Religious Nationalism: A Pandemic Within The USA Going Unnoticed

"Author and journalist Katherine Stewart joins us today to discuss her reporting on religious nationalism, as well as the organization and structure behind these efforts, and what we can do in the face of it all.

"Be sure to check out the recent film God and Country which is based on her 2020 book, The Power Worshippers!"

Click on the link below for a podcast that interviewed a true expert on the matter:

God and Country with Katherine Stewart

An Evangelical Pastor Helps In Getting Democratic Party Votes

"Our guest this week recently traveled down to the border to confront the so-called “Army of God” as part of a larger project of providing alternative ideologies to Christian nationalism. Doug Pagitt is a pastor, author and the executive director of Vote Common Good, an organization aimed at influencing evangelical Christians. His group has been on a nationwide tour focused on directly engaging evangelicals in key swing states with the hope of swaying a critical percentage of them against former President Donald Trump. Pagitt believes a small portion of these voters are swayable and that if they are engaged, election outcomes can be flipped. He joins WITHpod to discuss the trajectory of evangelical politics, what he’s learned on tour, and what’s at stake in this year’s election."

Click on the link below for an hour podcast that delves into what one evangelical pastor is doing in an attempt to get fellow evangelicals who are wavering over Trump/MAGA to see enough reality regarding the 2024 vote to do the right thing:

Confronting Christian Nationalism From Within

Christian Nationalists: A Wide Demographic

"Based on a substantial survey of 22,000 adults from across the country, new polling from the Public Religion Research Institute on Christian nationalism confirms that Christian nationalism is strongly linked to voting for Republicans, higher church attendance and white evangelical Protestant affiliation. But not for everybody. The poll finds that a substantial percentage of Black and Hispanic Americans are Christian nationalists. It also finds that Black people who identify as Christian nationalists diverge politically from their white and Hispanic counterparts."

Click on the link below for more:

Meet the Christian Nationalist voter

A History Of US Christian Nationalism

"In the United States, theocracy and authoritarianism go hand in hand."

"The framers of the Constitution quite deliberately excluded religion from the U.S. Constitution. - - - "

"In order to make sure men had the right of conscience, the framers added the First Amendment to the Constitution. It read: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….' "

"In the early years of the nation, Americans zealously guarded the wall between the two. They strictly limited the power of the federal government to reflect religion, refusing even to permit the government to stop delivery of the U.S. mails on Sunday out of concern that Jews and Christians did not share the same Sabbath, and the government could not choose one over the other. The Constitution, a congressional report noted, gave Congress no authority 'to inquire and determine what part of time, or whether any has been set apart by the Almighty for religious exercises.'"

"But the Civil War marked a change. As early as the 1830s, southern white enslavers relied on religious justification for their hierarchical system that rested on white supremacy. God, they argued, had made Black Americans for enslavement and women for marriage, and society must recognize those facts."

"The Confederacy rejected the idea of popular government, maintaining instead that a few Americans should make the rules for the majority. - - - "

"Confederates not only invoked 'the favor and guidance of Almighty God' in their Constitution, they established as their motto 'Deo vindice,' or 'God will vindicate.'"

Click on the link below for more:

Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American - February 22, 2024

Christian Nationalism: The Death Of The USA?

"So, a high-ranking Republican speaks to a secretive Christian Nationalist conference…no big deal, right? Unless the person is 2nd in line for the Oval after the VP…are you hearing warning bells yet?"

Click on the link below for a concise but deep dive into the greatest threat to the representative democracy of the USA. The country is acting like the frogs in a slowly boiling pot!! Wake up and

VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO!!:

Will the GOP’s Self-proclaimed “Moses” lead the destruction?

Ponder the courage of the Founding Fathers when they fought against religious factions that wanted another Christian theocracy based on THEIR brand of such.

The Coup Is Complete

Last night, the Republican Party was finally totally hijacked by the Trump/Christian Nationalist wing. Against the hope that the majority of Republicans would prevail over the radical minority in the vote for House Speaker, they UNANAMIOUSLY chose the worst of the worst of them, Mike Johnson.

In light of the above, the rest of the USA will be watching with much fear and trepidation for the Republican Party's attempt to fully control all branches and levels of government:

• "Red Caesar and Project 2025: A fascist fever dream being given a vaguely respectable coat of paint by the Claremont Institute and the Heritage Foundation paving the way for an unconstrained, lawless, authoritarian Republican president."

• Wikipedia: Project 2025

The Elements Behind Theocratic Dictatorships

"Today, we compare the far-right religious extremists who are fighting to gain power in the US with the protests against the theocratic regime in Iran supporting women's rights in the country."

Click on the link below for a podcast presenting the dangers and realities of theocratic government using the USA and Iran as examples:

How Theocracies Begin And End

Nationalism Is A Bastardization Of Patriotism

"Nationalism is dangerous. There is nothing wrong with being patriotic, but Americans often forget, or may not even be aware of, how quickly enthusiastic patriotism can devolve into nationalism. Patriotism and nationalism are often used interchangeably, but they are very different. Patriotism is love and pride for one’s nation, while nationalism is the idea of the superiority of one’s culture, government, people, and nation over others."

Click on the link below for a brief, succinct, and thorough article describing this disease that is ravaging the US:

Nationalism is Dangerous

For a scholarly article looking at the history of society's evolution and coherence, click here.

Is THIS At The Root Of The Evil?

It is no secret that the Republican party has gone full bore into nationalism, unsupported Christian dogma, attacking non-binary sexuality, misogyny, racism, libertarianism, autocracy, anti-education, anti-US Constitution, and general magical thinking over science-based thinking. Is there one ideology at the base of it all? Click on the link below for a short podcast presenting a provocative point of view on the matter:

It's Always the Season For Male Supremacy

Christian Nationalism

"Christian nationalism is Christianity-affiliated religious nationalism. Christian nationalists primarily focus on internal politics, such as passing laws that reflect their view of Christianity and its role in political and social life. In countries with a state Church, Christian nationalists, in seeking to preserve the status of a Christian state, uphold an antidisestablishmentarian position.^[1][2][3] They actively promote religious (Christian) and nationalistic discourses in various fields of social life, from politics and history, to culture and science. In Europe and the United States, Christian nationalism ranges from conservative to far right-wing."  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_nationalism

One of the major reasons why the USA has Donald J Trump as its POTUS is the activity of a virulent subset of Christianity called "Christian Nationalism." Below are links to a few articles pertaining to this radical movement that is extremely dangerous to the democratic ideals and Constitution of the USA:

https://www.bestoftheleft.com/_1286_the_rise_of_christian_nationalism

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/03/bill-dallas-christian-nationalist-right-donald-trump

https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/mike-pence-will-be-the-most-powerful-christian-supremacist-in-us-history/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sBiOlHTUM8