Saturday, September 03, 2011

Defining Dominionism.

Courtesy of AlterNet:

Dominionism is a broad political impulse within the Christian Right in the United States. It comes in a variety of forms that author Fred Clarkson and I call soft and hard. Fred and I probably coined the term “Dominionism” back in the 1990s, but in any case we certainly were the primary researchers who organized its use among journalists and scholars. 

Clarkson noted three characteristics that bridge both the hard and the soft kind of Dominionism. 

  1. Dominionists celebrate Christian nationalism, in that they believe the United States once was, and should again be, a Christian nation. In this way, they deny the Enlightenment roots of American democracy. 
  2. Dominionists promote religious supremacy, insofar as they generally do not respect the equality of other religions, or even other versions of Christianity. 
  3. Dominionists endorse theocratic visions, believing that the Ten Commandments, or “biblical law,” should be the foundation of American law, and that the U.S. Constitution should be seen as a vehicle for implementing Biblical principles. 

At the apex of hard Dominionism is the religious dogma of Dominion Theology, with two major branches: Christian Reconstructionism and Kingdom Now theology. It is the latter’s influence on the theopolitical movement called the New Apostolic Reformation that has been linked in published reports to potential Republican presidential nominees Perry, Bachmann or Palin. All three of these right-wing political debutantes have flirted with Christian Right Dominionism, but how far they have danced toward the influence of hard-right Dominion Theology is in dispute. It would be nice if some “mainstream” journalists actually researched the question. 

“While differing from Reconstructionism in many ways, Kingdom Now shares the belief that Christians have a mandate to take dominion over every area of life,” explains religion scholar Bruce Barron. And it is just this tendency that has spread through evangelical Protestantism, resulting in the emergence of “various brands of ‘dominionist’ thinkers in contemporary American evangelicalism,” according to Barron. 

The most militant Dominion Theologists would silence dissenters and execute adulterers, homosexuals and recalcitrant children. No…seriously. OK, they would only be executed for repeated offenses, explain some defenders of Christian Reconstructionism. Even most Christian Right activists view the more militant Dominion Theologists as having really creepy ideas. 

Much of the controversy over the issue of Dominionism is caused by writers who use the term carelessly, often conflating the broad term Dominionism with the narrow term Dominion Theology. Some on the Left have implied that every conservative Christian evangelical is part of the Christian Right political movement; and that everyone in the Christian Right is an active Dominionist. This is false. Some critics even state that the Christian Right is neofascist. Few serious scholars of fascism agree with that assessment, although several admit that if triggered by a traumatic societal event, any contemporary right-wing populist movement could descend into neofascism.

There is more to this very informative article and I strongly urge you to read the entire thing.

And then when you are finished imagine what having a disciple of this particular militant brand of Christianity, such as Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, or Rick Perry, in the White House might mean for this country.

And you wonder why I never sleep.

20 comments:

  1. Sally in MI5:21 AM

    As I have said before, the 'fears' they created over Obama and Muslims were all smoke and mirrors to get these creeps elected in 2010 so they could continue with the takeover of America. It is really terrifying that they have even more converts a year later, and all of the main GOP Presidential contenders as well.

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  2. Anonymous5:22 AM

    I read recently that fascism is here - it came as an overweight, white guy carrying a misspelled sign.
    All kidding aside, I think Sarah's born-againism is fake like the rest of her. Perry too. Granted, they are both patsies for the true Dominionists which is scary enough for me.
    Michele Bachmann - she's the rill dill.

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  3. Anonymous5:37 AM

    Gryphen, This is some scary sh*t.

    Just to make sure that Sarah didn't miss the update from our good friend Anon238, I am going to bring it forward here again.

    ...and Sarah, you look very emaciated and just plain worn out. Todd is standing in your shadow, guess you can't be left alone.
    ___________

    Hello friends, foes, and Palins. It's "me again", again.

    I just wanted to let everyone know I will be posting late in the day tomorrow as the wifi on my laptop is very spotty right now and I'm loathe to type a long post on my phone, lest it be compromised by an incoming call or pressing the wrong button. I've made some notes and am trying to strike a good balance between funny/embarrassing (to Sarah) things and serious, detailed information. When I check into my hotel tomorrow evening, I will post from there.

