tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/religion-and-politics-15754/articlesReligion and politics – La Conversation2024-03-28T15:09:02Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2266322024-03-28T15:09:02Z2024-03-28T15:09:02ZThe Gambia may allow female genital mutilation again – another sign of a global trend eroding women’s rights<p>The Gambia’s ban on <a href="https://africlaw.com/2016/01/19/banning-female-circumcision-in-the-gambia-through-legislative-change-the-next-steps/">female genital mutilation (FGM)</a> since 2015 is <a href="https://africlaw.com/2024/03/22/threats-to-endfgm-law-in-the-gambia/#more/-3155">under threat</a>. Proposed changes before parliament could permit <a href="https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ijgo.12792">medicalised</a> female genital cutting and allow it for consenting adults. </p>
<p>This potential reversal has thrust the country into the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/mar/18/move-to-overturn-fgm-ban-in-the-gambia-postponed">global spotlight</a> as the latest example of the backlash against gender equality.</p>
<p>The Gambia’s criminalisation of FGM was not the first in west Africa but it came as a surprise. The president at the time, Yahya Jammeh, declared the <a href="https://gambia.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/national_policy_for_the_elimination_of_fgm.pdf">rampant cultural tradition</a> a non-religious practice that caused harm. There was some dissent within the country but human rights groups <a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-9fb847c01f8e448c97f5d09b8a844cba">welcomed</a> the ban. </p>
<p>Jammeh, who was president from 1994 to 2016, also oversaw the passage of other progressive gender-related laws. The <a href="https://www.lawhubgambia.com/domestic-violence-act-2013">Domestic Violence Act 2013</a> provided a framework for combating domestic violence in all its forms (physical, sexual, emotional, economic) and protection in particular for women and children. The <a href="https://www.lawhubgambia.com/sexual-offences-act-2013">Sexual Offences Act 2013</a> expanded the definition of rape, broadened the circumstances in which individuals could be charged, and reduced the burden of proof in prosecutions.</p>
<p>Jammeh also <a href="https://security-legislation.gm/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Childrens-Amendment-Act-2016.pdf">outlawed</a> child marriages in 2016. This was significant in country where <a href="https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR369/FR369.pdf">one in five young people aged 15-19 (19%)</a> are married. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/development-policy/news/eu-cuts-aid-to-gambia-over-human-rights-concerns/">one of the world’s most aid-dependent countries</a>, these reforms were all central to international donor interests. And they helped to improve the country’s democratic reputation. But at the same time, they made it easy for the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/48609039">autocratic</a> leader to get away with other excesses. He also mobilised religion to manipulate beliefs and sentiments, particularly affecting girls and women. For example, Jammeh <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/05/gambia-female-government-workers-headscarves-islamic-republic">mandated</a> that female government workers wear veils or headscarves when he declared his <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353945890_2020_Religious_Tolerance_in_the_Gambia">Muslim majority</a> country an Islamic state in 2016. </p>
<p>President Adama Barrow, Jammeh’s successor, has emphasised religious tolerance and has refrained from employing religious symbolism. Unlike the state-sponsored homophobia under the Jammeh regime, Barrow has downplayed homosexuality as a <a href="https://www.pulp.up.ac.za/edocman/edited_collections/queer_lawfare_in_africa/Chapter%2011.pdf">“non-issue”</a>.</p>
<p>I am a legal scholar and human rights practitioner with published research on <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Q0j-E18AAAAJ&citation_for_view=Q0j-E18AAAAJ:u5HHmVD_uO8C">female genital mutilation</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Q0j-E18AAAAJ&citation_for_view=Q0j-E18AAAAJ:zYLM7Y9cAGgC">gender equality and women’s rights</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Q0j-E18AAAAJ&citation_for_view=Q0j-E18AAAAJ:_kc_bZDykSQC">governance</a> in The Gambia. It’s my view that Jammeh’s ostensible compliance with gender equality norms was selective and intended for the international gallery rather than a genuine commitment to women’s rights and democracy.</p>
<p>His tactical stance highlighted a broader trend. Autocratic African leaders often accommodate global gender norms to maintain domestic power dynamics. The result, for example, is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00104140221074277">increased women’s political participation through quotas</a> along with a conservative approach to sexual and reproductive health and rights.</p>
<p>The Gambia experience also shows that western donors and multilateral institutions need to go beyond just pushing for reforms. Once they have got the reforms they advocated for, they should have a strategy for sustaining them. Forces that were opposed to the reform often regroup to campaign for its removal. </p>
<p>At its core, female genital mutilation <a href="https://www.pulp.up.ac.za/edocman/pulp_commentaries/protocol_to_ACHPR/Article_5.pdf">constitutes</a> a <a href="https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijgo.12792">violation</a> of the human rights of girls and women. These include the right to non-discrimination, to protection from physical and mental violence, and to health and life. </p>
<p>From a feminist perspective, the prevalence of FGM in numerous African nations revolves around upholding gender-specific norms and exerting control over women’s sexuality.</p>
<h2>Female genital mutilation in The Gambia</h2>
<p>Female genital cutting is a <a href="https://gambia.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/national_policy_for_the_elimination_of_fgm.pdf">deeply ingrained practice</a>. It is driven by cultural beliefs and often performed by traditional healers. According to the most recent <a href="https://dhsprogram.com/publications/publication-FR369-DHS-Final-Reports.cfm">national survey</a>, a large majority of Gambian women aged 15-49 years (73%) have undergone female genital cutting. More alarming is an <a href="https://www.unicef.org/gambia/media/776/file/The%20Gambia%20Multiple%20Indicator%20Cluster%20Survey%202018.pdf">8% increase in the prevalence</a> of FGM among girls under the age of 14 – from 42.4% in 2010 to 50.6% in 2018. </p>
<p>Numerous health risks associated with all types of the practice have been documented by the <a href="https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation">World Health Organization</a> and <a href="https://gh.bmj.com/content/2/4/bmjgh-2017-000467#ref-5">systematic reviews</a>. These include severe pain, bleeding, infections and complications during childbirth and elevated rates of anxiety and other mental health disorders. This has led to <a href="https://eyala.blog/my-musings/repealing-the-endfgm-law-will-be-a-betrayal-of-women-and-girls-in-the-gambia-jama-jack">calls</a> for the practice to be banned in order to protect girls’ health and well-being.</p>
<p>The Gambia’s current struggle with the FGM ban reflects a complex interplay between cultural norms, religious beliefs, and the fight for gender equality. The potential repeal of the ban poses a threat to human rights of women and girls in The Gambia.</p>
<h2>Reversal of hard-won gains</h2>
<p>Though The Gambia is constitutionally secular, religion influences nearly every facet of society. Islamic fundamentalists in the country are known for attacks on religious minorities, including <a href="https://malagen.org/media-monitoring/hate-speech-alert-imam-fatty-attacks-ahmadis/">hate speech</a> against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and the <a href="https://www.voicegambia.com/2023/05/11/rising-religious-tension-in-the-country/">Christian community</a>. </p>
<p>The main fundamentalist religious actors draw inspiration from and still support the exiled former dictator Jammeh. They are at the forefront of the <a href="https://africlaw.com/2024/03/22/threats-to-endfgm-law-in-the-gambia/#more-3155.">recent pushback</a> against the anti-FGM law. They argue that the ban violates their religious and cultural freedoms as guaranteed in the <a href="https://www.lawhubgambia.com/1997-constitution">1997 constitution</a>. </p>
<p>On 4 March 2024 a <a href="https://standard.gm/nam-to-seek-power-of-attorney-from-jammeh-to-sue-govt/">strong supporter of Jammeh</a> proposed a private member’s <a href="https://satangnabaneh.com/contesting-the-prohibition-of-female-genital-mutilation-in-the-gambia/">bill</a> in the National Assembly that seeks to overturn the ban.</p>
<p>The push to reassert traditional gender roles isn’t isolated to The Gambia. There is a global trend of rolling back progress on gender equality. This trend is characterised by attempts to limit <a href="https://www.pulp.up.ac.za/emerging-voices-series/choice-and-conscience-lessons-from-south-africa-for-a-global-debate">women’s bodily choices</a>, an <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Women/WG/Gender-equality-and-gender-backlash.pdf">increase in violence</a> against them, as well as <a href="https://www.pulp.up.ac.za/edited-collections/queer-lawfare-in-africa-legal-strategies-in-contexts-of-lgbtiq-criminalisation-and-politicisation">attacks</a> on LGBTQI+ communities. It reflects a broader political climate of backlash against women’s rights and gender equality as a weapon in the reversal of democratic achievements.</p>
<p>Attempts have been seen to reverse legal protections against women and girls in <a href="https://au.int/en/articles/kenyas-court-ruling-against-fgm-demonstrates-commitment-member-states-shun-practices">Kenya</a>. In Sudan, state-sanctioned violence and societal pressure is aimed at <a href="https://africanarguments.org/2019/07/against-laws-regime-sudan-women-protesters-want/">restricting</a> women’s public participation. Similarly, Tanzania previously enacted a policy barring teenage mothers from <a href="https://www.moe.go.tz/sw/nyaraka/waraka-wa-elimu-na-2-wa-mwaka-2021-kuhusu-kuingia-tena-shule-kwa-wanafunzi-wa-shule-za">attending</a> public schools, though this policy has been reversed. </p>
