A documentary with an agenda, God & Country covers the genesis and growth of Christian Nationalism in the United States. Using Katherine Stewart’s book The Power Worshippers as inspiration, director Dan Partland further explores the concerns—make that fears—he showed in his documentary Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump. Partland makes no claims of impartiality—he sees Christian Nationalists as a powerful minority wielding a deep and frightening threat to democracy. He shows the beliefs of Christian Nationalists with file footage of preachers and others who abhor separation of church and state and want to see a unified view—theirs—applied to everyone. Partland’s own interviews come from a moderate faction of Christian representatives whose Biblical interpretations see a more peaceful, open sense of the world than allowed by the Nationalist’s political goals. Imposing Christian rule on the United States goes against the country’s founding documents say the moderate representatives; the Nationalists believe otherwise and have organized a get-out-the-vote campaign to gain political power. Given Parland’s acknowledged slant, it’s hard to imagine Christian Nationalists changing their minds after watching God & Country—well it’s hard to imagine them even watching it. God & Country preaches to the choir, but with a call to action urging voters to mark their ballots and protect the majority view.
