The American Taliban

The more I read about the Christian Right, especially the far right movements, the more sick I feel. From Joel's Army to plain-old Dominionism, the use of religion as a justification for aggression and bigotry disgusts me. In future posts, I will try to explain the beliefs of such groups, but as a foretaste, here are some of the highlights.

The "Christian" Dominionist movement contends that they have a mandate from God to prepare the world for Christ's return and that Christ will return only when the world is Christian. To make sure we are making progress on this point, good God-fearing Christians must prepare themselves politically, militaristically, and economically to wage war against non-believers. They want to establish Hebrew law in the US by using the very institution of democracy to set up a theocracy.

Hard-line Dominionists see the role of all Christian men as being the establishment of a Christian world order in which all non-Christians and all Christians who don't conform to their interpretation of scripture would be second-class citizens, at best. Some fear an even worse fate:

Any person who advocated or practiced other religious beliefs outside of their home would be tried for idolatry and executed. Blasphemy, adultery and homosexual behavior would be criminalized; those found guilty would also be executed. At that time that this essay was originally written, this was the only religious movement in North America of which we were aware which advocates genocide for followers of minority religions and non-conforming members of their own religion.

Pretty much all of us would be stoned to death or burned alive, if they held dominion. We recently dodged a Dominionist bullet in Sarah Palin, but don't worry. They'll get another chance in 2012. And no one can stop the second coming of Ester, as Ms. Palin is said to be. ::shudder::

Like other fundamentalist religious groups, this movement contends that they are the elect, that they are wholly correct, and that those who don't agree with them must move out of the way, by force if necessary. And as we saw in the Christian Zionist's anti-peace agenda outlined in yesterday's post, war and genocide are quite likely a necessary condition for salvation.

There's a (corny) saying that whenever you point a finger at someone, there are three pointing back at you. (Look at your hand while pointing your finger, and you'll see why.) I'm personally covering my mouth so as not to vomit more so than I am pointing my finger, but I bring this saying up as a way to bridge to our condemnation of certain groups that have co-opted the West's understanding of Islam and made it seem as though Islam promotes violent, repressive, or bigoted actions. However, we allow our crazy, fundamentalist Christian cousins to go around terrorizing clinics, denying gays rights, espousing religious hate, etc. etc. etc., making Christianity look as though it promotes intolerance and violence.

The truth is that no religion has a corner on peace or violence. Sadly, all the major world religions have been both victims and aggressors. Thus, we cannot say that any one religion -- or even being religious for that matter -- leads us toward or away from hate. The enemy isn't Christians/Jews/Muslims/Atheists/etc. The enemy, if it can be called such, is fear and the human tendency toward authoritarianism.

When Americans, specifically non-Muslim Americans, wag their finger at men like Osama Bin Laden, we confuse our disdain for a certain mentality and pattern of behavior with a religion. Bin Laden speaks for all of Islam (I think) no more so then Sarah Palin, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell (among others) speak for all of Christianity. In my opinion, these people are just branches of the same tree. This tree is based not on religion, per se, but on a personality type that Theodor Adorno marked as having the following the characteristics:

• Blind allegiance to conventional beliefs about right and wrong
• Respect for submission to acknowledged authority
• Belief in aggression toward those who do not subscribe to conventional thinking, or who are different
• A negative view of people in general - i.e. the belief that people would all lie, cheat or steal if given the opportunity
• A need for strong leadership which displays uncompromising power
• A belief in simple answers and polemics - i.e. The media controls us all or The source of all our problems is the loss of morals these days.
• Resistance to creative, dangerous ideas. A black and white worldview
• A tendency to project one's own feelings of inadequacy, rage and fear onto a scapegoated group
• A preoccupation with violence and sex
  

Take these traits, add a dash of religious symbolism or rhetoric, sprinkle in some good ol' racism, sexism, and homophobia, and you get Relgiofacism -- sure to work in any country! Religofacism exploits what should be a comfort-giving institution and turns it into a factory of fear and oppression. It is self-justifying and circular and, thus, immune from logical criticism.

It is not any one religion or religion itself that we need to be wary of. It is the authoritarian personality that we all share elements of.