The history behind the Christian flags spotted at the pro-Trump U.S. Capitol 'coup'
An “Appeal to Heaven” flag flies on Capitol Hill in front of a “Jesus 2020” banner on Jan. 6, 2021. Photo by Hamil Harris.
The insurrectionist mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday carried an array of flags and signs that indicate that not only are they Republicans, but also that they are Christians.
As the mob swarmed the Capitol steps, climbed the inaugural scaffolding and even scaled the building like it was a gym climbing wall, the now commonplace red, white and blue “Trump 2020” and “Make America Great Again” flags flew alongside flags and banners with a range of Christian symbols. A wooden cross was carried past the Capitol building as well. Some of the identifiable flags were:
The Christian flag, an ecumenical white flag with a blue field and a red Latin cross, was carried by one rioter on to the floor of the House of Representatives even as guns were drawn to keep them out;
At least two flags featuring the icthys, the outline of a fish adopted by early Christians;
An American flag altered to read “Make America Godly Again” on its white stripes;
A white flag with a green pine tree and the words “An Appeal to Heaven;”
And blowing prominently in the foreground as the mob kicked in a Capitol door was a red, white and blue flag that proclaimed, “Jesus is my savior” and “Trump is my President” on either sides of an elongated American flag.
In addition to these flags, there was also at least one yellow banner reading “Jesus saves” seen on the Capitol steps, and multiple articles of clothing touting Christianity including a “Jesus” baseball cap and a jacket with sleeves printed with the words “Cry to God.”
While some of these flags routinely appear at Trump rallies, they are a puzzling novelty to others. But many have long, established roots in Christianity and in American history. The “An Appeal to Heaven” flag was carried by Revolutionary War soldiers — though it sometimes read “An Appeal to God,” and was inspired by the writings of the 17th century philosopher John Locke.
When an oppressed people “have no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to Heaven,” Locke wrote in 1690. The idea of appealing to heaven was inspired by an Old Testament story.
“Therefore I have not sinned against you, but you wronged me by fighting against me,” Jephthah says in the Book of Judges. “May the Lord, the Judge, render judgment this day between the children of Israel and the people of Ammon.”
The Christian flag has a much shorter history. It was designed in 1897 by a Sunday School superintendent and a Methodist missionary and was adopted by what is now the National Council of Churches, an organization of largely Protestant denominations, in 1942. Today, it hangs at the front of many churches.
It should be no surprise that pro-Trump demonstrators align themselves with Christianity, especially evangelicalism. The president captured 81% of the evangelical vote in 2016 and 78% in 2020, according to the Pew Center. But the appearance of symbols commonly revered in churches of all stripes seems to have been a line in the sand for many Christian viewers.
“All of the ‘turn to the cross’ and ‘pray for our nation’ posts are great, but let’s be real,” a San Antonio man named Matthew Bayer wrote on Twitter after the rioters were removed from the Capitol. “The ‘proud boys’ sit in your pews. A cross was erected outside the capital today, and the ‘Christian’ flag was flying. Scripture was all over shirts and signs. Time to call this out.”
Blake Chastain, host of the podcast “Ex-vangelical,” did just that with a tweet of a photo of the Christian flag outside the Capitol. “Tell me again how Christian nationalism and white evangelicalism - the superspreader culture that inculcates Christian nationalist ideology - isn’t culpable in today’s events and all the events that led to today.”
And Dan Webster, a retired Episcopal pastor and former newscaster, tweeted the same photo and said, “I [am] ashamed of Christian leaders these last 4 years whose silence has been compliance.”
Kimberly Winston is a freelance religion reporter whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and more. She is the recipient of the Religion News Association’s 2018 award for best religion reporting at large news outlets.
Earlier in this Collection
-
The possibility of President Trump winning a second term is looking dimmer and dimmer as election results show President-Elect Joe Biden eking out a victory even in traditionally GOP states such as Arizona and Georgia. But these modern-day prophets aren’t taking no for an answer.
