The Christian Nationalist Taliban is as much of a threat to freedom today as the German National Socialist Party was to freedom in the 1930's and 40's.
Please correct me if I am wrong about this, Jess, but from your post, it sounds as though the church is the glue that is keeping the Regressive Party together and in power in red areas such as yours. I am reminded of the time I left a bottle of glue in the sunlight with the cap off. It didn't take long for it to dry up and become useless. I believe things can begin to change when truthtellers like you shine light on the political activities of churches. Eventually, the glue holding everything together for the Regressives will dry up and fall apart. Well, that's my hope, anyway.
That's what burns my ass the most: we are a secular country where no one religion is supposed to control us, but all these laws about abortion and book banning is caused by "Christian beliefs," and they should not have that power over us.
There will be riots about the election and I'm so glad I live in a vote by mail state, OR. Good luck and God bless to the rest of you.
Whatever happened to the Commandment, Thou Shall Not Bear False Witness? Telling parishioners that pharmacists and dentists will be performing abortions are such bald-faced lies that they need to be loudly called out!! And reprimanded. And debunked repeatedly. When the church (small c used here purposely) lies to advance a political agenda, you need to fight back HARD, and fight back DIRTY.
Religions are run by human beings and all human beings are fallible and therefore susceptible the deadly sins. I have no doubt that down in the ranks there are a lot of good people who guide people in a way Christ would approve, but there are also those who abuse their power over people.
Religions also have their own internal politics of which beneficial relationships with elites have played a major role since antiquity.
The elite (those at the top of the power & socioeconomic hierarchy - either locally or on a greater level) publicly accept & approve a religion and fund the religion. If they don’t like a religion, they have enough power and money to make life difficult for its leaders and members.
So religious leaders often show deference towards elites and offer preferential treatment such as best seating, ignoring their sins, and adopting the elites opinions about society into part of the religious beliefs which is a type of social engineering. For example, religions have long dictated women’s rolls in society, which people who are or are not acceptable, what a good or bad person looks like, etc.
Religions are treated by society as another kind of authority - so when an authority approves of something or someone, people will accept that something or someone. So when religious leaders show deference to elites, this psychologically elevates that elite as being “higher” than them. Higher in the eyes of Christ and higher in power and authority than them. A very good deal for elites. Power over people. So elites permit useful religions to survive.
People always fail to mention the religious connection to political upheaval. Changes in the political power structure are often accompanied by the rise in power of a religion. They approve each other which allows for greater acceptance by the people.
Religion was never supposed to be part of American government, but with the help of elites in politics, they’ve been chipping a way at it ever since.
I want us to back where every religious school, whether elementary, middle school, high school, and Christian college, has to self-fund their entire operation.
Last year I engaged a truck driver I knew was engaged in attendance of a conservative church, adoption of foster kids, and generally being a good community member. I asked him about a range of issues, which he responded to as any concerned citizen would. When he was done, I suggested that he was perfectly in line with Democratic policy, and that he should vote that way. This did not please him at all.
The fact is, conservative Christians were hijacked by the abortion issue. Ever since Roe, people have been hearing about “killing little babies” or “baby killers.” To the group, it’s the only issue.
Why register voters when you already have all the ones you can fool?
I have noticed the same thing. It is only abortion that is making most Rs I know be Rs. I wish Ds could see this and somehow explain that abortions aren’t (often) necessary with strong social supports - sex ed, birth control, anti-patriarchy policies, welfare support for families and children… pregnancy prevention, support during pregnancy, support for raising children… these are ways that abortion can be reduced. (Nothing to say of life-saving procedures, genetic anomalies, sexual violence… just the “normal” pregnancies that Rs are convinced are ending because of “selfish murders”)
Case in point: states with a six-week abortion ban have exceptions to save the mother's life on paper, but they deliberately intimidate doctors from providing post-miscarriage care using best practices. That sometimes involves a D&C, abortion or abortion inducing drugs to expel or remove any remnants not already expelled. Left alone, those women can become septic and possibly die.
For someone to understand the concept of anti-patriarchy policies, one would have to understand the underlying patriarchy that's woven into our society.
As a non Christian I want to believe that you are right, but alas I think abortion is only the safe thing that they can say out loud. I’m sorry, but I think fear of the other and fear that they will become the other is a large, if not the largest issue that is driving them.
I grew up in that sort of environment. My mother cried....literally...when I told her I was voting Democrat. Because babies. It was honestly a shock when I met my husband's family who were every bit the same amount of 'Christian' as my parents and found that they were staunchly DEMOCRAT because of their faith.
My Aunt voted for Republicans most of her life. I remember her opposition to the New Deal and subsequent policies. But as she neared 90, she began to understand what has happened to modern Republicans and actually contributed to Bill Clinton.
As a Brit living in the U.K. I can say that the U.S. obsession with religion is entirely alien to us. Despite having an established Church and bishops in our legislature religion plays a far smaller role in our politics than it does in the U.S. where church and state are constitutionally separate. I am absolutely not advocating that that separation should end but the interference by religion into US politics is clearly unhealthy. Easier said than done I fear.
