What is Christian Nationalism, and should we be concerned about it?
Actor and activist Peter Coyote has concerns, and will share them during a two-hour discussion with other notable activists and the public on September 7, 2025, from 6-8pm at Burlingame Hall at the First Congregational Church .
“It’s something I pay attention to,” Coyote said about Christian Nationalism. “I’m quite concerned about it and am aware of the kind of political aggression of certain kinds of evangelical sects.” Coyote became more concerned when he learned that some of these groups were buying property in small towns. “I remember reading stories about how small towns were coming under attack and that these people were trying to set up majorities so they could bully the school boards and others,” Coyote said.
Coyote will be joined by special guest Congressman Jared Huffman, who speaks frequently on Project 2025 as a rising concern to our democratic society; Bradley Onishi, a former evangelical Christian Nationalist who after leaving high school, married, and took a job as a full-time youth minister with plans to enter the seminary. He eventually came to view extremist evangelicalism as inextricably intertwined with American Nationalism, White Supremacy, patriarchy and xenophobia; Rev. Dr. David Vasquez-Levy, who is leading the religious fight against Christian Nationalism by showcasing educational films such as “Bad Faith”, lectures, speaking engagements; and Rev. Dr. Curran Reichert, paster of the First Congregational Church of Sonoma has pastored progressive communities of faith in the United Church of Christ for more than two decades.
The evening is being hosted by Wake Up Sonoma, the local Sonoma Valley nonprofit Organization that acts as a grassroots citizen’s watchdog organization focused on promoting equality, transparency, and democracy. It is committed to educating, advocating, and activating this community to address critical issues.
Onishi spoke about his evangelical history on the radio with Rev. Paul Raushenbush, “People ask me, well, what’s Christian about Christian nationalism?” said Onishi. “And I say, look, if you approach me in that church and you’re like, hey, we’ve got to go defend white people. I would have looked at you like, no, I’m not into that. But if you said, look, we’ve got to go pray for the country; we’ve got to go act and show up for God’s will – then you’ve got my interest.”
Rev. Dr. David Vasquez-Levy is the President of Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California –a progressive, interdenominational seminary and center for social justice that prepares theologically and spiritually rooted leaders to work for the well-being of all. In an OpEd he authored, Vasquez-Levy wrote, “Christian Nationalism, and the ideologies that have fueled it from the very founding of our nation, have left a centuries-long trail of devastation that continues to this day. Through an alliance with White Supremacy, it has served as a justification for many of our country’s sins: the genocide and dispossession of Native peoples; the establishment of chattel slavery and the structural racism that replaced it; the subjugation of women and LGBTQ+ people; and the physical and political exclusion of migrants in this country. So yes, I am deeply concerned.”
The discussion will be moderated by Rev. Dr. Reichert, a leading voice concerning fair treatment of those without permanent shelter. She is committed to doing her part to end racial bias and deconstruct colonialism in the church and in our community.
TICKETS $25
6-8pm – First Congregational Church, 252 W Spain St, Sonoma, CA 95476
For tickets, CLICK HERE
