The Crusaders rode out to fight Muslims with chests and shields adorned with the sign of the cross, popes would wield more power than kings, and God’s name would be invoked in war after war.Įventually, Christianity became so synonymous with colonial power and whiteness that the two can be hard to distinguish. We have been left with a legacy in Western Christianity of powerful rulers claiming God for their cause. The new element in 312 CE was the type of imagery Christian instead of pagan, a cross representing the death and resurrection of Jesus instead of a god, goddess or symbol from the Roman Pantheon. Indeed, they were already experts in using imagery to communicate dominance, power and a certain worldview. The use of propaganda and standardised imagery was not new for the Roman Empire. The new emperor’s adoption of the cross transformed a persecuted, minority sect into a legitimate religion and, eventually, the official state religion. While historians are quick to point out that this “conversion” of Constantine is as much myth as reality, and may have been motivated by either political expediency or sheer superstition, it marked a turning point for Christianity. When Constantine won, he would attribute his victory to the God of the Christians. They marched into battle as the first cross-bearing “Christian” soldiers. The next morning, Constantine ordered his soldiers to paint crosses on their shields. The legend goes that Constantine had a vision before the battle on Milvian Bridge: he saw a cross of light in the sky and heard a voice that said, “in this sign, conquer”. His victory would solidify him as emperor of a vast western empire.
In the early fourth century CE, Flavius Valerius Constantine would defeat his brother-in-law, Maxentius, in a battle for control of the Roman Empire. It is deeply offensive, but it is not new. In the culture war raging in America, the very president who has stoked the flames of racism and white supremacy effectively claimed God is on his side. Co-opting Christianity in the service of power is almost as old as Christianity itself.
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