Christian nationalism taking over churches -- and driving away anyone who disagrees

[Demovictory9]

https://www.rawstory.com/christian-nationalism-2657688663/



A number of worshipers are watching with alarm as their churches lose focus and drift into Christian nationalism.



“It feels to me that the churches in this area are no longer true Christian churches," said Noah Jones, a 23-year-old Southern Baptist from Dalton, Georgia. "They’ve morphed into something that’s completely unrecognizable, and I don’t think a lot of people know that they’ve been radicalized.”

Jones, a former Trump supporter who intended to become a pastor himself, blames conservative media for the rightward lurch he saw in his church's leadership.


“Something has happened to these people,” he said. “I think it’s Fox News. I think it’s social media, causing division among people, and they’re using Christianity as a means to divide people.”


Right-wing pastors have woven militaristic themes into their sermons to justify political violence, which has alarmed and driven out many worshipers -- some during the middle of services, as Pastor Ron Tucker, of Grace Church in St. Louis recently observed.

“I’ve read your emails," Tucker said in a recent sermon in which he acknowledged in a recent sermon. "I’ve watched people walk out of church as I’ve gone into the stuff."


But one of Tucker's congregants said she's had enough with his diatribes against abortion, antifa, Black Lives Matter, critical race theory, feminism, gun laws, abortion and protesters disrupting Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh's dinner at a Washington, D.C., steakhouse, as well as claiming the Jan. 6 insurrection was a hoax.

“He’d start his sermons with this rambling 30- to 40-minute rant that sounded like it was taken straight from, like, Fox News,” said Noelle Fortman, 23. “One time we went there, he referred to the COVID vaccine as the ‘mark of the beast’ that we needed to fight against, and I was like, ‘Yo, this is crazy.

[overleft]

1. They are present day 'pharisees'.

[d_r]

6. When I first read

The Handmaid's tale years ago today could not imagine how society could have allowed such a thing to happen

[Novara]

2. Strip them of tax-exempt status

[FalloutShelter]

8. ABSOLUTELY!

[LuckyLib]

10. All of them. Catholics, Sikhs, Scientology, Jehovah's Witnesses,

etc, etc. End the grifting for a higher purpose.

[Novara]

11. Yep, I totally agree

No religious institution should be tax-exempt. None. In fact, I'm not sure it's needed for anything, now that a prominent RW "think" tank managed to get tax-exempt status. Sounds like a clear violation to me. I mean, the fucking NRA? The system is corrupt as hell. Eliminate it.

[OnlinePoker]

19. Only exemptions would be for obvious charitable causes like food banks.

I'm assuming it's similar in the States, but here in Canada, most of them were started and are operated by faith based organizations.

[Farmer-Rick]

25. As long as they have to report to the IRS like all other nonprofits.

They need to report annually on the 990 IRS form that every other single nonprofit in the US is required to fill out. But as it stands now religions don't have to report to the IRS. That's why L. Ron Hubbard went into religion.

[calimary]

33. YEP!!!

ABSO-FUCKIN’-LUTELY!!!!!

And that should be just the beginning.

From Catholic school I’m reminded of the New Testament passage featuring the quote “render therefore unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.”

As a student of these things, seems to me the interpretation here at the most basic is that these are two separate things. Same for the underlying message. There was no statement saying or implying that these two things are actually one and the same. They’re spoken of as separate entities, with separate ways of handling and assumptions of separate results and/or conclusions. There’s a clear differentiation here. Caesar’s, and God’s, benefits are specified separately, spoken of as clearly separate entities. These are not identical twins.

Otherwise, the talking point might be more like Render unto God and Caesar the homage both are due - or some such.

I just see a clear differentiation made between the two.

But… hey, whatever.

[Elessar Zappa]

3. I go to an Episcopal Church that is liberal.

Although politics are not discussed, most of the sermons speak against injustice, oppression, and also caring for the poor. If I ever had a hint that my church was becoming a front for fascists, I’d leave in a heartbeat.

[shrike3]

5. As would I n/t

[Kablooie]

14. The Episcopal Church seems to be the most open minded of all.

Which is strange since they have so many formal rituals like Catholics I would expect them to be more conservative but it's not so.

[cilla4progress]

15. Unitarian Universalism is

quite liberal - in both a social justice and religious sense.

https://www.uua.org/

[Elessar Zappa]

20. Yeah, that's why I go there.

I’m a cradle Catholic but left the Church due to their stances on abortion and women in the priesthood. I chose Episcopal precisely because it feels Catholic without all the problems.

[erronis]

29. Even if we respect certain cults/religions, they shouldn't be 'special' and get tax exemption.

Of course the current SCROTUS thinks the catholic/RC/Papists as special. Maybe allow a few evangelicals to poke their snouts under the tent.

[Elessar Zappa]

34. Agree.

[LakeArenal]

4. I knew of a made up church.. That excommunicated a woman because her husband LEFT HER.

She didn’t leave…. He did… She got booted out. Even tho he didn’t attend the church to begin with.

[sop]

7. If one's theology has to be twisted to match one's political ideology, it's not really a religious

position.

