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Christian nationalism is coming for you

Guest Opinion//March 2, 2021//

Christian nationalism is coming for you

Guest Opinion//March 2, 2021//

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Project Blitz was a blitzkrieg by Christian nationalists to bombard the states with legislation granting outsized power to their beliefs.  In October 2019, Project Blitz was renamed.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Blitz

One of the main architects of this political movement is our very own misnamed Alliance Defending Freedom headquartered in Scottsdale.

Katherine Stewart investigates this movement and said in The Power Worshippers, it’s not about Christianity at all; it’s about power.  The total submission of women is a main theme hence the attacks on women’s reproductive health care and choices.  They don’t believe in Covid masks for themselves because “my body, my choice” but they don’t apply that same “freedom” to women who want to control their bodies. They believe preachers should be able to preach politics from the pulpit but doctors cannot tell women accurate, scientific health information in the privacy of their own offices.

Their 20-year court packing scheme has resulted in decisions that imprint Christianity in society as privileged, and they use the court system to create exceptions for them. The recent decisions allowing churches to violate public safety standards and continue spreading Covid is a clear example.  Now our state legislators want to enshrine that favoritism in law with HB2648.  The bill passed the House 38-22 with seven Democrats voting with the Republican majority. Exemptions from the law for “sincerely held religious beliefs” are simply code to be able to discriminate. Religious doctrine said that it was permissible for one people to enslave another, that the races could not intermarry, and that a certain race could not join the church. The court has declined to question these so those called “beliefs.”  Religious freedom to the Christian nationalists means privilege for those with the “right” religion.  To claim they want neutrality is a farce when one sect already has a leg up.

Lawyer Andrew Seidel says in The Founding Myth:  Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American  that the efforts of Christian nationalists to destroy the wall of separation between church and state is traitorous. The contradictions, hypocrisy, and myths of the Bible are illustrated along with biblical violence, sexual abuse, and genocide.  Seidel’s comparison of the 10 Commandments to the 10 Amendments is brilliant.  He also exposes the truth about our “national mottos” none of which have anything to do with our founding.

Dianne Post (Photo by Martha Lochert)
Dianne Post (Photo by Martha Lochert)

Nearly 100  voter suppression bills have been introduced in Arizona alone. Christian nationalists know they can get their voters out so they want to prevent others from doing the same.  Voting attacks include registration, mail-in-ballots, identification, signatures and more. Many of the arguments are based on conspiracy myths that have been repeatedly proven false.

Public education is one of the targets because they claim public schools are too secular but it’s really about segregation just as it was in the 1960s. What they really want is to get their hands on the money that goes to public schools. The legislature refuses common sense, age-appropriate sex education. But without sex education, 11-year-old boys are the prime target for online pornography.

Anti-abortion bills attack mythical problems and though the medical practitioner’s oath requires them to consider the health of the patient first, they are being told they can ignore that to focus on myths and dogma while still receiving taxpayer money.  One “pro-life” bill would give the death penalty to two people – the mother and the doctor – for the sake of a zygote. Another bill gives zygotes full citizenship rights – more rights than the woman.  With that reasoning, a pregnant woman should vote twice as she must also vote for the zygote.

Rather than focusing on reducing the spread of Covid and recovering from the devastation, the Legislature proclaims it’s over and aids companies that treat their employees irresponsibly.  They also attack the LGBT community and are trying to reinsert the pledge and prayer into schools thus, violating the Constitution.

Ruth Hurmence Green, the late atheist who wrote “The Born Again Skeptic’s Guide to the Bible” said: “There was a time when religion ruled the world. It is known as the Dark Ages.”  America is special not because we are a chosen people, but because we did not organize a government based on religion. The countries that are based on religion – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan – are notorious for their violations of human rights, violence toward women, and silencing of those who disagree. Christian nationalism fueled the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.  We must not underestimate its danger to our democracy.

Dianne Post is legal director for Secular Coalition for Arizona.