Christian supremacy

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Christian supremacy is the belief that Christianity is superior to other religions or referring to a form of identity politics that asserts that Christians are superior and are better suited to rule thus marginalising religious minorities. Christian supremacy overlaps with and can be considered a core tenet of Christian nationalism. [1] The New Apostolic Reformation, a dominionist political movement, is described by The Washington Post and scholar Bradley Onishi as promoting Christian supremacy through a mix of hard-right politics and prophecy. [2] [3] Joseph Wiinikka-Lydon of the Southern Poverty Law Center and religion scholar Matthew D. Taylor points to the Seven Mountain Mandate as the plan for Christian dominance and supremacy. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Discourse

Christian fundamentalism is a major undercurrent and central ideology in Christian supremacism and there are overlaps with Theonomy and Dominion theology. Additionally, premillennialism [ failed verification ] and to an extent postmillennialism [ failed verification ] has been cited to influence Christian supremacy over its emphasis of the end times especially with regard to the New Apostolic Reformation, its wider relative; the Apostolic-Prophetic Movement and potentially even Evangelical Christianity. [8] Christian supremacy may coexist with antisemitism and Islamophobia to varying degrees while homophobia, transphobia and misogyny maintain a high presence within Christian supremacist discourses often through the belief and promotion of conspiracy theories such as LGBTQ grooming conspiracy theory and that of Cultural Marxism. [9] [10] Additionally, sectarianism may arise over different denominations of Christianity through vying for supremacy. [11]

Christian supremacy often intersects with other forms of supremacy such as White supremacy with various White Christian supremacist groups existing such as the Ku Klux Klan and Christian Identity. Scholars such as Jenny L Small and others have highlighted that Christian supremacy is related with Christian privilege and Christian hegemony of which it is characterised as a system of interlocking discourses that privileges Christians and marginalises non-Christians thus assuming the universalization of Christian values. Christian hegemony and privileges are deeply embedded in western societies which sustains Christian supremacy. Even when religious plurality is acknowledged, the entrenchment of Christian values serves to obscure Christian privilege and sustain it. [12]

History

Academics Carol Lansing and Edward D. English argue that Christian supremacism was a motivation for the Crusades in the Holy Land, as well as a motivation for crusades against Muslims and pagans throughout Europe. [13] The blood libel is a widespread European conspiracy theory which led to centuries of pogroms and massacres of European Jewish minorities because it alleged that Jews required the pure blood of a Christian child in order to make matzah for Passover. Thomas of Cantimpré writes of the blood curse which the Jews put upon themselves and all of their generations at the court of Pontius Pilate where Jesus was sentenced to death: "A very learned Jew, who in our day has been converted to the (Christian) faith, informs us that one enjoying the reputation of a prophet among them, toward the close of his life, made the following prediction: 'Be assured that relief from this secret ailment, to which you are exposed, can only be obtained through Christian blood ("solo sanguine Christiano")." [14] The Atlantic slave trade has also been partially attributed to Christian supremacism. [15] The Ku Klux Klan has been described as a white supremacist Christian organization, as are many other white supremacist groups, such as the Posse Comitatus and the Christian Identity and Positive Christianity movements. [16] [17]

In the United States

Christian supremacy was used as one justification for stealing lands from Native Americans and enslaving Africans around the founding of the United States. [18]

In the 1930's, Father Coughlin believed in and hoped to promote Christian supremacy by recruiting a militia he called the Christian Front. [19]

Erik Prince of the mercenary company Blackwater was accused of being a Christian supremacist and deploying Christian supremacists to Iraq that he hoped would murder Iraqis. [20] The company used large amounts of imagery from the Crusades. [20]

The growing role of Christian supremacy in the GOP since Donald Trump's election in 2016 has drawn concern from leaders of other faiths. [21] [22] Al Sharpton and Doug Pagitt both called for Christians to reject Christian supremacy ideas promoted by Trump in 2020. [23]

The storming of the US Capitol following the fallout of false accusations of electoral fraud was partially motivated by Christian nationalism which was undergirded by notions of Christian supremacy with many rioters flying the Appeal to heaven flag and extensive use of Christian imagery albeit with heavy use of militarized themes. [24]

In 2021, NBC published an article outlining how some Asian American Christians felt discrimination within their churches, citing professors Lucas Kwong and K. Christine Pae on the connections between white supremacy and Christian supremacy. [25]

Kristin Kobes Du Mez described Mike Johnson as believing in Christian supremacy. [26]

Dutch Sheets has promoted the belief of Christian supremacy. [27]

Ziklag was described by Matthew D. Taylor as a Christian supremacist organization working to ensure the election of Donald Trump in 2024. [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine of scientific racism and was a key justification for European colonialism.