<p>This global context highlights how anti-rights movements, undemocratic norms and gendered politics are working together to erode women’s rights and exacerbate inequalities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226632/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Satang Nabaneh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The potential repeal of the ban on female genital mutilation poses a threat to the well-being of girls in The Gambia.Satang Nabaneh, Director of Programs, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2259652024-03-27T12:37:57Z2024-03-27T12:37:57ZEaster 2024 in the Holy Land: a holiday marked by Palestinian Christian sorrow<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584385/original/file-20240326-22-4jhbih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=43%2C51%2C5604%2C3699&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed by many Christians to be the site of the crucifixion and burial place of Jesus Christ.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/IsraelPalestiniansEaster/d33a91bd48b94dd7b7cae10a29bdeef0/photo?Query=%20Church%20of%20the%20Holy%20Sepulchre%20easter&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=901&digitizationType=Digitized&currentItemNo=29&vs=true&vs=true">AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every year, Christians from across the world visit Jerusalem for Easter week, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/following-jesuss-steps-millions-christians-via-dolorosa-walking-wrong-way">walking the Via Dolorosa</a>, the path Jesus is said to have walked on the way to his crucifixion over 2,000 years ago. Easter is the holiest of days, and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Holy-Sepulchre">Church of the Holy Sepulchre</a>, the site where Jesus is believed to have died, is one of the most sacred sites for Christians.</p>
<p>But not all Christians have equal access to these sites. If you are a Christian Palestinian living in the city of Bethlehem or Ramallah hoping to celebrate Easter in Jerusalem, you have to <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240325-israel-bans-palestinian-christians-from-jerusalem-on-palm-sunday/">request permission from Israeli authorities</a> well before Christmas – without guarantee that it will be granted. Those were the rules even before Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-latest-02-28-2024-5fb126981031984395a228598fa9e4a9">launched an attack on southern Israel</a>. The Israeli response to the Hamas attack has resulted in even more <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/11/middleeast/west-bank-restrictions-violence-intl-cmd/index.html">severe restrictions on freedom of movement</a> for Palestinians in the West Bank.</p>
<p>The site where the Bible says Jesus was born, in Bethlehem, and the place he died, in Jerusalem, are only about six miles apart. Google Maps indicates the drive takes about 20 minutes but carries a warning: “<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Church+of+the+Nativity,+P635%2BP2C,+Bethlehem+Territory/Church+of+the+Holy+Sepulchre,+Jerusalem/@31.7444436,35.1267403,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x1502d87be687c8f9:0xd060c37bd524261c!2m2!1d35.2075288!2d31.7043034!1m5!1m1!1s0x150329cf1c246db5:0x2d04a75cfc390360!2m2!1d35.2296002!2d31.7784813!3e0?entry=ttu">This route may cross country borders</a>.” That is because Bethlehem is located in the West Bank, which is under Israeli military occupation, whereas <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/22/how-does-israels-occupation-of-palestine-work#:%7E:text=Israel%20occupied%20the%20West%20Bank,were%20the%20capital%20of%20Israel">Jerusalem is under direct Israeli control</a>. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.sjsu.edu/justicestudies/about-us/directory/abusaad-roni.php">human rights scholar</a> and Christian Palestinian who grew up in Bethlehem, I have many fond memories of Easter, which is a special time of gathering and celebration for Christian Palestinians. But I also saw firsthand how the military occupation has denied Palestinians basic human rights, including religious rights.</p>
<h2>A season of celebration</h2>
<p>Traditionally, Palestinian families and friends exchange visits, offering coffee, tea and a cookie stuffed with dates called “<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/04/11/522771745/maamoul-an-ancient-cookie-that-ushers-in-easter-and-eid-in-the-middle-east">maamoul</a>,” which is made only at Easter. A favorite tradition, especially for children, is taking a colorfully dyed hard-boiled egg in one hand and cracking it against an egg held by a friend. The breaking of the egg symbolizes the rise of Jesus from the tomb, the end of sorrow and the ultimate defeat of death itself and purification of human sins.</p>
<p>For Orthodox Christians, one of the most sacred rites of the year is the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Holy-Fire">Holy Fire</a>. On the day before Orthodox Easter, thousands of pilgrims and local Christian Palestinians of all denominations gather in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Greek and Armenian patriarchs enter the enclosure of the tomb in which Jesus was said to have been buried and pray inside. Those inside have <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=IpyPCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT285&lpg=PT285&dq=%22From+the+core+of+the+very+stone+on+which+Jesus+lay+an+indefinable+light+pours+forth.+It+usually+has+a+blue+tint,+but+the+color+may+change+and+take+many+different+hues.+It+cannot+be+described+in+human+terms.+The+light+rises+out+of+the+stone+as+mist+may+rise+out+of+a+lake+%E2%80%94+it+almost+looks+as+if+the+stone+is+covered+by+a+moist+cloud,+but+it+is+light.&source=bl&ots=l47MXGss14&sig=ACfU3U3c3GuHU35fJ_j6Uxpnf8zITGO9gA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiW4d74n5KFAxVGCTQIHUNrAgsQ6AF6BAhKEAM#v=onepage&q&f=false">reported</a> that a blue light rises from the stone where Jesus lay, and forms into a flame. The patriarch lights candles from the flame, passing the fire from candle to candle among the thousands assembled in the church. </p>
<p>That same day, delegations representing Eastern Orthodox countries carry the flame in lanterns to their home countries via <a href="https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/aircraft-fleet-brings-easter-holy-fire-to-orthodox-communities">chartered planes</a> to be presented in cathedrals in time for the Easter service. Palestinians also carry the flame using lanterns to homes and churches in the West Bank.</p>
<figure>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Christians celebrate the Holy Fire under Israeli restrictions in 2023.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Deep roots in the Holy Land</h2>
<p>Palestinian Christians <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/Sociology-of-early-Palestinian-Christianity/oclc/3609025">trace their ancestry</a> to the time of Jesus and Christianity’s founding in the region. Many <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/9781">churches and monasteries</a> flourished in Bethlehem, Jerusalem and other Palestinian towns under Byzantine and Roman rule. Throughout this period and into the modern day, Christians, Muslims and Jews <a href="https://www.iis.ac.uk/learning-centre/scholarly-contributions/academic-articles/muslim-jews-and-christians-relations-and-interactions/">lived side by side in the region</a>. </p>
<p>With the Islamic conquest in the seventh century, the <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/decline-of-eastern-christianity-under-islam-from-jihad-to-dhimmitude-seventh-twentieth-century/oclc/33276531">majority of Christians gradually converted to Islam</a>. However, the remaining Christian minority persisted in practicing their religion and traditions, including through the rule of the Ottoman empire, from 1516 to 1922, and to the present day.</p>
<p>The establishment of Israel in 1948 led to the expulsion of <a href="http://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=17079">750,000 Palestinians, over 80% of the population</a>, which is referred to by Palestinians as the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nakba-at-75-palestinians-struggle-to-get-recognition-for-their-catastrophe-204782">nakba,” or the catastrophe</a>. Hundreds of thousands became refugees throughout the world, including many Christians.</p>
<p>Christians accounted for about <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-204267/">10% of the population in 1920</a> but <a href="https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/west-bank/#people-and-society">constitute just 1% to 2.5%</a> of Palestinians in the West Bank as of 2024, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep25112">because of emigration</a>. Christians in the West Bank belong to multiple denominations, including Greek Orthodox, Catholic and various Protestant denominations.</p>
<p>Thousands of Palestinians rely on the pilgrims and tourists who come to Bethlehem every year for their livelihoods. Two million people visit Bethlehem annually, and more than <a href="https://www.bethlehem-city.org/en/the-city-economy">20% of local workers are employed in tourism</a>. Another important local industry is carved olive wood handicrafts. In 2004, the mayor of Beit Jala, which borders the city of Bethlehem, estimated <a href="https://unispal.un.org/pdfs/Beth_Rep_Dec04.pdf">200 families in the area</a> made their living from carving olive wood. Christians around the world have <a href="https://sg.news.yahoo.com/christmas-journey-olive-orchard-nativity-180326957.html">olive wood nativity sets</a> or crosses carved by Palestinian artisans, a tradition that has been passed down through generations.</p>
<h2>Impact of the occupation</h2>
<p>The neighborhoods of the occupied West Bank have been fragmented by the building of over 145 illegal Israeli settlements. Both Christian and Muslim Palestinians face huge barriers to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/jsa.2019.0003">accessing holy sites in Jerusalem</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Men wearing long green garbs walk in a procession and one in the center holds a tall crucifix." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584391/original/file-20240326-22-le7r64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584391/original/file-20240326-22-le7r64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584391/original/file-20240326-22-le7r64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584391/original/file-20240326-22-le7r64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584391/original/file-20240326-22-le7r64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584391/original/file-20240326-22-le7r64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584391/original/file-20240326-22-le7r64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Israeli policeman stands guard during a March 1997 procession of Franciscan monks led by traditionally dressed guards coming out of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MIDEASTJERUSALEMEASTER/95dacad9cce0da11af9f0014c2589dfb/photo?Query=%20bethlehem%20holy%20week%20guards&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=733&digitizationType=Digitized&currentItemNo=0&vs=true&vs=true">AP Photo/Peter Dejong</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bethlehem is encircled by several Jewish-only settlements, as well as the <a href="https://pij.org/articles/1042/the-impact-of-the-separation-wall-on-jerusalem">separation wall</a> built in the 2000s, which snakes around and across the city. Across the West Bank, over 500 checkpoints and bypass roads designed to connect settlements have been built on Palestinian lands for the exclusive use of settlers. As of <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-02-02/israeli-settler-population-west-bank-surpasses-500000">Jan. 1, 2023</a>, there were over half a million settlers in the West Bank and another 200,000 in East Jerusalem.</p>
