Pastor Doug Wilson Is a Christian Nationalist Who Doesn't Believe Women Should Vote

In the United States, the nation was founded on the principles of freedom of and from religion, where people can worship free from the influence of their government.

Christian nationalists, however, believe that Christianity was at the heart of the nation's foundations, and the church should therefore guide its laws.

Doug Wilson, pastor of Christ Church, is an avowed Christian nationalist who believes in a theocracy, where the principles of the church run the government.

While he has spent decades being cold-shouldered by politicians who don't want to be tied to his extreme views, a new brand of right-wing conservatives is listening: MAGA.

Here's an explainer about who Doug Wilson is, and why his influence is chilling in a country meant to have a separation between church and state.

On his website, Wilson keeps things mild. In his "about me" section, he playfully explains, "My name is Douglas Wilson, and I am the chief cook and bottle washer around here. I am happily married to Nancy, coming up on 50 years now, and I have three kids and kids-in-law who all make me the right kind of proud, and I also have teeming hordes of grandchildren who come over to our house pretty regularly in order to terryhoot."

He describes himself as being in pursuit of "theology that bites back."

It sounds innocuous enough, but it quickly becomes apparent that Wilson and his church, Christ Kirk, also called Christ Church, espouse borderline militant beliefs, calling for a Christian theocracy that would determine the laws and governance of the United States.

In an interview with Politico, Wilson described the choices as being between "Christ" and "chaos."

Wilson is educated and well-spoken, but for years, Christian politicians seemed to create distance between themselves and the pastor, looking to avoid any allegation that they were working towards a theocratic state. Wilson has no such compunctions.

His beliefs include banning abortion completely, banning women from roles of power, and amending the constitution to acknowledge "the truth of the Bible," according to the outlet.

Wilson is open about his hope that he can influence politicians to change the very foundation of the United States, telling Politico, "I am comfortable calling myself a ‘public intellectual for the deplorables.'"

He added, "I hope that my writing on cultural engagement gets read by people who are in a position to do something with it.”

And now, with MAGA firmly in power at the hands of President Donald Trump, people are starting to listen.

When asked, Wilson seems to acknowledge that his vision for America would be a massive departure from historic norms.

"I’m fond of saying that reformations never happen to the polite background sound of golf applause. It would be tumultuous," he told the outlet.

When asked if the change would come in a violent manner, he quipped with a laugh, "Well, that depends on the bad guys.”

Wilson also has no problem acknowledging that he sees himself as morally righteous.

The First Amendment of the Constitution reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

While this runs contrary to the vision Wilson hopes he can bring to life, that fact doesn't seem to bother him overly much.