How do Christian nationalist groups view women in leadership positions?

1. What “Christian nationalism” means for gender and leadership

Christian nationalism, as described in analyses of Project 2025 and related documents, frames government and public life as governed by biblical principles and advances a patriarchal social order; critics say that in this worldview gender equality is not upheld and women are primarily recognized in domestic roles such as wife and mother ^{[2] [5]}. That framing ties male headship at home to “heroic leadership on the national stage,” creating an ideological link between private gender roles and public authority ^[1].

2. What surveys report about attitudes toward women’s leadership

Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and other polling find strong majorities among Christian nationalist adherents endorse male headship: roughly 69% agree the husband should be head of the household, and a plurality see society as “too soft and feminine,” indicating cultural resistance to women in positions perceived as challenging traditional masculinity ^{[1] [6]}. PRRI also reports there are no large gender gaps in who holds Christian nationalist beliefs — both men and women appear among adherents — complicating assumptions that these views are held only by men ^{[6] [1]}.

3. How that worldview shows up in policy agendas and plans

Analysts of conservative policy blueprints such as Project 2025 argue these proposals embed Christian nationalist ideas and recommend priorities — for example, emphasizing home-based childcare over universal daycare — that critics say re-center women’s roles at home and reduce federal support that enables women’s workforce participation ^[2]. Reporters and scholars contend these policy choices reflect a broader effort to infuse public institutions with religiously framed gender norms ^[5].

4. Examples and contested claims in public life

Journalistic accounts have highlighted local actors and religious leaders whose teachings extend to denying or restricting women’s civic roles; for instance, reporting about some churches and leaders has included discussion of views that women shouldn’t vote or hold command roles — claims that have prompted public debate about influence on officials and institutions ^[7]. At the same time, there are high-profile women who lead organizations in the Christian right, which shows the movement’s relationship to women’s leadership is not monolithic and sometimes instrumental ^[8].

5. Effects on reproductive and civic rights — competing perspectives

Advocates for reproductive and gender equality argue Christian nationalist ideology has tangible harms: restricting abortion access, using religious-liberty claims to circumvent nondiscrimination protections, and shaping policy that limits women’s autonomy ^{[3] [4]}. Supporters or sympathizers of Christian nationalist positions frame these moves as defending religious freedom, traditional family structures, and moral order; available sources do not extensively quote self-identified proponents defending female exclusion from leadership roles in uniform terms, but policy proposals and polling suggest patriarchal norms inform agenda priorities ^{[2] [1]}.

6. Internal tensions and the role of women within the movement

Reporting and analysis note a paradox: women occupy influential roles in the Christian Right and in Christian nationalist circles — serving as lawyers, executives, elected officials, and influencers — even while many in those movements endorse male headship as an ideal ^{[8] [1]}. This produces political and rhetorical tensions: some women promote patriarchal theology while exercising public leadership, and critics use that contradiction to question the coherence of the movement’s prescriptions for gender roles ^[8].

7. What the evidence does and does not show

Available sources consistently document a link between Christian nationalist ideology and patriarchal attitudes ^{[2] [5] [1]}. Sources report survey numbers and link policy proposals to those beliefs, but they do not present a single, unified manifesto that prescribes every exclusionary practice; instead, evidence comes from a mix of polling, policy analysis, and reporting on specific leaders and plans ^{[1] [2] [5]}. Where sources explicitly refute particular claims, use that refutation; where they are silent, state that the claim is not found in current reporting ^[5].

8. Bottom line for readers

If you are evaluating whether Christian nationalist groups view women as leaders, the weight of reporting and polling in current sources shows a strong ideological tendency toward male headship and policies that prioritize traditional domestic roles for women — which critics say limits women’s leadership and autonomy — while also noting that women both support and lead within these movements, creating internal contradictions and contested public debates ^{[1] [2] [8]}.