CNN anchor Pamela Brown announced this week that she has spent several months producing an hour-long documentary set to air this Sunday, focused on what she describes as the growing influence of Christian nationalism across the United States.
Brown previewed the project during a segment on The Situation Room, describing Christian nationalism as “an ideology rooted in the belief that our country was founded as a Christian nation and that our laws and institutions should reflect Christian values.”
The documentary traces its central argument back to the September 10, 2025 assassination of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, who was shot and killed during a speaking event at Utah Valley University.
Kirk sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the neck. Investigators determined the shot came from a gunman positioned on a nearby rooftop.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was subsequently arrested and charged with aggravated murder in connection with Kirk’s death. Robinson faces the death penalty.
Brown stated in her preview that Kirk’s assassination served as a catalyst for the movement she examines in the documentary.
“Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and prominent Christian nationalist, was assassinated. It became a rallying call for those who believed in his message. And it was a call to action,” she said.
Brown added that experts featured in the documentary view Kirk’s death as a defining moment.
“Experts say it was a pivotal moment for the movement and an occasion where the tragedy of his loss unified Christian nationalists and the Trump administration,” she explained.
The preview segment included an interview with Matthew Taylor, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University’s Center of Faith and Justice.
Taylor authored a book titled “The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy.”
Taylor pointed to Kirk’s highly attended memorial service in Arizona as evidence of a broader cultural change.
“Memorial service was one of the most potent examples of this shift in our culture that we’re experiencing right now, where a large segment of American Christians are being activated by these ideas, radicalized by these ideas that say that they are the persecuted ones and that they need to stand up for Christians’ rights,” Taylor told Brown during the segment.
Kirk’s memorial service was held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. President Trump attended and spoke at the event, describing it as “an old-time revival.”
Trump stated at the service that “America is a nation in grief, a nation in shock, and a nation in mourning. Charles James Kirk was heinously murdered.”
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts responded publicly to the documentary’s announcement, saying, “It’s no accident that Pamela chose the first week of Lent to release this.”
Roberts added, “The world saw one of the most prominent voices on the Right martyred by a radical leftist, with his death celebrated by the Left at large — but it’s conservative Christians you need to worry about.”
Roberts continued, “This is pure bigotry from an increasingly anti-Christian, anti-American Left that tolerates all kinds of dogmas influencing people’s politics — except those of conservative Christians.”
Turning Point USA’s Andrew Kolvet also responded to the documentary’s preview.
“Consider this: so CNN does a piece — talking about the radicalization of people at Charlie’s memorial. Charlie was assassinated by a radical, by somebody that was animated, at least in part, by his love affair with somebody that was trans. And instead of burning down the country, like the real radicals did, we held vigils and memorials, and people bought Bibles, and they got baptized,” Kolvet said.
“How is that a bad thing? What are we even talking about here?” Kolvet added.
Throughout his tenure leading Turning Point USA, Kirk maintained that his Christian faith was the most important aspect of his life.
“I want to be remembered for courage for my faith…the most important thing is my faith in my life,” Kirk stated in prior interviews.
Faith leaders reported a 15 percent increase in church attendance nationwide in the months following Kirk’s assassination.
Brown’s documentary is scheduled to air on CNN this Sunday.
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