December 05, 2024 01:10 PM UTC

Christian Nationalist College Celebrates Its ‘First-Ever’ Graduate To Be Elected to Congress

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• by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Originally published at the Colorado Times Recorder

A Christian nationalist college founded by one of the country’s top anti-gay and anti-abortion conservatives is celebrating U.S. Rep.-elect Gabe Evans (R-CO) as its “first-ever graduate to be elected” to Congress.

The undergraduate institution, called Patrick Henry College (PHC), doesn’t hide its alignment with Christian nationalist tenets, like wanting the United States to be an explicitly Christian nation with laws influenced by the Bible. Some experts have said that Evans, who has promoted his ongoing links to the college, will likely join with the Christian nationalist right in the U.S. House.

“This election serves as an index for the rising popularity of Christian nationalism,” said Randall Balmer, the John Phillips Professor in Religion at Dartmouth College, in an email to the Colorado Times Recorder. “I would be surprised if Evans did not align himself with the far-right precincts of the Republican Party.”

Patrick Henry College is well-known as one of the most conservative colleges in the country, even among evangelical institutions.

“The mission statement [on the PHC website] suggests that the college is strongly committed to Christian fundamentalism and Christian nationalism,” wrote Christopher Douglas, a professor in the English Department at the University of Victoria, who’s the author of If God Meant to Interfere: American Literature and the Rise of the Christian Right, in an August email to the Colorado Times Recorder. “The fundamentalism is indicated by its emphasis on the Bible as ‘the inspired word of God, inerrant in its original manuscripts,’ which is a position that critical contemporary Bible scholarship does not hold. It’s complementarian, meaning that wives must be subservient to husbands in proper heterosexual marriages emphasizing the bearing of children. They have a very long section on ‘Civil Government,’ which makes clear their Christian nationalist commitments. American government is authorized by God, except when the government strays from the conservative Christian theology the college promotes.”

“We were delighted to hear of Gabe’s win this week,” said Patrick Henry College President Jack W. Haye in a news release last month. “Although a young college with approximately 420 students, PHC continues its unparalleled track record of success in placing alumni in top graduate programs, law schools, and every level of government.”

For his part, Evans hasn’t denounced his alma mater for clinging to archaic bigotry and intolerance, but instead praised PHC for “emphasizing the importance of results, not just theory.”

“Patrick Henry College provided an education that focused on practical wisdom,” Evans was quoted as saying in November’s PHC news release. “Having good principles is important, but the hands-on skill to translate those principles into effective, practical solutions that advance the cause of liberty is essential. I’m grateful to PHC for emphasizing the importance of results, not just theory.”

During his run for the congressional seat north of Denver, Evans received the endorsement of Michael Farris, the co-founder of Patrick Henry College.

In the Facebook endorsement, Farris identified himself as the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association and the former CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). ADF has worked in the courts to legislate some of the socially conservative policies promoted at Patrick Henry College. Under Farris, ADF played a key role in overturning Roe v. Wade, and Farris himself tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election. ADF and Patrick Henry College are on the advisory board of Project 2025.

In his endorsement of Evans, Farris wrote: “If you are a conservative and want to support candidates who will make a difference and not just pay lip service to our cause, join me in supporting Gabe Evans for Congress!”

Evans, who attended Patrick Henry College from 2005 – 2009, welcomed the nod from Farris, responding on Facebook last year that he was “particularly proud” of the endorsement because of Farris’ work for the home school movement.

In 2022, when Evans ran for the Colorado Legislature, he credited Patrick Henry College, which takes pride in training its students to become active in politics, for providing the training needed to succeed in politics.

Patrick Henry College’s Christian nationalism was spotlighted in God’s Harvard, a 2007 book by Hanna Rosin, who is now the host of the Atlantic Magazine’s podcast, “Atlantic Radio.”

Rosin said in an email to the Colorado Times Recorder that Patrick Henry College’s “Christian nationalism would fit right in” today, “given the ascendance of a whole new wave of Christian nationalism.”

“I wouldn’t think these days it would be a problem to mention Patrick Henry in a bio, given the ascendance of a whole new wave of Christian nationalism,” wrote Rosin. “What Patrick Henry taught, and the debates they had about Christians participating in government, seem quaint by today’s standards. I think evangelical churches these days have no hesitation at all to wholeheartedly align themselves with mainstream politicians, i.e., Trump. (See Tim Alberta’s book). Given this real shift since I covered the school, I’m not sure where they land on the evangelical, or the political spectrum these days. Their Christian nationalism would fit right in. I suppose the teachings on evolution would still make them an outlier. And the real mystery would be that they are highly moral and strict about sex and marriage, which obviously MAGA leaders are not.”

In her book, Rosin discusses Evans’ focus of study at PHC, a major called “Strategic Intelligence.”

“In the hierarchy of campus cool, SI majors considered themselves on top; to guard their secrecy, they’re not allowed to be quoted in the student paper or even to tell fellow students their major, a warning they take very, very seriously,” writes Rosin.

In a quote in a Patrick Henry College news release in 2022, Evans appears to refer to his study of Strategic Intelligence at PHC.

“Because of PHC’s rigorous training in both intelligence and in politics, Evans said he feels prepared to undertake this new journey,” states a 2022 news release from PHC announcing Evans’ run for the Colorado Legislature.

In last month’s PHC news release, Haye bragged about the impact of PHC graduates in government, “PHC alumni have argued before the Supreme Court of the United States and served in the White House in various capacities, including press secretary for the Vice President. PHC has had more graduates clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court than any other evangelical Christian college in the nation.”

Ultra-conservative PHC graduates worked at the White House for Vice President Mike Pence and Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

Jessica Wagner, a 2010 PHC graduate, clerked at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Samuel Alito.

“Wagner’s appointment adds another chapter in Patrick Henry College’s strong legacy of commissioning godly men and women into leadership at the highest level,” stated a 2019 news PHC news release. Patrick Henry College exists to prepare Christian men and women who will lead our nation and shape our culture with timeless biblical values and fidelity to the spirit of the American founding.”

“I think Patrick Henry College is taking the long view,” said Balmer via email. “I may have mentioned earlier that when I interviewed Michael Farris, the founder, he told me that the sentiment he heard most frequently from parents is that they wanted their kids to sit on the Supreme Court someday.

“I guess the election of Gabe Evans is simply a step on that process.”

The news release announcing Evans’ victory described PHC this way: “The unique fusion of three distinctives sets Patrick Henry College apart from any other college in the world. Unwavering Biblical Worldview, High Academic Rigor, Fidelity to the Spirit of the American Founding.”

Explaining its “Unwavering Biblical Worldview” on its website, PHC states, “High academic rigor and conservative principles are insufficient unless informed by the belief that God is the source of all Truth.”

During his successful run to unseat U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D-CO), Evans received endorsements from other right-wing Christian figures, including Indiana Congressman Jim Banks and Speaker of the U.S. House Mike Johnson (R-LA).

“Marriage is a sacred God-made union between a man and a woman, which is to be separated by no man. It is to model the reverence, love, sacrifice, and respect exemplified by Christ for His bride,” the college states in its “Biblical Worldview” on its website. “Husbands are the head of their wives just as Christ is the head of the church, and are to love their wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”

RELATED: GOP Congressional Candidate Puts His Training at a Far-Right Christian College Into Action