U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman Discusses the Rise of Christian Nationalism in America at Book Talk

United States Representative Jared Huffman for California’s 2nd Congressional District visited UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 13 to discuss his new book, “No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism.” 

Published in 2026, “No Prophets” recounts the January 6th insurrection in 2021 on the U.S. Capital in Washington D.C. and how the fallout has impacted the rise of Christian Nationalism in America. Specifically, Huffman makes the claim that Christian Nationalism and Facism are interlinked. 

The book talk, moderated by associate professor of religious studies Joseph Blankholm, highlighted Huffman’s perspective as a humanist and only open non believer in the United States Congress examining the influence of Christian nationalism in America. 

Huffman, a UCSB alum, credited the origins of his relationship with religion and his humanist beliefs to a course he took at UCSB in 1985 in the Department of Religious Studies.  

Huffman stated that in the course, “Religion and Politics in America Today,” taught by professor Walter Capps, he studied the rise of the new religious right which motivated him to study the inner workings of the Christian nationalist movement. 

“I studied the power players and political agenda of that movement when I was at UCSB and while I disagreed strongly with what they stood for, it was a movement that attempted to work within the system of democracy to win the culture war.” Huffman said.

Huffman said that his main focus when first elected to office in 2012 was environmental and climate issues. However, when President Donald Trump took office in 2017, a shift in Huffman’s priorities occurred due to Trump running on a platform that emphasized the importance of religious tradition. 

“I had already felt uneasy about all the encroachments of religion I experienced in Congress, but this was a real breaking point that drew me into the fight to protect church-state separation which, right now, is mainly a fight against Christian nationalism,” Huffman said. 

Attendee Isa Halle, a first-year political science major, noted that Huffman’s status as a UCSB graduate piqued her interest the most. 

“I thought it was really interesting to see a UCSB [alum] in Congress,” Halle said. “It’s kind of motivational.” 

Similarly, Zhai Gen Tan, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science, highlighted how the book talk made him reflect on the prevalence of Christian nationalism in America. 

“At least in political science, the study of how religion and religious groups influence politics is less studied than what most people think,” Tan said. “So, having to sort of hear what other speakers and representatives come and talk in a thoughtful way is always important to add to that kind of conversation.”

A version of this article appeared on p. 4 of the Oct. 22 print edition of the Daily Nexus.