Donald Trump's support from white evangelicals and other conservative Christians is as strong as ever.
![Trump backers say he shares their Christian faith and values](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/733557eb-d852-4ee2-9968-1ecdc203cec4.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
We're not going to be able to fix these people. The only hope we have is to outlast them.
What an amazing display of privilege. It must be nice to live in a society where religious belief isn't being injected into the public and our government.
'There's been so many' - Pedophile priest's eye-opening testimony in church sex abuse case
Just when you thought it was safe to back into the pew.
They passed separate aid packages for Ukraine and Israel. They could have done all the aid packages in one lump, but House Republicans voted it down on Trump's orders.
The speculation is that with Trump's criminal trial in session in New York, he doesn't have the capacity to micromanage Republicans on the Hill. So this was Magic Mike's first opportunity to pass the bill unobstructed, even if it required Democrats to assist.
Johnson met evangelical leader of Ukraine’s National Prayer Breakfast before last week's press conference.
![“An army of Jesus”: Inside Mike Johnson’s come-to-Jesus moment ahead of Ukraine reversal](https://lemmy.one/pictrs/image/948f715a-de05-4e35-b12f-a25ccc53ec93.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
It should surprise no one that Dominionist Mike Johnson's change of heart on Ukraine was bought by suggesting to him that it could serve his religious agenda.
We lost a great man today
Well, this is unexpected, and details will be forthcoming. He was 82. I have lots of stories about Dan, and found him amiable and charitable, though sometimes he could be domineering, especially wh…
Daniel Dennett, philosopher, atheist, and one of the tongue-in-cheek "Horsemen" of atheism, died today. He was 82.
An Oklahoma man has been arrested after authorities accused him of throwing a pipe bomb at the headquarters of a group in Salem, Massachusetts, called The Satanic Temple.
![Oklahoma man arrested after authorities say he threw a pipe bomb at Satanic Temple in Massachusetts](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/73240200-3b27-4fc7-bb90-049e02a9630c.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
Surveillance cameras showed a man walk up to the building soon after 4 a.m. on April 8 wearing a face covering, tactical vest and gloves, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI. The man then ignited an improvised explosive device, threw it at the main entrance then ran away. The bomb partially detonated, resulting in some minor fire damage, authorities said.
Sorry, I was slow in removing this one.
I am a journalist who has covered the Christian right for two...
![The Christian Nationalist Hydra: In Era of Trump, Christian Nationalism Has Many Faces](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/eb4470ca-8248-4973-8d6f-4d3a4d0aac03.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
FTA:
> The bottom line is that Christian nationalism takes on different forms, and despite organizational or even ideological differences, ideas can penetrate the often porous borders between different camps. Someone who receives the daily email blast from the Family Research Council might also be drawn to Wolfe’s book, for example. On a more unnerving, macro level, major right-wing and GOP figures, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and the CEO of the Daily Wire, the podcast consortium run by conservative influencer Ben Shapiro, have embraced the rabidly antisemitic, Hitler-admiring antagonist Nick Fuentes, who is Catholic but also is accurately described as a Christian nationalist. The increasingly influential Catholic integralist movement, which seeks a Catholic-inflected replacement for the “liberal order,” is yet another unique form of Christian nationalism.
And they'll kill to get it.
Over the past month, I’ve been speaking with people who describe themselves...
![What Exactly Do the Christian Nationalists Want?](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/95625cad-7959-48fa-9b30-0dc75b2c161f.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
...In 2022, Stephen Wolfe (no relation to William) published a book called “The Case for Christian Nationalism.” The book was published by Canon Press, a publishing house that began as a ministry of Wilson’s church. Stephen K. Bannon, the Trump adviser, reportedly had a copy of the book stacked on his table.
In the book, Wolfe lays out a vision that veers very far into the fantastic — he rails against the advancement of women over the past several decades by using the term “gynocracy,” and describes both the Obergefell decision and the 1965 immigration reform which abolished quotas on national origin as an “imperial imposition.” One chapter, called “The Christian Prince,” advocates for a “measured and theocratic caesarism.” Wolfe has suggested that he’s playing a somewhat coy game here, using “prince” to refer not necessarily to a monarch, but possibly to the aggregate form of American governmental power. Whatever it is, in his version of Christian nationalism the prince would promote “national self-love and a manly, moral liberty.”
A new study from PRRI reveals a lot of good news for Americans: Religion is still in decline, and the unaffiliated are growing in number.
