Reverend Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, alongside the Daily Wire’s Jordan Peterson, has released a report warning that the phrase “Christ is King” is being co-opted by extremist groups with “exclusionary” purposes. “Traditionally considered a normal declaration of devotion, the phrase has been hijacked by Holocaust deniers and Islamists seeking to rejuvenate conspiracy theories and antisemitic tropes,” the report warned. According to the report, there has a been a “fivefold increase in mentions of ‘Christ is King’ on X (formerly Twitter) between 2021 and 2024, with nearly 50 percent of the posts now driven by figures promoting hateful — and especially antisemitic — narratives.”

The increase surged around Easter 2024. During that time, an open debate on the phrase’s use went viral on X after Candace Owens sparred with former colleagues over the term. Ownes had parted ways with The Daily Wire after tensions over support of Israel between her and Daily Wire co-founder, Ben Shapiro, who is Jewish. Owens has since come out calling Israel’s control of Gaza an “occupation” and accusing Israel of genocide following retaliation after the October 7 attacks. The Daily Wire’s Andrew Klavan pushed back, claiming the term was being used for antisemitic purposes. “Christ is the King. And one day every knee will bow to recognize that He’s not just my King, but the King of the universe,” Klavan declared. “But when you use that phrase to mean God has abandoned His chosen people, the Jews, through whom He came into this world incarnate and that He’s broken His promises, His covenant with the Jews, you are quoting Scripture like Satan does in the Bible. You are quoting Scripture to your purposes, and that to me is specifically wicked.” Owens, along with Nick Fuentes, is one of the figures identified in the report as using the phrase for antisemitic purposes.

Moore stated that while he does not believe the term itself is antisemitic, he believes it is being misused. “I certainly don’t believe that it’s antisemitic to say Christ is King or Jesus is Lord. It’s a Christian phrase, but like all phrases, it can be used by people who hate others in a hateful way,” he said. He called on Christians to reclaim the phrase, especially in light of the upcoming Easter season, saying, “as a religious Christian I can think of almost nothing more profane than stealing from us a phrase like ‘Christ is King,’ a phrase which embodies the Easter message of the love of Jesus for the entire world. I hope this Easter millions of Christians around the world will take the phrase back from extremists who seek to use our faith to advance their hate,” he said. He warned against any attempt “to renew age old antisemitic tropes” and the Christians ought to respond with “not on our watch.” “Christianity and Judaism are different religions but we don’t have one without the other.”