A year ago, I wrote about the rise and risks of Christian nationalism in Indiana government (see https://commentaries.cberdata.org/1288/indiana-is-ground-zero/ and https://indianacitizen.org/hicks-commentary-the-three-risks-of-christian-nationalism/). It’s time to once again define the problem and take stock of where we find ourselves.

Christian nationalism is the belief that the U.S. is an explicitly Protestant Christian nation ruled by Christian doctrine carried out by a government filled by Christians. One must know nothing about either Christianity or our Constitution to believe this sort of nonsense.

Yet, the movement is alive and well in Indiana.

Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith continues to identify as a Christian nationalist — the most senior elected official in the country to do so (see https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2025/11/12/qa-micah-beckwith-on-christian-nationalism-americas-founding-and-who-gets-to-govern/87092884007/). Gov. Mike Braun is not a Christian nationalist, but he is stuck with Beckwith — a man he wouldn’t otherwise permit to make coffee in the governor’s office.

That association is costly. The Christian nationalist presence is dragging down the Braun administration, with polls reflecting a shockingly low 24% approval rating. It is fair to say that whatever political momentum Braun may have enjoyed is hobbled by his running mate.

Still, compared to Beckwith, Braun’s approval ratings appear Lincolnesque. Beckwith is viewed favorably by just 9% of Hoosiers (see https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2025/10/14/new-indiana-polls-show-hoosiers-losing-faith-in-both-parties-and-their-own-leaders/), placing him in a statistical tie with public favorability of the Black Plague (https://today.yougov.com/entertainment/articles/51889-violent-dark-dirty-americans-middle-ages). Quite a testament to his character and political acumen.

The failure of mid-decade redistricting in Indiana shed light on a growing fissure between the Christian nationalist movement, its post-democracy allies and traditional American conservatives. That fissure is nowhere more apparent than in Indiana, where traditional conservatives are emerging as the clear winners.

Over the past two months, the nation’s largest Christian nationalist-oriented think tank, the Heritage Foundation, has largely collapsed (see https://kettering.org/project-2025-the-blueprint-for-christian-nationalist-regime-change/ and https://www.wsj.com/opinion/heritage-foundation-staff-exodus-mike-pence-kevin-roberts-c4ba0b7c). This is part of a long decline in integrity at Heritage, which I warned about in 2013 and again in 2024 (see https://commentaries.cberdata.org/677/the-heritage-foundation and https://commentaries.cberdata.org/1277/project-2025). The immediate cause is Heritage President Kevin Roberts' defense of Tucker Carlson following his interview with prominent antisemite Nick Fuentes (see https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/12/16/heritage-antisemitism-controversy-board-members/). What followed was a rapid flight of board members, donors and researchers.

Heritage has been happy to call out antisemitism from the progressive left, but somehow managed to ignore it on the right (see https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/report/project-esther-national-strategy-combat-antisemitism). The reason is simple: Antisemitism is a hallmark of Christian nationalism (see https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ssqu.13248). Heritage doesn’t want to anger anyone who might support it, no matter how loathsome their views.

The good news in this cascade of awfulness is that the real brains at Heritage have mostly departed for other locations. The most influential ones have landed at a new think tank, Advancing American Freedom, which was founded by former Vice President Mike Pence (see https://advancingamericanfreedom.com/).

Pence’s think tank is dedicated to conserving the founding of the U.S., far removed from the anti-American nonsense of the Christian nationalist movement. It is led by a group of principled men and women who are unafraid to denounce antisemitism (https://abcnews.go.com/world-news-tonight-with-david-muirT/video/vice-president-mike-pence-denounces-anti-semitism-hate-45675084).

Pence’s AAF has captured all the important legal analysts from Heritage, including the entire staff of the Meese Institute for the Rule of Law. The staff at Heritage has been so diminished that its two economists don’t have enough publications between them to make it through pre-tenure review at Martin University. Students everywhere should breathe a sigh of relief.

The reverse brain drain to a think tank with Hoosier connections is a blessing indeed.

The coming year will be important for extremism in Indiana. The vapidity of Christian nationalism has worn thin with elected leaders. The public is even less pleased.

It is too early to make confident predictions about the Christian nationalist movement and its dealings in Indiana. The coming year brings many challenges to Beckwith and his followers. We all await the findings of a grand jury investigating ghost employment and misconduct allegations in Beckwith’s office (see https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2025/10/28/grand-jury-investigates-ghost-employment-in-micah-beckwiths-office/86945860007/), as well as an ongoing scandal at Beckwith’s Life Church following the arrest of the lead pastor's son on child sex crime charges (see https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2025/11/21/what-to-know-about-the-ongoing-crisis-at-micah-beckwiths-church/87356500007/).

We’ve been here before. Beckwith isn’t the first Christian nationalist in Indiana whose political agenda has been threatened by scandal (see https://www.indypl.org/programs-events/mcfadden-lecture/stephenson-trial). Ultimately, the final test will happen among citizens, and their good opinion.

In that domain at least, the influence of Christian nationalism appears to be in trouble.

Note: The views expressed here are solely those of the author, and do not represent those of funders, associations, any entity of Ball State University, or its governing body.