The Zionist occupation government, Zionist occupational government or Zionist-occupied government (ZOG), sometimes also called the Jewish occupational government (JOG), is an antisemitic conspiracy theory claiming that Jews secretly control the governments of Western states. It is a contemporary variation on the centuries-old belief in an international Jewish conspiracy. According to believers, a secret Zionist organization actively controls international banks, and through them governments, to conspire against white, Christian, or Islamic interests.

White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a race and seeks to develop and maintain a white racial and national identity. Many of its proponents identify with the concept of a white ethnostate.

Supremacism is the belief that a certain group of people should have supreme authority over all others. The supposed superior people can be defined by age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, language, social class, ideology, nationality, culture, generation or belong to any other part of a particular population.

Samuel Todd Francis, known as Sam Francis, was an American white supremacist writer. He was a columnist and editor for the conservative Washington Times until he was dismissed after making racist remarks at the 1995 American Renaissance conference. Francis would later become a "dominant force" on the Council of Conservative Citizens, a white supremacist organization identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Francis was chief editor of the council's newsletter, Citizens Informer, until his death in 2005. White supremacist Jared Taylor called Francis "the premier philosopher of white racial consciousness of our time."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clerical fascism</span> Ideology combining fascism and clericalism

Clerical fascism is an ideology that combines the political and economic doctrines of fascism with clericalism. The term has been used to describe organizations and movements that combine religious elements with fascism, receive support from religious organizations which espouse sympathy for fascism, or fascist regimes in which clergy play a leading role.

American Renaissance is a white supremacist website and former monthly magazine publication founded and edited by Jared Taylor. It is published by the New Century Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jared Taylor</span> American white supremacist author

Samuel Jared Taylor is an American white supremacist and editor of American Renaissance, an online magazine espousing such opinions, which was founded by Taylor in 1990.

"Islamofascism" is a term that is a portmanteau of the ideologies of fascism and Islamism or Islamic fundamentalism, which advocates authoritarianism and violent extremism to establish an Islamic state, in addition to promoting offensive Jihad. For example, Qutbism has been characterized as an Islamofascist and Islamic terrorist ideology.

The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a theological belief and controversial movement that combines elements of Pentecostalism, evangelicalism and the Seven Mountain Mandate to advocate for spiritual warfare to bring about Christian dominion over all aspects of society, and end or weaken the separation of church and state. NAR leaders often call themselves apostles and prophets. The movement was founded by and is heavily associated with C. Peter Wagner. Long a fringe movement of the American Christian right, it has been characterized as "one of the most important shifts in Christianity in modern times." The NAR's prominence and power have increased since the 2016 election of Donald Trump as US president. Theology professor André Gagné, author of a 2024 book on the movement, has characterized it as "inherently political" and said it threatens to "subvert democracy." American Republican politicians such as Mike Johnson, Doug Mastriano, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert and activists such as Charlie Kirk have aligned with it. Some groups within the broader Apostolic-Prophetic movement have distanced themselves from the NAR due to various criticism and controversies.

Christian nationalism is a form of religious nationalism that focuses on promoting the Christian views of its followers, in order to achieve prominence or dominance in political and social life.

This is a list of topics related to racism:

Jewish supremacy or Jewish supremacism is a discourse pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that asserts that the ethnonationalist views, policies and identity politics of some actors, particularly within Israel, arise to the level of a form of supremacism. The term "Jewish supremacy" has been used by various critics of Israeli policies, with some arguing that it reflects a broader pattern of discrimination in Israel against non-Jews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creativity (religion)</span> Religion classified as a neo-Nazi hate group

Creativity, historically known as the (World) Church of the Creator, is an atheistic (nontheistic) white supremacist new religious movement espousing white separatism, antitheism, antisemitism, anti-Christian sentiment, scientific racism, homophobia, and religious / philosophical naturalism. Creativity is an openly-racist religion urging for "White pride" and has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League. It was founded in Lighthouse Point, Florida, United States, by Ben Klassen as the Church of the Creator in 1973. It now has a presence in several states of the U.S. as well as Australia, Eastern Europe, and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard B. Spencer</span> American white supremacist (born 1978)

Richard Bertrand Spencer is an American political commentator mostly known for his neo-Nazi, antisemitic and white supremacist views. Spencer claimed to have coined the term "alt-right" and was the most prominent advocate of the alt-right movement from its earliest days. He advocates for the reconstitution of the European Union into a white racial empire, which he believes will replace the diverse European ethnic identities with one homogeneous "White identity".

"Cuckservative" is a pejorative formed as a portmanteau of "cuck", an abbreviation of the word "cuckold", and the political designation "conservative". It has become a derogatory label used by white nationalists and the alt-right in the United States to denigrate conservatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alt-right</span> Far-right white nationalist movement

The alt-right is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity and establishing a presence in other countries during the mid-2010s, and has been declining since 2017. The term is ill-defined and has been used in different ways by academics, journalists, media commentators, and alt-right members themselves.

