DNC Resolution Condemning all forms of White Nationalism and the Rise of Extremist Religious Ideologies

The following Resolution was considered by the Resolutions Committee at its meeting on February 2, 2023, and is recommended for adoption by the full Democratic National Committee at its meeting on February 4, 2023.

Submitted by: Michael Bearfoot/MN
Co-Sponsored by:

DNC Resolution Condemning all forms of White Nationalism and the Rise of Extremist Religious Ideologies

WHEREAS, white nationalism and white nationalist hate crimes have been on the rise over recent years and recent Department of Homeland Security threat assessments have found violence by white supremacist extremists to be the most persistent threat in the United States; and

WHEREAS, one of many heinous elements of white nationalism is its perversion of religion to make their hateful message seem more palatable; and

WHEREAS, white religious nationalist ideology is advanced by a vocal yet powerful minority, and does not represent the values of the majority of Americans, either of faith or secular, in the United States or within the Democratic Party; and

WHEREAS, Christian clergy and evangelical leaders across the nation have signed on to an open letter noting the “perversion of the Christian faith” and “radicalism” that plagues people who “support the Ku Klux Klan and Nazi ideology” or groups included in those that attacked the Capitol on January 6, like “the Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, QAnon, 3 Percenters, America Firsters, and similar groups”; and

WHEREAS, religious nationalist rhetoric and symbols were prominent in the violent January 6, 2021 insurrection; and

WHEREAS, Metropolitan Police Officer Christopher Hodges, who was crushed by the mob attacking the Capitol during the January 6, 2021 insurrection, noted in Congressional testimony that “It was clear the terrorists perceived themselves to be Christians … I saw the Christian flag directly to my front. Another read, ‘Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president.’ Another: ‘Jesus is king.’”; and

WHEREAS, theocracy is incompatible with democracy and religious freedom in a pluralistic society; and

WHEREAS, the United States Constitution was the first governing document to establish a secular democracy with separation of religion and government; and

WHEREAS, white religious nationalism has used the cover of patriotism to foment and inflame hate by providing cover for racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and islamophobia; and

WHEREAS, Republican leaders have succeeded in their decades-long efforts to overturn Roe v Wade, distorting the legal definition of “religious liberty” to include discrimination, denial of public accommodations, denial of healthcare and women’s freedoms; and

WHEREAS, Republicans have succeeded in conflating the meaning of “religious liberties” to mean defunding of public schools, and defunding the social safety net, restricting cultural and historical teachings all while gaining unfettered access to taxpayer dollars their institutions can use to proselytize and discriminate; and

WHEREAS, the 2020 Democratic Party platform noted that former President Trump, as the leader of the Republican Party, had given safe harbor to “racists, anti-Semites, anti-Muslim bigots, and white supremacists” within the GOP and pledged that Democrats would confront attacks by white nationalists in the United States;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic National Committee:

1. Recommits to condemning white nationalism, including white religious nationalism, in all forms and considers it an imminent threat to democracy; and
2. Commits to educating voters and its own members about white nationalism and the rising threat of white religious nationalism; and
3. Reiterates the 2020 Platform’s call to protect the rights of each and every American and “never amplify or legitimize the voices of racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, or white supremacy”; and
4. Reiterates the 2020 Platform’s call to “protect the rights of each American for the free exercise of his or her own religion” and to maintain “the separation between church and state enshrined in our Constitution.”