Rob Reiner has found the subject for his next movie: Christian nationalism.
Known for his comedic mockumentaries like This Is Spinal Tap, Reiner is switching things up in God & Country by taking a serious look at the growing threat of Christian nationalism, a movement that combines Christian beliefs with far-right politics.
According to its official description, God & Country “looks at the implications of Christian Nationalism and how it distorts not only our constitutional republic, but Christianity itself…[it also] asks this question: What happens when a faith built on love, sacrifice, and forgiveness grows political tentacles, conflating power, money, and belief into hyper-nationalism?”
Christian Nationalism is not only a danger to our Country, it’s a danger to Christianity itself. Our film will be coming to theaters In February. Watch the trailer here.pic.twitter.com/LJmu1nILNy
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) December 7, 2023
The trailer contains footage of right-wing marches, the Jan. 6 riots and various interviews with well-known religious leaders, including VeggieTales co-creator and Holy Post podcast host Phil Vischer; pastor, author, and Holy Post podcast host Skye Jethani; historian and author Kristin Kobes Du Mez; Christianity Today editor-in-chief Russell Moore; historian and author Jemar Tisby; U.S. Presidential Medal of Honor Winner Sister Simone Campbell; pastor and activist Doug Pagitt; religion journalist Jack Jenkins; pastor and author Rob Schenck, and more.
Director Dan Partland, who previously directed 2020’s #Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump. shared that he wants to highlight the “crisis” facing Christians in America.
“Christianity is in crisis,” he said to Deadline. “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.”
“Not since the Civil War has our country been so divided,” he said. “God & Country throws a spotlight on the role that Christian Nationalism has played in stoking that division. With the deepest respect for Christians who are sincere in their faith, but who are misinformed about the dangers and history of Christian Nationalism, I was compelled to produce this film to use my voice to draw awareness to the threat it poses.”
God & Country will premiere in theaters in February.
