How extremist Christian theology is driving the right-wing assault on democracy (and repro rights)

[ShazzieB]

I just posed this link in a comment, and it dawned me that it really deserves its own OP.

How extremist Christian theology is driving the right-wing assault on democracy
The Texas abortion law is one step toward the true goal of Christian dominionism: Destroying democratic government

Progressive policies and positions are supposed to be rooted in reality and hard evidence. But that's not always the case when it comes to the culture wars that have such an enormous impact on our politics — especially not since the unexpected evangelical embrace of Donald Trump in 2016, culminating in the "pro-life" death cult of anti-vaccine, COVID-denying religious leaders. If this development perplexed many on the left, it was less surprising to a small group of researchers who have been studying the hardcore anti-democratic theology known as dominionism that lies behind the contemporary Christian right, and its far-reaching influence over the last several decades.

One leading figure within that small group, Rachel Tabachnick, was featured in a recent webinar hosted by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (see video, below) archived on YouTube as part of its Religion and Repro Learning Series program (https://rcrc.org/learning-center/ ), overseen by the Rev. Dr. Cari Jackson. Tabachnick's writing on dominionism can be found at Talk2Action and Political Research Associates, and she's been interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air.

Her presentation sheds important light on at least three things: First of all, the vigilante element of the Texas anti-abortion law SB 8. Second, the larger pattern of disrupting or undermining governance, including the "constitutional sheriffs" movement, the installation of overtly partisan election officials and the red-state revolt against national COVID public health policies. While Donald Trump has exploited that pattern ruthlessly, he did not create it. And third, the seemingly baffling fact that an anti-democratic minority feels entitled to accuse its opponents — including democratically elected officials — of "tyranny."

Some dominionist ideas — such as the biblical penalty of death by stoning — are so extreme they can easily be dismissed as fringe, others have been foundational to the modern religious right, and still more have become increasingly influential in recent years. Those latter two categories are what we need to understand most, say both Tabachnick and Jackson.

Lots more, including links, here: https://www.salon.com/2021/10/31/how-extremist-christian-theology-is-driving-the-right-wing-on-democracy/

[Haggard Celine]

1. These fuckers have been working to undermine our democratic government

for decades. Thanks to the Trump presidency, they've come a lot closer than ever before. They would love to have a civil war. They want to get rid of the liberal states, like those in New England and the West Coast and have a theocracy made up of the central and southern Bible Belt states. Some of them want to take the central provinces of Canada as well. This is a great post for Halloween, ShazzieB, because these people are scary as hell and they will not stop trying to take over as much of this country as they can until they're beaten like a dirty rug.

[NotANeocon]

2. " They would love to have a civil war."

The USA has been in a cold, tepid civil war for more than 30 years. Drumph simply heated it up and lit some fires hoping for a conflagration.

[Haggard Celine]

3. That's true. That's why they latched on to him.

He's the opposite of everything they claim to be, but it was obvious from the start that he wanted to cause a civil war, or at the very least stir up so much rancor that neighbors would hate one another and not trust each other. They didn't care if he was working for the Russians. He was a means to their evil ends, so they jumped onboard the Trump train. He was using them too, of course, so it was a marriage made in hell.

Our focus in the near future should be exposing his and the Dominionists' plans for this country and showing the independents who are still open-minded what he did before and on Jan. 6. Once it becomes clear to everyone what a traitor that son of a bitch is, I have to believe the majority will turn against him and his supporters. If that won't do it, I guess it's over.

[Thomas Hurt]

4. No kidding! Now you get it? The christofascists have been working this agenda since Reagan.