"The desponding view that the condition of man cannot be ameliorated, that what has been must ever be, and that to secure ourselves where we are, we must tread with awful reverence in the footsteps of our fathers... This doctrine is the genuine fruit of the alliance between Church and State; the tenants of which, finding themselves but too well in their present condition, oppose all advances which might unmask their usurpations, and monopolies of honors, wealth, and power, and fear every change, as endangering the comforts they now hold." -- Thomas Jefferson

"Saudi Arabia and the United States are surprisingly similar in their mixture of religion, politics and interference in other countries’ affairs. Saudi Arabia has Wahhabi Islam, Middle America has evangelical Christianity. Historically, they hate each other. Yet both see themselves as exponents of the purest version of their faith. Both are suspicious of modernity. Both see no distinction between politics and religion.” -- Christina Odone, Faith Invaders, April 18, 2005, New Statesman

15. America's Emerging Religious War

Not long ago in my small town in the Gothic South, a high school version of "Little Shop of Horrors" was closed down after a few angry parents charged that the Lord's name had been taken in vain. Somewhere in the play were the offending words: "God Damn." The student actors were devastated, but the educational message was crystal clear. The Constitution matters less than the Bible, which will be intepreted by a few vocal loonies in your community.

Welcome to the American Madrasa.

Historians never tire of saying, oh, all this has happened before. In fact, Ben Franlin was in a diplomatic frame of mind when he said that he was all for punishing liars, but "To whom dare we commit the care of [the task]? An evil magistrate entrusted with power to punish for words would be armed with a weapon most destructive and terrible. Under pretence of pruning off the exuberant branches he would be apt to destroy the tree."

No such diplomacy or sense of humility encumbers the views of the religious bigots. They are perfectly happy to decide what breaks a commandment and how serious it is.They would be happy to use this terrible weapon to punish the unchurched heathens.

Until recently we were just calling this policy divide a culture war, which is to say, the modern urban media culture versus the traditional suburban and rural church culture. Both seemed to have their virtues and both had their drawbacks.

But the stakes have been raised, and we might as well face up to the unpleasant reality. As Ann Coulter famously said: This is a religious war, not against Islam but for Christianity, for a Christian nation.

Before we throw our lot in with Ann and her theocratic government, we have to ask what it would mean for the average American, for our rights, and for our future.

At first blush, the idea of a Christian nation might seem to have some appeal. Christians are charitable, mild-mannered, family-oriented. They might turn back the flow of violence and pornography erupting from Hollywood. If they object to abortion, gay rights, evolution in schools and stem cell research, it is out of principle. Or so we might think.

But let's not forget what life was like when the church had a firm grasp on the flow of events. Any opposition was a sure path to damnation. Anything done in their name was acceptable, no matter how much suffering it caused and no matter how many innocent people got in the way. Cardinal Juan de Torquemada led the Spanish Inquisition, making sure the Jews either converted or burned, twisting innocent dissenters on the rack, reveling in gruesome duty.

It could happen again. A new Inquisition, new Crusades, and once more the slaughter of innocents, and the repression of non-conforming people and their views. Am I exaggerating? Consider:

Remember, if the Bible is the literal truth, we must "Suffer not a witch to live," (Exodus 22:18). Similarly "If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband ... and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity" (Deuteronomy 25:12-13). "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ." (Ephesians 6:5).

And do we really want the law to regard adultery or swearing as punishable like murder? And what about coveting, blasphemy and idolitry? What Christian American would be left alive if all the coveters were to perish?

Americans need to wake to up what religious war means. Fourteen million people died in Germany during the 16th century as a result of the Thirty Years War between the Catholic League and the Protestant Union. Millions more died as Christians massacred Christians in other European nations, especially France, Switzerland and Spain. These religious wars never really ended -- one of them still lingers in Northern Ireland. And they are expanding again, as Arabs and Christians again fight over the oil resources of the Middle East.

Religious war was the Monster that the framers of the US Constitution feared. That is because religion is the ultimate point of reference. There is no higher authority. It's why the Declaration of Independence contains the words "all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights ..." What further authority or proof would be needed? The creator did it. It's why the First Amendment starts with the concept of freedom of religion and the prohibition of an established religion.

The more that fundamentalist Christians influence public policy, the less tolerance there will be. The alliance between church and state that the religious right in America now proposes is nothing new. It not only turns back the clock, it turns back the calendar. And it is very, very difficult to fight. Once the levees of intolerance burst, those small pumps of human understanding will be overwhelmed.

We have to encourage people to understand their rights, to hold onto them, and to continue to loudly insist on them. We have to keep the Monster caged. Once it is loose in America, God help us all.

Further Reading:

Further notes:

Mattingly (above) poses this hypothetical in Poynter Online:

After a long, long day in the newsroom, you sit on the couch flipping from one cable news channel to another. Then you see a familiar face in an MSNBC tease and hear, "We'll be back, live, with the Rev. Pat Robertson, who says that this new hurricane is more evidence that God is angry at New Orleans because ..."

Pause for a minute.

When you hear these words do you experience (a) an acidic surge of joy because you are 99.9 percent sure that you know what Robertson is going to say, or (b) a sense of sorrow for precisely the same reason?

If you answered (a), then I would bet the moon and the stars that you are someone who doesn't think highly of Christian conservatives and their beliefs. If you answered (b), you are probably one of those Christians.

He has a point. Remember the Tinky Winky thing? A "bright" by a Roanoke Va AP reporter about a serious article in a Falwell sponsored magazine (about the influence of gays in entertainment) turns into Jerry trying to "out" Tinky Winky. It's totally absurd.

And wuat about the assassination thing with Pat Robertson? He not only thinks we should assassinate Hugo Chavez, he is adamant that the government of Venezuela is evil because Chavez has associated with Fidel Castro. Of course Robertson never considers the main point -- that Chavez is a democratically elected president. Nor does he consider why the people of Venezuela would want to elect a populist like Chavez.

Like the Tinky Winky case, media coverage of the Robertson "assiassinate Chavez" fiasco was cartoonish in nature. Roberson seemed to be some kind of buffoon.

That's a mistake. Robertson is a holy inquisitor who would have been at home in the torture chambers of Seville in the 1470s, working his trade next to Torquemada. If you read the many cruel and bitter things Robertson has to say, you wonder how on earth he can dare to call himself a Christian, and how he can presume upon fellow Christians to be a leader.

So long as this brand of so-called Christianity is merely ridiculed, rather than considered seriously as a true threat to freedom and democracy, the Average American will have no appreciation of the Monster rattling the cages in the depths of the American political psyche.