Right-wing “Christianity” is fundamentally no different than Islamic extremism

 

The U.S. Supreme Court is currently hearing a case involving the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy. Even the court’s most extreme-right justices are “confused” about Trump-anointed Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s justification for denying the Biden administration its right to rescind the policy, although it should be noted that the right-wing of the Court still allowed Kacsmaryk’s illegal ruling to stand, forcing the Biden administration to continue to enforce the policy.

Kacsmaryk’s “reading” of the 1996 immigration law—another example of how the Clinton administration “worked” with the far-right of the Republican Party to pass “reform” laws, some of them which had disastrous consequences, like the financial “modernization” law—is clearly incorrect. In the Biden vs. Texas case, Kacsmaryk claimed that in regard to Spanish-speaking asylum seekers, there are only two options: mandatory detention; or return to a contiguous territory.

The 1996 immigration law makes no such claim, but Kacsmaryk argued that every administration has been in “violation” of the law since it was passed. It should come as no surprise that he is regarded as one of the extreme of the extreme-right judges nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. Although originally under criticism for his opposition to gay rights, his extremism apparently goes far beyond that; his apparent lack of empathy for the plight of asylum seekers and the violence they are trying to escape seems distinctly “unchristian,” although to be “fair” much of this country acts “unchristian” as well. What is in the hearts of people who think in terms of "vermin" and "criminals" and not "human beings"? 

Perhaps somewhat not surprisingly Kacsmaryk was also a member of the Christian advocacy group First Liberty Institute, which is behind a case supposedly about the right of a former high school football coach in Bremerton, WA to “pray in private” when in fact it is about coercing student athletes to join him in prayer in a public forum (the football field) whether they want to or not.  Given the fact that right-wing “Christians” are so big on their “freedom,” it’s a wonder that people like this coach—Joseph Kennedy—didn’t respect the freedom of his players, instead applying  pressure  on them to do as he did, or they might be punished by falling down the depth chart.

Of course that old standby of right-wing “morality”—“pro-life—seems to be moving closer to fruition as we learn from a curiously released draft of a potential majority U.S. Supreme Court ruling that essentially claims that there is no Constitutional “right” to an abortion, and that states have every “constitutional” right to restrict or ban them outright. Now, I don’t think much of the “moral” arguments of the pro-abortion side (especially those enunciated by the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger), but I don’t think much of the hypocrisy of so-called “Christians” who think nothing of the lives of people trying to escape the violence whose ultimate source is the weaknesses and greed of Americans.

Evangelical Christianity tends to make a lot of noise, and for many pastors it is a get-rich-quick scheme, especially if they make it on television. In an article in The Atlantic last year by Peter Wehner, it was observed how Trumpism infected the evangelical movement: “The aggressive, disruptive, and unforgiving mindset that characterizes so much of our politics has found a home in many American churches” and that

The root of the discord lies in the fact that many Christians have embraced the worst aspects of our culture and our politics. When the Christian faith is politicized, churches become repositories not of grace but of grievances, places where tribal identities are reinforced, where fears are nurtured, and where aggression and nastiness are sacralized. The result is not only wounding the nation; it’s having a devastating impact on the Christian faith.

Ministers and pastors who are not sufficiently conservative to their “flock” can find themselves out of a job in their own churches, especially when churches have—similar to Iran’s Guardian Council—extremist, politicized “elders” who oppose “liberal” or “social justice” messages—as if this isn’t the “message” they think Jesus left them in the New Testament.

Meanwhile, Franklin Graham (the son of Billy Graham) recently made headlines when he asked the world to “pray” for his “friend,” Vlad the Impaler:

 

Graham predictably came under fire when it was clear that this “prayer” wasn’t that Putin should go straight to Hell where he belongs. Graham also has made “nice” with the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, who like Putin has delusions of grandeur, and apparently desires the subjugation of Ukraine, since Kyiv is regarded as the "spiritual" capitol of Russia, dating from the time it was the center of Vladimir the Great's empire, who first "chose" the Greek Orthodox Church as the religion his people were to be converted to around 1000 AD.

Thus as reported by Rolling Stone, hours before Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, “Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the Russian Orthodox Church,” gave his blessing to the invasion, and “spoke to military leaders and published a statement in honor of Defender of the Fatherland Day. The cleric congratulated Putin for his ‘high and responsible service to the people of Russia,’ declared the Russian Orthodox Church has ‘always striven to make a significant contribution to the patriotic education of compatriots,” and lauded military service as “an active manifestation of evangelical love for neighbors.”

In reality we are told that Russia—perhaps not surprisingly—is the “epicenter” of far-right Christian fundamentalism in the world today. If Putin regards himself as a “Christian” that’s probably enough to discredit the faith in Russia; of course in the U.S. any “Christian” who swears by someone as immoral, unethical and corrupt as Donald Trump isn’t saying much about themselves. There is a reason why the Constitution has at least implied the need for separation of church and state: it keeps “Christians” from exposing themselves as immoral hypocrites, forever engulfed in “culture wars” that have little to do with religion but white nationalist politics.

In a 2018 article “Holy Hate: The Far-Right’s Radicalization of Religion,” the SPL Center noted that while many academics and media types have been fixated on radical Islam, “Few have discussed how right-wing extremism exploits Christianity and the Bible to radicalize and mobilize its violent adherents toward criminality and terrorism. Much like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, violent right-wing extremists—who refer to themselves as “Soldiers of Odin,” “Phineas Priests,” or “Holy Warriors”—are also inspired by religious concepts and scriptural interpretations to lash out and kill in the name of religion. Yet very little is said or written about such a connection.”

We can go back to the 1930s  when “radio priest” Father Charles Coughlin mesmerized 30 million listeners during his “sermons”—compared to Tucker Carlson’s typical audience of 3 million—spewing fascist hate in the name of “religion.” The neo-Nazi “religious” group Christian Identity sold “pure white” supremacy and virulent anti-Semitism as well as violence and murder against unbelievers of the “faith.” In the past few years, “völkisch” movements based on Nordic mythology, militia groups and other extremists like Sovereign Citizens have used “religion” and misinterpretation of Bible passages be their “guide” in justifying unlawful and violent behavior, having convinced themselves that Trump is the new “messiah.”

Of course many religious leaders have expressed concern about the damage the religious right is doing to the credibility of religion as a whole. Some even have liberal philosophies and are concerned about social justice, which they believe reflects the will of God and the teachings of Jesus far more than the preaching of hate and divisiveness from the far-right. If there is a God, would that entity really see any light in the darkness of the hearts of far-right “Christians” who make mock of the very concept? For some strange reason, I doubt it.