    I have been having a good laugh hearing about Sarah's antics this week. Between her severe apprehension over what I will choose to reveal here and the absolutely humiliating catastrophe this weekend event will surely be, Sarah has apparently not been pleasant to be around this week.
    She is livid that she was portrayed as such a brat over the whole "well if SHE'S going then I'M not" chaos. Also, too! Todd sent an email this week to Sarah's "people", cautioning them she is manic beyond belief and will cause everyone to "think she's crazy" if not carefully controlled this weekend. Todd? Moose has already left the barn on that one, man.

    Before I sign off, I have to address a couple of the naysaying geniuses who have commented recently.

    4:38 PM

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  4. Anonymous5:48 AM

    Dick Cheney Shatters Sarah Palin’s Presidential Delusions

    VIDEO

    ...When Laura Ingraham asked Cheney whether Palin was suited for VP, he said, “Well I’ve never gotten around the question of her having left the governorship of Alaska midterm. I’ve never heard that adequately explained so that I could understand why, how she decided in her first term to step down and still be — I’d like to know more about that.”

    That was certainly short, sweet, and to the point. Just in case Palin was even remotely considering the idea of getting into the 2012 GOP field, Dick Cheney just put up a big red stop sign, in the form of a warning of what she can expect to hear from other Republicans if she decides to run.

    Everyone, except the Palins, seemed to know at the time that quitting was the one thing that the Republican Party would never forgive her for. Sarah Palin has tried to get Republicans to forget about her quitting through Fox News, books, reality television, and none of it has worked. Palin’s popularity has continued to plummet first with the country at large, and now with her fellow Republicans.

    Dick Cheney’s message to Palin was you blew any chance you had of ever being taken seriously by quitting on Alaska. If you try to run for president, we are going to make sure that you don’t win. Cheney could have used a million different nice dodges to get around the Palin question, but instead he went right for her Achilles heel.

    Sarah Palin just went on a little hunting trip, Cheney style.

    It is pretty safe to say that Dick Cheney is no fan of Sarah Palin, and his little shot at her was a way of making sure that everyone doesn’t forget the fact that she is a quitter before she takes the stage in Iowa tomorrow.

    http://www.politicususa.com/
    en/dick-cheney-palin

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  5. Hi Gyphen, the caption to the picture is not correct, anyone interested can google. I love your blog from here in Albany, Western Australia as it is my best view of politics in your great nation.
    Cheers, Peter

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  6. nogravity5:53 AM

    Whomever made that poster needs to change the date from 1835 to 1935.

    Also, whatever happened to the new testament? Is that still used in the dominionist et al Christian world?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous5:56 AM

    Palin to orally pleasure Teabagger scum on Saturday

    Worn-out old circus hag Sarah “I only screw Thomas Van Flein now” Palin is to give a speech Saturday to a bunch of miserable old Teabaggers in an Iowa barn.

    CNN claims to know every detail of her speech. Yeah right.

    “What she is going to address in this speech is the frustration that members of the tea party movement and ordinary Americans feel when they send politicians to Washington and nothing gets changed,” the source said. “There is a frustration that the status quo is always the status quo.”
    We’ll report back tomorrow on the blunders, lies, and endless empty seats of this slow-motion clusterfuck that’s bound to end in total disaster.

    more...

    http://www.alaskawtf.com/2011/09/02/palin-to-orally-pleasure-teabagger-scum-on-saturday/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous6:03 AM

    Poll: 71% Of Republicans Do *Not* Want Palin To Run For President

    It seems Sarah Palin has worn out her welcome with Republicans. An astounding 71% of GOP voters say they don't want Palin to run for president, according to a new poll by FOX News, with 25% supporting a bid and 4% unsure.

    The numbers are brutal for Palin, who was long regarded as a potential frontrunner for the 2012 nomination. Even among Tea Party-identifying Republicans she fares poorly: 68% say she shouldn't run versus only 28% who say she should. The numbers aren't that far off from the general electorate, 74% of whom don't want her to run versus 20% who do. Outside of Tea Partiers, more than 70% of every demographic broken out in the poll's crosstabs -- men, women, white voters, non-white voters, voters with college degrees, voters without college degrees -- are against a Palin run.

    As TPM noted this week, there hasn't exactly been a clamor going up among Republicans for a Sarah Palin run while she's tested the waters in recent weeks. Maybe the disastrous box office returns for a movie celebrating her Alaska governorship were an early warning sign.

    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/09/71-of-republicans-dont-want-sarah-palin-to-run.php?ref=fpb

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  9. Anonymous6:06 AM

    A "broad political impulse"?

    Yep, that's about as much clarity as we're gonna see on this term.

