Christian Nationalism: Men Work; Women Mother

*Andra Watkins is an award winning author, survivor of Christian Nationalism and an expert on Project 2025. Read and support her important work here: How Project 2025 Will Ruin Your Life

By Andra Watkins

Today, we dive into Project 2025’s Department of Labor section to expound upon those Christian Nationalist talking points. Because Project 2025’s labor foundation is the Christian Nationalist definition of a family.

+ One man
+ one unrelated woman
+ as many children as God gives them
= A FAMILY

Jonathan Berry authored Project 2025’s Department of Labor Mission Statement.

For background, he’s a lawyer who clerked for Samuel Alito, lover of throwing his wife under the bus for flying far-right flags outside their homes and spewing Christo-fascist talking points to undercover reporters. Berry served as Chief Counsel in 45’s transition, as well as several other high-profile roles during 45’s administration. And he worked on the team that saw Neil Gorsuch confirmed as a Supreme Court justice.

Project 2025, page 581

MISSION STATEMENT At the heart of The Conservative Promise is the resolve to reclaim the role of each American worker as the protagonist in his or her own life and to restore the family as the centerpiece of American life. The role that labor policy plays in that promise is twofold: Give workers the support they need for rewarding, well-paying, and self-driven careers, and restore the family-supporting job as the centerpiece of the American economy. The Judeo-Christian tradition, stretching back to Genesis, has always recognized fruitful work as integral to human dignity, as service to God, neighbor, and family. And Americans have long been known for their work ethic. While it is primarily the culture’s responsibility to affirm the dignity of work, our federal labor and employment agencies have an important role to play by protecting workers, setting boundaries for the healthy functioning of labor markets, and ultimately encouraging wages and conditions for jobs that can support a family.

Let’s break down the Christian Nationalist elements of each highlighted phrase.

Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life.

Christian Nationalists believe the Bible defines distinct marital roles for men and women.

• The husband is the head of the home. From the Focus on the Family website (not linking to them): “The husband holds the role of spiritual leader. He’s called to initiate spiritual investments and is overall responsible for the spiritual health of his family. Husbands are called to be servant leaders, which means they make the welfare of their wives and families a priority.”
• Wives must submit to their husbands. Again from Focus on the Family (again not linking to them): “A wife’s role, on the other hand, is to respect and honor her husband. She’s meant to work alongside her husband to make their marriage succeed while allowing him to take the lead, especially when the two are in clear conflict.”

This is the only definition of a family that Project 2025 and Fascist Republicans recognize. When they talk about restoring the family, they mean THIS kind of family.

Give workers the support they need for rewarding, well-paying, and self-driven careers, and restore the family-supporting job as the centerpiece of the American economy.

The family-supporting job.

Not family-supporting job(s) plural. Because in the world of Christian Nationalism, men work family-supporting jobs; regardless of their talents or ambitions, women’s role is to support the family not through a profession, career or bread-winning job. First and foremost, they are to submit and have as many children as God gives them.

Fascist Republicans underpin their labor policies with the Christo-fascist notion that men work outside the home, and women stay home and mother children.

The Judeo-Christian tradition, stretching back to Genesis, has always recognized fruitful work as integral to human dignity, as service to God, neighbor, and family.Berry references these verses in Genesis without citing them directly:Genesis 1:26 KJV

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 1:28 KJV

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Genesis 2:15 KJV

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

The Judeo-Christian tradition Berry references builds as follows:

• Man is given dominion over every living thing; woman is not mentioned in relation to dominion.
• Even after God creates Eve and grants dual dominion (reinforcing this as specifically biblical), Christian Nationalists interpret Genesis 1:28 as male dominion. The woman’s role is to have and mother children.
• In the world of Christian Nationalism, God gave the man charge of tending the Garden of Eden. Work and providing for his family were male jobs.

Jobs that can support a family.

The entire Department of Labor section of Project 2025 is built upon the idea that the man works a job to support his family, while the woman stays home, has children, and mothers those kids.

As we dive further into Project 2025’s Department of Labor proposals this week, we will return to its Christian Nationalist underpinnings. Where men work and support families. Woman stay home, submit to husbands, and mother as many children as God gives them. Welcome to the world Fascist Republicans want to force on every American.