In an angry rant, Dreher accuses me of being “smug and naive” when talking about the crosses that marriage equality opponents have to bear under the “new McCarthyism”: It’s very, very easy for the self-employed Andrew, who is on the power-holding side of this cultural equation, to demean as “delicate and insensitive” people who face real and … Continue reading The Christianist Closet?
A reader writes: I think you and Dreher are missing something here. You are assuming that the Moral Mondays people are just now deciding to take a Christian message into politics, but that’s not what is happening. Their religion has always been in their politics. These liberal Christians are just adjusting their language for a … Continue reading Christianists On The Left? Ctd
Say what? Catholics please explain this to @thebrodyfile . Evangelicals are NOT kosher with this http://t.co/ELFfyRXCpE — David Brody (@TheBrodyFile) September 12, 2013 The invaluable McKay Coppins – that rare political reporter who understands people of faith – homes in on another aspect of the phenomenon I noted yesterday: the impact of Pope Francis on … Continue reading The Decline And Fall Of Christianism, Ctd
The fusion of politics and religion – most prominently the fusion of the evangelical movement and the Republican party – has been one of the most damaging developments in recent American history. It has made Republicanism not the creed of realists, pragmatists and compromise but of fundamentalists – on social and foreign policy, and even … Continue reading The Decline And Fall Of Christianism
[Re-posted from earlier today.] Last week, as regular readers know, I went to the University of Idaho to debate whether civil marriage equality was good or bad for society as a whole. My interlocutor was and is a fundamentalist, a believer in Biblical morality, and a very hospitable and gracious host. I had dinner with … Continue reading The Political Dead-End Of Christianism
Many evangelicals loathe my use of the word Christianism, rather than Christianity, to describe the fusion of political power and religion to police the moral lives of others. They recoil at the echo of Islamism – although we know many Islamist parties, as in Turkey or Indonesia, that do not engage in terrorism, but merely … Continue reading Christianism Watch
“Hurricane Sandy is hitting 21 years to the day of the Perfect Storm of October 20, 1991. I write about this in my book as America Has Done to Israel. This was the day that President George Bush Sr. initiated the Madrid Peace Process to divide the land of Israel, including Jerusalem. America has been … Continue reading Christianism Watch
"Not to shun Mormons, but they teach that Jesus was a man exactly like you or me and that men can become gods. We have traditionally been a Christian nation, and God has blessed us because of that. And now we're going to hand the reins over to a Mormon?" – Ed Seyler, an undecided … Continue reading When Christianism Bites Back
The WSJ profiles Houston billionaire Harold Simmons, the 2012 election's biggest benefactor, who calls Obama "the most dangerous American alive … because he would eliminate free enterprise in this country." Simmons is also pro-choice. Alex Burns wonders if Republican business interests could hurt Christianism's grip on the party:
Emails continue to flood in over the Broncos QB. A reader writes:
I've been following the recent series of posts on Tim Tebow, but I find it curious that the subject of his eye black hasn't yet been raised yet. While in college at Florida, Tebow drew a lot of attention for using it to display Bible verses. Tebow was drafted into the NFL in 2010, but just one week before he joined the Broncos, the NCAA approved a new rule banning the use of eye black that contained symbols or messages. (In my opinion, that may have been one of the few things the NCAA's done right during the past few years…)
Another is more direct:
There is absolutely zero reason to display Scripture on your face if you are only interested in connecting to God. There is a good reason for doing it if you want the cameras to take a picture of your religiosity.
But another asks:
What do any of Tebow's actions have to do with Christianism?
The Dish 