Christian nationalists are working to further the privilege of religious extremists in the public square.
Narrated by Jason Dempsey
Columbia County in Eastern Washington was in the news recently when their small, rural library was almost closed by an extremist group. Luckily, a group of residents managed to oppose the closure; and so far, the library is safe. While more conservative members have managed to be selected to run the library board, they have not made drastic changes…yet.
Now, members of the community are raising concerns of an even more troubling issue: the rise of Christian nationalism and religious extremism.
Christian nationalism
Christian nationalism is not unique to the U.S, but its rise here can be tied directly to the political climate of the 21st century. Christian nationalism has strong ties to extremism and racist ideologies. Christian nationalists believe that the U.S. is a Christian nation, and that their religious beliefs should shape government policy. The movement is made up of far-right politicians like Colorado Congress member Lauren Boebert, who said, “It’s time for us to position ourselves and rise up and take our place in Christ and influence this nation as we were called to do.”
Boebert and others have called to end the separation between government and Christianity. Conversely, other Christian organizations, such as the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC), have raised red flags over the call to end the constitution's separation of church and state. In an interview with Center for American Progress, BJC’s executive director Amanda Tyler said:
“I believe that the single biggest threat to religious freedom in the United States today is Christian nationalism. Christian nationalism is antithetical to the constitutional ideal that belonging in American society is not predicated on what faith one practices or whether someone is religious at all.”
The Founding Fathers of the United States never mention Christianity in the Constitution. In fact, according to a 2005 article by Ron Flowers, emeritus professor of religion at Texas Christian University:
“The silence of the Constitution is the best indicator that they did not intend to create a Christian nation. The Constitution does not mention God, Jesus Christ, or Christianity…. They did not establish Christianity as America’s official religion.”
What happens when people in government begin to blur the lines set forth in the constitution to protect religious freedom? How about when they outright use their government positions to preach? The Constitution guarantees everyone the right to free speech, but should government officials serving in their official capacity be held to a higher standard in order to preserve the rights of all constituents of every religion?
Robbie Patterson has referred to Columbia County Sheriff Joe Helm as a ‘constitutional sheriff’ — a term that has become more popular in the last few years. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center:
“The origins of constitutional sheriff ideology lie in the two concepts of the county supremacy movement: The county – not the state or federal governments – should control all land within its borders, and the county sheriff should be the ultimate law enforcement authority in the U.S. These ideas were pioneered by Christian Identity minister William Potter Gale in the 1970s and described as ‘Posse Comitatus.’”
Many people believe Christian nationalism is at the foundation of this constitutional sheriff movement. According to a report by the Marshall Project, these sheriffs believe that they have more power than the President, and they are the sole interpreters of the Constitution.
Blurred lines
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page often publishes Christian themed posts, including this one for the National Day of Prayer, citing a Christian Bible scripture. For members of the public that are not Christian, having a Government official promoting a faith can be problematic.
Undersheriff Patterson, who works under Columbia County Sheriff Joe Helm, gave a speech on July 13, 2021 to the Columbia County Conservatives in which he referenced Helm’s support for his views, saying: “[Helm] has got to be really conservative to have a radical like me as a second in command.” There was much laughter after the line, “radical like me.”
Patterson’s role as chaplain, Undersheriff, and local preacher means the lines are often blurred in regards to whether he is working as a cop or a preacher. For example, he preaches in full uniform at ‘Chicken Church’ at the Columbia Country fair. A long-time resident of Dayton explained, “They have the church during fair week. He wears a uniform and has a gun. When he is talking about religion at Chicken Church, he should not be wearing his uniform, and he should not be wearing a gun. [It’s] very blurred, very blurred.” This resident has lived in the area for many decades, and says that being publicly against the Undersheriff makes them concerned for their safety.
Undersheriff Patterson is employed as both a law enforcement officer and as the chaplain for the sheriff’s department. He was hired in 2016 after leaving the army. Patterson also performs background checks for the county and vets potential new hires for the Civil Service Board.
Patterson posted on Aug 14 on his Facebook page: “CHRISTIANS ARE TO BE BRINGING CHRIST AND A GODLY WORLD VIEW INTO EVERYTHING THEY ARE A PART OF… INCLUDING GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS.”
History of complaints
Theresa Eier is a registered nurse who first became aware of issues in her home county in 2021 when, in her capacity as an RN patient advocate, she had a run-in with the Columbia County Sheriff's Department. During Eier’s attempts to get care for her patient, she had to obtain a court order, while Undersheriff Patterson allegedly used his position to defame and harass her. Eier chronicles the suffering of her patient in detail in the 28 page recall document she is preparing against Sheriff Helm.
After a number of further issues between Eier and the Sheriff’s department, Eier said she decided to get involved helping to elect a new Sheriff.
In August 2022, Eier submitted a letter to the local paper in support of a Sheriff candidate challenging Helm, writing: “I cite my experience as a population health RN and the identified need for collaborating individuals in positions of decision-making and policy to address the population health needs of our rural community.”
