Rob Reiner has shared the first trailer for his upcoming documentary taking on the rise of Christian nationalism.
In God & Country, religious leaders and scholars, journalists and historians sound off about the threat of a movement which infuses Christian dogma with far-right politics. At the same time, the documentary seems to strive to make a distinction between the positive aspects of Christianity and the political-fueled variety.
“Christian Nationalism is not only a danger to our Country, it’s a danger to Christianity itself,” tweeted Reiner (A Few Good Men), who is a producer on the project and whose trailer (below) got him trending on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Friday.
The trailer mixes footage of right-wing marches and the riots of Jan. 6 with various interviews. “This is not a movement about Christian values, this is about Christian power,” says one interviewee, while another notes, “Christianity at its best is committed to love and truth and justice. If we do this right, what a country we will be.”
The documentary is directed by Emmy-winner Dan Partland, who previously waded into similar territory by directing 2020’s #Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump.
“Christianity is in crisis,” Partland previously said about the film. “To be clear, Christianity is not the problem, and having one’s faith inform one’s political beliefs is not the problem. The problem is the intertwining of a Christian identity with a political identity such that it can be hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. The danger to democracy led me to explore this topic, but what I learned in the process is that the threat may be even greater to the Church itself.”
The trailer follows Democratic strategist James Carville declaring on Bill Maher’s Real Time last week that Christian nationalism was a massive threat facing the country. “This is a bigger threat than Al-Qaeda to this country,” Carville said. “Let me tell you something, they got the speaker of the House, they got probably at least two Supreme Court justices, maybe more. Don’t kid yourself … this is a fundamental threat to the United States.”
God & Country will be released in theaters in February by distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories.