Trump's abuse of religion follows playbook of authoritarian leaders around the world

[catbyte]

June 7, 2020

By The Conversation

It was a striking moment: Donald Trump, Bible in hand, posing for photos in an apparent moment of political theater made possible by the dispersal of protesters through the use of tear gas.

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Coming at a time of social turbulence, critics accused Trump of following authoritarian-leaning world leaders by sidling up to religion to reinforce an image as a strongman defending a particular brand of tradition. Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington Mariann Budde said as much, commenting that Trump used the Bible at St. John’s “as if it were a prop or an extension of his military and authoritarian position.”

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Religion creates meaning in our lives by articulating values about how we relate to one another. But just as it can unite us, religion can also be a source of division – used to “other” people who are not of the faith and don’t share the same traditions and rituals.

When enough people perceive – or can be convinced – that traditional elements of the social fabric are at risk, religious signaling through the use of symbols and images can help would-be authoritarians cement their power. They present themselves as protectors of the faith and foes of any outsider who threatens tradition.

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https://www.rawstory.com/2020/06/trumps-abuse-of-religion-follows-playbook-of-authoritarian-leaders-around-the-world/

[dawg day]

1. Tim O'brien posted this Auden verse-- Trump Tyrant

Perfection, of a kind, was what he was after,
And the poetry he invented was easy to understand;
He knew human folly like the back of his hand,
And was greatly interested in armies and fleets;
When he laughed, respectable senators burst with laughter,
And when he cried the little children died in the streets.

—W.H. Auden, “Epitaph on a Tyrant”

[C_U_L8R]

2. What's his playbook? Wannabe Mussolini for Dummies?

[keithbvadu2]

3. Kicking a priest and follower out of their own church for his use as a prop.

Kicking a priest and follower out of their own church for his use as a prop.