Candace Owens warns 'Christian nationalism' label meant to 'divide and brainwash Christians'
Candace Owens penned an op-ed earlier this week for The Daily Wire warning that the Left is politically weaponizing the term "Christian nationalism" to stoke divisions among Christians.
"If you’re paying attention, 'Christian nationalist' is everywhere as of late," wrote Owens, who described herself as both a nationalist and a Christian. "Suddenly, Christianity is being smeared, libeled, and attacked. It is being presented in the same vein as white supremacy."
The conservative political commentator, who claimed she was recently blacklisted from an undisclosed publication because of allegations that she is a Christian nationalist, noted that the term is being weaponized in a "sinister" way to clamp down on Christian voices by likening their opinions to white supremacy.
She also observed how talk of Christian nationalism has recently proliferated in legacy media outlets, with PBS, Axios, NPR and The New York Times all publishing pieces on the topic within the past month alone.
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The increase in publicity comes in the wake of Rob Reiner's recent documentary "God and Country," which Owens described as "propaganda" and "Hollywood spin" on the flashpoint topic. Despite earning just a little more than $38,000 nationwide during its opening weekend last month, the film has been garnering attention as Reiner does the media rounds.
Owens pointed out how, during a recent interview with CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour, Reiner said he produced the film because he came to believe that Christian nationalism is well-organized and "has taken root far more and far more deeply than I had ever thought."
Owens derided the idea that Christian nationalists pose the greatest threat to a country that is increasingly being overrun with crime and other profound problems.
"Now, I'm sure when you consider the myriad of issues facing our country today, what you're really concerned about is that there might be some Christians who are also in love with our country," she said. "They are Christian nationalists. When you see drug dealers, illegal immigrants, crime rates, gang violence, I’m sure you’re thinking, it's the Christians we should be afraid of. It’s an absurd idea."
Owens went on to characterize the accelerating attacks against so-called Christian nationalism as the latest in a longtime cultural blitz against Christianity in the U.S.
"I believe this is a further attempt to divide and brainwash Christians, which is something that has gone on for decades," she wrote.
Roughly since the removal of prayer in public schools in the 1960s, Owens said, "there has been a concerted effort to divide Christians, to make them feel embarrassed about their religion."
"That push just continues with more force; that is exactly what is happening again with the topic of Christian nationalism," she added.
Owens has been outspoken about her Christian faith over the years, even to the point of clashing with her colleague, Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro.
Last November, the two got into a spat on X when Owens posted portions of the Sermon on the Mount after footage emerged that showed Shapiro criticizing her as "absolutely disgraceful" for her rhetoric on the Israel-Hamas war.