The Seven Mountain Mandate, also Seven Mountains Mandate, 7M, 7MM, or Seven Mountains Dominionism, is a dominionist conservative Christian movement within Pentecostal and evangelical Christianity, and particularly independent Charismatic groups. It holds that there are seven aspects of society that believers seek to influence or dominate: family, religion, education, media, arts and entertainment, business, and government.

Lance Wallnau is an American evangelical preacher and televangelist based in Dallas, Texas. He is associated with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and the Seven Mountain Mandate.

References

  1. Taylor, Matthew D. (October 1, 2024). "Chapter 4". The Violent Take it by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy. Broadleaf Books.
  2. Kornfield, Meryl; Allam, Hannah (2024-10-01). "Vance appears at event hosted by hard-right Christian nationalist". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  3. Chastain, Blake (August 4, 2022). "How to answer when Christian nationalists embrace the label as a badge of honor". Religion News Service. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  4. Taylor, Matthew D. (April 4, 2024). "Opinion: The peril radicalizing some evangelicals goes beyond Christian nationalism". religionnews.com. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  5. Taylor, Matthew D. (October 1, 2024). "Chapter 5". The Violent Take it by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy. Broadleaf Books.
  6. Silk, Mark (October 31, 2024). "Authoritarian movements depend on political religions — not least in America". religionnews.com. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  7. Carless, Will. "As Trump support merges with Christian nationalism, experts warn of extremist risks". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  8. Wiinikka-Lydon, Joe (May 31, 2024). "Christian Supremacy and U.S. Politics: An Interview With Theologian André Gagné". SPLCentre.org.
  9. M. Freidenreich, David (November 18, 2022). "How Christians Have Used Anti-Jewish and Anti-Muslim Rhetoric for Their Own Ends". ucpress.edu.
  10. Onofrio, Alba (October 13, 2020). "Christian supremacy is a front for power: Reverend Alba Onofrio explains". opendemocracy.net.
  11. Mahoney, J (2022). "Protestant Christianity and Status Inequality".
  12. Small, Jenny; Edwards, Sachi; Sayers, Matthew R.; Bowling, Renee L.; Collett, Julia R.; Kaur-Colbert, Simran; Nielsen, J. Cody (31 October 2022). "Recognizing Christian Hegemony as Broader than Christian Privilege: Critical Religion Scholars Respond to Glanzer(2022)". SPLCentre.org.
  13. Carol Lansing; Edward D. English, A companion to the medieval world, Vol. 7, John Wiley and Sons, 2009, p. 457, ISBN   978-1405109222
  14. Albert Ehrman, "The Origins of the Ritual Murder Accusation and Blood Libel", Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Spring 1976): 86
  15. Mary E. Hunt, Diann L. Neu, New Feminist Christianity: Many Voices, Many Views, SkyLight Paths Publishing, 2010, p. 122, ISBN   978-1594732850
  16. R. Scott Appleby, The ambivalence of the sacred: religion, violence, and reconciliation, Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict series, Rowman & Littlefield, 2000, p. 103, ISBN   978-0847685554
  17. "PublicEye.org – The Website of Political Research Associates". publiceye.org. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  18. Small, Jenny L. (January 2024). "Combatting White Christian Supremacy in Higher Education Research, Policy, and Practices" . About Campus: Enriching the Student Learning Experience. 28 (6): 36–40. doi:10.1177/10864822231195846. ISSN   1086-4822.
  19. Brown, Ethan (2022-03-09). "Facing Political Defeat, Father Coughlin Begins to Incite Violence". Exploring Hate. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  20. 1 2 "Erik Prince and the last crusade". The Economist. August 6, 2009. ISSN   0013-0613 . Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  21. Samuels, Ben (October 27, 2022). "One in Six American Jews Say U.S. Should Be a Christian Nation, Pew Survey Finds". Haaretz.
  22. Longhurst, John (November 6, 2018). "Trump's presidency, 'Christian supremacism' criticized at Parliament of World Religions". religionnews.com. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  23. Sharpton, Al; Pagitt, Doug (2020-08-27). "Opinion: The Election Is a Test of Faith for White Christian Voters". TIME. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  24. Perry, Samuel (January 15, 2021). "The Capitol siege recalls past acts of Christian nationalist violence". theconversation. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  25. Ngu, Sarah (2021-09-08). "The pandemic released a wave of anti-Asian hate. Now they're fighting bias in their own pews". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  26. Fossett, Katelyn (October 27, 2023). "'He Seems to Be Saying His Commitment Is to Minority Rule'". Politico.
  27. Hahner, Leslie; Varda, Scott J. (2024-05-30). "Outside Supreme Court justice's home, a Revolution-era flag, now a call for Christian nationalism". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  28. Kroll, Andy; Surgey, Nick (2024-07-13). "Inside Ziklag, the Secret Organization of Wealthy Christians Trying to Sway the Election and Change the Country". ProPublica. Retrieved 2024-10-09.

Further reading