It was very wrong, but easy for politicians and religious leaders to start mingling their ideas and moving them into our political realm. Many, if not most Americans, don't know that our pledge of allegiance never contained the words "one nation under God" until President Eisenhower and Congress added "under God" in 1954. It used to be simply "one nation with liberty and justice for all."
And most of us probably didn't know that Christians in America were not vehemently and publicly against women having abortions until the 1970s when Republicans decided they needed to create a larger base of voters. In search of those new voters, they deliberately started agitating Christians around that time, about how abortions were sinful and equivalent to murder.
So thanks to the Republican party, we were divided politically as a nation on the subject of abortions, several OBGYNs were shot and killed by fanatics who actually DID commit murder, women needing medical care at facilities known to offer abortions were harassed as they attempted to enter those facilities, many abortion clinics had to close for the safety of their employees and patients and the Republican Party happily reaped the rewards of that chaos and hate at the ballot box.
"In God we trust" also wasn't always on our currency. And I have to wonder if it was really coincidence that in 1970s that Republicans started trying to increase voter rolls by using abortion as an issue to help increase voter rolls.
As I understand the emergence of the “Pro-Life” agenda, it was a stalking horse for Jerry Falwell and his ilk. Their scheme was to co-opt Catholics and enlist them in a series of actions that would reinforce Falwell’s racism. Falwell and his ilk knew they couldn’t garner support for their racism, but, by targeting abortion, they could break off an element of the equal rights coalition.
The evidence is there. Buried in the thicket of history, the evidence is there. As is the political gaming of LGBTQ rights.
Yes. Jerry Falwell was definitely involved. I think it was also how the "Religious Right" came about and how the Republican party became the home of Evangelicals.
I have yet to find one anti-abortion person who doesn't have that opinion for any reason except religious beliefs. We are supposed to be secular, but here we are being controlled by religion. It infuriates me. Glad I live in Oregon
That’s interesting Jane. The two of my friends who I know have gone through abortion (one herself, the other by supporting her daughter through one), are both practicing Christians. Both were for health reasons, one physical the other mental, and neither would have met the extreme criteria required in US red states. I know of no-one, religious or not, who would criticise them - at least I hope not. Even though our abortion laws were relaxed in 1967 the spectre of the horrors of illegal abortions still loom large. That said a woman was very briefly sent to prison a year or so ago for administering a chemical abortion to herself outside the 20 week limit during the pandemic; an all female Court of Appeal squashed the sentence and released her. And an increasing number of women are being investigated for alleged abortion. crimes (it’s often not very clear what crime they are supposed to have committed) but they rarely come to anything. It’s not clear whether such investigations are motivated by religion or misogyny.
I should qualify that there is no 20 week limit. I misspoke - it is a 24 week limit effectively for abortion on demand. After that there is a range of medical and psychological exceptions. Apologies. I should not post in the middle of the night.
Precisely! Instead of driving home kindness and giving, too many churches drive in the direction of separation and fear. That works so well, of course in the fascist direction of the KKK and MAGA cults.
The strains of Christianity you highlight garner all the attention. In these political activities the people of these churches actually make Christianity appear a worthless, pointless, and simply laughably fabricated nothing. In a gospel that earthly power is permanent, that theirs is the only acceptable thought, that the weak and poor deserve what they are getting, that women are chattel, and that charity is only for themselves, they make a mockery of Jesus, whose name they would copyright for commercial use but whose words seem simply silly and out of touch to them.
Yes, Scott. What you so eloquently expressed is why these type of churches will eventually fail. They are untethered to reality and thus not authentic at all. Leaders of these churches are in a desperate last gasp of attempting to retain their power and control over their flocks. Beware their teachings, preachings and events may become more intense, frenzied and almost psychotic as they decline over time.
Say what? Evangelical churches aren’t “in a desperate last gasp,” they are the ONLY churches that are growing. This is what the people seem to want. All other types of traditional Christian denominations have been declining every year.
Not a decline in numbers but almost certainly a decline in humanity and in character. How many were “church leaders” were convicted or forced to step down for egregious acts this year?
It’s hard to put into words how sick these people are. It’s like a mental institution with the worst kind of dangerous psychopaths opened the doors. But this has been a joint effort with Putin & other foreign enemies who finally found a stooge to help collapse the US. This is a massive organization. But we are a massive part of this country and we have many people working just as hard against this. As another commenter wrote…we have a christian Taliban. They are just as ignorant and uninformed. Anything they are accused of, they project onto Democrats.
These churches ned to be reined in. They should not be received tax breaks that we pick up when they are being so obviously political. If there seems to be a serious violation of politics from the pulpit…check the ffrf.org site for FAQ regarding these violations. They do take on legal cases that truly violate IRS code. But it must be qualified first.
Yes, FFRF (Freedom From Religion Foundation) is a great organization. Strong state/church separation focus.. And four-star (top) Charity Navigator rating.
