The song features a soft, sparse and stripped-down production, composed primarily of Acoustic guitars, electronic textures, quiet drums, distorted horns, saxophones, brass flourishes and synthesized strings.

"Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" was released to positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who praised the song's emotionally-charged lyrics, composition and the inclusion of Bridgers.

To promote "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America", the band commissioned Spanish dancer and choreographer Candela Capitán to create a short art film as part of the Artists Respond to NOACF online exhibition.

[6][9] Having heard the final version with Bridgers' vocals, the band was so impressed that they decided to work with the singer on three additional songs for Notes on a Conditional Form (2020): "Then Because She Goes" (2020), "Roadkill" (2020) and "Playing on My Mind" (2020).

[14][15][16] Dork writer Martyn Young described the song as "very much lo-fi country in the vein of artists like Bright Eyes",[17] while Jordan Blum of PopMatters called the track an "existential folk duet".

[18] "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" features a soft, sparse, stripped-down production containing gentle, windy atmospherics and electronic textures composed primarily of vocals and acoustic guitars.

[20] Rachel Hunt of The Diamondback noted the track's production and religious themes were similar to "If I Believe You" (2016) from I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It (2016) and shared the same social criticism explored in "Love It If We Made It" (2018) from A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships (2018).

[19][27][28] Healy and Bridgers perform the final chorus together, sarcastically thanking Jesus for saving them: "Fortunately, I believe, lucky me / I'm searching for planes in the sea, and that's irony / Soil just needs water to be, and a seed / So if we turn into a tree, can I be the leaves?

"[19][14] Dan Stubbs of NME found the overall theme of "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" to be a "search for a higher power, a conflict with a non-binary identity and a desire to be a small part of a bigger thing.

[26] Hunt opined that "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" represented "an existential realization that societal desires will forever be at odds with religion", while Consequence of Sound writer Ben Kaye felt it explored the dissonance between faith and love.

Mitch Mosk of Atwood Magazine called it an "achingly poignant" number, noting the confessional nature of the lyrics were similar in character to Bruce Springsteen and Elliott Smith.

"[22] Callie Ahlgrim of Insider said the personal-sounding nature of "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" reminded her of similar gentle and tender qualities displayed in "Nana" (2016) and "Be My Mistake" (2018).

[32] In her review of "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" for The Diamondback, Rachel Hunt praised the "heart-wrenching production" and Healy's vocal performance, saying it "brings listeners quietly to their knees".

[23] Patricia Kolbe of Barricade called "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" her favourite song on Notes on a Conditional Form, writing it was the "stripped, vulnerable track we need to help us through our inner struggles and the comforting embrace that reminds us that it will be okay.

[33] Daniel Kohn of Spin said the song further expanded the group into new sonic territory,[25] a sentiment shared by Sacher, who used "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" as an example of the band successfully incorporating guitar-oriented sub-genres into their repertoire.

Ahlgrim opined that the singer provided "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" with added gravity and authenticity, praising the pair's harmonies and calling Bridgers "extremely worthy of the first-ever lyrical feature on a 1975 album".

[23] Caroline Edwards of Riot called the harmonizing of Healy and Bridgers' vocals "chilling" and "magical", comparing it to "a hearty bowl of soup: perfectly comforting and good for the soul.

"[21] Similarly, Young said the inclusion of Bridgers gave the track additional resonance and emotional depth, praising her "rich and yearning vocals" for providing a "lovely" contrast to Healy's hushed tones.

[37][38] In February 2020, Healy headlined a solo acoustic show in Australia to raise money for the 2020 Australian bush fires, where he performed "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America".

[39] To promote Notes on a Conditional Form, The 1975 and Ben Ditto commissioned 15 artists to create art videos for 15 songs on the album, focusing on themes of technology, hope, love, anxiety and violence.