Seven Mountains Mandate worth paying attention to

When I was growing up in an evangelical church, many years ago, I was taught the “world” was to be feared and avoided.

This included things like dancing, drinking, smoking, movie-going and playing pool. Certain kinds of books were off-limits as well, as was union membership and joining a political party.

The rationale behind some of those things was a fear of being “unequally yoked together with unbelievers,” as the Apostle Paul warned in 2 Corinthians 6:14.

Voting was OK, but running for public office was likewise firmly discouraged. Politics in general was seen as a distraction from the real goal of sharing the Gospel.

Things are different today for most Canadian evangelicals. While members of those churches are still encouraged to be wary of the world, it would be rare to hear a sermon against going to the movies, drinking, dancing, joining a union or running for office.

Things are very different in the U.S. these days. For many evangelical Christians in that country, it’s not about being wary of the world anymore. It’s about taking it over. And for that, they have something called the “Seven Mountains Mandate.” And anyone wanting to understand what’s happening in that country needs to know more about what that is.

The Seven Mountains Mandate is a belief that Christians need to dominate seven key spheres, or mountains, of society: government, religion, family, education, media, culture and the economy — with the government being the most important.

The idea of the Mandate has been around since the 1970s. But it has been popularized more recently by leaders in what is called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a loosely connected movement of evangelical non-denominational and Pentecostal churches in the U.S.

The premise behind the Mandate is that those seven key pillars of American society have been taken over by demonic powers. In order to make America great again, Christians need to reclaim control of these “mountains.” One way for that to happen is by placing Christians in influential positions in government and other places so they can get rid of the demons.

For a long time, the Mandate was only a fringe talking point in right-wing evangelical circles. But with the election of Donald Trump, it gained popularity and momentum. Today it is a foundational theological belief for many Christian supporters of the Republican Party.

While Donald Trump has not spoken specifically about the Mandate, he does talk about restoring “Christian values” to America and is connected to people who are strong advocates for it — people like Paula White, who serves as his spiritual adviser.

Evidence of the Mandate in operation can be seen in how the Trump administration has bullied American universities over Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — an idea that Mandate proponents are against. They see it as part of a “secular liberal ideology” that endangers America, along with things like Critical Race Theory, trans identity, LGBTTQ+ inclusion and same-sex marriage.

It can also be seen in how the Trump administration is seeking to protect the right to pray in public schools, and how some Republican state governments are posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

One place where this fusion of politics and evangelical conservative Christian religion was on display was Charlie Kirk’s funeral. The Mandate wasn’t mentioned by name, but it was implicit as speakers called for America to be shaped by Christian culture, morality and principles.

Kirk himself was a supporter, although he didn’t mention it much. Of Donald Trump, he said: “Finally, we have a president that understands the seven mountains of cultural influence.” He also spoke against the idea of the separation of church and state, calling it “a fabrication, it’s a fiction, it’s not in the Constitution. It’s made up by secular humanists.”

How widespread is belief in the mandate? That’s what Paul A. Djupe, a professor at Denison University in Ohio who studies Christian nationalism in that country, wanted to find out.

In 2023, Djupe found that 30 per cent of self-identified American Christians believe in the idea that “God wants Christians to stand atop the seven mountains of society.” By 2024, that figure had grown to 41 per cent.

Prior to conducting his survey, Djupe expected to discover only marginal support for the Seven Mountains concept. “It turns out,” he said, “a substantial number of Americans believe these things … the adoption of these sorts of beliefs is happening incredibly fast.”

Not every American feels that way, of course. And not every American evangelical, either — Christianity Today, the magazine about evangelicalism in that country, has published articles warning against it. So has Russell Moore, a prominent Southern Baptist, who has said the Mandate is turning Christianity into a political ideology that undermines the witness of the church.

But many evangelical Christians in that country do support it. Canadians who want to understand what’s happening in the U.S. need to pay attention to their ideas and beliefs, including the Seven Mountains Mandate.

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