace what good Economics and Civics classes should be taught, it still provides enough information to allow the viewer what is afoot from certain quarters. I encourage EVERYONE to engage your curiosity to see what this is all about. I apologize for any and all redundancy in this review but the character minimum is driving that well after my point was made.

I have read a handful of books and over a dozen journal articles about Christian Nationalism and Dominion theology. This documentary is a really great representation of the scholarship. They have done a great job on the music, transitions, and in general, editing of this documentary.

This documentary will tell you about the history of Christian Nationalism. It is a movement with big money and run by a minority group of Christians who want America to be run their way. I highly recommend this documentary to anyone who is unfamiliar with Christian Nationalilsm, the Republican Party since the 1980s, and anyone who is generally interested in recent American history and/or politics.

Bad Faith has garnered praise for its insightful analysis and timely subject matter. Owen Gleiberman of Variety described it as "one of the scariest films" he's seen in recent years, noting its effective portrayal of how Christian nationalism undermines both constitutional freedoms and the concept of free will . David Reinbold of The Humanist commended the film for being "informative, sobering, chilling, frightening, but always with vestiges of hope," emphasizing its educational value and call to civic engagement .

Final Thoughts Bad Faith has garnered praise for its insightful analysis and timely subject matter. Owen Gleiberman of Variety described it as "one of the scariest films" he's seen in recent years, noting its effective portrayal of how Christian nationalism undermines both constitutional freedoms and the concept of free will . David Reinbold of The Humanist commended the film for being "informative, sobering, chilling, frightening, but always with vestiges of hope," emphasizing its educational value and call to civic engagement .