In Lone Star country earlier this month, Russian white Christian nationalists cheered on white American Christian nationalists energized by Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s talk of Texas seceding from the United States.
“In the conflict between Texas and the United States, I am on the side of the state,” a leading Russian politician declared. Russia’s former president, Dmitry Medvedev, wrote, “We are ready to help with the independence referendum, and we will recognize the People’s Republic of Texas if there is one.”
Thrilled at the prospect of secession, a ragtag group of Christian nationalists styling themselves “God’s Army” convoyed across the country to support calls for the proposed People’s Republic of Texas.
Texas Christian nationalists welcomed the support. “As Christians, we’re called to speak the truth and that’s something that, if you’re trying to control people, is very dangerous to those in power,” one Texas sheriff preached to a contingent of God’s Army. “There’s a reason why they [liberals] make fun of calling yourselves God’s Army because it’s God’s Army being called to tell the truth. That means that your loyalty is to God, it’s to the Constitution.”
I would suggest to Mr. Christian Sheriff that he may be referring to the God-invoking Confederate States Constitution. It is certainly not the United States Constitution, which created a secular nation.
The Russian digital eavesdroppers shared their support of Texas Christian Nationalism on social media. “Texas, we are with you! Freedom for Texas!” They posted images proudly proclaiming their enthusiasm for the Texas People’s Republic.
Why, you may be wondering, are Russian Christian nationalists backing Texas Christian nationalists?
I am glad you asked.
Religion and anthropology professor Sarah Riccardi-Swartz explains that “Putin’s attempt to brand himself as a protector of ‘traditional values’ and Russian Christians, resulting in the resurgence of the Russian Orthodox Church, has also helped remake Russia into a symbol for [American] Christian nationalists.” To America’s white Christian nationalists, Russia is “no longer an atheistic communist country; it’s a place where Christians have religious freedom.”
Research indicates that “Americans who subscribe to Christian nationalist ideology are attracted to Putin as a strong man and ethno-nationalist leader, just as they [are] with Trump.” Russian Christian nationalism “seems very appealing to conservative Christians in the United States who feel our liberal democracy is infringing on their religious beliefs,” Riccardi-Swartz states.
Trump long ago bragged he could kill someone, and his followers would not blink an eye. Putin has repeatedly had detractors murdered—including recently—and remains in power. For this, Trump appears to be envious.
Back in Texas, the saber-rattling of Christian nationalists is “the fertile ground upon which Russia’s psychological operations warriors thrive,” writes an analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Putin, knowing how to play his American Christian nationalist fans, is hopeful that “Texas is about to secede and America will fall into civil war.”
Could secession actually happen?
This past November, a reporter covering the first convention of mostly retired Texans fixated on the Texas Nationalist Movement’s (TEXIT) vision of an independent Texas got an earful. “No taxes or Faucis, no speed zones or toll roads,” he summarized what he heard that day. “No liberals, no gun laws. No windmills, no poor people. A separate currency, stock market and gold depository … World-class college football, a farewell to regulators.”
Football stadiums packed with packing Texans and no referees on the field? That would make for a war zone to end all end zones.
In the words of one convention speaker, a preacher, Texas independence would mean “complete control of our own immigration policy.” With the borders nailed shut and no more immigrants in sight, “We are going to be so rich. We’re gonna be rich. We are gonna be rich. We. Are. Going. To Be. Rich! … As soon as we declare independence.”
Minus the border talk, that sounds an awful lot like an Amway pitch.
Nevertheless, one wonders what those retirees living in a future independent Texas will do when their Social Security checks suddenly stop arriving, their Medicare card is rejected at the doctor’s office and road construction and maintenance comes to a halt.
Do they think West Texas oil billionaires funding the TEXIT movement will pony up to take care of them when federal dollars go away?
Is the moon made of Texas cheese? (Well, OK, some Texan partisans may be nationalist enough to insist it is.)
Never mind those pesky details that will leave most Texans wallowing in poverty and dodging potholes the size of a horse. “We’re going out there [toward becoming an independent nation] in the name of God. We’re going out there in the name of Texas,” shouted one TEXIT convention speaker.
At least he put God before Texas.
Never one to be outflanked by far-right extremists, Governor Abbott, his eyes on the TEXIT movement, eventually thrust himself to the head of the line. Falsely claiming that “the compact between the United States and the states” had been broken by the federal government’s mismanagement of illegal immigration, he just as falsely claimed Texas’s sovereignty to be legitimate.
As Abbott made the statement on January 24, border crossings into Texas had dropped dramatically, not that it mattered.
Other than making the very same false states’ rights arguments that the white Christian nationalist Confederate States of America made long ago, what is Abbott thinking? He knows secession is unconstitutional and will not happen. Maybe he just wants to ensure everyone understands he is the third person of the Lone Star Trinity, as in “God. Texas. Abbott.” Followed by Costello.
Ah, the Russians applaud you, comrade Abbott. The American “Civil War 2.0” is coming, thrills Russian TV host Sergey Mardan. “If your enemy is facing a problem, you need to help turn it into a catastrophe.” The TEXIT crowd does not seem to understand that this is more than just snarky Russian humor.
America’s judicial system, meanwhile, is rolling its legal eyes. Abbott’s claim that “Texas’s constitutional authority … is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary” led the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals—arguably the most conservative court in the nation—to promptly swat it down in no uncertain terms.
Putin, however, is not about to let the matter rest. After all, he has a reputation to uphold.
A few years ago, a spokesman for the American Family Association called Putin the “lion of Christianity.” Franklin Graham praised Putin for “protecting traditional Christianity.” Putin played along, proclaiming Moscow as the present-day “Godly city.” For all this and more—including Russia’s harsh anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion laws—many Christian nationalists see Russia as a shining example of what America—or at least Texas—could become.
For now, though, some Christian nationalist secessionists are content to snuggle up to the great Russian Bear as if he were some cute Winnie the Pooh, a questionable borderline strategy.
Managing Editor for Publishing and Experiences Director at Good Faith Media. He is a historian, lecturer, public speaker, award-winning author and award-winning photographer.