I've been telling everybody to complain to the IRS about churches violation of federal law under 501c3, but apparently the IRS just doesn't care. Anyway, here's the form if you'd like to fill it out and turn it in, please do!
Evangelical non demoninational church in upstate NY that we used to go to said, Democrats are not Christians.. We are Democrats and we no longer go there.
Pastors in Alabama have been stumping for Trump in their Sunday pulpits since 2016. My Aunt’s pastor asked everyone that was voting for Trump to raise their hands just prior to the 2020 election. It’s a small church with about 50 attendees every Sunday. She was the only one who didn’t raise her hand. She had failed at being a good Christian. She was devastated and inconsolable. Through her tears she told me she knew what the pastor implied about her was not true, but the shame and embarrassment were almost too much to bear. Afterwards, she wrote him a letter to which he never responded. She still attends this church, and is a better person than I am for it. I guess?
During this time, I was still grappling with my religious beliefs and watched many YouTube sermons aired by local churches. I know for a fact that my Aunt’s church was not alone in their nationalistic political endeavors. In fact, this was the last straw for me. The hate and hypocrisy of my Southern Baptist upbringing finally allowed me to be brave enough to admit the disbelief I have felt my entire life concerning an omnipotent and omnipresent entity who will send me to hell for swearing (which I do).
Alabama religion and politics is comparable to Missouri in so many ways. Republicans have been busy attempting to gerrymander and suppress votes in order to hold on to their power. No one really supports most of their policies here in Alabama either, but the Republicans have got God on their side. It’s a stronghold that the Democrats have not been able to overcome here either. Non-rural citizens will always struggle to understand why rural residents vote Republican. You have to live it to understand it and changing the conservative Christian mindset that has been held by so many past generations is almost impossible.
Those that have not had these experiences laugh when they hear, “You will go to hell if you vote Democrat.” For many in Alabama, hell is a very real place, and so is their belief that voting Democrat will send them there to burn for all eternity. This belief is so ingrained in them that it has become part of their genetic fabric. They pass it down to their children and their children’s children. The church dominated rural insularity lived by many here disallows individuality and critical thinking.
I have spent the last 9 years, since Trump first appeared on the political scene, trying to understand why rural residents continue to vote against their own self interests. Relationships have been strained or even destroyed with devastating disappointment felt on both sides. I am not who they thought I was, and they are not who I thought they were. The truth can really hurt, but it all comes down to the church, just like you talked about Jess. Not all churches are like this, but here in Alabama I would bet at least 90% have been stumping for Trump throughout these last elections.
So, here we are for the third time. Third times the charm, right?
My husband wore his 1973 T-shirt to dinner at Garozzo’s in KCMO last night, right next door to Holy Rosary Catholic Church. And as the church bells were tolling, a lady called out to him, “I like your shirt. Do you think we have a chance?”
Jess Piper: Your post gives such important insight into the vast majority who agree with us, even if they vote for Republicans.
These good persons, woman and man, deserve to have a responsible Republican Party, say, the Republican Party of Bob Dole, Jack Kemp, Colin Powell.
These women and men ALWAYS see eye to eye with us on the main issues.
But they are uncomfortable for cultural reasons with any tinge of the "liberal."
The cause for this lies in deep historical developments, which are too complex to outline here.
Point is: These are good folks, and they DESERVE responsible Republican leadership, as in the days of George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole and many sound, center-right statesmen.
The good people in Missouri think they are voting Republican in this heritage.
They are not comfortable with the "liberal," and they deserve Bob-Dole Statesmen to lead them in their self-perceived Conservatism.
These laymen want a conservative leader who represents their core values -- which for the laymen are values we can share.
Instead, they are cheated of such a responsible, Conservative, middle-right Party.
The absence of such a responsible Middle-Right voice in the national stage represents an existential threat to our Republic.
Responsible, conservative millions deserve leadership, and as long as no-one represents these Conservative, core values, the Right will launch neo-Fascist movements through Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
And since the neo-Fascist leaders are rich, they have resources to dictate policy to the Republicans.
There seems to be no movement in the Republican Party to nourish upcoming leaders to be in the mold of responsible, Conservative leaders in the mold of George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, Jack Kemp, and John McCain.
Bob Dole specifically proclaimed that bigotry had no place in the Republican Party, and at the 1996 Convention declared that for any bigots around the "Exit" signs were clearly marked at Convention Hall for these bigots to take to leave the convention.
What a CONTRAST with the Neo-Nazi race-baiting of Trump/Vance!
Bob Dole type Statesmanship represents the type of leadership, Conservative in principle, that these good people deserve.
These good people should not have to be forced in a voting-straitjacket, "liberal" -- a label they are uncomfortable with.
It is untenable to have only ONE responsible Political Party.
Kamala Harris must win this election.
