New Yorker - In 1999, Gallup found that seventy per cent of Americans belonged to a church, a synagogue, or a mosque. In 2020, the number was forty-seven per cent—for the first time in nearly a hundred years of polling, worshippers were the minority. This changing environment helps explain the militance that is one of the defining features of Christian nationalism. It is a minority movement, espousing a claim that might not have seemed terribly controversial a few decades ago: that America is, and should remain, a Christian nation.
There is no canonical manifesto of Christian nationalism, and no single definition of it. In search of rigor, a pair of sociologists, Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry, examined data from various surveys and tracked the replies to six propositions:
The federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation.
The federal government should advocate Christian values.
The federal government should enforce strict separation of church and state.
The federal government should allow the display of religious symbols in public spaces.
The success of the United States is part of God’s plan.
The federal government should allow prayer in public schools.
2 comments:
Some of those propositions contradict, especially the strict separation of church and state contradicts the others. I guess some of the christian nationalists want to be separate, the rest want to do a hostile takeover
Of course the U.S. resulted because of Christian values.
Many people came to the U.S. fleeing the crazy antics of various religious zealots, each declaring themselves to be 'right'. Some with a long history of political alignments to further support their claim with force.
But is that type of behavior really what we desire here in the U.S.? Only now, many individuals come armed with AR-15s making it much more likely to acquire 'converts', or be rid of the contrary.
While religion is an emotional endeavor, politics should be more intellectual. At least theoretically.
But, we're 'human'.
Politics can provide Money and Power. And, with those, comes all the other wonderful vices. And religion just another tool to acquire even more power, and money.
But individuals are transitory. Religion is eternal. And it seems that Religion has become the 'tail' that wags the dog.
But, which christian religion?
Will it again result in warring factions? And who has the most AR-15s?
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