<p>The highways and bypass roads cut through the middle of towns and separate families. It is a system that former <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-165X.2007.tb01647.x">President Jimmy Carter</a> and numerous human rights groups have described as “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-jerusalem-israel-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-83b44a2f6b2b3581d857f57fb6960115">apartheid</a>.” This system severely restricts freedom of movement and separates students from schools, patients from hospitals, farmers from their lands and worshipers from their churches or mosques. </p>
<p>Additionally, Palestinians have a different license plate color on their cars. They can’t use their vehicles to access <a href="https://apnews.com/article/a0c47ad493fb4b31a444bfe432194f2e">private roads</a>, which restricts their access to Jerusalem or Israel.</p>
<p>Going far beyond separate roads, Palestinians in the West Bank are subject to a separate legal system – a military judicial system – whereas Israeli settlers living in the West Bank have a civilian court system. This <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2019/01/chapter-3-israeli-settlements-and-international-law/">system</a> allows indefinite detention of Palestinians without charge or trial based on secret evidence. All of these restrictions on freedom of movement disrupt the ability of Palestinians of all faiths to visit holy sites and gather for religious observances.</p>
<h2>Prayers for peace</h2>
<p>The barriers to celebrating Easter, especially this year, are not just physical but emotional and spiritual. </p>
<p>As of March 25, 2024, the number of <a href="https://www.barrons.com/news/health-ministry-in-hamas-run-gaza-says-war-death-toll-at-32-333-fd31aa61">Gazans killed in the war had surpassed 32,000</a> – <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/29/1234159514/gaza-death-toll-30000-palestinians-israel-hamas-war">70% of them women and children</a>, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israel has <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/3/22/israel-arrested-over-7350-west-bank-palestinians-since-war-on-gaza-began">arrested 7,350 people in the West Bank</a>, with over 9,000 currently in detention, up from 5,200 who were in Israeli prisons before Oct. 7, 2023. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/palestinian-christians-and-muslims-have-lived-together-in-the-region-for-centuries-and-several-were-killed-recently-while-sheltering-in-the-historic-church-of-saint-porphyrius-216335">Israel bombed the world’s third oldest church</a>, St. Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church, in Gaza in October 2023, killing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/20/gaza-church-strike-saint-porphyrius/">18 of the more than 400 people</a> sheltering there.</p>
<p>Christian Palestinians in the West Bank <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/11/15/bethlehem-cancels-christmas-display-martyrs-israel-hamas/">suspended celebrations</a> for Christmas in 2023 in hopes of bringing more attention to the death and suffering in Gaza. But the situation has only worsened. An estimated <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/unrwa-situation-report-82-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem-all-information-22-24-february-2024-valid-24-february-2024-2230-enar">1.7 million Gazans</a> – over 75% of the population – had been displaced as of March 2024, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/19/middleeast/famine-northern-gaza-starvation-ipc-report-intl-hnk/index.html">half of them on the verge of famine</a>.</p>
<p>Many Palestinians have long turned to their faith to endure the occupation and have found <a href="https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.70464">solace in prayer</a>. That faith has allowed many to hold on to the hope that the occupation will end and the Holy Land will be the place of peace and coexistence that it once was. Perhaps that is when, for many, Easter celebrations will be truly joyful again.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225965/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roni Abusaad, PhD does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A Christian Palestinian human rights scholar who grew up in Bethlehem writes about the special time of Easter, but also about the restrictions on Palestinian Christians.Roni Abusaad, PhD, Lecturer, San José State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2248352024-03-15T12:11:11Z2024-03-15T12:11:11ZWhat is the ‘great replacement theory’? A scholar of race relations explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581774/original/file-20240313-22-a4q7ya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=107%2C16%2C5406%2C3653&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Members of a white supremacist group demonstrate near the National Archives in Washington on Jan. 21, 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PatriotFront/3caaaf6fe498443da3305b2b4ffc7b94/photo?Query=2024%20white%20nationalists&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=748&digitizationType=Digitized&currentItemNo=NaN&vs=true&vs=true">AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.immigrationresearch.org/system/files/The%20%E2%80%98Great%20Replacement%E2%80%99%20Theory%2C%20Explained.pdf">“great replacement theory</a>,” whose origins date back to the late 19th century, argues that Jews and some Western elites are conspiring to replace white Americans and Europeans with people of non-European descent, particularly Asians and Africans.</p>
<p>The conspiracy evolved from a series of false ideas that, over time, stoked the fears of white people: In 1892, British-Australian author and politician Charles Pearson <a href="https://archive.org/details/nationallifeandc015071mbp">warned that white people</a> would “wake to find ourselves elbowed and hustled, and perhaps even thrust aside by people whom we looked down.” The massive influx of immigrants into Europe at the time fostered some of these fears and resulted in “white extinction anxiety.” In the U.S., it resulted in policies <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act">targeting immigration</a> in the late 19th and early 20th century. </p>
<p>In France, journalist Édouard Drumont, leader of an antisemitic movement, wrote articles in the late 19th century imagining how <a href="https://www.marxists.org/history/france/dreyfus-affair/drumont.htm">Jews would destroy French culture</a>. In 1909, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, an Italian poet and supporter of Benito Mussolini, argued that war and fascism <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/renaud-camus-great-replacement-brenton-tarrant/">were the only cure for the world</a>. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/08/12/these-are-the-three-reasons-that-fascism-spread-in-1930s-america-and-might-spread-again-today/">Fascism</a>, then and now, worked to ensure white dominance. </p>
<p>This was followed by the <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/forums/genetics-generation/america-s-hidden-history-the-eugenics-movement-123919444/">eugenics movement</a>, an erroneous and racist theory that supported forced sterilization of Black people, the mentally ill and other marginalized groups, who were all deemed “unfit.” </p>
<p>The 1978 book entitled “<a href="https://archive.org/details/the-turner-diaries-andrew-mac-donald-william-pierce">The Turner Diaries</a>,” a fictional futuristic account of the overthrow of the United States government, further contributed to white nationalist ideas. </p>
<p>Collectively, these gave rise to a global movement that attracted a wide range of <a href="https://archive.org/details/passingofgreatra00granuoft">white supremacist, xenophobic and anti-immigration conspiracy theories</a>. These theories were formally codified <a href="https://archive.org/details/le-grand-remplacement-renaud-camus">in the work of Frenchman Renaud Camus</a>, first in his 2010 book “L'Abécédaire de l'in-nocence” and elaborated in his 2011 book “<a href="https://archive.org/details/le-grand-remplacement-renaud-camus">Le Grand Remplacement</a>.” </p>
<p>Camus argued that ethnic French and white Europeans were being replaced physically, culturally and politically by nonwhite people. He believed that liberal immigration policies and the dramatic decline in white birth rates were threatening European civilization and traditions. </p>
<h2>Why this conspiracy theory matters</h2>
<p>These false ideas promulgated the spread of white supremacy, which has <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2022/05/17/racist-great-replacement-conspiracy-theory-explained?">contributed to terrorist attacks</a>, state violence and propaganda campaigns in the U.S and parts of Europe. </p>
<p>On Aug. 11, 2017, during a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/us/white-nationalists-rally-charlottesville-virginia.html">white nationalists chanted</a> “You will not replace us” and “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/16/charlottesville-neo-nazis-vice-news-hbo">Jews will not replace us</a>.” In spring 2019, Belgian politician Dries Van Langenhove repeatedly posted on social media, “<a href="https://time.com/5627494/we-analyzed-how-the-great-replacement-and-far-right-ideas-spread-online-the-trends-reveal-deep-concerns/">We are being replaced</a>.”</p>