But even with her victory, our job is only beginning, because MAGA must be destroyed, and the MAGA, neo-Fascist debris must be cleared to make space available for the rise of new leaders in the tradition of John McCain, Bob Dole, Jack Kemp and George H.W. Bush.
Until MAGA/Neo-Fascism is crushed, and until such responsible leaders arise within the Republican Party.
Our democracy, the Republic, cannot survive if we are always on pins and needles for the Democrats to win, because a win for the Republicans would plunge us in race-hatred.
That is not viable..
Kamala Harris must win.
But the Republicans must restore itself as the Party of a responsible, statesmanlike Middle-Right alliance of Moderates.
Until that happens, our Republic is in mortal danger.
You have solid core values coupled with empathy for neighbors.
Where a community has many people, there will be multiple viewpoints, which contribute to the value of dialogue.
But these people will have core values.
Women and men will want availability of good medical care.
They will want the children to be safe.
They expect a person to work reasonably hard to support her/his lifestyle.
But they expect that a worker receive a decent wage. And benefits.
They want their kids to have a good education in basic skills, reckoning, writing, reading.
They want public safety, and they want security of person and property.
They want stable communities.
They want persons to be able peaceably to be secular or of any religion.
They want an economy that promotes small business. They want sound agriculture to thrive.
They want well-stocked markets with reasonably priced staples.
They want women and girls, in particular, to be safe, and to have scientific and compassionate medical care in a safe, supportive environment.
They want persons -- black, white, Asian, Latino, Jewish -- to be able to live safely and without harassment.
You have shown deep insight into this, and I love how you frame your post.
The work you are doing is IMPORTANT, and we are your friends.
This platform has supported a growth among my friends, high on the list is YOU, that I would someday, when all is calm from politics, to meet over coffee and cookies . . .
Substack has its faults, but it supports a community of friends.
Your writing is excellent, and I thank you so much for sharing so deeply of yourself!
My state has a supermajority and does the same things you mention, Jess. The Dem Org isn't funding or promoting Gloria Johnson enough to defeat Marsha Blackburn or Jane George to defeat Tim Burchett. These two are republithugs who voted against funding FEMA; who supported government shutdown; who believe in tax cuts for the wealthy donors who keep them in office! 🤑🤑🤑 They are super proud of their own "values"and think all citizens here should be forced into those same "values".😵😵💫
I love Gloria. I had her on my podcast a year or so ago and have been on two Zoom calls with her in the last week. It’s outrageous that Marsha Blackburn has any support.
Living in Texas, I often wonder what the National Democratic Party is doing. It's easy to sit back and blame them for not helping us, so instead, we are working like crazy to register voters, voice other sides of the issue and flip seats. It's hard, hard work. But I am inspired by Jess Piper. Even if we don't accomplish all that we hope for, she has helped us understand that what we are doing is laying the ground work for success....so here is a big thank you Jess, for giving us the thought that what we are doing is worthwhile, even if we fail.
I've been inspired by her as well. At the beginning of the year I did not expect to be spending my weekends placing voter registration and verification information on hundreds of doors in my county, but it has been very satisfying. The Williamson County, TX, Democratic Party headquarters is doing good work.
Hey fellow Wilco resident!!! You’re doing good work out there! Wish I could help more, but I’m disabled so going door-to-door isn’t feasible for me. I have written postcards for Mothers Against Greg Abbott tho. I hope and pray that we can turn this country around. We have the numbers to vote ‘em out and keep ‘em out, but thx to all the gerrymandering and voter suppression goin on, I am worried. Sigh. I need a margarita. And a taco.
What Jess describes is well documented in recent books by Exvangelists , such as "Preparing for War" by Bradley Onishi. Traditional christianity has been corrupted and marginalized.
One only has to look at the six religious zealots on the corrupted Supreme Court to see the dangers of allowing religious power into our government.
Our forefathers must be spinning in their graves. To think they fled religious oppression to found this country upon the bedrock of separation from that very institution.
My one hope is that many youth are leaving the church. Hopefully the next generation will reassert that separation. (Or just take away their tax exempt status).
The Christian Nationalist Taliban is as much of a threat to freedom today as the German National Socialist Party was to freedom in the 1930's and 40's.
I heard someone refer to them as the Talibangelicals.
Exactly!
No Room in the Tomb for their Deadly Politics. The MAGA Cult is an Insane Runaway Train!
Please correct me if I am wrong about this, Jess, but from your post, it sounds as though the church is the glue that is keeping the Regressive Party together and in power in red areas such as yours. I am reminded of the time I left a bottle of glue in the sunlight with the cap off. It didn't take long for it to dry up and become useless. I believe things can begin to change when truthtellers like you shine light on the political activities of churches. Eventually, the glue holding everything together for the Regressives will dry up and fall apart. Well, that's my hope, anyway.
Yes. The church is definitely the glue.
Some churches need to have their tax exempt status taken from them.
Same with private schools and school vouchers.
Support your own churches and schools with your own private money!
That's what burns my ass the most: we are a secular country where no one religion is supposed to control us, but all these laws about abortion and book banning is caused by "Christian beliefs," and they should not have that power over us.