Up Next in this Collection
-
As the mob swarmed the Capitol steps, climbed the inaugural scaffolding and even scaled the building like it was a gym climbing wall, the now commonplace red, white and blue “Trump 2020” and “Make America Great Again” flags flew alongside flags and banners with a range of Christian symbols, including a white flag with a pine tree inspired by the Old Testament and used in the Revolutionary War.
-
Catholic clergy showed concern for the future of the United States and displayed a rare public patriotism after an insurrectionist mob broke into the Capitol building and resulted in the deaths of at least five people.
-
On the first Sunday since a pro-Trump insurrectionist mob sieged the U.S. Capitol, pastors offered comfort and some rebuke to their congregations concerned for the future of American democracy. "The American nation will be healed when the American church repents. We must repent for making the person who occupies the White House more important than the one who occupies our hearts," said Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference who became known for his support of Trump.
-
A day of reckoning has come for modern-day "prophets" in the Pentecostal/charismatic movement who falsely foretold a victory for President Trump in 2020. Privately and on social media, these prophets and their thousands of followers are slugging it out in an orgy of self-blame, recriminations and fantastical hopes that somehow before Jan. 20, God will bring about a victory for Trump. Others who’ve apologized for getting it wrong have gotten accusations, curses and even death threats.
-
(OPINION) This season of Epiphany, which we are now in, affords us the opportunity to honor Christ’s manifestation and ministry in the world. Epiphanytide invites us to reflect on the role of religious freedom and religious literacy in Christ’s manifestation to the world. This is perhaps even more relevant in light of the Capitol violence last week.
-
As thousands rallied in Washington to support President Donald Trump’s unproven claim of a stolen election — a protest that turned deadly as an insurrectionist mob stormed the U.S. Capitol — many carried signs and flags linking the Republican political leader to their Christian faith.
-
This week’s Weekend Plug-in explores why Christians seem so susceptible to conspiracy theories. Plus, as always, check out the best reads in the world of faith news.
-
Mike Lindell, MyPillow CEO and now-popular Trump supporter, appeared on the Eric Metaxas Radio Show to discuss more “proof” he’d discovered about widespread election fraud. “God’s got his hand in all of this,” he said.
-
(ANALYSIS) In the months since the election, the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family has regularly provided election skeptics with plentiful ammunition and has embraced men and women in Congress who voted to overturn state election results. Meanwhile, Focus’s partner organization in Washington, D.C., the Family Research Council, continues to claim the election was stolen, and that Antifa—not Trump supporters—may have caused the Capitol attack on Jan. 6.
-
(OPINION) Conservative Christians propose that the final day of Trump’s campaign to overturn President Biden’s Electoral College victory involved religious "heresy" or "apostasy." A survey by the conservative American Enterprise Institute shows 63% of White evangelicals think Biden’s win was illegitimate, despite the numerous federal and state court rulings that found no evidence for Trump’s claim of a "sacred landslide." But to what extent were Christians implicated in the Capitol mayhem?
-
After an embarrassing number of wrong prophecies and bungled predictions about the 2020 election, a group of charismatic Christian leaders have released a four-page statement of "prophetic standards" to help correct abuses in the movement.
-
(OPINION) One year after ReligionUnplugged senior contributor Hamil R. Harris reported from the Capitol rally turned into a siege, he reflects on what’s needed for America to heal deep political and racial divisions.
-
(OPINION) According to the script of "FBI: Most Wanted," Jan. 6, 2021, was most certainly an insurrection. And even though this particular group of fanatics represented a small minority of Americans, they were depicted as the very image of the insurrection itself. But there is another side to this story.
-
(OPINION) The latest bid to shape public perceptions of the concept of Christian nationalism is a 63-page “Report on Christian Nationalism and the January 6 Insurrection,” issued last month by the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
-
(ANALYSIS) Without merit.” “Mere speculation and conjecture.” “Gossip and innuendo.” “Wholly unreliable.” “Implausible.” “Hazy and nebulous.” That’s how judges responded to 61 election lawsuits filed by Trump’s legal teams. Meanwhile, conservative Christian influencers used their media platforms outlets to promote these false claims about the election to believers. Here’s a look at eight of the most prominent promoters of the former president’s lies.