Episode
The Sunday Interview: The Soundtrack of Christian Nationalism
- Published
- Jun 14, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2787
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- https://clrtpod.com/m/traffic.megaphone.fm/SWAJ3181736128.mp3
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Summary
What if one of the most important political symbols in American evangelicalism isn't a campaign slogan, a policy platform, or a charismatic preacher, but a worship song? In this episode of the Straight White American Jesus Sunday Interview, host Leah Payne speaks with Religion News Service journalist Bob Smietana about his reporting on the unexpected political life of Chris Tomlin's worship anthem "How Great Is Our God." Over the past several years, the song has appeared everywhere from the Capitol Riots to ReAwaken America rallies and Sean Feucht events, to the memorial service for Charlie Kirk. Yet unlike overtly political songs such as "God Bless the USA," "How Great Is Our God" contains no explicit political message at all. So why has it become such a powerful soundtrack for conservative Christian activism? Drawing on his reporting for NPR’s All Things Considered, and Payne’s God Gave Rock and Roll to You: a History of Contemporary Christian Music, Smietana and Payne discuss the rise of “Christian Nashville-ism," the fusion of the worship music industry, suburban evangelical culture, celebrity influence, and political identity. Nashville's Christian music machine has produced a soundtrack so ubiquitous that it now functions as a kind of sacred common language across American Christianity. In an era of political polarization, worship songs provide emotional resonance, spiritual legitimacy, and a sense of collective identity that can easily travel into political spaces. Together, Payne and Smietana explore how contemporary worship music became one of the most influential forms of religious formation in American life. They discuss the rise of Chris Tomlin and the Passion movement, the mainstreaming of charismatic worship practices, the growing overlap between worship…