There will be riots about the election and I'm so glad I live in a vote by mail state, OR. Good luck and God bless to the rest of you.
All churches do!
Good analogy Norm! Yes, we have reason to believe that Good will triumph over Every Vance Idiotic Lament!!
Whatever happened to the Commandment, Thou Shall Not Bear False Witness? Telling parishioners that pharmacists and dentists will be performing abortions are such bald-faced lies that they need to be loudly called out!! And reprimanded. And debunked repeatedly. When the church (small c used here purposely) lies to advance a political agenda, you need to fight back HARD, and fight back DIRTY.
Religions are run by human beings and all human beings are fallible and therefore susceptible the deadly sins. I have no doubt that down in the ranks there are a lot of good people who guide people in a way Christ would approve, but there are also those who abuse their power over people.
Religions also have their own internal politics of which beneficial relationships with elites have played a major role since antiquity.
The elite (those at the top of the power & socioeconomic hierarchy - either locally or on a greater level) publicly accept & approve a religion and fund the religion. If they don’t like a religion, they have enough power and money to make life difficult for its leaders and members.
So religious leaders often show deference towards elites and offer preferential treatment such as best seating, ignoring their sins, and adopting the elites opinions about society into part of the religious beliefs which is a type of social engineering. For example, religions have long dictated women’s rolls in society, which people who are or are not acceptable, what a good or bad person looks like, etc.
Religions are treated by society as another kind of authority - so when an authority approves of something or someone, people will accept that something or someone. So when religious leaders show deference to elites, this psychologically elevates that elite as being “higher” than them. Higher in the eyes of Christ and higher in power and authority than them. A very good deal for elites. Power over people. So elites permit useful religions to survive.
People always fail to mention the religious connection to political upheaval. Changes in the political power structure are often accompanied by the rise in power of a religion. They approve each other which allows for greater acceptance by the people.
Religion was never supposed to be part of American government, but with the help of elites in politics, they’ve been chipping a way at it ever since.
In God We Trust.
I want us to back where every religious school, whether elementary, middle school, high school, and Christian college, has to self-fund their entire operation.
No more public money for them!!
Last year I engaged a truck driver I knew was engaged in attendance of a conservative church, adoption of foster kids, and generally being a good community member. I asked him about a range of issues, which he responded to as any concerned citizen would. When he was done, I suggested that he was perfectly in line with Democratic policy, and that he should vote that way. This did not please him at all.
The fact is, conservative Christians were hijacked by the abortion issue. Ever since Roe, people have been hearing about “killing little babies” or “baby killers.” To the group, it’s the only issue.
Why register voters when you already have all the ones you can fool?
I have noticed the same thing. It is only abortion that is making most Rs I know be Rs. I wish Ds could see this and somehow explain that abortions aren’t (often) necessary with strong social supports - sex ed, birth control, anti-patriarchy policies, welfare support for families and children… pregnancy prevention, support during pregnancy, support for raising children… these are ways that abortion can be reduced. (Nothing to say of life-saving procedures, genetic anomalies, sexual violence… just the “normal” pregnancies that Rs are convinced are ending because of “selfish murders”)
Anti-abortion activists rarely support medical care for expectant mothers or their young children.
Case in point: states with a six-week abortion ban have exceptions to save the mother's life on paper, but they deliberately intimidate doctors from providing post-miscarriage care using best practices. That sometimes involves a D&C, abortion or abortion inducing drugs to expel or remove any remnants not already expelled. Left alone, those women can become septic and possibly die.
For someone to understand the concept of anti-patriarchy policies, one would have to understand the underlying patriarchy that's woven into our society.
As a non Christian I want to believe that you are right, but alas I think abortion is only the safe thing that they can say out loud. I’m sorry, but I think fear of the other and fear that they will become the other is a large, if not the largest issue that is driving them.
Perhaps you are correct. After all, how can we know what people are thinking.
I grew up in that sort of environment. My mother cried....literally...when I told her I was voting Democrat. Because babies. It was honestly a shock when I met my husband's family who were every bit the same amount of 'Christian' as my parents and found that they were staunchly DEMOCRAT because of their faith.
My Aunt voted for Republicans most of her life. I remember her opposition to the New Deal and subsequent policies. But as she neared 90, she began to understand what has happened to modern Republicans and actually contributed to Bill Clinton.
We must quietly but decisively vote out this scourge of a broken Republican Party!
Why quietly?
Definitely decisively!
Unfortunately Gary, I wish quietly was possible; I think they go out kicking and screaming and trying to drag what's left of democracy with them!!
As a Brit living in the U.K. I can say that the U.S. obsession with religion is entirely alien to us. Despite having an established Church and bishops in our legislature religion plays a far smaller role in our politics than it does in the U.S. where church and state are constitutionally separate. I am absolutely not advocating that that separation should end but the interference by religion into US politics is clearly unhealthy. Easier said than done I fear.
