The National Association of Christian Lawmakers is not yet a household name — but it already wields a growing amount of power and is driving forward with its aim of forcing state-imposed right-wing fundamentalism into law reports Rolling Stone.
"Thanks to (founder Jason) Rapert, the Christian Nationalist movement now commands a burgeoning political powerhouse, the National Association of Christian Lawmakers," the report says. Rapert is a former Arkansas state senator
"A first-of-its-kind organization in U.S. history, NACL advances 'biblical' legislation in America’s statehouses. These bills are not mere stunts or messaging. They’re dark, freedom-limiting bills that, in some cases, have become law."
The group, founded in 2020, has longtime GOP figures advising it including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Tony Perkins, president of the hate group the Family Research Council. It boasts members in 31 state legislatures.
Essentially, NACL is trying to develop a network like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — an infamous corporate lobby that pushes carbon-copy right-wing legislation in state legislatures across the country — except specifically for Christian Nationalist ideology. Rapert has even stated this directly, calling his group “basically ALEC from a biblical worldview.”
Andrew Whitehead, an expert on Christian Nationalism, warned that groups like NACL "[see] no room for compromise — their vision must be the one that comes to pass."
Rapert is a dominionist, an ideology that believes Christians should assume complete control over politics and culture. He has pushed an aggressive evangelical fundamentalist agenda even beyond abortion. He also wants to roll back the clock on LGBTQ civil rights, saying things like, “we have allowed one political party in our nation to hold up Sodom and Gomorrah as a goal to be achieved rather than a sin to be shunned," and “Do you think that America is going to be free with a bunch of drag queens running this place?”
"As a matter of policy, NACL members must pledge to 'uphold the sanctity of human life' from the 'moment of conception' to 'natural death'; to define marriage as the 'sacred union exclusively between one man and one woman'; and to oppose 'unhealthy influences such as alcohol abuse, drug addiction, pornography, prostitution, violence, gambling and crime,'" said the report.