<p>In recent years, <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/diversity/education/stress-and-trauma/undocumented-immigrants">nonwhite immigrants</a> have been the target of xenophobia. Migrants, especially from Mexico, are accused of <a href="https://immigrantjustice.org/research-items/report-legacy-injustice-us-criminalization-migration">bringing criminal activities</a> to American cities. Immigrants have also been falsely accused of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/18/1118271910/many-americans-falsely-think-migrants-are-bringing-most-of-the-fentanyl-entering">smuggling fentanyl</a> into the U.S. The reality is that immigrants commit <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/08/1237103158/immigrants-are-less-likely-to-commit-crimes-than-us-born-americans-studies-find">far fewer crimes than those born in the U.S</a>. </p>
<h2>Impact of the theory and spread of hate</h2>
<p>In less than two decades, the theory has become a major idea, with as many <a href="https://www.rmx.news/france/france-poll-reveals-vast-majority-worried-about-great-replacement/">as 60% of the French population</a> believing some aspects of it. According to that survey, they are worried or at least concerned that they might be replaced. In the U.K. <a href="https://www.umass.edu/news/article/new-national-umass-amherst-poll-issues-finds-one-third-americans-believe-great">and the U.S.</a>, close to <a href="https://unherd.com/newsroom/one-in-three-brits-believe-in-great-replacement-theory/">one-third of those polled</a> believe that white people are systematically being replaced by nonwhite immigrants. Some in the U.S. fear that America might lose its culture and identity as a result. </p>
<p>Being aware of conspiracy theories and standing up to hatred, I argue, can help societies deal with the continuing fallout of extreme xenophobia, racist rants, the rise of white supremacy and the victimization of innocent people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224835/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rodney Coates does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>False ideas about the extinction of the white race, spread around the late 19th and early 20th centuries, gave rise to xenophobic and anti-immigration conspiracy theories.Rodney Coates, Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Miami UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2193862024-01-03T13:43:45Z2024-01-03T13:43:45ZHow religion and politics will mix in 2024 – three trends to track<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565883/original/file-20231214-19-v45zg4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C2995%2C1953&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Attendees at evangelist Franklin Graham's 'Decision America' tour in Turlock, Calif., in 2018. The tour was to encourage Christians to vote.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/attendees-hold-hands-and-pray-as-rev-franklin-graham-speaks-news-photo/963640408?adppopup=true">Justin Sullivan/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Religion is likely to play a big role in voters’ choices in the 2024 presidential election – much as it did in previous years. Despite an overall shift away from participation in <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/05/14/democrats-religion-census-secular-00095858">organized religion in the U.S. populace</a>, religious rhetoric in the political arena has intensified. </p>
<p>In the 2016 race, evangelical voters contributed, in part, to Republican nominee Donald Trump’s victory. Those Americans who identified as “weekly churchgoers” not only showed up at the polls in large numbers, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/11/09/how-the-faithful-voted-a-preliminary-2016-analysis/">but more than 55% of them supported Trump</a>. His capture of <a href="https://www.prri.org/spotlight/religion-vote-2016/">66% of the white evangelical vote</a> also tipped the scales in his favor against his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>Evangelical support for Trump continued to be strong in the 2020 presidential election. However, Joe Biden <a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/324410/religious-group-voting-2020-election.aspx">drew fellow Catholics to his camp</a> and convinced some evangelicals, as well, to vote in his favor. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/09/faith-leaders-back-biden-evangelicals-trump">Biden received public endorsement</a> from 1,600 Catholic, mainline Protestant and evangelical faith leaders. </p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://www.umt.edu/history/people/?ID=1174">historian and a religious studies scholar</a> who recently published <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Religion-and-Social-Protest-Movements/Shearer/p/book/9781138090262">a book exploring the role of religion in political movements</a> such as anti-abortion campaigns. Historical evidence can help identify trends that will likely influence the mix of religion and politics in the year ahead. </p>
<p>From my perspective, three key trends are likely to show up in 2024. In particular, the run-up to the elections seems poised to feature intensified end-times rhetoric, more claims of divine support and relative silence from the evangelical community on the rise in Christian nationalism. </p>
<h2>1. End-times rhetoric</h2>
<p>End-times rhetoric has long played a prominent role in American politics. In 2016, as presidential candidate <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/magazine/hillary-clinton-campaign-final-weeks.html">Clinton told</a> The New York Times, “As I’ve told people, I’m the the last thing standing between you and the apocalypse.” Three years before, <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2016/11/8/13494798/apocalypse-election-history-trump-clinton-cruz-johnson-goldwater">Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had warned</a>, “We have a couple of years to turn the country around or we go off the cliff to oblivion.” </p>
<p>Indeed, American leaders have rallied adherents through <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2017/12/29/political-scientist-studies-apocalyptic-political-rhetoric/">apocalyptic rhetoric</a> since the inception of the country. Ever since Puritan John Winthrop first called America a “<a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/Winthrop%27s%20City%20upon%20a%20Hill.pdf">city on the hill</a>” – meaning a shining example for the world to follow – the threat of losing that divinely appointed status has consistently been employed by presidential candidates. </p>
<p>John F. Kennedy employed that exact image of the “city on the hill” in a <a href="https://www.jfklibrary.org/node/11516">1961 speech on the cusp of his inauguration</a>, claiming that – with “God’s help” – valor, integrity, dedication and wisdom would define his administration. </p>
<p>Part of Ronald Reagan’s rise to fame included “<a href="https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/ronald-reagan/time-choosing-speech-october-27-1964">A Time for Choosing</a>,” a speech in which he nominated Republican presidential candidate <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2016/11/8/13494798/apocalypse-election-history-trump-clinton-cruz-johnson-goldwater">Barry Goldwater and warned</a>, “We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness.” In <a href="https://www.reaganfoundation.org/media/128652/farewell.pdf">his farewell address 25 years later</a>, Reagan also revived the city on the hill image while lauding U.S. freedoms. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="President Trump, in a navy blue suit, prays with his supporters standing on either side." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565887/original/file-20231214-25-l4aaco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565887/original/file-20231214-25-l4aaco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565887/original/file-20231214-25-l4aaco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565887/original/file-20231214-25-l4aaco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565887/original/file-20231214-25-l4aaco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565887/original/file-20231214-25-l4aaco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565887/original/file-20231214-25-l4aaco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Faith leaders pray over U.S. President Donald Trump during a ‘Evangelicals for Trump’ campaign event held at the King Jesus International Ministry on Jan. 3, 2020, in Miami.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/faith-leaders-pray-over-us-president-donald-trump-during-a-news-photo/1191478084?adppopup=true">Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a late 2022 announcement of his presidential election bid, Trump asserted “<a href="https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/former-president-trump-announces-2024-presidential-bid-transcript">the blood-soaked streets of our once great cities are cesspools of violent crimes</a>,” drawing on apocalyptic imagery, in reference to drug-smuggling and illegal immigration. By March 2023, at the annual gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference, he predicted that “<a href="https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/trump-speaks-at-cpac-2023-transcript">if they [Democrats] win, we no longer have a country</a>.”</p>
<p>Biden has likewise drawn on the image of final battles. In a speech at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall on Sept. 1, 2022, he said that he and his supporters are in “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/09/01/remarks-by-president-bidenon-the-continued-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-nation/">a battle for the soul of this nation</a>.” </p>
<h2>2. Divine mandate</h2>
<p>Since the establishment of the republic, many U.S. political leaders have claimed a divine mandate. God, they asserted, guided the founding of the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20474628">country’s democratic institutions</a>, ranging from popular elections to the Constitution’s balance of powers. </p>
<p>George Washington, for example, claimed in a June 1788 letter to his secretary of war, Benjamin Lincoln, that “<a href="https://founders.archives.gov/GEWN-04-06-02-0326">the finger of Providence has so manifestly pointed</a>” to the founding of the United States. The previous year, Benjamin Franklin gave a speech to the Constitutional Convention <a href="https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/benfranklin.htm">in which he noted</a>: “God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his aid?” </p>
<p>By 1954, in the middle of the Cold War, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill <a href="http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/mandestiny.htm">adding “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance</a>, a reassertion of Washington’s earlier claim.</p>
