Mayor Smiley to decide if Christian Nationalist ideas belong on the Providence School Board

"The secularists (supporters of euthanasia, gay marriage, unfettered abortions, destroying the idea of Christmas, the legalization of illegal drugs, atheists...) want to deconstruct our nation..."

Steve Galloway speaking as Night Jean Muhingabo looks on

Steve Galloway, one of ten finalists for five positions on the Providence School Board, is the author of a book advocating for a Christian Nationalist interpretation of American history and governance.

Under the 2022 Charter Revision, Providence voters elected five school board members for the first time in 2024. Now, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley must nominate five more members. To help facilitate his selection process, Mayor Smiley held a public forum on December 18th, where applicants answered questions. Then, the Mayor’s School Board Nominating Committee whittled down the candidates to 10, two from each of the five regions.

Galloway is one of the two candidates for Region 4, the other being incumbent School Board member Night Jean Muhingabo. Mayor Smiley will interview the ten finalists and then submit his final five choices to the City Council for review.

Galloway published The Deconstruction of American Culture (2014) to stir up “the warrior spirits in us Christians and point us to the areas in this nation that need fixing.”

“I believe that Godliness is the antidote to the things that are currently wrong in this nation,” wrote Galloway.

In his book, Galloway laments what he sees as attempts to “remove God from our currency, schools, and public places, such as our courthouses and all government buildings,” adding,

“When we remove God from our statehouse and courthouses, we are in essence discarding our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. Because, these great documents were created with the mindset that there is a God who is the Creator of everything. Special interest groups such as the Gay Pride Movement, Women’s Liberation Movement, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other such Secularist Organizations, have lobbied congress and marched the streets of America promoting their own bi-partisan agendas, which obviously does not speak for we the people.

“The Ten Commandments was God’s gift to humans. It serves as the cornerstone of our system of laws and policies here in the United States and are the bricks that created the foundation of which this great nation sits on. If God is totally removed from our society, our legal system will collapse; our system of government will deteriorate to the point where all hell will break loose. If I appear grim to you, that is because we are currently facing uncertain and unpleasant times and our way of life in America is under heavy attack by the Secularist Movement.

"As Americans, we must stand up, remove our blinders, unplug our ears and take notice of what is happening to our country. More importantly, Christians must go a step further, by praying and fasting for the health of this country. As a nation, we must now decide if we are going to continue allowing ourselves to be ruled by special interest groups, corrupt judges, crooked and unpatriotic politicians and other such enemies to our way of life. The secularists (supporters of euthanasia, gay marriage, unfettered abortions, destroying the idea of Christmas, the legalization of illegal drugs, atheists...) want to deconstruct our nation and build it in their own image. This would be a world and society without God, morals or judgment on bad behavior.”

During his time on stage at the December 18th public forum, Galloway gave little to no indication of his extremist views. You can hear him speak here, here, here, here, and here.

In a statement to the Providence Journal, Galloway tried to distance himself from the extreme positions he takes in his book.

“That’s just my faith and how I view things,” said Galloway. “Even though we operate under our faith, we still have to operate as well in the general public who may not have faith in God, who may not have faith in Jesus.”

This piece will be updated when the Mayor and other public officials respond.