It's mostly good news all around. Evangelicals are the only ones who are managing to hold their ground, so that's bad. But "Unaffiliated" which includes atheists, agnostics, and "Nones" are up from 21% in 2013 to 26% in 2023. We continue to be the fastest-growing demographic in the US. Furthermore, an increasing number of Americans simply find religion irrelevant or otherwise unimportant, and those numbers are growing as well.
There is hope for the future, should we survive so long.
MAGA is disgusting, yes. But sacrilege, like blasphemy, is a victimless crime. So what's the problem?
Yes, and?
A Christian navel-gazer tries her hand at dehumanizing those who reject her Christian claims and beliefs.
![The opiate of dehumanizing the enemy](https://lemmy.one/pictrs/image/f001da23-63e6-4073-aef5-5ec5b7292c9a.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
Captain Cassidy examines yet another Christian expressing pity for non-believers who must be somehow deficient to explain non-belief.
Trump’s efforts to conflate Christianity with his cause, and to mobilize both on behalf of transphobic hate, are offensive to both church and state.
![No, America Doesn’t Need a MAGA ‘Day of Christian Visibility’](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/27336a6d-15d8-4b53-a023-52c11ceebce0.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
Pity the poor unseen majority who shove their religion in our faces every day. Won't someone think of them?
That verse is too vague. Every Christian thinks it applies to them, especially conservatives.
I don't agree with that statement, because both on paper and in practice, Christianity is no better or worse than Islam. The only reason Christians aren't slaughtering homosexuals and transgender people the same way is because they've been leashed by secularism. It's not that they haven't or don't want to again. It's that they know they can't get away with it -- yet.
Look at organizations like Seven Mountains and other Dominionist groups promoting Christian Nationalism. It's not a coincidence that Kevin Swanson regularly sees Republican office holders at his "Kill the Gays" rallies. They don't hate Islamic theocracies because of the theocracy part. It's that they're jealous of their religious power and want to surpass it.
The real tragedy is that we have some real world examples of exactly this attitude.
Dawkins stopped representing us a long, long time ago. He made some good points for a while, and then got so enamored of his own celebrity that he stopped being skeptical of his own thoughts. It's sad to watch his decline, but he's no longer relevant.
Phony claims that Democrats “mock your faith” are a cynical excuse to strip Americans of religious freedom
![Trump and GOP use a fake panic about a "trans" Easter to justify their Christian nationalism](https://lemmy.one/pictrs/image/fb3f6222-ba6d-4b9b-96dc-3e2b4c5c69a0.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
> It's easy to roll one's eyes as the self-serving dramatics of MAGA voters using false claims of victimhood as cover for their ugly views. But, as the threatening language in Greene's tweet shows, this "woe is us" act is deeply dangerous. The hyperbolic conspiracy theories and dehumanizing language serve to convince Republican voters that religious liberty and democracy are simply values they can no longer afford to hold. The message is Christians are so "under siege" that the only way to fight back is by stripping everyone else of basic rights.
How do you mock your enemy if you don't know who they are and what they're doing?
Did you know about them before reading this? I didn't.
Know your enemy.
T.Rex Arms sells gun accessories. According to one expert, "The product is ideology, too.”
![Meet the viral gun influencers pushing a hardline Christian beliefs](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/2c95501a-1118-4bbc-8750-6536601dc331.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
They have money, they have influence, they have charisma, and they have technical expertise. And they're using to pursue a theocratic America, even if they have to kill anyone who gets in their way.
Faith without morality or theology, much less that "soyboy" Jesus? Sign Republicans up!
![Trump Bibles make a mockery of Christianity — which is why MAGA will eat them up](https://lemmy.one/pictrs/image/c8c6a645-3670-48ee-9885-27e935057a96.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
> ...it's time to consider the strong possibility that Trump's disdain towards the practice and theological beliefs of Christianity is not a surprise to his followers. It's likely a selling point that Trump's version of "Christianity" is void of faith and morality. His pitch to his followers has a certain appeal: They can have the identity "Christian," and all the power that goes with it, minus the parts they don't like. No boring church services or Bible study. No tedious talk about "compassion" and "grace," which only gets in the way of the gay-bashing and racism. And definitely no need to worry about that Jesus guy, with all his notions about "loving thy neighbor" and "welcoming the stranger."
Hosts of The View were gobsmacked at news that Donald Trump is now selling bibles, with Sunny Hostin declaring it "blasphemous."
![View Hosts Taken Aback By Trump Selling Bibles: ‘It’s Blasphemous!’](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/a2cca351-e496-4d71-9334-bbdf6adac86d.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
Could Trump's attempt to pander to evangelicals backfire? We can only hope.
