Why so many Christian moms are MAHA

The term “crunchy conservative” entered the lexicon more than 20 years ago, when author Rod Dreher published his popular book, Crunchy Cons, about “reclaiming what’s best in conservatism” with religion, family, and nature preservation at the heart of the project. 

Many Christians instinctively aligned with these principles—just as they do with some core values of the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement. 

Today’s “crunchy conservative” Christian women identify with the label “MAHA moms.” They’re skeptical of once-trusted institutions of authority—Big Government, Big Pharma, Big Agriculture, public education, and more. Faith, food, and family are central tenets to many MAHA moms, who see healthy living as an outflow of their Christianity. 

“God has made our bodies and our immune systems the way that they’re meant to be,” said one self-proclaimed “crunchy mom.”

MAHA’s partnership with Christian moms makes sense. These are mothers who see themselves as the primary stewards of both their children’s faith and physical well-being. They are the caretakers of body and soul. They’re getting rid of red dyes and cultural lies simultaneously, molding and forming children to be free from artificial sugars and false gospels. 

With Robert Kennedy Jr. as HHS secretary and functional medicine physician Dr. Casey Means nominated to be the next surgeon general, support for this new approach to health is strong. 

When Kennedy ran for president on the MAHA campaign promise, he opened a door for voters who may not have been excited about voting for Trump or Biden. Politically moderate, Christian women were one of those demographics. After dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump, Kennedy’s MAHA mantra helped swing the election for Trump—and the moms played a role in that. 

While MAHA isn’t explicitly faith-based, many of its supporters are Christians who favor things like removing harmful food dyes, rethinking the vaccine schedule, and choosing natural, preventive care over pharmaceuticals.

In a private Facebook group called Non-Toxic Mamas, 70,000 women swap tips on everything from cookware to holistic remedies for rashes. Posts about marriage and parenting are common too, and the dominant worldview is clearly religious, natural, and traditional.

Some MAHA moms are Christian homeschoolers who prioritize motherhood, faith, and marriage in their lives. They also tend to value nature, unhurried schedules, and wholesome, homemade foods. 

The exaggerated version of this woman on social media is what’s known as a “trad wife”—a stereotype portraying women who eschew work outside the home, have large families, and cook every meal. Although the trad wife image and specific patriarchal religious movements don’t reflect the views of most MAHA moms, media coverage often conflates them. Don’t be fooled by the caricatures—MAHA moms are increasingly mainstream these days.

Though Kennedy and Means aren’t Christian role models, some see their holistic approach to health as aligned with a biblical view of the body—one that treats it as the temple God designed it to be. This view, along with a devastating loss of trust in public health authorities, has paved the way for crunchy, Christian moms to go full MAHA. The movement is disruptive by nature—and it resonates with many Christians’ instinct to resist the patterns of a status quo world. 

Their pushback against mask mandates, school closures, and vaccine pressure may have sparked their activism, but MAHA gave that passion a deeper purpose: fighting for their kids’ health and future. 

Some are raising chickens and homeschooling their kids. Others are buying organic strawberries and sending their kids to public school on the bus. MAHA moms are not a monolith, but many of them are Christians who want to see their families flourish in body, mind, and spirit.

For Christians, MAHA feels right because it embraces the beauty of God’s creation, from the earth and air to the sun, whole foods, and the body’s natural design. It’s a return to the ways our bodies are supposed to run, the way God made them to thrive. Christian MAHA moms are awake, and they have no intention of going back to the way things were.