Why Are People (Around the World) Talking About Christian Nationalism?

Today our friend Sayuri Yoshida explained to Diane and me the role that Christian nationalism plays in the governance of South Korea and Japan, how white religious supremacy adapts to those cultures, and how disgust for the movement motivated Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, to assassinate Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a month ago. The assassin asserts that he wanted to call attention to Abe’s and Japan’s government’s purported ties to the Unification Church, and their rightwing politics.

The Unification Church has aligned with conservative religious voices in the U.S. to push a Trumpian agenda, and in fact, Trump spoke at one of the church’s events last September. Yamagami, the assassin, was angry that his mother plunged the family into poverty after giving $700,000 to the church.

You may recall when Rev. Sun Yung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, bought a media company and founded the Washington Times in 1982. The conservative newspaper sought to give legitimacy to his church, widely known as a “cult,” partly by seeking alignment with churches. When I was a young pastor, the Unification Church sent young people out all over the U.S. to meet church leaders. They visited me, too, in the mid-80s. About 6 or 7 persons came to Santa Barbara. They lived in a large motor home, and attended our services more than the members of our church, including Sunday morning, evening, and Wednesday nights. They learned our songs. At some point, they invited me to come to their national convention, all expenses paid. I later heard of some pastors who accepted such an invitation.

I was aware that not many Koreans constitute the church. I did not know until today that most of the funding for the UC, billions of dollars, comes from Japanese people.

Don’t forget that when the Korean war subsided, America’s government helped establish Syngman Rhee as the first president of South Korea. He became a Christian and called for Korea to become a “Christian nation.” Like the U.S., Korea, along with Japan, stoked anti-communist fear. To speak out against communism is just one way of being anti-China, anti-North Korea, anti-Cuba, and anti-Vietnam.

In other words, if we have a common evil enemy, it proves we are good. If we have evil enemies, it enhances our “Christian” self-image. But you know better.

You understand that the post-imperial Jesus does not know these people, people fueled by exclusion and fear.

Brittney Griner,

we love you.

Brittney Griner, we love you.