It was very wrong, but easy for politicians and religious leaders to start mingling their ideas and moving them into our political realm. Many, if not most Americans, don't know that our pledge of allegiance never contained the words "one nation under God" until President Eisenhower and Congress added "under God" in 1954. It used to be simply "one nation with liberty and justice for all."
And most of us probably didn't know that Christians in America were not vehemently and publicly against women having abortions until the 1970s when Republicans decided they needed to create a larger base of voters. In search of those new voters, they deliberately started agitating Christians around that time, about how abortions were sinful and equivalent to murder.
So thanks to the Republican party, we were divided politically as a nation on the subject of abortions, several OBGYNs were shot and killed by fanatics who actually DID commit murder, women needing medical care at facilities known to offer abortions were harassed as they attempted to enter those facilities, many abortion clinics had to close for the safety of their employees and patients and the Republican Party happily reaped the rewards of that chaos and hate at the ballot box.
"In God we trust" also wasn't always on our currency. And I have to wonder if it was really coincidence that in 1970s that Republicans started trying to increase voter rolls by using abortion as an issue to help increase voter rolls.
As I understand the emergence of the “Pro-Life” agenda, it was a stalking horse for Jerry Falwell and his ilk. Their scheme was to co-opt Catholics and enlist them in a series of actions that would reinforce Falwell’s racism. Falwell and his ilk knew they couldn’t garner support for their racism, but, by targeting abortion, they could break off an element of the equal rights coalition.
The evidence is there. Buried in the thicket of history, the evidence is there. As is the political gaming of LGBTQ rights.
Yes. Jerry Falwell was definitely involved. I think it was also how the "Religious Right" came about and how the Republican party became the home of Evangelicals.
I have yet to find one anti-abortion person who doesn't have that opinion for any reason except religious beliefs. We are supposed to be secular, but here we are being controlled by religion. It infuriates me. Glad I live in Oregon
That’s interesting Jane. The two of my friends who I know have gone through abortion (one herself, the other by supporting her daughter through one), are both practicing Christians. Both were for health reasons, one physical the other mental, and neither would have met the extreme criteria required in US red states. I know of no-one, religious or not, who would criticise them - at least I hope not. Even though our abortion laws were relaxed in 1967 the spectre of the horrors of illegal abortions still loom large. That said a woman was very briefly sent to prison a year or so ago for administering a chemical abortion to herself outside the 20 week limit during the pandemic; an all female Court of Appeal squashed the sentence and released her. And an increasing number of women are being investigated for alleged abortion. crimes (it’s often not very clear what crime they are supposed to have committed) but they rarely come to anything. It’s not clear whether such investigations are motivated by religion or misogyny.
I should qualify that there is no 20 week limit. I misspoke - it is a 24 week limit effectively for abortion on demand. After that there is a range of medical and psychological exceptions. Apologies. I should not post in the middle of the night.
Precisely! Instead of driving home kindness and giving, too many churches drive in the direction of separation and fear. That works so well, of course in the fascist direction of the KKK and MAGA cults.
The strains of Christianity you highlight garner all the attention. In these political activities the people of these churches actually make Christianity appear a worthless, pointless, and simply laughably fabricated nothing. In a gospel that earthly power is permanent, that theirs is the only acceptable thought, that the weak and poor deserve what they are getting, that women are chattel, and that charity is only for themselves, they make a mockery of Jesus, whose name they would copyright for commercial use but whose words seem simply silly and out of touch to them.
Yes, Scott. What you so eloquently expressed is why these type of churches will eventually fail. They are untethered to reality and thus not authentic at all. Leaders of these churches are in a desperate last gasp of attempting to retain their power and control over their flocks. Beware their teachings, preachings and events may become more intense, frenzied and almost psychotic as they decline over time.
Say what? Evangelical churches aren’t “in a desperate last gasp,” they are the ONLY churches that are growing. This is what the people seem to want. All other types of traditional Christian denominations have been declining every year.
Not a decline in numbers but almost certainly a decline in humanity and in character. How many were “church leaders” were convicted or forced to step down for egregious acts this year?
Yes, Scott!
They would be dressed as Pharisees in Jesus’ time!!
It’s hard to put into words how sick these people are. It’s like a mental institution with the worst kind of dangerous psychopaths opened the doors. But this has been a joint effort with Putin & other foreign enemies who finally found a stooge to help collapse the US. This is a massive organization. But we are a massive part of this country and we have many people working just as hard against this. As another commenter wrote…we have a christian Taliban. They are just as ignorant and uninformed. Anything they are accused of, they project onto Democrats.
These churches ned to be reined in. They should not be received tax breaks that we pick up when they are being so obviously political. If there seems to be a serious violation of politics from the pulpit…check the ffrf.org site for FAQ regarding these violations. They do take on legal cases that truly violate IRS code. But it must be qualified first.
Yes, FFRF (Freedom From Religion Foundation) is a great organization. Strong state/church separation focus.. And four-star (top) Charity Navigator rating.