<p>Scholars have long documented how those in power <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197652534.003.0006">employ claims of divine authority</a> to legitimize their role in a host of different countries. Recently, some U.S. politicians and public commentators have shifted to claiming divine authority for anti-democratic actions. </p>
<p>Doug Mastriano, a Pennsylvania state senator at the time, prayed right before the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that those seeking <a href="https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/09/20/crisis-of-faith-christian-nationalism-and-the-threat-to-u-s-democracy">to “seize the power” would do so “providentially</a>.” </p>
<p>The claim by conservative radio celebrity Eric Metaxas that the insurrection was “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/02/11/christian-religion-insurrection-capitol-trump/">God’s battle even more than our battle</a>” defined the event as divinely inspired. This kind of assertion by such influential voices intensifies the commitments of those seeking to undermine democratic electoral processes.</p>
<p>Regardless of the outcome of the 2024 election, the switch from historical claims of divine authority for democracy to divine authority to challenge democracy is already obvious and apparent.</p>
<h2>3. White supremacy and Christian nationalism</h2>
<p>In the U.S., religious and racial identities have been <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/02/16/race-in-the-religious-lives-of-black-americans/">intertwined from the country’s inception</a>. Although also expressed in more subtle and systemic forms, during the late 20th and early 21st centuries, <a href="https://voices.uchicago.edu/religionculture/2017/06/26/the-klan-white-christianity-and-the-past-and-present-a-response-to-kelly-j-baker-by-randall-j-stephens/">white supremacists</a> made the most explicit claims of divine favor on the part of white people in general and people of Nordic descent in particular. </p>
<p>They promoted <a href="https://theconversation.com/nazi-germany-had-admirers-among-american-religious-leaders-and-white-supremacy-fueled-their-support-213635">Nazi ideology</a> and <a href="https://www.overdrive.com/media/3586908/the-religion-of-white-supremacy-in-the-united-states">developed new organizations that repackaged similar philosophies</a> while drawing on religious claims. </p>
<p>The overtly white supremacist and virulently antisemitic <a href="https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/ctec-publications/christian-identitys-new-role-extreme-right">Christian Identity movement</a>, a North American new religious movement that gained popularity in the 1980s among organized white supremacist groups, claimed that people of color, who they deemed “<a href="https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/ctec-publications/christian-identitys-new-role-extreme-right">mud races</a>,” were created by God as inferior. They also asserted that the religious covenant – between God and people – spelled out in the Bible <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christian-Identity">applied only to people of European descent</a>. </p>
<p>Likewise, the unapologetically white supremacist “<a href="https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/events/christianity-and-the-alt-right-exploring-the-relationship">alt-right movement</a>” that coalesced in 2010 around the philosophies of biological racism and the belief in the superiority of white peoples around the world have likewise mixed overt white supremacy with religious doctrines. </p>
<p>This close connection between religious claims and white supremacy among overtly racist organizations has shown up in mainline political arenas as well. In this case, the trend is one of omission. Evangelical leaders have consistently failed to condemn or disassociate themselves from leaders with overt white supremacy connections.</p>
<p>When given an opportunity to condemn white supremacists during the first 2020 presidential debate, Trump instead addressed the Proud Boys, a violent white supremacist group, by saying, “<a href="https://www.debates.org/voter-education/debate-transcripts/september-29-2020-debate-transcript/">Stand back and stand ready</a>.” His decision to hire staff like <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetwburns/2017/10/06/breitbart-emails-trace-neo-nazi-moves-of-steve-bannon-milo-yiannopoulos-report/?sh=4633a6fb925c">white nationalist Steve Bannon</a> during his first presidential campaign and to dine with white supremacist Nick Fuentes <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/25/us/politics/trump-nick-fuentes-dinner.html">in November 2022</a> continued that pattern. </p>
<p>Appeals to white supremacy have also surfaced in the current Congress. In spring of 2023, 26 members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-denounce-white-supremacy-letter-raskin-1786300">refused to sign a letter denouncing white supremacy</a>. </p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether these trends will continue in their current forms, transition to new ones or be displaced by rhetorical strategies as yet unimagined. What is most certain is that religion and politics will continue to interact.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219386/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tobin Miller Shearer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The 2024 elections may see a more intense end-times rhetoric, claims of divine support and a failure to condemn the rise in Christian nationalism, writes a religion scholar.Tobin Miller Shearer, Professor and Chair, History Department: Director of the African-American Studies Program, University of MontanaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2169542023-12-12T13:23:47Z2023-12-12T13:23:47ZBefore he was House speaker, Mike Johnson represented a creationist museum in court. Here’s what that episode reveals about his politics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562354/original/file-20231129-26-2k6b6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C3974%2C2633&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Speaker of the House Mike Johnson takes questions from reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Nov. 14, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CongressBudget/367308ff9b4e477ab4350033cce96fd2/photo?Query=congress%20mike%20johnson&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=304&currentItemNo=28">AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has been the subject of <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/25/mike-johnson-trump-election-gambit-00123611">considerable media attention</a> following his elevation to the post on Oct. 25, 2023. Since his appointment, news reports have highlighted the fact that he was one of the House leaders against certifying the 2020 election of Joe Biden to the presidency, and that he is known to be stridently anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+. </p>
<p>Comparing himself to Moses, in a speech at a gala on Dec. 5, 2023, Johnson suggested that <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/12/mike-johnson-christian-nationalist-lawmakers-moses.html">God cleared the way for him to be speaker of the House</a>.</p>
<p>In the words of Public Religion Research Institute President Robert Jones, Johnson is “<a href="https://www.alternet.org/christian-nationalism-2666122567/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Nov.1.2023_8.30pm">a near-textbook example</a> of white Christian nationalism – the belief that God intended America to be a new promised land for European Christians.” </p>
<p>As historian <a href="https://www.messiah.edu/info/23721/our_faculty/2371/john_fea">John Fea</a> has noted, Johnson is “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/evangelical-conservatives-cheer-one-of-their-own-as-mike-johnson-assumes-congress-most-powerful-seat">a culture warrior with deep connections to the Christian Right</a>.”</p>
<p>While it might not seem obvious, one of those connections includes his legal work on behalf of <a href="https://arkencounter.com/">Ark Encounter</a>, the massive tourist site in Kentucky run by Answers in Genesis, or AiG, and its CEO, Ken Ham. Ark Encounter and its companion site, the Creation Museum, propagate <a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/10885/righting-america-creation-museum">Young Earth Creationism, or YEC</a>, which is the notion that the Earth is but 6,000 years old and that the geological formations seen today were formed by a global flood that took place around 4,000 years ago. </p>
<p>The state of <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/12/04/mike-johnsons-vote-whipping-strategy-two-by-two">Kentucky offers tax incentives for large tourist sites</a>. In 2014, two years before Ark Encounter opened, the state determined that the tourist site was ineligible for these tax rebates. A primary reason for rejection was that all Ark Encounter employees are required to affirm a lengthy faith statement, which, according to Tourism Secretary Bob Stewart, “<a href="https://nkytribune.com/2015/02/answers-in-genesis-to-file-discrimination-suit-against-kentucky-lawsuit-seeks-to-defend-religious-freedom/">violates the separation of church and state provisions of the Constitution</a>.” </p>
<p>As an attorney for Freedom Guard, a conservative religious legal advocacy law group, Johnson sued on behalf of Ark Encounter, arguing that in denying the tax rebates, the state was discriminating on the basis of religion. Johnson and the Ark prevailed, and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/12/04/mike-johnsons-vote-whipping-strategy-two-by-two">Ark Encounter received the state’s tax incentives</a>. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://udayton.edu/directory/artssciences/history/trollinger_bill.php">scholar of American evangelicalism</a>, I argue that Johnson’s association with Ark Encounter makes much sense, given the very strong connection between Young Earth Creationism and Christian Right politics. And this connection is old. </p>
<h2>Answers in Genesis and the Christian Right</h2>
<p>In his 2021 book, “<a href="https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501759291/red-dynamite/">Red Dynamite</a>,” historian <a href="https://history.indiana.edu/faculty_staff/adjunctfaculty/weinberg_carl.html">Carl Weinberg</a> established that for the past century, Young Earth creationists have made the case that evolutionary science makes people behave in “an immoral, ‘beastly’ or ‘animalistic’ way,” especially when it comes to sex and violence. </p>
