In my last column in I wrote a “tongue in cheek” analysis about a number of Republican presidential hopefuls who have insinuated God’s endorsement of their candidacy. This week I'm exploring the subject more seriously.
It is not a question of which candidate has God’s approval, but rather what some of these candidates believe God is calling them to do, and whether this divine calling is in the nation’s best interest or in the best interest of the Christian faith.
The United States and the world are very concerned about the rise of radical Islam. Islamists, as they are called, are determined to impose a very fundamentalist understanding of Islam not only on Muslims, but on everyone else as well.
Anything short of a world governed by strict sharia law, a version of Muslim Law interpreted by fundamentalist Islamist mullahs, is considered to be a world governed by evil. It is, to say the least, a very dangerously oppressive ideal.
The movement, though very small relative to the number of practicing Muslims around the world, is rightly interpreted to be a fascistic form of Islamic religious imperialism. It would behoove us to remember the Fascists of Italy and the Nazis of Germany prior to World War II were also small minorities. They came to power through the exploitation of legitimate grievances held by their respective populations.
Fascism grows like a cancer feeding off of the people’s perceptions of suffered injustice, whether real or imagined. Once a scapegoat is established to blame the people’s suffering, the rise to power for the fascist leaders becomes easy.
For the Nazis, the scapegoats were the Jews and the perceived injustice of the Versailles Treaty after the First World War. For the Islamists, it is Israel, in particular, and the West -- who helped impose and supports the State of Israel in the Middle East. The United States has become the “Great Satan” who supports Israel economically and militarily.
Israel and, of course, the insatiable demand for oil by America and America’s presence in Middle Eastern society to insure a continuous flow of “black gold,” makes us the perfect scapegoat for Islamist drive to power.
Like the Islamists in the Middle East and the Nazis and Fascists in Europe during the last century, the United States also has a growing Imperial and fascistic threat. Unlike the European model, which was secular in form, our fascistic movement is decidedly religious by definition.
Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist Chris Hedges warns us in his 2006 book, American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, of the growing fascistic threat.
Fundamentalist Christians such as Pat Robertson and numerous other televangelists have stated their goal “was to use the United States to create a global Christian empire … [by] taking control of all institutions, including mainstream denominations and the government.”
The central fascistic, political ideology of the Christian Right is Dominionism. According to the first chapter of Genesis, God, after creating human beings, gave humans dominion over the earth. Dominionism, taking scripture to be a literal and inerrant expression of God, believes the law of God as codified in the Bible should take precedence over all secular law and should be the governing source for society.
The Dominionist movement has taken control of much of Republican politics and, significantly, the Republican presidential race. Except for Mitt Romney, the other two leading contenders, Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann, are Christian Right candidates with Dominionist connections.
The question arises as to whether it is fair or right to question a candidate’s religion as they seek political office in the United States.
We are a religiously pluralistic nation and every person’s religious faith is a private matter. No one’s religion ought to be singled our as being of a lesser faith than anyone else’s. The question is not whether one religion is more acceptable than another in being qualified to serve in office.
The true question is whether or not there is some facet of one’s interpretation of the faith that puts one in conflict with the office in which one is elected to serve. During the John F. Kennedy campaign for the presidency Kennedy’s Roman Catholic faith was questioned. It was not whether or not a Catholic ought to serve as president, but whether his understanding of his Roman Catholic faith put him in conflict with the Constitution that he would be sworn to serve. Kennedy informed the nation that in matters of government, the Constitution would be his guide in governance.
Dominionism is, in fact, a fundamentalist Christian movement not dissimilar to that of the Islamists, except for the fact that it is biblical law rather than sharia law that would rule. In both cases, it should be noted, the leaders of the movement, whether biblical or Islamic, would interpret the meaning and purpose of the law. The fundamentalist mullahs presume to interpret sharia law and the fundamental Dominionist would interpret the truth of biblical law.
We can see the Dominionist influence already affecting social and political reality in the state of Iowa. In 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court, basing its decision on the Iowa Constitution’s equal protection clause, voted unanimously to overturn a ban on same-sex marriage.
Dominionists, led by Bob Vander Plaats led a successful campaign to oust three of the justices who were up for a retention vote in November of 2010. Vander Plaats is the president and CEO of the Family Leader in Iowa. The Family Leader is associated with Focus on the Family, which was founded by James Dobson.
Focus on the Family and Dobson support Dominionist principles, especially around the issues of abortion and homosexuality, believing their interpretation of biblical law should take precedence over any secular law that allows for abortion rights or the civil rights of gay and lesbian citizens. The Christian fundamentalists, with their literal interpretation of scripture, are making deep inroads into the body politic.
Vander Plaats is a leading influence in Iowa’s Republican Party. The Christian right also has become the major influence in the Republican Party nationwide. All but one or two of the leading Republican candidates for president fall into the Dominionist camp; and those that don’t must, if they have any hope of winning the nomination, voice support for Dominionist positions.
I do not think that it is an exaggeration or a hysterical response to fear for the future of our county. We witness the move to scapegoat others for our nation’s problems, especially our current economic malaise.
First and foremost it is President Barack Obama who is scapegoated. He is identified as not being “one of us.” From him we must “take back our country.” Other scapegoats include Muslims, secular humanists, socialists, public employees and, of course, homosexuals. From all these so-called evil entities, the nation must be saved. The saviors are, of course, those who have a “right understanding” of God’s law
As with the fascist movements of the past, the threat to human liberty does not realize itself until power is consolidated. Then, when a threat to that power arises, those in power begin to eliminate the scapegoats by fiat or by brute force. As scapegoat after scapegoat falls, all become subject to the rule of the powerful. Christian Imperialism is no less dangerous than other forms of imperial power witnessed throughout human history.
As we face the reality of this Dominionist danger, we must be aware that just as the Islamists have hijacked the truth of Islam, so too, have the Christian Right hijacked the truth of Christianity. Jesus’ message of love, peace, justice and harmony stands in stark contrast to the Dominionist position. The United States would be well served if Republicans would reaffirm their true conservatism and turn away from the fundamentalism of the Christian Right.
