What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority; in many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberty of the people. Rulers who wish to subvert the public liberty may have found an established clergy convenient allies.
--James Madison, 1785 (Memorial and Remonstranc addressed to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia)

FUNDAMENTALISTS

That's their goal. To that end, they have mobilized themselves politically, becoming a highly disciplined reactionary voting bloc that has definitely come to dominate the GOP, and which has come to characterize what people think when they hear the word "Christian." They are firmly committed to working within the system, but also want to take it over and roll the clock back, way back. 1950s? 1850s? 1750s? Many of them speak venmously about the Enlightenment itself, so who knows how far back they really want to go; perhaps to a pre-democratic cultural "ideal."

They are working on a variety of levels: at the Federal level, influencing Congress and the Presidency, and, wherever possible, the Judiciary. At the state and local levels, influencing state legislatures, and also putting their people on school boards to affect school policy (the Kansas school system's abortive anti-evolution policy was an example of a fundamentalist initiative).

They have a committed youth corps of fundamentalists, who work to prosyletize and have prayer groups in schools. There are foundations that bankroll efforts to press lawsuits meant to build precedent to undermine the Church/State barrier. There are mass rallies meant to network and mobilize followers. There are also colleges to teach the next generation of fundamentalist politicians. It goes way beyond the Campus Crusade for Christ anymore. The abstinence ("have sex and you'll explode") movement among youths is yet another of their agendas, although they've been careful not to make it seem they're deeply involved in it. They've also worked to gut sex education in the schools, including discussion of birth control.

It is a many-headed beast, this fundamentalist movement, and I mean to explore it in depth on this page (over time), so that you can be more aware of it.

STRONG AND WEAK CHURCHES

But the authoritarian nature of fundamentalist doctrine and practice is also touted as a factor in their success by some of their numbers, as excerpted from pp. 134-35 of "Stealing Jesus":

"Several observers have sought to explain why those [fundamentalist] churches grew while mainline churches shrank....[c]onclusions are almost identical: As [Dean M.] Kelley sums it up, strong churches tend to demand doctrinal absolutism ("we have the Truth and all others are in error"), behavioral conformity, unquestioning obedience, group solidarity and commitment, and a zeal to convert (but remain separate from) an evil and error-ridden world. Weak churches, meanwhile, respect diversity and individuality, encourage critical inquiry and dialogue with outsiders, and are characterized by indecision, laxity, indifference to evangelism, and a tendency to keep one's spiritual experience and insight to onself....'Religious organizations...are stronger to the degree that they impose significant costs in terms of sacrifice and even stigma upon their members.' What makes for a strong church, then, is a strong framework -- one that makes people feel safe and special, that provides unambiguous answers to all th They see authoritarianism as a vital aspect of their manipulative creed. Their very existence depends on the massive influence of charismatic leaders and the mute and blind faith of their congregations.

SO WHAT?

1. They are hypocrites, a reactionary political movement masquerading as a religious movement (as a means of avoiding taxes); they embrace a false Christianity, nationalism, and capitalism -- those are the three components of their belief, merged into a whole, under the aegis of neo-Calvinist doctrine.

2. They practice a hateful form of "Christianity" that emphasizes fear, superstition, apocalyptic visions, thoughtlessness, conformity -- a "Christianity" that is all about hellfire and brimstone and nothing about Christian love or helping one another. They simply seek conversion of the nonbeliever, without concerning themselves with actual good works. They have twisted and altered the Bible to fit their reactionary agenda, to the detriment of other Christians everywhere. They have wedded their cynical, hateful faith to money, and put that money to work in their effort to dominate society.

3. They are waging an ongoing "culture war" against civil society, on a variety of fronts, with the sole intention of eliminating secularism and science from society in place of absolutist fundamentalist Biblical doctrine. They are doing this in the media (television, radio, newspapers, magazines), in government (by way of overt and covert lobbies and pressure groups and by using churches as fronts for political activity), and in schools (through school prayer movements, abstinence, school church groups).

4. They are not content to live within their own community (say, as the Amish and the Hatcherites do), by their own rules; rather, they seek to take over American society and make the rest of us live by their absolutist creed.

5. They are crusaders, utterly convinced of their righteousness and the righteousness of their cause; this is devastating in a diverse society, which means they will create considerable conflict by their firm belief in their righteousness (and of the innate sinfulness of everybody who is not like them).

6. They are enemies of all who are not them -- they think everybody who is not of their movement are either non-Christian (this includes anybody who's a Christian of another stripe) and/or tools of Satan (you know, like secular humanists, godless communists, rabid anarchists, feminists, etc.)

7. They are going after your children. The movement recognizes the necessity of indoctrinating children, so they work tirelessly to bring their fundamentalist Christian values straight into the classroom (while they pull their own children out and homeschool them!). They are hard at work hamstringing school boards to gut science programs with their religious propaganda.

8. They are vigorously proselytizing to the Third World, particularly Africa, but also in Latin America and Asia. They are increasingly visible abroad and are making strides in converting people in these countries, threatening their indigenous cultures with their harsh fundamentalist ideology and "Dominion Theology."

PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!