Christian nationalism tempers the native idealism of America, which has not been immune to utopian aspirations. After the revolution, some embraced the notion that American society would inaugurate a new order for the ages (novus ordo seclorum). At best, this sentiment reflects an exaggerated patriotism. At worst, it mandates an American-led global revolution. The Christianity in Christian Nationalism disabuses its adherents of this disastrous fantasy. The self-limiting character of Chrisitan nationalism rests in more than Augustine’s distinction between the city of man and the city of God. Christianity promotes forms of life that by their very nature militate against overweening political projects.