    Time to break it down and get more specific. Specific names, groups, ties... The rest is just people talking.

    This big umbrella term is not useful, but tell that to everyone who is looking for a Christian conspiracy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous6:08 AM

    Here's the latest Mock the Dummy. Damn they're a clever bunch!

    The 24/7 News Cycle For Dummies

    http://mockthedummy.com/2011/09/02/the-247-news-cycle-for-dummies/

    Hurricane Irene Meets The Dummies

    http://mockthedummy.com/2011/08/28/hurricane-irene-meets-the-dummies/

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's nice to know that one person is out there pulling all this stuff together so that when I can't sleep, I know that the things we know for sure to be true are at least in print and have a following. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Chenagrrl6:11 AM

    The strange thing is that these dominionists can't look at the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and see any similarities.

    Burka, anyone?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous6:12 AM

    Fox News: Americans Overwhelmingly Want Sarah Palin To Disappear

    A new Fox News poll says 71% of Republicans don’t want quitter-grifter Sarah Palin in the 2012 race. But why? Isn’t she still fun? No? Apparently not. She is a worn-out old circus hag, and even teabaggers have noticed that the only thing she cares about is getting media attention for Sarah Palin. Could the Wasilla creep’s celebrity gravy train finally be breaking down? We hope so! We also hope the Palins do what every white-trash lotto-winning family always does, which is piss through the whole insane fortune in a couple of years and wind up destitute. That toothless crone selling meth in the bathroom at the Anchorage train station in 2020is likely to be one-time vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin!

    http://wonkette.com/452502/fox-news-poll-americans-overwhelmingly-want-sarah-palin-to-disappear

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous6:29 AM

    After reading the piece, the author does cite numerous individuals who have been associated with this concept over the years, but no references about activity in the US in 2011. It's all past tense; the pinnacle points to the GW Bush years.

    Right now is what matters, at this point.

    I am very interested that the whole thing remains so vague. We can all say Michelle Bachmann is a Dominionist, but it's rather meaningless unless we have more detail. Yes she is an ultra-conservative Christian, and yes if she were able to get to the White House she'd want all kinds of religiously-based changes made. But that is very different than this contention that there is an organized effort underway.

    Evangelicals gained steam under Bush. We all know that. Are they in the majority? No.

    Christians are in the majority in this country, but this particular extremist "brand" is still on the fringe, amazing as that may be for some people to believe. Look at the stats, it's in black and white.

    Fine to keep a watch on all these folks, that's important, but let's start to talk about it in a more rigorous and tangible way, in the present.

    There were articles done about that little group of lobbyists and representatives who shared that townhouse in DC, for example. What has happened to them? What are the ties to what is going on now, with Boehner and Cantor? Are there any?

    Karl Rove sought power through these groups, though it is unclear if he subscribed to their beliefs. Does that continue?

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  15. Anonymous8:24 AM

    “In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.”

    Thomas Jefferson

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  16. Anonymous8:57 AM

    Leah Burton's God, Guns & Greed: A Dangerous Path for America will be released September 4, 2011. That's tomorrow.

    Check it out at http://godsownparty.com/blog/2011/08/dominionist-poster-gal-palin-has-a-conundrum-i-have-an-announcement/.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous10:23 AM

    Hi, You may want to let AlterNet know that the information below their "When Fascism Comes to American, etc...." pix is incorrect. Sinclair Lewis was born in 1888, so his quote was probably made in 1935, not 1835. The term fascism didn't come into use until about 1922, with the Mussolini regime's use of the term. Otherwise an apt pix.

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  18. Anonymous10:47 AM

    I would personally like to thank whomever has convinced Ms. Palin to stop twittering every time a thought hits her head. Her 140 character messages make MY head hurt.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous1:33 PM

    The blurred lines between Dominionism and Dominion Theology are lost on most mainstream Chistians. They ignore or aren't aware of the dangerous teachings, and blindly support candiates because some issues are held in common, namely Abortion and the belief in Christ.

    THIS is why most Christians don't speak up against them, and willfully vote for these morons.

    An informed electorate is key to a stable democracy.

    Wake up, before it's too late! This should be read from every pulpit in America.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous10:40 AM

    Here are some websites with more informatoin on the Dominionists. They are, indeed,a fringe movement, but have, nonetheless, managed to work their way into positions of power in this country.


    www.talk2action.org

    www.theocracywatch.org

    www.godsownparty.com

    www.liarsforjesus.com

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