Has something changed that you need to invent a new word to express?
I don't think that anything has changed in terms of people's ideas or behaviors. Christianists have existed whether we had a label for them or not. I think that a label has become necessary because the world has been getting smaller so making a conscious differentiation has become relevant and important.
As we deal with greater integration and diversity and globalization, the question of how to deal with differences becomes more pressing. The Islamicist way is by killing or marginalizing (dhimmi) the infidels. That's a natural human reaction by no means exclusive to Islamicists. Many people operate off a domination/subservience model. [There's a masters swimmer who brings his sons to the pool on weekends where I watch him inculcate that model on a smaller scale.] There are Americans who would do the same with Muslims. The "nuke Mecca" or "we'll have to kill all the Muslims" themes can be heard. Wipe out or marginalize those of a different tribe on a large scale--that's the approach. On a less dramatic scale, you get simple bullying or, even less dramatic, cavalier disregard. You see the latter between Christianists and Secularists here at home. Regardless of the level, whether mass murder or simple bullying, it's a belligerence driven by the urge to dominate rather than share.
There is also a collaborative, tolerant, sharing, I'[m OK/you're OK, pluralistic approach to interpersonal relations both small and large scale. This approach does not align by religion. Instead, "them" refers to the dominators and "us" to those who want to get along. "Us" includes Christians, Muslims, and seculars. "Them" refers to Islamicists, Secularists, and Christianists, the latter being Christians in the domination/subservience paradigm.
As a secular, I think it's important for me to recognize any Secularist urges I might get and disabuse myself of them because they are not healthy. They're not as unhealthy as Islamicist urges, but they're still unhealthy. Likewise, Christianist urges are unhealthy. They all contribute to the general hostility level and accomplish nothing useful.
So, if we're to operate in a collaborative paradigm, Christians need to differentiate Christian from Christianist. Having a separate word makes it easier to maintain awareness of the difference in paradigms. It also makes it easier to communicate and understand. For example, the perceived war on Christians is not on Christians but on Christianists. If Christians recognize the distinction, they will not so easily interpret as an attack on their religion what is instead a reaction to the domination paradigm of the Christianists and the escalation of the culture wars might be mitigated.
Now there are those who consciously prefer the domination/submission paradigm. It works quite successfully for dogs and some people take to it. If some people consciously opt for it, I guess that's they're prerogative. But they should do it in an informed way. Adding the label, "Christianist," IMO aids in understanding that paradigm choice.
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