In a diary from earlier this week, I made a claim that
religious fundamentalism is a social cancer with negative, harmful consequences for democracy, secularism, and civil society. And I stated that religious fundamentalism - a reactionary response to modernity which seeks certainty and relies on appeals to authority - has been an instrument with which to bludgeon political opponents; it has been part of a smear campaign against words such as "liberal"and "tolerance."
I want now to expand on some of my earlier points.
Incidentally, regarding the ideal of "tolerance," Pat Robertson
offers an example of how religious fundamentalists nevertheless manage to problematize even this concept. Robertson has been quoted as criticizing the nation of Scotland, calling it a "rather dark land" and adding "In Europe, the big word is tolerance. Homosexuals are riding high in the media. ... And in Scotland, you can't believe how strong the homosexuals are. It's just unbelievable." Following these comments, the Bank of Scotland would cancel the planned launch of a cooperative venture with Robertson
One of the primary means that the fundamentalist religious right in the United States has chosen for conveying their message is their formulation that the United States is - in spite of what Thomas Jefferson long ago termed the "separation of church and state" - a "Christian nation."
As writer Steve Weissman points out, this represents a new form of nationalism, which he and others term "Christian nationalism."
We might want to be wary of the Christian nationalists.
James Dobson, for example, once asked the question "Was America a Christian Nation?" And answered, in the decontextualized quotes of the likes of such greats as John Adams, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln, that yes, the USA most certainly is such a thing.
Dobson has also been among the leaders of the religious right, attacking secularists who insist on a separtion of church and state and attacking liberals, proclaiming on a October 16 broadcast of his Focus on the Family radio show that liberals "despise this country and its freedoms."
Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, likewise answered in the affirmative , telling a gathering of evangelicals, while dressed in full military uniform, that America is "a Christian nation." Boasting that his God was bigger than Islam's, Boykin added that "We in the army of God, in the house of God, kingdom of God have been raised for such a time as this. Our spiritual enemy will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus."
And Rev. D. James Kennedy, the Florida based televangelist, regularly refers to the United States as a Christian nation, according to the Christian Science Monitor. That is, a nation that should be be governed by Christians only A telling quote of his: "As the viceregents of God, we are to bring His truth and His will to bear on every sphere of our world and our society. We are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government ... our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors--in short, over every aspect and institution of human society."
Religious Right fundamentalists in America thus insist that the United States was designed to be officially Christian. They insist that our laws should enforce the doctrines of Christianity, and specifically a hard right, fundamentalist Christianity as interpreted by them. This is a version that hates gays and loves guns, hates the poor and loves wealth, is uncomfortable around minorities but at home amongst churchgoing whites. It is a version that passes harsh judgements on people of other faiths, seeing them as "sinners" heading toward "damnation" without Jesus on their side; the fundamentalists believe that Gandhi's soul is doomed, but that Pat Robertson's and Tom DeLay's souls are blessed.
Inconveniently for the Christian nationalists, though, the U.S. Constititution is , as Barry W. Lynn of the organization Americans United for Separation of Church and State explains, "a wholly secular document."
It contains no mention of Christianity or Jesus Christ. In fact, the Constitution refers to religion only twice in the First Amendment, which bars laws "respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," and in Article VI, which prohibits "religious tests" for public office. Both of these provisions are evidence that the country was not founded as officially Christian.
To this, Lynne adds the following, offering some very good, solid arguments for church-state separation.
Today, America's religious demographics are changing, and diversity has greatly expanded since our nation's founding. The number of Jews has increased, and more Muslims are living in America than ever before. Other religions now represented in America include Hinduism, Buddhism and a myriad others. In addition, many Americans say they have no religious faith or identify themselves as atheists, agnostics or Humanists. According to some scholars, over 2,000 distinct religious groups and denominations exist in the United States.
Also, even though most Americans identify as Christian, this does not mean they would back official government recognition of the Christian faith. Christian denominations disagree on points of doctrine, church structure and stands on social issues. Many Christians take a moderate or liberal perspective on church-state relations and oppose efforts to impose religion by government action.
Americans should be proud that we live in a democracy that welcomes persons of many faiths and none. Around the globe, millions of people still dwell under oppressive regimes where religion and government are harshly commingled. (Iran and the former Taliban regime of Afghanistan are just two examples.) Many residents of those countries look to the United States as beacon of hope and a model for what their own nations might someday become.
Only the principle of church-state separation can protect America's incredible degree of religious freedom. The individual rights and diversity we enjoy cannot be maintained if the government promotes Christianity or if our government takes on the trappings of a "faith-based" state.
The United States, in short, was not founded to be an officially Christian nation or to espouse any official religion. Our government is neutral on religious matters, leaving such decisions to individuals. This democratic and pluralistic system has allowed a broad array of religious groups to grow and flourish and guarantees every individual American the right to determine his or her own spiritual path or to reject religion entirely. As a result of this policy, Americans enjoy more religious freedom than any people in world history. We should be proud of this accomplishment and work to preserve the constitutional principle that made it possible separation of church and state.
