What was the gospel to J. Edgar Hoover?
It was one of white Christian nationalism. And I mean that in a couple of ways: Firstly, he really did believe that America was a Christian nation. He believed that America, while it has other faiths, is a Christian nation and that the Bible really is the bedrock of American democracy. Secondly, he really felt that the founding fathers were guided by God to found this country as a chosen nation. America needed to lead the world in that regard because America was chosen. There would be punishment if America did not take its proper place on the global stage and also if America failed to live up to this chosenness. For Hoover, living up to that chosenness meant that the Bible should be at the center of American governance and of American society.
For Hoover, that would involve male leadership across the board. For him, that was how society ought to be structured. He really did believe that white male leadership was the appropriate leadership. He believed that African Americans were just inferior, that there was no sociological explanation for African American inequality or African American lack of achievement, but that it was primarily biological. Therefore, God has ordered society in this particular way, and the way we remain faithful is to maintain that order in society.
For Hoover, any effort to alter these societal arrangements, whether we’re talking about women’s groups, whether we’re talking about Civil Rights, or we’re talking about a different economic model, he saw that as evil and as a departure from America’s chosenness. He saw it as his job, as the FBI director, to put a stop to any efforts that would undermine America as a Christian nation.
If Kash Patel — Trump’s pick to head the FBI — were to be confirmed as director, in what ways is he a continuation of J. Edgar Hoover and in what ways does he differ?
I feel as if some Hoover scholars — whom I respect — some of these scholars’ perspective is that Kash Patel would somehow be worse. I actually see him as having a great deal of continuity with Hoover.
If we look through the lens of Christian nationalism, it makes sense when Kash Patel says he wants to take the FBI back to its original purpose. It’s a commitment to a Christian nationalism that has race involved, that has gender involved, and even sexuality.