Christian Supremacism
In a recent reply on this blog to 's question
I get the impression that you feel our political system should reflect Christian morality - if that's so, may I ask how you feel about the doctrine of separation of church and state?
said:
This country was founded on Christian morality. The seperation of church and state was created so the government would not interfere with the church, not vice versa.
What this fails to take into account is that the involvement of your church in the state is state involvement in church-- just interfering with somebody else's church. If it was Islamic involvement in our government, would quickly see a demonstration of this.
The view she expresses is Christian Supremacism, an interpretation of religious freedom identical to that of Islamic Supremacists. The shared idea of these movements is that since their nations have traditions from one particular religion, "freedom of religion" means that other religions are free to practice in privacy as tolerated guests. In this interpretation, the public sphere is a place on which a majority religion can plant a flag as the sole basis for legitimate authority, as Judge Moore did in Alabama, and which currently also exists in Iran.
I'm not sure which I would rather have: a nation under attack by Islamic violence because we hold fast to a principle of separation between church and state, or to defeat Al Quaeda abroad while succumbing to Dr. James Dobson's American Taliban in our laws. But it's clear that the threat from Christian political supremacists will be, and already has been, a greater threat to the personal first-hand experience of you and me than the threat of violence from Muslim political supremacists.
Comments
phecda on Apr. 14, 2005 3:44 PM
had posted this link in her journal. I thought I would cross post it here, as I believe it's germaine to the discussion.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/7235393?rnd=1113490425104&has-player=unknown
paranthropus on Apr. 14, 2005 6:35 PM
Matt, are you a member of Americans United?
Check them out. They are putting up a good fight.
matt-arnold on Apr. 14, 2005 6:40 PM
For a long time I've appreciated the work Barry Lynn and others in AU are doing. It's time I became a paid member.
sarahmichigan on Apr. 14, 2005 9:15 PM
We get their newsletter. It's good, but I always have to put it down half-way through because I'm so pissed off.
ericthemage on Apr. 14, 2005 7:29 PM
I was pretty sure that the Founding Fathers were deists, not Christians.
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/farrell_till/myth.html
matt-arnold on Apr. 14, 2005 9:22 PM
I was amused by this person's blog entry about Tom Delay and his supporters. Particularly this quote: And Jesus said unto the Pharisees, "Fuck thee, and all that thee stand for. Thou art hypocrites whose presence at my door would merit a divine ass-whipping. Get thyselves away from Nazareth, lest the Son of Man leave you his bitch." (Matthew: 37:12)
Anonymous on Dec. 7, 2005 9:57 PM
What about other forms of supremacism?
David Duke's book Jewish Supremacism, as you might not know, has become a best seller in Russia and Ukraine. Duke's visit to Syria has sealed a deal to publish the book in Arabic, with endorsement from promenent Syrians. It could possibly sell millions, eclipsing the 700 thousand sold in Eastern Europe.
Here is an audio file of Duke's interview with journalist Nidal Kablan where they talk about the importance of Jewish Supremacism for the Muslim world.
Audio file of interview:
http://www.davidduke.com/mp3/nidalkabalaninterview.mp3
How do we discuss this form of supremacism?
matt-arnold on Dec. 8, 2005 2:18 AM
Who are you, Anonymous? Tell us something about yourself.
Considering that the book you refer to is written by a former Klan leader, the title probably does not refer to the Jewish religion, but to the Jewish race. These are too easily confused. The top of David Duke's website reads "For our heritage and freedom." Whenever you hear the word "heritage," it's a safe bet you're hearing about how much better that person's heritage is than all others. The heritage he refers to is the promotion of the Christian religion at the expense of others. I would not prefer Duke's vision of the world over that of those he opposes. What we need is for our political leaders to stick to decisions that can be confirmed with reasons and observations that we all can share. There can be no accountability of our leaders to those they govern if they are acting on the impulses of blind faith that only they can sense inside their heads. That means governments must not be based on any statement of blind faith, whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim or any other.
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