But of course, these are not acceptible arguments for many fundamentalists. And while not all Christian fundamentalists have responded to the rejection of their attempts to hijack our civil, democratic society with extreme violence, some obviously have.
For example, In the US, extreme militia and "patriot" groups (many Christian-based) see war on
terrorism "as justification for their existence," according to Brad Knickerbocker in the Christian Science Monitor on June 18, 2002. He believes that a Timothy McVeigh type could be tempted to join forces with foreign terrorists, "perhaps to precipitate the kind of race war envisioned in The Turner Diaries."
Other evidence of militant and violent tendencies among Christian fundamentalists is underground manual "When Life Hurts, We Can Help: The Army of God" and containing "99 Covert Ways to Stop Abortion." Published by the Army of God, it's a list of vicious and criminal recommendations for terrorizing abortion clinic doctors, employees, and women seeking abortion. More than 2500 acts of violence, including murders and attempted murders, bombings, arson, death threats, assault and batteries, anthrax threats, and acts of vandalism have been committed by US anti-abortionists, according to reports by the National Abortion Federation
It should be noted that the name "Army of God" also happens to be the English translation of the Shi'a Islamist militant organization based in Lebanon known as Hezbollah
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols caused 168 deaths when they bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. Influenced by the Christian Identity movement, their intention was to retaliate against what they perceived as government attacks on a Ruby Ridge white supremacist family and the Branch Davidians in Waco.
Karen Armstrong,
author of The Battle for God, writes, "Because they believe that they are fighting for survival, fundamentalists tend to militancy, ignoring the more compassionate elements of the faith in favor of more ferocious theologies. In all three religions, including American Protestantism, fundamentalism seems to be becoming more extreme."
Christian fundamentalists in the US haven't committed terrorist acts to the same degree as some other fundamentalist groups for two main reasons, claims Armstrong. First, they live in a more peaceful society.But they also believe that, with God on their side, US democracy will give way to a theocracy on its own.
Finally, here is a primer on Christian Reconstructionism
While Rev. D. James Kennedy of the Coral Ridge teleministry appears to represent "soft dominionism," he is a borderline case. Some of the political agenda he, Moore and their allies pursue strikes me as hard dominionist. And by this I mean rooted in Christian Reconstructionism, a theology that arose out of conservative Presbyterianism in the 1970's. It asserts that contemporary application of the laws of Old Testament Israel should be the basis for reconstructing society towards the Kingdom of God on earth.
Led by the movement's seminal thinker, the late Rev. R. J. Rushdoony, Reconstructionism argues that the Bible is to be the governing text for all areas of life, art, education, health care, government, family life, law and so on. They have formulated a "biblical worldview" and "biblical principles" to inform and govern their lives and their politics. Reconstructionist theologian David Chilton succinctly described this view: "The Christian goal for the world is the universal development of Biblical theocratic republics, in which every area of life is redeemed and placed under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the rule of God's Law."
It has been difficult for many Americans to accept the idea that a theocratic movement could be afoot, let along gain much influence in 20th century America, but Robert Billings, one of the founders of the Moral Majority once said, "if it weren't for [Rushdoony's] books, none of us would be here." This does not, of course, mean that everyone influenced by Rushdoony's work is a Reconstructionist. Rather, as Billings indicated, it provided a catalyst and an ideological center of gravity for the wider movement of ideas that have percolated throughout evangelical Christianity, and parts of mainline Protestantism and Catholicism for the past three decades.
The original and defining text of Reconstructionism, is Rushdoony's 1973 opus, The Institutes of Biblical Law - an 800-page explanation of the Ten Commandments, the Biblical "case law" that derives from them and their application today. "The only true order," he wrote, "is founded on Biblical Law. All law is religious in nature, and every non-Biblical law-order represents an anti-Christian religion." In brief, he continues, "every law-order is a state of war against the enemies of that order, and all law is a form of warfare."
The Chalcedon Foundation, a Reconstructionist think tank under whose auspices Rushdoony did most of his writing, recently celebrated its 40th anniversary with a conference on the life and work of Rushdoony.
Interestingly, the Chalcedon Report, the journal of the Chalcedon Foundation, recently reported that Roy Moore's Foundation for Moral Law is preparing "to hold seminars that will teach judges, lawyers, and law students about Biblical Law as the basis of America's laws and Constitution." "There is a lot more being written and said about this than there was a few years ago," Moore told Chalcedon Report. "The truth that's been cut off for so long is being brought out into the open, and it will prevail".
Finally here is one other highly recommended essay which offers some historical context for the debate about the separation of church and state in the U.S.
The U.S. can be a Christian nation, and I'm quite okay with that, but only in an unofficial sense and in the sense that our citizens - who realize that they are living in a secular, pluralistic society in which a wide variety of beliefs are held - might feel so inspired by spirituality want to live for others and practice love and compassion. In fact, many of the reform movements in American history (antislavery, civil rights, assisting the poor, etc.) were church based. But this vision is far from what the right wing theocrats, who want this to be a Christian nation officially, are about. We must counter them with all our might. They truly are a cancer on the body politic.