Christian nationalism’s 'fascist authoritarian agenda' exposed: analysis

08 July 2024

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), along with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, has vowed to aggressively fight a new Louisiana law requiring that the 10 Commandments (specifically, a Protestant/King James version) be displayed in all classrooms in public schools.

The law, according to the ACLU, "violates" the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment by giving one religion preferential treatment over others.

Presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, however, has been defending the law.

In a biting article published by Salon on July 8, journalist Paul Rosenberg cites this 10 Commandments debate as an example of the "hysterical disconnect between" Trump's "professed and practiced religiosity."

President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, is known for being much more religious than Trump. Yet far-right white evangelicals adore Trump while being bitterly hostile to Biden.

"The law itself follows from the Project Blitz playbook…. which laid out a three-tiered framework intended to advance a Christian supremacist, if not dominionist, agenda," Rosenberg explains. "Though Project Blitz later went into stealth mode, associated figures such as Texas-based pseudo-historian David Barton and Gene Mills, head of the Louisiana Family Forum, openly claimed credit for the bill."

Rosenberg adds, "It would clearly be considered unconstitutional under established judicial precedent, but the current Supreme Court supermajority — with three justices appointed by Trump — no longer cares about that. The Constitution means whatever they say it means, apparently, and precedent be damned."

The Louisiana law, according to Rosenberg, is a blatant example of Christian nationalism in action.

"At its heart," the journalist warns, "the Christian nationalist agenda is very close to authoritarianism or fascism: America is a Christian nation, and Christians of the right variety should control every facet of it. Stephen Wolfe's 'The Case for Christian Nationalism' even calls for a 'measured and theocratic Caesarism,' noting in a footnote that 'modern democracy is often more oppressive than its alternatives.'"

Read Salon's full article at this link.

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