<p>More than this, Weinberg argues that, for Young Earth creationists, evolution has been understood as <a href="https://rightingamerica.net/red-dynamite-creationism-culture-wars-and-anticommunism-in-america-an-interview-with-carl-weinberg-a-k-a-the-perfect-post-for-labor-day/">the “backbone” of a communist philosophy</a>, a “socialist, Marxist philosophy” that <a href="https://rightingamerica.net/a-spirit-of-rebellion-the-real-politics-of-young-earth-creationism/">promotes a “spirit of rebellion”</a> in America today.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562362/original/file-20231129-19-f59v7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man in a grey jacket poses with a replica dinosaur." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562362/original/file-20231129-19-f59v7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562362/original/file-20231129-19-f59v7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562362/original/file-20231129-19-f59v7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562362/original/file-20231129-19-f59v7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562362/original/file-20231129-19-f59v7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562362/original/file-20231129-19-f59v7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562362/original/file-20231129-19-f59v7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ken Ham, founder of the nonprofit ministry Answers in Genesis, poses with animatronic dinosaurs during a tour of the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ky., on May 24, 2007.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/NoahsArkPark-LegalBattle/261abdf8053745ae85136fcf2b36719a/photo?Query=ken%20ham%20ark%20museum&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=19&currentItemNo=2&vs=true">AP Photo/Ed Reinke</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As rhetorical scholar <a href="https://udayton.edu/directory/artssciences/english/trollinger_susan.php">Susan L. Trollinger</a> and I document in our 2016 book, “<a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/10885/righting-america-creation-museum">Righting America at the Creation Museum</a>,” AiG continues this Christian Right tradition through its extensive online presence, its museum and now Ark Encounter. </p>
<p>According to Ham and AiG, “<a href="https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2012/01/21/public-schools-promoting-a-religion/">public schools are churches of secular humanism</a> and … most of the teachers are … imposing an anti-God worldview on generations of students.” Sexual immorality, LGBTQ+ activism and the rejection of patriarchy are, according to AiG, signs of the resultant cultural corruption. Ham claims that a once-Christian America – with Bible-believing founders who had no intention of separating church and state – has, since the 1960s, been dragged downward. In his 2012 book, “<a href="https://www.nlpg.com/lie-evolution-paperback-single">The Lie</a>,” Ham asserts that this will eventually “<a href="https://assets.answersingenesis.org/doc/prod/etc/sample/10-2-418.pdf">result in the outlawing of Christianity</a>.” </p>
<p>In the past few years, AiG has doubled down on its culture war commitments.
For example, in March 2021 the AiG Statement of Faith – signed by all employees and volunteers – was <a href="https://answersingenesis.org/about/faith/">expanded from 29 provisions to 46 provisions</a>. This includes article 29, which requires signers to affirm that “‘social justice’ … as defined in modern terminology” is “anti-biblical and destructive to human flourishing.” Then there is article 32, which says that “gender and biological sex are equivalent and cannot be separated.”</p>
<p>Rejecting the dangers of global warming and the notion that governments should intervene to reverse this trend, AiG’s <a href="https://answersingenesis.org/culture/end-of-world-is-coming-soon-unless-it-doesnt/">Ham has asserted</a> that “zealous climate activism is a false religion with false prophets.” According to him, climate activists are misled because they begin with human reason and not the Bible, and because they hold to evolution and an ancient Earth. </p>
<p>In a similar vein, an AiG spokesperson blasted mainstream scientists and others who focused on the dangers of COVID-19, arguing that they were simply generating hysteria “<a href="http://heidistjohn.com/blog/podcasts/jesus-biologos-vaccinations-connection-991">about a virus that doesn’t kill very many people at all</a>.” AiG’s CEO <a href="https://rightingamerica.net/biologos-answers-in-genesis-and-two-wildly-different-evangelical-responses-to-the-pandemic/">lamented on his social media post</a> that “the COVID-19 situation has been weaponized in many places to use against Christians.” </p>
<h2>Mike Johnson and AiG beliefs</h2>
<p>Johnson has <a href="https://twitter.com/SawyerHackett/status/1717704597584613472">effusively praised Ark Encounter</a> as “a strategic and really creative … way to bring people to this recognition of the truth that what we read in the Bible are actual historical events.” </p>
<p>Johnson also shares with AiG’s Ham that government should not intervene when it comes to global warming, particularly given that, like Ham, he does not believe “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/26/climate/mike-johnson-climate-policies.html">that the climate is changing because we drive SUVs</a>.”</p>
<p>He also shares with the folks at AiG the conviction that belief in evolution results in immoral behavior. For example, <a href="https://www.meidastouch.com/:section/new-speaker-mike-johnson-blamed-the-teaching-of-evolution-for-school-shootings">Johnson has blamed school shootings</a> on the fact that “we have taught a whole generation … of Americans that there is no right and wrong. It’s all about survival of the fittest, and you evolve from primordial slime,” and so “why is that life of any sacred value?” </p>
<p>In this, Johnson is echoing AiG authors and speakers. For example, in response to the 2007 shooting in a high school in Jokela, Finland, which left nine dead, including the shooter, <a href="https://answersingenesis.org/sanctity-of-life/mass-shootings/finland-school-shootings-the-sad-evolution-connection/">Bodie Hodge, an AiG researcher and author, asserted</a>: “So long as evolutionism is forced onto children (no God, people are animals, no right and wrong, etc.) and so long as they believe it and reject accountability to their Creator, then we can expect more of these types of gross and inappropriate actions.” </p>
<p>In short, Johnson’s political commitments fit neatly into the politics of AiG and the Young Earth Creationism ecosystem. This matters politically, particularly given that a significant subset of American evangelicals <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/how-many-creationists-are-there-in-america/#:%7E:text=When%20asked%20using%20the%20two-question%20format%2C%20about%20two,their%20present%20form%20since%20the%20beginning%20of%20time.%E2%80%9D">adheres to Young Earth Creationism</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216954/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Trollinger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A scholar of American evangelicalism explains House Speaker Mike Johnson’s connections with Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum.William Trollinger, Professor of History, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2087352023-08-15T12:35:54Z2023-08-15T12:35:54ZGhana’s plans for a national cathedral are mired in controversy and delays − but also reflect religion’s strong role in the nation’s identity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541549/original/file-20230807-15-5wjui0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C0%2C2114%2C1409&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The cathedral is being built in Accra, not far from the shoreline. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/city-centre-in-accra-ghana-royalty-free-image/1448753933?phrase=ghana+church&adppopup=true">Wirestock/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ghana’s government aims to build a national cathedral: a multidenominational, monumental undertaking to house religious services and state events. Plans include <a href="https://www.adjaye.com/work/national-cathedral-of-ghana/">a 5,000-seat worship space</a>, a museum and a music school, reportedly projected to cost around US<a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/region/albynewsghana/Parliament-unanimously-approves-probe-into-National-Cathedral-126953">$400 million</a>. </p>
<p>President Nana Akufo-Addo, the project’s biggest backer, describes the cathedral in weighty terms <a href="https://www.nationalcathedralghana.org/vision">on its website</a>. The cathedral “provides a historic opportunity to put God at the centre of our nation’s affairs,” he writes, “and serves as a symbol of our eternal and continuing gratitude to Him for the blessings He continues to shower and bestow on our nation.” </p>
<p>Construction began in 2020 but has been delayed because of rising costs and the post-COVID economic downturn. These delays have also fueled <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/4/18/cathedral-of-scandals-how-a-presidential-promise-divided-ghana">public disagreements over the project’s financing</a>, with critics and the opposition arguing it is a misplaced priority, particularly amid <a href="https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2023/07/19/rise-in-electricity-food-prices-and-inflation-push-about-850000-ghanaians-into-poverty-world-bank/">high poverty rates</a> and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ghanas-2022-budget-deficit-almost-double-target-minister-2023-07-31/">an economic crisis</a>. In May 2023, the International Monetary Fund <a href="https://theconversation.com/ghana-and-the-imf-have-struck-a-deal-but-hard-choices-lie-ahead-206240">approved a US$3 billion loan</a> to Ghana.</p>
<p>Even if many people <a href="https://ghstandard.com/mp-okudzeto-ablakwa-criticizes-national-cathedral-model-as-most-reckless-in-ghanas-history/98632/">question the finances</a>, however, fewer critics seem to oppose what the church symbolizes about religion and Ghanaian national identity. Not only is faith an important component of Ghanaian public life, but Ghana is also <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ghana-church-widerimage-idCAKBN1661R8">an emerging hub</a> of global Christian culture, with church organizations exporting <a href="https://christianchronicle.org/ghana-goes-global-europes-churches-are-increasingly-african/">missionaries and religious media</a>.</p>
