There are some words in American politics that are not meant to inform. They are meant to activate. They are not definitions. They are alarms. And for years, one of the right’s favorite little red buttons has been “Sharia law.” Say it with enough dread, add a grainy image of a mosque, toss in a few vague warnings about “creeping” this or “infiltration” that, and suddenly millions of people are convinced the Constitution is being held hostage in the basement of a halal grocery

Most Americans are familiar with the phrase Christian nationalism , but far fewer have heard of a concept called the Seven Mountains Mandate . Yet this idea has been circulating in some evangelical and charismatic Christian circles for decades and has increasingly intersected with American politics in recent years. The basic premise of the Seven Mountains Mandate is simple but sweeping: Christians are called by God to gain influence over seven major areas of society in order