After Eier’s letter was published, she began receiving supportive messages from community members with links to videos of Undersheriff Patterson proselytizing in his uniform at political events and in public spaces.
Of the video evidence, Eier wrote:
“These were submitted to the Freedom from Religion Foundation by a concerned citizen, who in turn wrote a cease and desist letter to Sheriff Joe Helm on August 11, 2022. I received the letter and submitted it to the Union Bulletin. An article was written, and Sheriff Joe Helm condoned and justified Robbie Patterson’s actions in public statements submitted to the media.”
In the article published by the Walla Walla Union Bulletin, Sheriff Helm and County Prosecuting Attorney C. Dale Slack defended Patterson, Slack says, “The facts of what happened here, as far as I understand them, is Undersheriff Patterson is doing things on his own time — as a person who also happens to be an Undersheriff at the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office — as opposed to representing the Sheriff’s Office.”
Prosecutor Slack said he didn’t believe Patterson had violated any laws, and cited the Supreme Court ruling in Kennedy vs. Bremerton School District — the case of a high school football coach that was fired after praying on the football field with athletes.
Slack said Patterson “spoke about his faith, his belief that the country was founded on Christian principles, and his thoughts about the … violent secularization of this country that has weeded every ounce of God and godliness out of the school system, out of our history…”
In the YouTube video cited in the Walla Walla Union Bulletin article, titled The Old Landmarks, Patterson is in uniform and says he was invited to come speak about the country. In the first few moments of the video, Patterson says that the Constitution was founded on God’s word.
Eier responded to the article and wrote a letter to the Editor that was published by the Dayton Chronicle on August 18, 2022. Eier’s letter says, in part:
The expectations of our local law enforcement in uniform are to protect and serve, not to proselytize. Police officers represent the government espousing the authority of the state; this is why police officers wear uniforms to indicate their authority and their position.
The law is designed to balance free speech alongside the prohibition on government endorsement of religion. A secular approach to public services is what government employers should be encouraging. This principle is often neglected by those that should know better.
It is damaging to communities when their citizens are made to feel like outsiders and not full members of a community. Endorsement sends a message to those that share the belief that they are favored members of a community, and raises the specter of bias for those that do not.
In next month’s article, we will share multiple letters written to Patterson and the media from community members voicing their concerns about Patterson preaching in uniform. Some have expressed fears for their safety in an atmosphere that seems to position Christianity hand-in-hand with law enforcement.
We will also show documents obtained through a public records request revealing that Patterson writes sermons and participates in religious activities while on the clock as Undersheriff. Given the blurred lines of duty and religion, it is no wonder that members of the community who aren’t Christian feel threatened by Patterson’s rhetoric.
“We believe in the resurrection of the dead, the eternal happiness of the saved, and the eternal punishment of the lost.” — Undersheriff Patterson, From Christ is King’s ‘Mission and Statement of Faith’
Longtime residents’ fears
“This is not a Christian community. There are other people who live in Dayton and not everyone is a Christian, and I object to [Patterson] preaching Christianity while wearing his uniform,” said a longtime resident of Dayton who asked that her identity be protected for this story. She is a well known Christian in the community, spending her time in service to the community, working with many organizations. She is also a supporter of Republican Sheriff Joe Helm, saying:
“I voted for Sheriff Helm, because I vote for the person and not the party. However, I disagree [with Helm]; Undersheriff Robbie Patterson should not be reading from the Bible when he is wearing his uniform. It is a total violation of separation of government — the sheriff's office — and religion…. In my opinion, when he is wearing his uniform, he is representing the sheriff's department. Simple as that.”
A few years ago, her church started having Undersheriff Patterson preach on Sundays. She said that Patterson and his wife are “not bad people, but they are very, very radically conservative.” She went on to explain that, as a church that is part of the Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ (LCMC), Patterson’s preaching is ‘radically conservative’ and harmful for people that don’t ascribe to his far-right beliefs. She has many friends that live in the area that are in the LGBT+ community, and Patterson has spoken out against ‘woke culture’ and ‘groomers’ (by which he means people who are not straight), and was one of the leading voices against the Dayton library.
“There are a startling number of instances where Undersheriff Patterson has published videos of himself, to both YouTube and Facebook, wearing an official sheriff’s uniform while espousing claims that explicitly promote and favor Christianity,” she said. “I am a Christian and I object to anybody proselytizing their religion while wearing a Sheriff's uniform.”
We will be looking at more testimony from people in the community who have written letters to local newspapers sharing their concerns, including other Christians and other members of law enforcement.
In the next issue of Tumbleweird, we will share community testimony, and dive more deeply into the disturbing rhetoric of the Columbia County Conservatives.
Sheriff Helm has not responded to requests for comment on this story. Sheriff Helm was also asked if Undersheriff Patterson could be made available for an interview and did not respond. The Mayor of Dayton, Roger Trump, was also contacted for comment, as were the other members of the city council. They have all remained silent.
A lifelong resident of Eastern Washington, Dori enjoys the outdoors, her family, and making good trouble. She has worked for many years in broadcasting and reporting and believes in the value of the 4th estate. She is a true community advocate that loves Washington.
