Progressive Church Alters Traditional Nativity Scene to Make Anti-Trump Political Statement

When the far left began to subsume cultural institutions, there was one “holy grail” (pun very much intended) target that they had their eyes set on: The church.

While some churches resisted the calls to leftism, a fair number of them did not, leading to a rise in hyper-progressive churches that seem more interested in the rainbow of the LGBT movement than the crimson blood of Jesus Christ.

Those same churches also became hyper-politicized, often siding with the left-wing establishment when it comes to all things President Donald Trump and his administration — including immigration enforcement.

For the more pious readers (or for those who are not terminally online) this may be hard to grasp.

But if you’re struggling to believe that some churches have seriously lost their way, look no further than Lake Street Church of Evanston.

The Illinois-based church raised all sorts of eyebrows after it decided to take their love of unchecked immigration and disdain for Trump and apply it to one of the most sacred scenes in the Bible.

Church Nativity Scene Features Zip-Tied Baby Jesus, Roman Soliders as ICE Agents https://t.co/B4moHXCKLE pic.twitter.com/uREDeF23N6

— Protestia (@Protestia) December 1, 2025

As Protestia reported, Lake Street Church chose to use its Nativity scene to make some sort of half-baked point about Trump and his immigration policies.

The scene included baby Jesus in zip ties and a Mylar blanket. Mary and Joseph are seen in gas masks, while the Roman soldiers are dressed up as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

According to Protestia, the church claims that “this installation reimagines the nativity as a scene of forced family separation, drawing direct parallels between the Holy Family’s refugee experience and contemporary immigration detention practices.”

The church continued: “By placing the Christmas story (Christianity’s central narrative of refuge, sanctuary, and sacred family) within the visual language of immigration enforcement and detention, this work asks viewers to confront the disconnect between professed religious or moral values and immigration policies. The emergency blanket references the actual materials used in detention facilities.”

“The zip ties on the infant’s wrists directly reference the children who were zip-tied by agents during a raid on a Chicago apartment building earlier this year, where most residents were U.S. citizens: a stark reminder that enforcement terror does not discriminate by documentation status.”

The church further explained: “The gas masks worn by Mary and Joseph reference the documented use of tear gas and other chemical weapons deployed by ICE agents against peaceful protesters, journalists, and community members advocating for immigration reform and bearing witness to human rights abuses within the system.”

It’s all a load of crock. One would only need to glance at Lake Street Church’s homepage to surmise that this church is far more concerned with social activism than anything resembling spreading the gospel.

For crying out loud, on their main page, they give equal footing to “Social Justice” as they do “Worship & Music,” “Children & Youth,” and “Spiritual Growth.”

Once your eyes are done rolling, there are two more glaring, obvious points to make about this church’s Nativity scene.

First, the incarnation of the Son of God should never be used to make a political point. It should be approached with reverence, not trivialized for propaganda purposes.

Second, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired of hearing mindless leftist drones prattle on about how Jesus was a “refugee.”

Even on a definitional level, it just doesn’t work. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph never fled the Roman Empire. They simply resettled to a different territory for a time, and followed all Roman laws in doing so. That’s less like a refugee and more like an American simply moving to a different state.

The journey to Egypt itself was also self-funded, and was not exactly a hallmark of the modern refugee.

It’s also worth noting that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph fled to Egypt to escape the murderous intent of King Herod. Once Herod was dead, the family swiftly moved back home. Does that sound at all like a modern-day refugee?

Of course not — and Lake Street Church appears all the more foolish for trying to push that narrative.

Shame on them.

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