American public education, though historically rooted in Christian ideals, has long navigated tensions among denominational differences and, in modern times, secularism. The growing influence of Christian nationalism—a movement blending Protestant religious identity with political ideology—threatens this balance. Grounded in beliefs that the U.S. was divinely founded as a Christian nation and that social hierarchies under a Christian God must be preserved, it envisions public schooling as a vehicle for promoting Christian values and opposing “wokeness.” This ideology has fueled book bans, parental rights movements, and school board takeovers, bolstered by sympathetic Supreme Court rulings and political agendas such as Trump’s Project 2025. At its core, Christian nationalism views education as a battleground in a holy war over whether the U.S. remains a pluralistic democracy or becomes a Christian theocracy. The brief urges state lawmakers to expose how Christian nationalist ideologies shape schools by requiring publicly funded institutions to disclose which people and ideas they exclude.

Suggested Citation: Burke, K.J. & Hadley, H. (2025). Christian nationalism and educational policy in the United States. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. Retrieved [date] from http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/christian-nationalism