God & Country

God & Country from producer Rob Reiner (The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally) and director Dan Partland may not seem to reveal too much as a whole, especially to individuals who follow politics very closely. It might seem to be beating a dead horse to liberals, especially in how it reveals how the hard right has co-opted American Christianity and perverted it as a form of political power. But more moderate, independent-minded people who aren’t pleased with how religion and politics have been intertwined and even weaponized just might find it a breath of fresh air. The essential documentary uses established political land faith-based figures that give a voice of reason to the divisive demagoguery that has been toxic to our political system since. The interviews include clergymen, constitutional lawyers, pastors, theologians, and Catholic nuns who give alternative viewpoints on compassion and how the true gospel of Christianity has been undermined, especially since the MAGA movement, which has become even more divisive, hateful, and violent than it ever has been.

Like Andrew Callaghan’s This Place Rules, God & Country examines extremism in American politics. But whereas Callahan’s film was more of an indictment on mainstream media and placed blame on how all forms of media sewed up division, here the focus is on how faith has been exploited and perverted for a use of political power and coercion that has an agenda of rolling back issues that most Americans are democratically in favor of, like women’s reproductive rights, marriage equality, justice, and sustaining our roots as a secular nation that has grossly been whitewashed by evangelicals.

Courtesy Oscilloscope Laboratories

The finest interviews in the film include those of Reverend William Barber II, Sister Simone Campbell, author Andrew Seidel, and journalist Katherine Stewart, whose documentary is based on her non-fiction book The Power Worshippers. With archival footage and documented footage of the dangers of the MAGA movement, the documentary expertly agues the dangers that Christian nationalism poses to freedom, democracy, and Christianity itself. The main thesis of the documentary is how Christianity should be about helping the sick, poor, and people in need but instead so much vilifies the people they politically disagree with. The film probes how many opportunist evangelicals and pastors weaponized the pulpit to indoctrinate many Americans to turn on fellow Americans as a form to “take back America for Christ.” Their end agenda is to allow for minority rule and to install a more autocratic or theocratic form of government.

The big question the film asks is “What is Christian nationalism and is it truly Christian?” and the short answer is that it’s not. The film shows with great evidence how billions have been spent over the years overturning Roe v. Wade, but will the same women who were coerced into having unwanted pregnancies get financial support from the same people who poured in billions over the years? The answer is no. A lot of the evidence shows rhetoric from Trump, who represents the exact opposite of what Christianity stands for, and how he captured 81% of the white evangelical vote that got him big wins in key battleground states in 2016. Of course, there is a whole segment of footage on the U.S. Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, where many of the violent attacks were bestowed by Christian nationalists. It’s rather distressing to see how much havoc and malice have been unleashed by fear and demagoguery, with even book burnings now occurring on our homeland.

Courtesy Oscilloscope Laboratories

This is a brave and thoughtful documentary that is well-argued, alarming, and horrifying. God & Country is more anti-fundamentalist and anti-nationalist than anti-Christianity. In fact, the film is pro-Christian as its pastors and fellow Christian’s advocate for love, justice, inclusion, and ruth. This documentary deserves to be seen on a larger scale, especially for those who are blindly following dangerous propaganda in our uncertain era. The question remains: will more people step outside their bubble, keep an open mind, and hear alternative viewpoints? Anything is possible, but now, in an era of double speak and misinformation, the truth is more crucial than ever.

This is an unflinching documentary that shows the effects of how something with grace can be perverted and transformed into a fundamental state of malice and eventually authoritarianism. The documentary is well-thought out and provides solutions. If you just think it’s just more Trump bashing, it really becomes a compelling documentary of reason that deserves attention.