November 3, 2026
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Five days before Hawai‘i’s Nov. 3 general election, religious leaders gathered at the Community Church of Honolulu to discuss Christian nationalism and what voters should consider when religion and politics intersect.
“Your vote can take care of your neighbors,” said Rev. Pua Kekaula Kānealiʻi, a Moloka’i-based pastor. “You can care for your neighbors with your vote.”
The Oct. 29 event, titled “Faith & Politics: Difficult Conversations on the Rise of Christian Nationalism,” brought together Christian and Buddhist leaders. Organized by the ACLU of Hawai‘i and several faith-based organizations, the panel focused on how Christian nationalism has taken shape in the islands.
Christian nationalism is the belief that the United States is a Christian nation and that its government, laws and culture should reflect Christian values.
Rev. Rick Power of the Community Church of Honolulu opened the event by explaining the distinction between Christianity’s historical influence in the United States and the belief that Christianity should receive special treatment from the government.
“Christian nationalism is a movement that challenges the historic separation of political and religious authority in America,” Power said.
He also raised the question of how the movement exists in Hawai‘i, where Christianity has a complicated history involving missionaries, colonialism and the suppression of Native Hawaiian culture.
American Protestant missionaries began arriving in Hawai‘i in 1820, spreading Christianity throughout the islands. Some of their descendants later became powerful businessmen who helped overthrow Queen Lili‘uokalani in 1893, according to the U.S. House of Representatives’ historical archives. Missionaries also pushed Hawaiian leaders to restrict traditional religious and cultural practices that conflicted with Christian teachings.
“We need to hear Kānaka Maoli voices on this issue,” he said.
According to the Public Religion Research Institute’s 2025 American Values Atlas, 29% of Hawai‘i adults qualified as Christian nationalism adherents or sympathizers, compared with 32% nationally.
Kānealiʻi said she has encountered Christian nationalist ideas within local church communities, including conversations about which political party has the “real Christians.”
She also described an incident in her community in which Christian groups protested a queer author’s planned visit to a school. The author had simply intended to teach students how to write stories about their own lives, she said.
Norma Wong, a Buddhist teacher and former Hawai‘i state legislator, recalled losing a reelection campaign in which, she said, her opponent emphasized her unmarried status when appealing to churchgoing voters.
Wong said people’s desire to belong can also influence their religious and political beliefs.
Rev. David Gierlach, an Episcopal priest and former attorney, offered a theological criticism of the movement, arguing that Christian nationalism conflicts with Jesus’ teachings about inclusion and caring for marginalized people.
“The whole point of what Jesus came to teach is there is no us and them,” Gierlach said.
He argued that cultural and political priorities have increasingly influenced religious beliefs rather than the other way around.
The panel included different religious and cultural backgrounds, but its participants were largely critical of Christian nationalism. Organizers said they had invited people with more theologically conservative perspectives, but none were able to attend.
A Community Church of Honolulu congregant, who asked not to be named, said she attended the discussion to learn more about Christian nationalism and the issues surrounding it. She said voters should make an effort to distinguish between a candidate’s personal religious beliefs and the religious policies they seek to promote in office.
Gierlach emphasized voter participation and expressed frustration with what he sees as a lack of interest in voting among Hawai’i residents.
“The first thing I’d like my fellow Hawai‘i residents to consider is vote because too many of us don’t,” he said.
Wong urged residents not to disengage from national politics, even if they do not personally feel American patriotism.
“I cannot be ambivalent because what happens in America actually impacts us,” Wong said. “And it also impacts, like, three-quarters of the world, actually.”
Kānealiʻi cautioned against letting politicians’ emotional appeals determine how people vote.
“If you are passionate about a politician because they’ve been saying all the right things, think about why they want you to feel so emotional,” she said.