Recently, a civil rights organization criticized actor Rob Reiner’s latest film, “God and Country,” for its attack on “Christian nationalism.” The film, which bombed at the box office, has been called one of the most egregious examples of “religiophobia.”
Catholic League President Bill Donohue, the president of the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization, wrote a scathing review of Reiner’s film, picking it apart for its mischaracterization of Christianity and its role in American civic life.
According to the description of the documentary, it “looks at the implications of Christian Nationalism and how it distorts not only our constitutional republic, but Christianity itself.” The summary further states 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 tentacles, conflating power, money, and belief into hyper-nationalism?”
Addressing Reiner as “Meathead,” the nickname of his character in the 70s sitcom “All in the Family,” Donahue called out the disdain toward Christianity and broader religion from within Hollywood. The leader of the Catholic organization further dispels the idea that “Christian nationalists” pose a danger to the political processes in the U.S.
“Rob Reiner, more commonly known as ‘Meathead,’ released a movie last month that demonstrates the pervasiveness of religiophobia in Hollywood,” Donohue said. “’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 the review of the film offered by The Hollywood Reporter, which suggested, “The movement bears an unfortunate similarity to the rise of Nazi Germany.” Addressing this claim, Donahue argued, “Shameless is too kind a word to describe this characterization.”
The Catholic civil rights leader also explained that America’s 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.”
Donahue further illustrated that the one redeeming quality about Reiner’s film is that it performed horribly in the box office, failing to draw in an audience to share its message with. “Here’s the good news. ‘God and Country’ is a bomb,” Donohue wrote. “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.”
Following the release of “God & Country,” other Christian organizations offered their opinion on Reiner’s documentary. For example, The Christian Post also called out the film for its demonization of Christianity. “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 outlet additionally wrote, “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.”
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