Christian Nationalism - the Religious Right's hunger for power

[lpetrich]

Trump's Christian right worships power more than they worship God | Salon.com - In "The Power Worshippers," Katherine Stewart shows what really motivates the Christian right — and it's not Jesus

It's one of the most enduring conundrums of the Donald Trump era: How is it that the Christian right, the self-appointed monitors of American morality, have come to so enthusiastically back a thrice-married chronic adulterer who lies as easily as he breathes?

Author Katherine Stewart has the answer: Because the true god these folks worship is power. In her book, "The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism," Stewart details how she traveled around the country, getting to know the various Christian conservative figures that are whipping support for Trump and his agenda. She deems the "Christian nationalists" and demonstrates how their supposedly Christian values always come second to their endless quest for power.

As to how it works, Xian nationalism works from the top down, using abortion and same-sex marriage and similar issues to recruit and motivate the troops.

When you dig a little deeper into what the movement leaders talk about when they talk with one another, they actually advocate for a very wide range of policy issues that don't just have to do with abortion or same-sex marriage. A lot of it has to do with economic policy. A lot of it has to do with foreign policy, social policy. It's important to look at the movement in this broader fashion as a political movement that wants power.

...
Someone like Ralph Drollinger — who targets political leaders at the top levels of government — he's got this Bible study group in the Capitol that's been attended by at least 11 members of Trump's cabinet, including Mike Pence. He also has Bible study groups targeting the Senate and House of Representatives, and they're very well-attended. So he's arguably one of the most politically influential pastors in America.

He argues that social welfare programs have no basis in Scripture. He says that the government should not directly fund needs for the poor. He says the responsibility to meet the needs of the poor lies first with a husband and a marriage, second with a family if the husband is absent, and third with the church. He says nowhere does God command the institutions of government or commerce to fully support those with genuine needs

Not surprisingly, that gets them a lot of money from certain rich people.

However, the Religious Right loves having government money go its way.

The United States spends something like $700 billion a year on K-12. So Christian nationalists realize that, if they can get their hands on a small portion of that in the name of religious liberty, the money will flow without end. So when you look at the larger demands of the movement, it's not just about these culture war issues, it's about public policy, foreign policy, and it's about money.

Why call it Xian nationalism?

Christian nationalism is a political ideology. It says that what makes the United States distinctive is not our democratic system of government, or our Constitution, or our history of assimilating diverse people in a pluralist society. Instead, it insists that the foundation of legitimate government is bound up inextricably with the reactionary understanding of a particular religion. It basically says that the U.S. was founded on the Bible, and can only succeed if it stays true to that foundation.

It's also a way of mobilizing large numbers of people and concentrating power in an elite. Vladimir Putin in Russia, Viktor Orban in Hungary, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey all ally themselves with religious conservatives. President Trump is doing the same with the US Religious Right.

Author Katherine Stewart describes how Religious-Right churches have become the "loyal cells of a shadow political party." That is because their pastors are involved with RR organizations and networks, and these in turn give pastors instructions, so that they can all be on the same page politically.

 

[lpetrich]

Katherine Stewart has a chapter called "Inventing Abortion". It was about how abortion became such a big issue for the Religious Right. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, many Republicans supported abortion-law liberalization, and many Protestants across the spectrum. Rev. Billy Graham stated his disagreement with the Catholic Church about birth control.

Right-wing activists in the mid and late 1970's searched for issues that could get a lot of followers. Defending tax breaks for racially-segregated academies turned out to be a loser for them. But abortion was a winner for them. It could unite conservative Catholics and conservative Protestants.

Then Donald Trump. There are two things the Religious Right likes about him. One of them is delivering judges with their ideological inclinations. The other is his anti-democratic inclinations.

This movement doesn't really believe in modern representative democracy. At bottom, they sound as though they prefer autocrats. In fact, what they really want is a king. Paula White is always calling Trump a king. Ralph Drollinger is always talking about kinging and kings. Trump has been referred to as King Cyrus.

The thing about kings like Cyrus is that they don't have to follow the rules. They are the law. Trump understands this longing for the hard hand of the despot. That is what has made him such an attractive leader to this movement.

 

[lpetrich]

I like what AOC says about the Religious Right. On 2019 May 15, she tweeted:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Abortion bans aren’t just about controlling women’s bodies.
They’re about controlling women’s sexuality. Owning women.
From limiting birth control to banning comprehensive sex ed, US religious fundamentalists are working hard to outlaw sex that falls outside their theology." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Ultimately, this is about women’s power.
When women are in control of their sexuality, it threatens a core element underpinning right-wing ideology: patriarchy.
It’s a brutal form of oppression to seize control of the 1 essential thing a person should command: their own body." / Twitter

On 2019 May 17, she tweeted:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "To the GOP extremists trying to invoke “the unborn” to jail people for abortion:
Where are you on climate change? OH right, you want to burn fossil fuels til there’s hell on Earth.
If they were truthful about their motives, they’d be consistent in their principles. They’re not." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The GOP doesn’t care about babies at all - especially brown, black, or poor ones. If they did, they’d:
- cosponsor the Green New Deal or at LEAST have a real climate plan
- guarantee healthcare so ALL can get prenatal care
- not stand for the death+caging of babies on our border" / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "What angers me about the GOP’s attempts to turn the United States into a far-right Christian theocracy is how dishonest they are about it.
At least be forthright about your desire to subvert and dismantle our democracy into a creepy theological order led by a mad king." / Twitter

"A creepy theological order led by a mad king" - sums up the Religious Right and Trumpism very well.

As to their loudly proclaimed love of religious freedom, AOC Flips the Religious Freedom Argument on Its Head | NowThis - YouTube - ‘The only time religious freedom is invoked is in the name of bigotry and discrimination. I’m tired of it’

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

They like the power to punish.

 

[ideologyhunter]

All this, while being resentful and claiming persecution for their Beliefs.

 

[Terrell]

All this, while being resentful and claiming persecution for their Beliefs.

Agreed. They're another group of crybullies.