That's the story they've been telling themselves so long that nobody really knows for sure. They certainly didn't allow any other narrative once they took control of every government they could.
Posted to Truth Social while Trump is in court: Received this morning—Beautiful, thank you! “It’s ironic that Christ walked through His greatest persecution the very week they are trying to steal your property from you. But have you seen this verse…?” Psalm 109:3–8 (NKJV): They have also surrounded ...
![Trump Compares Himself To Jesus Christ In Post Citing Scriptural Prayer Calling On God To Kill One's Enemies - Joe.My.God.](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/c4a86868-e6ff-4134-ac35-5bb52119ddce.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
In fact, Jesus was very pro-war/conflict and anti-immigrant. Shall I quote the gospel verses demonstrating it?
It's possible, but we've been talking about that for at least fifteen years to counter the "the Founders intended us to be a Christian nation" nonsense.
They were always jealous of Muslim theocracy. They didn't object to the practice so much as the flavor.
One tweet illustrates the threat.
![It's time to start worrying about Christian nationalism.](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/b4f31ad0-ceb6-484f-a2a2-43689e960b57.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
Minor nitpick: it was time to start worrying about Christian nationalism over twenty years ago. They've been trying to legitimize Christian nationalism since at least the founding of the "Moral Majority" when I was a boy. I've been trying to sound the alarm about Dominionism and Christian nationalism since the second Bush administration.
But if you're late to the game, fine. The second best time to start worrying about Christian nationalism is now.
"Rules for thee but not for me." Which brings us around to Wilhoit's observation:
Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.
https://crookedtimber.org/2018/03/21/liberals-against-progressives/#comment-729288
Trumpian Christians love bikini pics now, but they still don't want women to enjoy sex
![White evangelicals embrace raunchy photos — yet they hate sex as much as ever](https://lemmy.one/pictrs/image/3a573af1-06b3-4fb8-89ae-f98829eff31a.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
> "I would actually suggest that conservative folks are less concerned about sex and more concerned about the performance of gender," Gibson told me. "Sex just happens to be the vehicle" they are currently using, he explained, to push a rigid gender ideology where "men are expected to be the leaders" and "women are supposed to be submissive." He pointed out that much "tradwife" content may be sexually provocative, for instance, but it still pushes the notion that "women aren't sexual people" because "the purpose of a heterosexual relationship is for a woman to please a man."
Evangelicalese allows Trump’s MAGA supporters to hide their extreme positions in plain sight
![Decoding Project 2025’s Christian Nationalist language](https://lemmy.one/pictrs/image/99e58c0d-7af2-4add-87a8-ec04b2b1c9de.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
A deep dive into the policies proposed in Project 2025 reveal the theocratic intent of its framers. Using language that evangelicals will recognize to hide its authoritarian intent demonstrates they recognize how unpopular these policies will be once implemented. But then it'll be too late.
One of the key architects of Donald Trump’s plans for a second...
![Trump II Architect Russ Vought Embraces A Christian Nationalist Vision For America](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/bb72ec52-a237-4351-9e57-23132745669a.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
These are the people tasked with developing policy for a second Trump administration. If you're not deeply scared of what they're proposing, you are not paying attention.
An extremist evangelical movement has set itself up to formulate the governing priorities of a second Trump administration.
![The Terrifying Christian Nationalist Crusade to Conquer America](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/815d5a0b-bbff-47f8-b365-3b6f3953cebc.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
The worst part isn't even that they're trying to do this. Of course they've been wanting to do this ever since they started losing power during the Enlightenment. The worst part is that the average American either doesn't know about this, or has somehow talked themselves into believing it's not a real threat. We're watching the scene play out in which the man says, "of course the leopards won't eat my face!"
You can always tell someone is about to kick the stuffing out of a straw man when they target "new atheism." This appears to be no different.
The Horsemen helped raise awareness and give voice to atheist skepticism. They did not speak for atheism or all atheists. Yes, polemicists like Hitchens had some toxic agendas, but he certainly didn't speak for me when he called for the Middle East to be glassed.
Speaking strictly for myself, I'll believe anything you tell me as long as you can support it with the appropriate evidence. If you tell me there's life after death, I'll believe you -- after you show me how you know it's actually true. I do not accept arguments from authority, arguments from faith, or any other example of motivated reasoning. You need concrete, repeatable evidence before I take you seriously.
Not all atheists are skeptics, and not all skeptics are atheists. But they are very complementary positions.
Have you sought help for this problem? It's not too late.