<p>I have <a href="https://www.bu.edu/sth/profile/nicolette-d-manglos-weber/">studied religion and politics in Africa</a> for 15 years, using both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190841041.001.0001">community-based research</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sot070">and statistics</a>. In many countries on the continent, Christian culture is increasingly used in politics <a href="https://theconversation.com/god-and-politics-in-south-africa-the-ruling-ancs-winning-strategy-198902">to forge unity</a>. This contrasts with how polarizing public Christianity has become in the U.S. and much of Europe – showing religion’s diverse political functions around the globe.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541305/original/file-20230804-15-oxyggt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a red shirt walks up a concrete walkway bordered by a fence, with a church at the top of the hill." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541305/original/file-20230804-15-oxyggt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541305/original/file-20230804-15-oxyggt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541305/original/file-20230804-15-oxyggt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541305/original/file-20230804-15-oxyggt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541305/original/file-20230804-15-oxyggt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541305/original/file-20230804-15-oxyggt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541305/original/file-20230804-15-oxyggt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A man walks toward the St. Francis de Sales Cathedral in Cape Coast, Ghana, in 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/man-walks-on-february-17-2013-toward-the-st-frances-de-news-photo/163208074?adppopup=true">Chris Stein/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Civil religion, civil division</h2>
<p>Sociologists of religion often study how religious cultures shape patriotism and people’s sense of national belonging. The concept of “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20027022">civil religion</a>” refers to religious traditions and ideas that reinforce national identity, even in officially secular societies. </p>
<p>For example, although Christian churches and leaders <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/72.3.749">have lost public authority</a> over time in North America and much of Europe, Christian culture is still evident in the civil religion of these societies. It is visible in architectural sites, like the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., or <a href="https://theconversation.com/notre-dames-history-is-9-centuries-of-change-renovation-and-renewal-115606">Notre Dame Cathedral</a> in France. It’s evident in the use of the Christian Bible to swear politicians into office, and references to God in patriotic anthems.</p>
<p>Yet Christian civil religion is also contentious and is now often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-031021-114239">used to deepen partisan divides</a>. For example, on one end of the spectrum, some U.S. conservatives claim historic Christian values are key to the nation’s identity and must be strengthened through <a href="https://theconversation.com/talk-of-christian-nationalism-is-getting-a-lot-louder-but-what-does-the-term-really-mean-192378">a Christian nationalist agenda</a>. In turn, such right-wing Christian patriotism feeds anxiety among more liberal and nonreligious Americans about how religious politics might erode the separation of church and state.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srab050">backlash against civil religion</a> has contributed to <a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/260738/why-americans-losing-confidence-organized-religion.aspx">decreasing trust in religious leaders</a> and <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/341963/church-membership-falls-below-majority-first-time.aspx">declining church membership</a> in the U.S. Elsewhere, however – as in Ghana – the use of civil religion follows a different trajectory. </p>
<h2>New nationhood</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197608494.013.16">history of Christianity in Ghana</a> differs greatly from the U.S. and Europe. The religion was first introduced around the 15th century by colonial missionaries from Europe, then <a href="https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481312677/healing-and-power-in-ghana/">spread more broadly</a> through conversion movements in the 19th and 20th centuries.</p>
<p>Today, homegrown evangelical and Pentecostal churches are very popular, and their most successful pastors are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/afraf/ads072">major national figures</a>. According to <a href="https://census2021.statsghana.gov.gh">the 2021 census</a>, more than 7 in 10 Ghanaians are Christian, representing a diverse array of churches. Thirty percent of Ghanaians belong to Pentecostal churches, 17% follow another Protestant tradition – mostly Anglican, Methodist or Presbyterian – and 10% are Catholic.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541302/original/file-20230804-23-ubxla5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A church sanctuary full of rows of seated people, seen from the back of the room." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541302/original/file-20230804-23-ubxla5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541302/original/file-20230804-23-ubxla5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541302/original/file-20230804-23-ubxla5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541302/original/file-20230804-23-ubxla5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541302/original/file-20230804-23-ubxla5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541302/original/file-20230804-23-ubxla5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541302/original/file-20230804-23-ubxla5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A general view of a Thanksgiving Service that Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, attended at Ridge Church in Accra, Ghana, in 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/general-view-of-a-thanksgiving-service-which-prince-charles-news-photo/1057226616?adppopup=true">Joe Giddens - Pool/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Religion’s role is also shaped by the fact that Ghanaian national identity is a relatively new phenomenon. Ghana <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13433790">won independence from Britain</a> in 1957. Like other African nations, Ghana’s national borders had been drawn by colonialists with little regard for existing ethnic or cultural differences. The new country thus encompassed many diverse ethnic groups with complicated political relationships.</p>
<p>An urgent question for new countries, especially diverse ones, is how to establish a sense of national unity. Since independence, African leaders have increasingly turned to Christian culture to do <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/000203971404900304">this unifying work</a>. President Akufo-Addo is not unique here: One of Ghana’s previous presidents, John Atta Mills, was known to say on several occasions that <a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=208162">Jesus Christ was president of Ghana</a>.</p>
<p>The rise of public Christianity in Ghana parallels its decline in the U.S. and Europe. As the population of the Christian world <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/239693930002400201">shifts “southward</a>” toward Africa, Latin America and Asia, urban hubs of Christian activity like Accra, Ghana’s capital, are influencing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190841041.001.0001">Christian organizations and culture around the world</a> through immigration and religious media. </p>
<h2>One country, many faiths</h2>
<p>The national cathedral plan reflects both the uses of civil religion in Ghana and the country’s emerging role in global Christianity. In addition to uses as a worship space and a venue for cultural events and state functions, the site has been envisioned as <a href="https://www.nationalcathedralghana.org/">a monument to African Christian history</a> and a draw for tourists and pilgrims. </p>
<p>Yet while Christianity unifies many Ghanaians, it does not include everyone. <a href="https://census2021.statsghana.gov.gh">About 1 in 5 Ghanaians are Muslim</a>, and another 1 in 10 follow indigenous faiths or none at all. Critics of how Christianity is used politically in Ghana have argued it poses a <a href="https://theconversation.com/christian-nationalism-poses-a-threat-to-human-rights-in-ghana-192518">threat to human rights</a> because it alienates religious minorities and the LBGTQ+ community.</p>
<p>Yet one key aspect of civil religion is how it adapts to changing demographics, and can change to stress different shared beliefs or moral principles over time. For example, civil religion in the U.S. gradually broadened from a narrow Puritan vision to include more recognition of <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo3640906.html">Protestants, Catholics and Jews</a>, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1977/03/29/will-herberg-75-ex-professor-at-drew-university/6c8f72f4-9d3f-46ce-a3a3-b5826707a5a8/">social philosopher Will Herberg</a> first wrote about in the 1950s.</p>
<p>Time will tell whether Ghana’s civil religion, which encompasses many different Christian churches, will evolve to stress more commonalities between Christians and Muslims. For now, the country’s political and cultural leaders are using Christianity to try to unify their ethnically diverse nation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208735/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicolette Manglos-Weber has received funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Templeton Foundation, and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. </span></em></p>With modern borders drawn up by colonial powers, some African governments have turned to religion to try to forge national unity since independence.Nicolette Manglos-Weber, Associate Professor of Religion & Society, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2092962023-07-11T12:31:28Z2023-07-11T12:31:28ZMormon leaders – whose church is often associated with the GOP – push back against one-party politics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536365/original/file-20230707-862-oxh2s9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C4%2C1011%2C674&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A golden sculpture of the angel Moroni atop the temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rexburg, Idaho.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/golden-sculpture-of-an-angel-moroni-is-seen-atop-the-temple-news-photo/1253747353?adppopup=true">Natalie Behring/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Top leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dropped a bombshell in June 2023 by telling their flock to vote for Democrats – well, almost.</p>