I've been telling everybody to complain to the IRS about churches violation of federal law under 501c3, but apparently the IRS just doesn't care. Anyway, here's the form if you'd like to fill it out and turn it in, please do!
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f13909.pdf
Evangelical non demoninational church in upstate NY that we used to go to said, Democrats are not Christians.. We are Democrats and we no longer go there.
Really!! Yup, it really does take a zombie to justify this stuff as leaders!!
100% Vote Blue - keep America - it’s up to U
100% Vote Blue - Save America - It’s up to U!
Cheer from Coast-to-Coast or we’re Toast!
Pastors in Alabama have been stumping for Trump in their Sunday pulpits since 2016. My Aunt’s pastor asked everyone that was voting for Trump to raise their hands just prior to the 2020 election. It’s a small church with about 50 attendees every Sunday. She was the only one who didn’t raise her hand. She had failed at being a good Christian. She was devastated and inconsolable. Through her tears she told me she knew what the pastor implied about her was not true, but the shame and embarrassment were almost too much to bear. Afterwards, she wrote him a letter to which he never responded. She still attends this church, and is a better person than I am for it. I guess?
During this time, I was still grappling with my religious beliefs and watched many YouTube sermons aired by local churches. I know for a fact that my Aunt’s church was not alone in their nationalistic political endeavors. In fact, this was the last straw for me. The hate and hypocrisy of my Southern Baptist upbringing finally allowed me to be brave enough to admit the disbelief I have felt my entire life concerning an omnipotent and omnipresent entity who will send me to hell for swearing (which I do).
Alabama religion and politics is comparable to Missouri in so many ways. Republicans have been busy attempting to gerrymander and suppress votes in order to hold on to their power. No one really supports most of their policies here in Alabama either, but the Republicans have got God on their side. It’s a stronghold that the Democrats have not been able to overcome here either. Non-rural citizens will always struggle to understand why rural residents vote Republican. You have to live it to understand it and changing the conservative Christian mindset that has been held by so many past generations is almost impossible.
Those that have not had these experiences laugh when they hear, “You will go to hell if you vote Democrat.” For many in Alabama, hell is a very real place, and so is their belief that voting Democrat will send them there to burn for all eternity. This belief is so ingrained in them that it has become part of their genetic fabric. They pass it down to their children and their children’s children. The church dominated rural insularity lived by many here disallows individuality and critical thinking.
I have spent the last 9 years, since Trump first appeared on the political scene, trying to understand why rural residents continue to vote against their own self interests. Relationships have been strained or even destroyed with devastating disappointment felt on both sides. I am not who they thought I was, and they are not who I thought they were. The truth can really hurt, but it all comes down to the church, just like you talked about Jess. Not all churches are like this, but here in Alabama I would bet at least 90% have been stumping for Trump throughout these last elections.
So, here we are for the third time. Third times the charm, right?
Solidarity, friend. I hope the third time is the charm.
My husband wore his 1973 T-shirt to dinner at Garozzo’s in KCMO last night, right next door to Holy Rosary Catholic Church. And as the church bells were tolling, a lady called out to him, “I like your shirt. Do you think we have a chance?”
He answered, “yes!”
Jess Piper: Your post gives such important insight into the vast majority who agree with us, even if they vote for Republicans.
These good persons, woman and man, deserve to have a responsible Republican Party, say, the Republican Party of Bob Dole, Jack Kemp, Colin Powell.
These women and men ALWAYS see eye to eye with us on the main issues.
But they are uncomfortable for cultural reasons with any tinge of the "liberal."
The cause for this lies in deep historical developments, which are too complex to outline here.
Point is: These are good folks, and they DESERVE responsible Republican leadership, as in the days of George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole and many sound, center-right statesmen.
The good people in Missouri think they are voting Republican in this heritage.
They are not comfortable with the "liberal," and they deserve Bob-Dole Statesmen to lead them in their self-perceived Conservatism.
These laymen want a conservative leader who represents their core values -- which for the laymen are values we can share.
Instead, they are cheated of such a responsible, Conservative, middle-right Party.
The absence of such a responsible Middle-Right voice in the national stage represents an existential threat to our Republic.
Responsible, conservative millions deserve leadership, and as long as no-one represents these Conservative, core values, the Right will launch neo-Fascist movements through Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
And since the neo-Fascist leaders are rich, they have resources to dictate policy to the Republicans.
There seems to be no movement in the Republican Party to nourish upcoming leaders to be in the mold of responsible, Conservative leaders in the mold of George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, Jack Kemp, and John McCain.
Bob Dole specifically proclaimed that bigotry had no place in the Republican Party, and at the 1996 Convention declared that for any bigots around the "Exit" signs were clearly marked at Convention Hall for these bigots to take to leave the convention.
What a CONTRAST with the Neo-Nazi race-baiting of Trump/Vance!
Bob Dole type Statesmanship represents the type of leadership, Conservative in principle, that these good people deserve.