[bluestarone]

9. I'm betting the offering is much larger in these church's

Money talks!

[Aristus]

12. Mrs. Aristus used to be a conservative evangelical.

I had to go to her church, because she wouldn't go to a liberal church. In 2016, when the EC threw the election to TFG, she left her church forever, disgusted with them and evangelicalism in general.

And here's the thing: Her church didn't embrace Trump explicitly and trumpet all things Trump; they just refused to denounce his squalid, un-Christian lifestyle and political platform. That was enough for Mrs. Aristus.

She is now a proud-out-loud liberal Democrat, and one of the most LGBTQ-friendly people you would ever want to meet.

I think Trump-supporting churches are repelling more people than they are attracting.

[cilla4progress]

18. Cool,

Aristus!

[erronis]

30. I lived with one of them. Couldn't stand its crazy evangelism and we parted.

I'm glad you and Mrs. found a proper way to stay together!

[Aristus]

47. It was never a good fit for her.

She's much too smart and good-hearted for their hateful, disempathetic world-view. It's just the shit she was raised with.

[Kablooie]

13. How can churches push political views and remain tax exempt?

It seems the tax exemption is because they are separate from government.
Once they embroil themselves in the middle of politics they aren't separate anymore so need to pay taxes like everyone else.

[Mariana]

22. That law hasn't been enforced for ages. nt.

[Ligyron]

23. Because the IRS is to chicken to go after them.

[paleotn]

28. Bingo.

Add religion to anything and the Feds shit their pants. One of the reasons fraud by televangelism is so profitable.

[erronis]

31. The IRS has been purposefully emasculated (or eviscerated) to stop them from actually

doing their jobs.

The group that hates big gov't except when it helps them, doesn't want oversight or regulation.

The group includes: BIG MONEY/oligarchs/Koch-types, libertarians (usually the same as the first group), religious nuts (rarely really rich but wannabes), and of course, the permanently hatefuls - those that have enough ammo/weapons to kill every school child in the US, several times over.

[Torchlight]

16. My small(ish) parish of 45 grew by seven in 2022.

We're Presbyterians-- pretty mild in demeanor when contrasted to other denominations. And we were all pretty surprised by an influx of congregants this past spring coming from the two big mega-churches nearby.

Turns out they were just a little tired of the movie-like stage productions they were props in, and had enough of (I paraphrase closely on this one) "when prosperity is the only gospel, greed becomes less a sin and more a means of being one with God. That was the straw that broke it"



These larger, commercially-oriented mega 'churches' do themselves few favors.

[erronis]

32. Thanks. That's a good and heartfelt response. I hope more religious folks can get back to religion.

[Hassler]

17. Vote with your feet, and your wallet. Especially your wallet.

The preacher racket is one big grift

[Sky Jewels]

21. Yep.

If the Golden Rule covers it all, why do so many people subject themselves to listening to utter nonsense and mythology every Sunday?

[Mariana]

24. The majority of Christian voters cast their ballots for Trump in 2016.

In so many churches, loyalty to Trump has become essentially a tenet of their Christian faith.

[Demovictory9]

35. The church is the political party

[Skittles]

37. put "Christian" in quotes

these people are fascists

[Mariana]

40. No.

They may interpret the book differently than you do, but there is no reason at all to doubt the veracity of their Christian faith.

[Skittles]

43. LOLOL

I THOROUGHLY DISAGREE

[Mariana]

44. Christians, in general, aren't better people than non-Christians.

History shows us that very clearly.

[Skittles]

45. I disagree

and NO ONE who supports a lying, corrupt, pussy-grabbing xenophobic asshole like Trump should call themselves a Christian

OVER AND OUT

[Mariana]

46. I thought it was up to God to decide who is and who isn't a Christian.

Did he need some time off and hired the job out to you, or what?

[paleotn]

26. American Taliban. American ISIS.

Domestic terrorists.

[Rebl2]

27. And they wonder

why many people don’t go to church anymore. Who wants to listen to that.

[roamer65]

36. Christofascism.

The melding of Christianity, corporate and state power.

[KentuckyWoman]

38. White evangelical churches.

They've always been on the fringe but are getting farther out. I hear people claim the vast majority of Christians voted for Trump but that is patently untrue. White evangelicals yes, and they only make up 14% of American Christians who are active in a church.

They just get all the press because media loves the circus.

[Mariana]

42. Who said the "vast" majority of Christians voted for Trump?

There is no question that he got the majority - 58% of the Protestants, 52% of the Catholics, and 61% of the Mormons. He got the vast majority of white Evangelical Christians - 81%. I don't know of anyone who's claimed he got the "vast" majority of Christians overall.

[lpbk2713]

39. Tax churches.

Government will have all the money they need.

[lees1975]

41. Better get familiar with this stuff

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2022/07/if-theyre-telling-us-who-they-are-we.html

[DBoon]

48. is someone tracking this?

Are more mainstream pastors being replaced by extremists? if so, how?

Are there seminaries where they are taught right wing nationalism? Which ones? Who is funding them?

Are people joining churches with the intent to replace pastors with christian nationalists?