Tell Calvary South OC ChurchReject church speaker who says Christians can't vote Democrat

Posted: April 2, 2024

A new video of a Christian nationalist-leader falsely telling parishioners that they cannot be Christian and vote Democratic has gone viral and already has 1.8 million views.

Here's what Charlie Kirk, founder and CEO of Turning Point USA and TPUSA Faith -- and one of the top False Prophets on Faithful America's list -- said at a packed "Freedom Night" event at the Calvary South OC Church in San Clemente, California:

"If you vote Democrat as a Christian, I think you can no longer call yourself a Christian. You have to call yourself something else. I do not think you can be a Christian and vote Democrat."

It's the latest alarming escalation of the religious right's dishonest efforts to conflate partisan Republican identity with religious identity in order to pressure Christians to vote for Donald Trump. The reality is that Christianity is a diverse religion, and faithful Christians can and do belong to every major party.

Kirk is distorting the Gospel's message of love for his own pro-Trump political agenda, and churches like Calvary South OC should know better than to go along with it. As Christians who want the world to see that Jesus taught equality and social justice -- not hatred and division -- we need to speak out about this manipulative and partisan co-opting of our faith now.

Sign the petition:

Dear Pastor John Randall of Calvary South OC Church,

As members of the grassroots Christian organization Faithful America, we strongly urge you to repudiate and apologize for hosting the misleading and partisan remarks that Charlie Kirk, founder and CEO of Turning Points USA, made at his recent "Freedom Night" event in your space.

The separation of church and state is vital for protecting both the church and democracy. Moreover, Christianity is a beautifully large and ideologically diverse religion, and there are faithful Christians in every major political party. Yet Kirk misleadingly told your parishioners, "If you vote Democrat as a Christian, I think you can no longer call yourself a Christian. You have to call yourself something else. I do not think you can be a Christian and vote Democrat."

Kirk appears to be conflating our shared faith with his own partisan preferences in order to stoke division and build power for himself and his political allies. For this conflation of Republican politics and faith, his attacks on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the antisemitism he has allowed to fester at his previous events, and much more, we believe that Charlie Kirk abuses faith like a wolf in sheep's clothing, fitting the definition of "false prophet" Jesus gave in Matthew 7:15.

As Christians who want the world to see that Jesus taught love and peace -- not hatred and division -- we ask you, in the strongest possible terms, to publicly denounce what was said in your sanctuary at Freedom Night and to pledge not to give Kirk's manipulative, pro-Trump political activism a further home in your church.

Thank you.

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