These good people should not have to be forced in a voting-straitjacket, "liberal" -- a label they are uncomfortable with.
It is untenable to have only ONE responsible Political Party.
Kamala Harris must win this election.
But even with her victory, our job is only beginning, because MAGA must be destroyed, and the MAGA, neo-Fascist debris must be cleared to make space available for the rise of new leaders in the tradition of John McCain, Bob Dole, Jack Kemp and George H.W. Bush.
Until MAGA/Neo-Fascism is crushed, and until such responsible leaders arise within the Republican Party.
Our democracy, the Republic, cannot survive if we are always on pins and needles for the Democrats to win, because a win for the Republicans would plunge us in race-hatred.
That is not viable..
Kamala Harris must win.
But the Republicans must restore itself as the Party of a responsible, statesmanlike Middle-Right alliance of Moderates.
Until that happens, our Republic is in mortal danger.
Agreed! All of it.
Jess Piper: That is clear from your writing.
Your column presents invaluable information.
You have solid core values coupled with empathy for neighbors.
Where a community has many people, there will be multiple viewpoints, which contribute to the value of dialogue.
But these people will have core values.
Women and men will want availability of good medical care.
They will want the children to be safe.
They expect a person to work reasonably hard to support her/his lifestyle.
But they expect that a worker receive a decent wage. And benefits.
They want their kids to have a good education in basic skills, reckoning, writing, reading.
They want public safety, and they want security of person and property.
They want stable communities.
They want persons to be able peaceably to be secular or of any religion.
They want an economy that promotes small business. They want sound agriculture to thrive.
They want well-stocked markets with reasonably priced staples.
They want women and girls, in particular, to be safe, and to have scientific and compassionate medical care in a safe, supportive environment.
They want persons -- black, white, Asian, Latino, Jewish -- to be able to live safely and without harassment.
You have shown deep insight into this, and I love how you frame your post.
The work you are doing is IMPORTANT, and we are your friends.
This platform has supported a growth among my friends, high on the list is YOU, that I would someday, when all is calm from politics, to meet over coffee and cookies . . .
Substack has its faults, but it supports a community of friends.
Your writing is excellent, and I thank you so much for sharing so deeply of yourself!
My state has a supermajority and does the same things you mention, Jess. The Dem Org isn't funding or promoting Gloria Johnson enough to defeat Marsha Blackburn or Jane George to defeat Tim Burchett. These two are republithugs who voted against funding FEMA; who supported government shutdown; who believe in tax cuts for the wealthy donors who keep them in office! 🤑🤑🤑 They are super proud of their own "values"and think all citizens here should be forced into those same "values".😵😵💫
VOTE BLUE 💙 🗳 🇺🇲
I love Gloria. I had her on my podcast a year or so ago and have been on two Zoom calls with her in the last week. It’s outrageous that Marsha Blackburn has any support.
I listened to it and shared it with like-minded folks. Thank you for recognizing her strengths!💕👏🗳💙
Living in Texas, I often wonder what the National Democratic Party is doing. It's easy to sit back and blame them for not helping us, so instead, we are working like crazy to register voters, voice other sides of the issue and flip seats. It's hard, hard work. But I am inspired by Jess Piper. Even if we don't accomplish all that we hope for, she has helped us understand that what we are doing is laying the ground work for success....so here is a big thank you Jess, for giving us the thought that what we are doing is worthwhile, even if we fail.
I've been inspired by her as well. At the beginning of the year I did not expect to be spending my weekends placing voter registration and verification information on hundreds of doors in my county, but it has been very satisfying. The Williamson County, TX, Democratic Party headquarters is doing good work.
Hey fellow Wilco resident!!! You’re doing good work out there! Wish I could help more, but I’m disabled so going door-to-door isn’t feasible for me. I have written postcards for Mothers Against Greg Abbott tho. I hope and pray that we can turn this country around. We have the numbers to vote ‘em out and keep ‘em out, but thx to all the gerrymandering and voter suppression goin on, I am worried. Sigh. I need a margarita. And a taco.
I know what you mean, RRMother. I hope you get that marg & taco! 🙂
It's gratifying to feel like you're doing something, right?
For sure.
👏👏👏💕💕💕💙💙💙🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
Has anyone seen a picture of Trump in church? He goes to the church of the heavenly golf course on Sundays!
I saw an AI rendering of him kneeling in church! He had 6 fingers, so you could tell it was fake! Also, he was in church, kneeling 🤣😳
Of course. Lol Ol’ six fingered trump!
What Jess describes is well documented in recent books by Exvangelists , such as "Preparing for War" by Bradley Onishi. Traditional christianity has been corrupted and marginalized.
One only has to look at the six religious zealots on the corrupted Supreme Court to see the dangers of allowing religious power into our government.
Our forefathers must be spinning in their graves. To think they fled religious oppression to found this country upon the bedrock of separation from that very institution.
My one hope is that many youth are leaving the church. Hopefully the next generation will reassert that separation. (Or just take away their tax exempt status).