This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(November 2010) |
Frederick Clarkson is an American journalist and public speaker in the fields of politics and religion. He is the author of Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy (1997, ISBN 1-56751-088-4); editor of Dispatches from the Religious Left: The Future of Faith and Politics in America (2008, ISBN 978-0-9788431-8-2); and co-author of Challenging the Christian Right: The Activist’s Handbook (1992) for which he and his co-author were named among the "Media Heroes of 1992" by the Institute for Alternative Journalism. [1] They were described as "especially brave at taking on powerful institutions and persistent about getting stories out...journalists and activists who persevere in fighting censorship and protecting the First Amendment," and "understanding the Christian Right's recent strategy of stealth politics early on, and or doggedly tracking its activities across the U.S." He has also published articles with Salon.com, Ms. magazine , The Christian Science Monitor , The Public Eye, and other publications.
He is best known in recent years for breaking the story [2] of, and his follow-up reporting [3] [4] [5] on Project Blitz, a national Christian Right state legislative campaign, in the online magazine Religion Dispatches.
His notable interviews as a journalist have been with former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich in In These Times; and, [6] comedy writer Jane Bussmann, [7] Sudanese Anglican Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail, [8] John C. Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, [9] and historian John Ragosta [10] in Religion Dispatches.
His articles have been anthologized in such scholarly works as Encyclopedia of Millennialism and Millennial Movements, (Routledge, 2000); Harcourt Source Readings for American Government (Harcourt College Publishers, 2000); Eyes Right: Challenging the Right-wing Backlash (South End Press, 1995); Trumping Democracy in the United States: From Ronald Reagan to Alt-Right'' (Routledge, 2019); and "Exposing the Right and Fighting for Democracy Celebrating Chip Berlet as Journalist and Scholar" (Routledge, 2021). [11] He is the editor of A Moment to Decide: The Crisis in Mainstream Presbyterianism (Institute for Democracy Studies, 2000). His work is widely cited in books by others. The progressive journalist and Southern raconteur Joe Bageant, wrote in his book Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War, [12] “Fred Clarkson, a New England Yankee with a streak of liberty a mile wide, has been thinking and writing about this longer than anybody I know.”
He has often been cited by major media, including such major newspapers as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times and The Guardian. [13] His radio appearances include NPR's Fresh Air, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Talk of the Nation, Democracy Now, and State of Belief. [14] His television interviews include CNN, Fox News, ABC's 20/20, and the CBS Evening News; as well as the BBC and the CBC. He has been interviewed in a number of films including the short 2008 documentary Renewal or Ruin? The Institute on Religion and Democracy's Attack on the United Methodist Church [15] by independent producer Steven D. Martin; and Lake of Fire , a 2007 documentary film about abortion by Hollywood film director Tony Kaye.
He was Senior Fellow for Religious Liberty at Political Research Associates in Somerville, MA beginning in 2012 until he became a Senior Research Analyst in 2017. He was a columnist on religious liberty for LGBTQ Nation in 2014 - 2015. He is the author of a major report When Exemption is the Rule: The Religious Freedom Strategy of the Christian Right, [16] from Political Research Associates, 2016.
He is the co-founder of Talk to Action, a group blog which features critical reports about the Religious Right.
Right-wing politics is generally defined by support of the view that certain social orders and hierarchies are inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authority or tradition. Hierarchy and inequality may be seen as natural results of traditional social differences or competition in market economies. Right-wing politics are considered the counterpart to left-wing politics, and the left–right political spectrum is one of the most widely accepted political spectrums.
The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation of the teachings of Christianity.
Francis August Schaeffer was an American evangelical theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor. He co-founded the L'Abri community in Switzerland with his wife Edith Schaeffer, née Seville, a prolific author in her own right. Opposed to theological modernism, Schaeffer promoted what he claimed was a more historic Protestant faith and a presuppositional approach to Christian apologetics, which he believed would answer the questions of the age. Schaeffer was the father of the author, film-maker, and painter Frank Schaeffer.
John Herbert Rees is a British right wing journalist and government informant resident in the United States. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, he was active during the 1970s and 1980s.
Christian reconstructionism is a fundamentalist Calvinist theonomic movement. It developed under the ideas of Rousas Rushdoony, Greg Bahnsen and Gary North and has had an important influence on the Christian right in the United States. In keeping with the cultural mandate, Christian reconstructionists advocate theonomy and the restoration of certain biblical laws said to have continuing applicability. These include the death penalty not only for murder, but also for propagators of all forms of idolatry, open homosexuals, adulterers, practitioners of witchcraft and blasphemers.
The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) is an American Christian conservative think tank that promotes its views among mainline Protestant churches, as well as advocating for its values in the public square. Its critics claim that it has been instrumental in attacking mainline Protestant denominations in the United States including the United Methodist Church.
Dominion theology is a group of Christian political ideologies that seek to institute a nation governed by Christians based on their understandings of biblical law. Extents of rule and ways of achieving governing authority are varied. For example, dominion theology can include theonomy, but does not necessarily involve advocating Mosaic Law as the basis of government. The label is applied primarily toward groups of Christians in the United States.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates separation of church and state. The separation of church and state in the United States is often accepted to be provided in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was drafted in 1777 by Thomas Jefferson in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and introduced into the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond in 1779. On January 16, 1786, the Assembly enacted the statute into the state's law. The statute disestablished the Church of England in Virginia and guaranteed freedom of religion to people of all religious faiths, including Christians of all denominations, Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. The statute was a notable precursor of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Criticism of religion involves criticism of the validity, concept, or ideas of religion.
The Chalcedon Foundation is an American Christian Reconstructionist organization founded by Rousas John Rushdoony in 1965. Named for the Council of Chalcedon, it has also included theologians such as Gary North, who later founded his own organization, the Institute for Christian Economics.
Jeff Sharlet is an American academic, journalist, and author. Throughout his career, Sharlet's work has focused on religion.
John Foster "Chip" Berlet is an American investigative journalist, research analyst, photojournalist, scholar, and activist specializing in the study of extreme right-wing movements in the United States. He also studies the spread of conspiracy theories. Since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Berlet has regularly appeared in the media to discuss extremist news stories. He was a senior analyst at Political Research Associates (PRA), a non-profit group that tracks right-wing networks.
This bibliography of Chip Berlet contains a list of articles, books, book chapters, book reviews, presentations and reports by activist and author Chip Berlet as well as articles about him and his works.
Stanley Kimball Monteith was a radio host and author and a retired orthopedic surgeon, popularly known as Doctor Stan. He hosted a daily radio show called Radio Liberty.
Katherine Stewart is an American journalist and author who often writes about issues related to the separation of church and state. Her books include The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children (2012) and The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism (2020).
Nathan Schneider is a journalist and author who covers social movements in the United States. Since 2015, he has been a professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Russ Bellant is an American journalist, political activist, and author. He was an Associate of Political Research Associates.
Rewire News Group is a daily United States online news publication focused on reproductive and sexual health from a pro–reproductive rights perspective. It also covers issues around racial, environmental, immigration, and economic justice.
Project Blitz is a coalition of Christian right groups, including the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, the National Legal Foundation, and Wallbuilders Pro-Family Legislators Conference. Founded by Randy Forbes, the group seeks to "protect the free exercise of traditional Judeo-Christian religious values and beliefs in the public square, and to reclaim and properly define the narrative which supports such beliefs." Project Blitz also operates as Freedom for All, and part of the First Freedom Coalition.