The Christian right, otherwise referred to as the religious right, are Christian political factions 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.
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular state and to disestablishment, the changing of an existing, formal relationship between the church and the state. The concept originated among early Baptists in America. In 1644, Roger Williams, a puritan minister and founder of the state of Rhode Island and The First Baptist Church in America, was the first public official to call for "a wall or hedge of separation" between "the wilderness of the world" and "the garden of the church." Although the concept is older, the exact phrase "separation of church and state" is derived from "wall of separation between Church & State," a term coined by Thomas Jefferson in his 1802 letter to members of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut. The concept was promoted by Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke.
Religious nationalism can be understood in a number of ways, such as nationalism as a religion itself, a position articulated by Carlton Hayes in his text Nationalism: A Religion, or as the relationship of nationalism to a particular religious belief, dogma, ideology, or affiliation. This relationship can be broken down into two aspects: the politicisation of religion and the influence of religion on politics.
Religion in the United States is both widespread and diverse, with higher reported levels of belief than other wealthy Western nations. Polls indicate that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe in a higher power (2021), engage in spiritual practices (2022), and consider themselves religious or spiritual (2017).
"Separation of church and state" is a metaphor paraphrased from Thomas Jefferson and used by others in discussions of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".
Dominion theology, also known as dominionism, is a group of Christian political ideologies that seek to institute a nation governed by Christians and based on their understandings of biblical law. Extents of rule and ways of acquiring governing authority are varied. For example, dominion theology can include theonomy but does not necessarily involve advocacy of adherence to the Mosaic Law as the basis of government. The label is primarily applied to groups of Christians in the United States.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), formerly the Alliance Defense Fund, is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to expand Christian religious liberties and practices within public schools and in government, outlaw abortion, and oppose LGBTQ rights. ADF is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, with branch offices in several locations including Washington, D.C., and New York. Its international subsidiary, Alliance Defending Freedom International, with headquarters in Vienna, Austria, operates in over 100 countries.
Black theology, or black liberation theology, refers to a theological perspective which originated among African-American seminarians and scholars, and in some black churches in the United States and later in other parts of the world. It contextualizes Christianity in an attempt to help those of African descent overcome oppression. It especially focuses on the injustices committed against African Americans and black South Africans during American segregation and apartheid, respectively.
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 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 its adherents' Christian views to be prominent or dominant in political and social life. Some believers in Christian nationalist ideas are more likely to support political violence and other anti-democratic ideas.
Good News Club v. Milford Central School, 533 U.S. 98 (2001), was a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court written by Clarence Thomas holding that a public school's exclusion of a club from its limited public forum based solely on the club's religious nature was impermissible viewpoint discrimination.
Randall Herbert Balmer is an American historian of American religion.
Christianity is the largest religion in Vanuatu. Vanuatu is an archipelago made up of 13 larger islands, and approximately 70 smaller surrounding islands, each home to multitudes of diverse cultural and religious communities.
Social conservatism in the United States is a political ideology focused on the preservation of traditional values and beliefs. It focuses on a concern with moral and social values which proponents of the ideology see as degraded in modern society by liberalism. In the United States, one of the largest forces of social conservatism is the Christian right.
The Prince Foundation, formerly known as the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation, is a charitable foundation that was founded in 1979 and is based in Holland, Michigan. It is a major financial supporter of the conservative Christian causes in the state of Michigan and at the national level. The foundation was formed by Western Michigan auto parts manufacturer Edgar Prince and his wife Elsa. Its vice president is Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater USA.
The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children is a book by American journalist Katherine Stewart about the Good News Club (GNC). Published through PublicAffairs in 2012, the book examines the GNC, its formal structure and social organization, its literary goals, and the effects of GNCs on schools and surrounding communities since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public schools could not exclude them in a lawsuit involving GNC. The book's final chapter focus on an overarching imperative to "defund and ultimately eliminate" the public schools by the Christian evangelical movement, according to Stewart. She calls the public school system "one of the largest and most successful collective efforts in [American] history" in her conclusion.
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.
God & Country is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Dan Partland and produced by Rob Reiner. The film discusses the emergence of Christian nationalism and its close relationship with far-right politics in the United States, exploring its perceived threat to democracy and the politicization of Christianity. The documentary is based on Katherine Stewart's book The Power Worshippers (2020). It is distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories.
The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism is a 2020 nonfiction book by American journalist and author Katherine Stewart. The book describes Christian nationalism in the United States as a regressive political ideology with historical ties to opposition to abolitionism in the 19th century, hostility towards Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs in the 1930s, and resistance to the civil rights movement in the 1950s. Christian nationalists, Stewart argues, falsely believe that America was founded on the Bible and vocally reject the principle of separation of church and state established by the Founding Fathers of the United States, desiring instead to impose their version of theocracy and authoritarianism in its place, often by force.
Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Stephen Ujlaki and Chris Jones. The film explores the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States and its opposition to American democracy, and the historic role of Christian nationalists in the conservative movement, beginning with Paul Weyrich and Jerry Falwell in the Moral Majority, and Weyrich's creation of the secretive Council for National Policy. They opposed secular and democratic institutions, supported using government to promote Christianity, and much later, their political influence led to the support for the candidacy of Donald Trump, the subsequent January 6 United States Capitol attack, and the policy blueprints for Project 2025.
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