Christian Nationalism, Constantine, and the Barbary Pirates
By William Conley - Posted at Substack:
Published April 30, 2026
It may seem like a strange title, and it is, but these things do have a strange correlation. I speak as one who has had Christian Nationalist-adjacent ideas and tendencies before it had a name, though the problem today is that no one seems able to say exactly what Christian Nationalism (CN) is. I have also been somewhat sympathetic to the storyline that Constantine the Great was a blessing for the church, though I now suspect that what has often been called a blessing may, in fact, be the root of some of our deepest confusions.Now, the Barbary Pirates—what has this to do with any of the above? I am referring, of course, to the conflict remembered in the United States Marine Corps Anthem: “from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.” In that era, the early United States had a piracy problem off the Barbary coast. American ships were being attacked, and the United States sought to defend the right of its citizens to freedom of passage on the seas and the right to engage in commerce.
Personal Note
By way of background, I went to Knox Theological Seminary and graduated with a Master of Arts in General Theological Studies in 2001. I was also a member of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in the 90’s when D. James Kennedy (DJK) was senior pastor. At that time, Coral Ridge Ministries (CRM) was very much involved in “kingdom politics” and had an annual Reclaiming America conference promoting the idea that America was a Christian nation.
The seminary that DJK started was called Knox Seminary, after the Scottish reformer John Knox, who was known to have had very strong political views about church-state relations and who was zealous in his views concerning the relation of civil authority and religion. Some church historians have even referred to Knox as “Calvin with a sword.”
I look back at those years at Knox and Coral Ridge as deeply formative for me, and I remain grateful for the instruction I received there. I learned Old Testament from O. Palmer Robertson, Systematics from Robert Reymond and R. C. Sproul, and Church History from Jonathan Gerstner.
Having said all this, some may place me in one of two camps. First, some may see me as sympathetic to Christian Nationalism because of my background. Others, after reading this article, may conclude that I am not altogether in favor of Christian Nationalism. Since no one seems able to define exactly what Christian Nationalism is, perhaps both judgments would be understandable. It must be said, however, that it would be inaccurate to say that CRM and Knox Seminary were promoting anything that resembles today’s CN.
What I am actually attempting to do is draw from my own background and experience to offer a few needed clarifications. There is no simple formula for how church and state ought to relate in the gospel age. This brief article is simply an effort to think through that question at the most basic level. I will begin by the curious event in the early days of the republic.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
