Congressman Jared Huffman has published a new book addressing what he characterizes as a significant gap in public understanding of Christian nationalism in the United States. Titled “No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism,” the work contends that a movement rooted in religious ideology represents the country’s most dangerous political force, with implications for science, education, and civil liberties.
Huffman, who represents California and serves as the only current member of Congress to publicly identify as a non-believer, experienced the events of January 6, 2021 from a locked office in the Capitol building. He observed what he describes as explicitly religious symbolism and activity among those involved in the breach, including crosses, shofars, and prayer gatherings. Huffman argues that the religious dimensions of that day received insufficient attention from both the public and his congressional colleagues, and he contends that the House select committee investigating the incident deliberately removed references to Christian nationalism from its final report.
Huffman’s path to his current public stance reflects a personal evolution spanning decades. Raised in Independence, Missouri, within the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he was ordained into its priesthood. His faith wavered during his college years following his father’s death, and he eventually adopted what he describes as humanism—a framework emphasizing moral and ethical living grounded in science, reason, and facts rather than supernatural beliefs. He kept this worldview private throughout his early congressional career, a discretion he describes as uncomfortable and inauthentic.
The congressman decided to publicly disclose his secular perspective in 2017, following his mother’s death and amid what he perceived as an escalation of religious extremism in government under the Trump administration. Despite warnings from his wife, brother, staff, and advisers that such a disclosure would damage his political viability—polling consistently identifies atheism as the least favorable label for candidates—he chose transparency. He received support from figures including House minority leader Nancy Pelosi and founded the Congressional Freethought Caucus with colleague Jamie Raskin.
Huffman uses the term “Christian privilege” to describe what he sees as cultural protections afforded to Christian-rooted movements that would not extend to minority or foreign religious ideologies. He notes experiencing criticism from both Republican and Democratic colleagues, some of whom he describes as feeling their Christian identity threatened by his public non-belief. His book argues that this dynamic has enabled Christian nationalist movements to grow more powerful, particularly following recent political developments.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI