Inside Christian nationalists’ war on religious freedom
Earlier this year, a presidential commission staffed almost entirely by conservative Christians urged Americans to rethink the separation of church and state and build “bridges” between them. Last week, the Department of Justice directed federal agencies to expand protections for religious expression in public employment, military service, education, healthcare and federal contracting.
These policies reflect the influence of Christian nationalism, a movement predicated on the belief that the United States is divinely chosen,” the New Testament should shape government policies, and white Christians should dominate American culture.
In a compelling new book, “No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy From Christian Nationalism,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the only self-declared Humanist in Congress, chronicles the movement’s rise and documents its great and growing impact on American politics.
For decades, Christian nationalists sought influence within the Republican Party. Presidents Reagan and Bush talked the talk, but largely accepted the traditional constitutional framework regarding church-state relations. But as traditional churches and denominations began to shrink in the 1990s, “independent charismatic ministries” expanded. The New Apostolic Reformation, a network of evangelical leaders, maintained that America was a Christian nation under siege by secular elites, including “demons” who must be “vanquished.”
Alongside The New Apostolic Reformation, two other influential strands of conservative Christianity — radical traditionalist Catholics and the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches — emerged. Although differing in theology and tactics, all three claim that God has chosen Christians to run the country.
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/600...democracy/
Earlier this year, a presidential commission staffed almost entirely by conservative Christians urged Americans to rethink the separation of church and state and build “bridges” between them. Last week, the Department of Justice directed federal agencies to expand protections for religious expression in public employment, military service, education, healthcare and federal contracting.
These policies reflect the influence of Christian nationalism, a movement predicated on the belief that the United States is divinely chosen,” the New Testament should shape government policies, and white Christians should dominate American culture.
In a compelling new book, “No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy From Christian Nationalism,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the only self-declared Humanist in Congress, chronicles the movement’s rise and documents its great and growing impact on American politics.
For decades, Christian nationalists sought influence within the Republican Party. Presidents Reagan and Bush talked the talk, but largely accepted the traditional constitutional framework regarding church-state relations. But as traditional churches and denominations began to shrink in the 1990s, “independent charismatic ministries” expanded. The New Apostolic Reformation, a network of evangelical leaders, maintained that America was a Christian nation under siege by secular elites, including “demons” who must be “vanquished.”
Alongside The New Apostolic Reformation, two other influential strands of conservative Christianity — radical traditionalist Catholics and the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches — emerged. Although differing in theology and tactics, all three claim that God has chosen Christians to run the country.
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/600...democracy/
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
