Actor Rob Reiner’s documentary warning about Christian nationalism, “God and Country,” did poorly at the box office, but it’s being called one of the year’s best examples of “religiophobia” on the silver screen. The description of the documentary states that the movie “looks at the implications of Christian Nationalism and how it distorts not only our constitutional republic but Christianity itself.”
The summary also noted that the film features “prominent Christian thought leaders” and “asks this question: What happens when a faith built on love, sacrifice, and forgiveness grows political tenacles, conflating power, money and belief into hyper-nationalism?” Catholic League President Bill Donohue, leader of the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization, wrote a withering critique of the film.
Donohue wrote, “Rob Reiner, more commonly known as ‘Meathead,’ released a movie last month that demonstrates the pervasiveness of religiophobia in Hollywood.’ God and Country’ is about an alleged threat to American democracy posed by so-called Christian nationalists. The Meathead would have the audience believe that we are on the verge of a theocratic takeover, though few outside of Hollywood and other secular subcultures pay any attention to this fable.”
Donohue also responded to The Hollywood Reporter’s review of the film, which argued, “The movement bears an unfortunate similarity to the rise of Nazi Germany.” Donohue declared, “Shameless is too kind a word to describe this characterization.” The Catholic civil rights leader also argued that the Founding Fathers “did not want the establishment of a Christian nation, but it is also true that they recognized, and indeed applauded, the founding of a Christian-inspired nation.”
He wrote, “Here’s the good news. ‘God and Country’ is a bomb. It took in a whopping $38,415 in its first weekend—over four days—playing in 85 theaters. As one movie critic put it, this means it averaged $451 per theater, a stunning achievement, even for the Meathead.” He concluded by writing, “Time for Hollywood to award an Oscar for Best Performance for Religiophobia. Call it reparations to the faithful, especially Christians.” Shortly after the film’s initial release, another religious source, The Christian Post, also shredded the film.
It reads, “The premise of the film is schizophrenic, demonizing Christians with inflammatory insinuations that invoke the Third Reich, while at the same time deriding them for having a persecution complex because they fear a growing cultural hostility.” The review from Christian Post reporter Jon Brown added further, “By stringing together disjointed, out-of-context clips that lump together John MacArthur and Billy Graham with obvious charlatans and screeching fringe preachers, the filmmakers reveal either their profound ignorance or their cynical desire to assign the pejorative Christian nationalist label as widely as possible.”