[This book, published two years ago (as was this review), remains
timely, especially given decisions already handed down by the
evangelical Christian U.S. Supreme Court majority, as well as those
expected from the Court later this month.]
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PORTSIDE CULTURE
THE POWER WORSHIPPERS: INSIDE THE DANGEROUS RISE OF RELIGIOUS
NATIONALISM
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David Rosen
March 3, 2020
New York Journal of Books
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_ This book, published two years ago (as was this review), remains
timely, especially given decisions already handed down by the
evangelical Christian U.S. Supreme Court majority, as well as those
expected from the Court later this month. _
,
The Power Worshippers
Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism
Katherine Stewart
Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 9781635573435
Is the nation’s true motto “_E Pluribus Unum”_ (Latin for "Out
of Many, One") or is it “In God We Trust”? This is the underlying
question posed by Katherine Stewart’s essential study, _The Power
Worshippers_.
“_E Pluribus Unum_” was originally proposed by a Congressional
committee on July 4, 1776, as "a seal for the United States of
America" and approved by an Act of Congress in 1782. “In God We
Trust” was first deployed on U.S. coins during the Civil War and, in
1956 at the height of the Cold War, Congress mandated it to be the
nation’s official motto. (In 1954, “under God” was inserted into
the pledge of allegiance.) Stewart analyzes how radical, conservative
Christians have made “In God We Trust” the motto guiding “the
dangerous rise of religious nationalism.”
Over the last two and a half centuries, the nation witnessed four
“culture wars”—in the 1840s, accompanying the Second Awakening;
in the 1920, culminating in Prohibition; in the 1950s, reflecting Cold
War McCarthyism; and in the 1970s, a rejection of 1960s
counterculture.
Stewart’s invaluable book is a detailed investigation into how, over
the last quarter century, the culture wars morphed into a political
movement. The book documents how this movement, and its tireless
leadership, has successfully moved to gain political power and
increasingly impose its vision of Christian fundamentalism on American
society. As the author warns, “The rise of the religious right
should be cause for alarm among all who care about the future of
democracy in America.”
Until Donald Trump’s election in 2016, the religious right appeared
to be contained, its scope of struggle narrowed to two issues:
abortion and gay rights; however, his election renewed the religious
right’s moralist campaign, energizing conservatives of every stripe,
including antiabortionists and white nationalists.
When Trump and other top administration officials took office, they
pledged to fulfill the 2016 Republican Party’s platform that
asserted:
“Traditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man
and one woman, is the foundation for a free society and has for
millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural
values. We condemn the Supreme Court’s ruling in _United States v.
Windsor_, which wrongly removed the ability of Congress to define
marriage policy in federal law.”
Trump’s election occurred as Republicans controlled both Houses of
Congress and, once in office, he appointed two conservatives to the
Supreme Court—Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh—consolidating the
religious right’s control of the nation’s legal authority.
Compounding this situation, numerous members of Trump cabinet are
drawn from the religious right including Vice President Mike Pence and
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as well as Jay Sekulow, the
president’s counsel.
As Stewart documents, one important factor in Trump victory was the
activist role of the hardcore Christian nationalist movement. The
Christian nationalist movement,” she notes, “is far more organized
and better funded than most people realize.”
Going further, she warns, “It seeks to control all aspects of
government and society. Its successes have been stunning, and its
influence now extends to every aspect of American life, from the White
House to state capitols, from our schools to our hospitals.”
She details how the Christian right has effectively employed
a network of think tanks, advocacy groups, pastoral organizations,
and the fortunes of the very, very rich to achieve its power.
Steward is a journalist who anchors each chapter in a compelling story
of a distinct facet of the Christian nationalist movement. In one
chapter she visits Unionville, NC, to attend a seminar sponsored by
Watchmen on the Wall considering how to end the Johnson Amendment
restrictions on religious organizations endorsing political parties or
candidates.
In other chapters she provides in-depth analyses of key leaders of the
movement, including: Ralph Drollinger (who offers weekly Bible study
groups in the White House of officials); Paul Weyrich (who led the
antiabortion movement); Jim Domen (an ex-gay anti-gay activist who
leads Church United, a voter-outreach group); David Barton (proponent
of Project Blitz); and R. J. Rushdoony (who she calls “an
unacknowledged leader of the movement”). She also explores the role
of the religious right in the rise of the homeschooling movement and
how calls for “free speech” led to the erosion of the traditional
wall separating church and state.
This book suffers from two minor shortcomings. First, it offers no
statistical overview as to the size of the movement’s hardcore
believers. The author tracks the various—and sizable—fortunes that
underwrite it. She argues that Christian nationalism “is a militant
minority” and notes that “26 percent of the voting age
population” supported movement candidates in 2016. That year, the
voting age population (VAP) was 250 million people, so does this mean
that 65 million Americans are part of the Christian nationalist
movement? Second, the author presents Christian nationalism as a
populist, nonviolent movement, but doesn’t speculate about its
relation—if one exists—with other sectors of the radical rights
like white nationalists, neo-Nazis, or skinheads.
_The Power Worshippers_ should be read by all Americans who believe in
democracy and the separation of church and state, especially as the
2020 elections nears. As Katherine Stewart warns, Christian
nationalism is a movement that aims “to replace our foundational
democratic principles and institutions with a state grounded on a
particular version of Christianity . . . that also happens to serve
the interests of its plutocratic funders and allied political
leaders.”
David Rosen's most recent book is _Sex, Sin & Subversion: The
Transformation of 1950s New York's Forbidden into America's New
Normal_. His writing critically explores American History, public
policy, media technology and sexuality. His articles and book reviews
have appeared in such diverse venues as Salon, _Black Star News_,
_Brooklyn Rail_, Huffington Post, CounterPunch, _Sexuality and
Culture_, _The_ _Hollywood Reporter_, and others.
* Evangelical Christianity
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* the Christian right
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* the far right
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* Donald Trump
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* Trumpism
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* The Republican Party
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