<p>In a letter that local leaders <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2023/06/06/straight-party-voting-threat/">read during worship meetings nationwide</a>, the church’s president and his two counselors instructed church members not to vote solely for one political party. Latter-day Saints, often known as Mormons, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/seeking-the-promised-land/C34567402A987719AA98E8606B3AF180">have overwhelmingly supported Republicans in recent decades</a>.</p>
<p>“Merely voting a straight ticket or voting based on ‘tradition’ without careful study of candidates and their positions on important issues is a threat to democracy and inconsistent with revealed standards,” <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2023/06/06/straight-party-voting-threat/">the church’s top three authorities</a> wrote, referring to Latter-day Saint scripture.</p>
<p>Such letters are frequently used to direct the faithful. For example, in 2008, similar letters <a href="https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/california-and-same-sex-marriage">mobilized Latter-day Saints</a> in California to support Proposition 8, a ballot initiative against same-sex marriage. As suggested by the significant time and money church members <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2022/11/17/how-getting-burned-by-prop-8-led/">poured into Proposition 8</a>, these letters can be persuasive due, in no small part, to leaders’ unique role. Within the faith, top LDS authorities are known as “<a href="https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/content/prophet-seer-and-revelator?lang=eng">prophets, seers, and revelators</a>,” and members often speak of the need to “follow the prophet,” referring to the church’s president. Indeed, there is <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music/library/childrens-songbook/follow-the-prophet?lang=eng">a catchy children’s song with that title</a>, which includes the repeated refrain “follow the prophet, don’t go astray.”</p>
<p>To the casual observer of American politics, it is no doubt surprising to hear that LDS leaders are promoting the idea of voting for Democrats. But as <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/david-campbell/">a political scientist who studies religion</a>, including the LDS church, I believe the letter highlights an important trend in American Christianity.</p>
<h2>GOP fans – but not always</h2>
<p>It is true that Mormons rival white evangelical Christians in <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2016/09/13/2-party-affiliation-among-voters-1992-2016/">their support of the Republican Party</a>, and they generally hold <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/09/30/6-facts-about-u-s-mormons/">very conservative views</a>. According to the <a href="https://cces.gov.harvard.edu/">Cooperative Election Study</a>, 60% of LDS church members identify as Republican and only 23% as Democrats. </p>
<p>However, Mormons <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139227247">do not always align perfectly</a> with the priorities of other Republicans. </p>
<p>For example, they are more moderate <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-mormon-churchs-past-shapes-its-position-on-immigration-today-100234">on immigration policy</a>, and while <a href="https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/official-statement/abortion">opposed to abortion</a>, the church has never called for a total ban. Despite a history of opposing gay marriage, LDS leaders <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/16/us/politics/mormon-church-same-sex-marriage.html">endorsed the recent bill in Congress</a> affirming the right to same-sex marriage – albeit only after ensuring that religious organizations would not be required to recognize such marriages.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536366/original/file-20230707-15-vgwotx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three older men in suits and ties, with balding hair, sit while addressing an audience out of view." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536366/original/file-20230707-15-vgwotx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536366/original/file-20230707-15-vgwotx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536366/original/file-20230707-15-vgwotx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536366/original/file-20230707-15-vgwotx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536366/original/file-20230707-15-vgwotx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536366/original/file-20230707-15-vgwotx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536366/original/file-20230707-15-vgwotx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ three highest leaders answer questions after Russell Nelson, center, was announced the new president in 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-russell-m-nelson-1st-counselor-dallin-h-oaks-and-news-photo/905704966?adppopup=true">George Frey/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Latter-day Saints never fully jumped on the Donald Trump bandwagon, either. In 2016, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/utah">Trump only took 45% of the vote in Utah</a>, a predominantly Mormon state, largely because <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-trumps-mormon-problem-could-mean-he-loses-utah-to-evan-mcmullin-67898">third-party candidate Evan McMullin</a>, a member of the church, ate into his support. Going into the 2020 election, Trump had <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/03/18/evangelical-approval-of-trump-remains-high-but-other-religious-groups-are-less-supportive/">lower approval ratings</a> among Latter-day Saints than among other heavily Republican groups.</p>
<p>Many members’ ambivalence toward Trump may stem from earlier messaging by church leaders. In 2016, <a href="https://www.deseret.com/2016/10/8/20598212/in-our-opinion-donald-trump-should-resign-his-candidacy">an editorial in the church-owned Deseret News</a> called on Trump to pull out of the race – though it did not endorse his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. </p>
<p>Even more directly, church leaders <a href="https://www.deseret.com/2015/12/8/20578359/lds-church-releases-statement-on-religious-freedom-as-donald-trump-s-muslim-controversy-swirls">issued a statement</a> decrying Trump’s proposed “Muslim ban.” An uncharacteristic move for the church, it reflected Latter-day Saints’ particular opposition to the targeting of religious minorities, given their own history of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-mormon-churchs-past-shapes-its-position-on-immigration-today-100234">being treated as outsiders</a>. </p>
<p>It is no coincidence that the most prominent LDS politician in the country, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, has long been <a href="https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/06-9-2023/romneys-fire/">a thorn in Trump’s side</a>.</p>
<h2>Eyes on the future</h2>
<p>Why are leaders speaking out? One might argue that this is nothing new, since the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/22/us/political-briefing-a-democratic-mormon-offers-hope-in-utah.html">LDS hierarchy has previously encouraged more two-partyism</a>. “It’s not in our interest to be known as a one-party church,” one elder told The Salt Lake Tribune during <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/22/us/political-briefing-a-democratic-mormon-offers-hope-in-utah.html">a 1998 interview</a>.</p>
<p>A better question is why the church’s top authorities are speaking out now. Part of the explanation likely stems from <a href="https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5021251&itype=CMSID">concern over the hold that Trump</a>, and the Trumpian approach to politics, has on the Republican Party.</p>
<p>But I argue that there is another explanation. Latter-day Saints are well known for their extensive missionary program around the world. Within the United States, however, the church has not been immune from the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/modeling-the-future-of-religion-in-america/">national decline in religious affiliation</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536372/original/file-20230707-25-dlm4qh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three teen boys in white shirts and ties walk and laugh on concrete." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536372/original/file-20230707-25-dlm4qh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536372/original/file-20230707-25-dlm4qh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536372/original/file-20230707-25-dlm4qh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536372/original/file-20230707-25-dlm4qh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536372/original/file-20230707-25-dlm4qh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536372/original/file-20230707-25-dlm4qh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536372/original/file-20230707-25-dlm4qh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Latter-day Saints missionaries walk to Sunday lunch in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, in July 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/from-left-mormon-missionaries-elder-gil-elder-moak-and-news-photo/119786889?adppopup=true">Dominic Bracco II/Prime For The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The church itself reports <a href="https://religionnews.com/2022/04/07/is-mormonism-still-growing-five-facts-about-latter-day-saint-growth-and-decline/">declining growth in official membership numbers</a>, which are based on baptism records. Public surveys, however, find that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/03/republican-party-mormon-church-decline/">the number of Latter-day Saints in the U.S. is actually declining</a>, not just the growth rate. Even among self-identified Latter-day Saints, <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2023/05/20/jana-riess-1-4-us-latter-day/">a quarter have considered leaving the church</a>.</p>
<p>Research that I and other political scientists have done shows that one reason so many Americans <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108923347">are turning away from religion</a> is the relationship between conservative Christianity and the Republican Party. People whose religious views align with the religious right but do not share its politics often feel conflicted. In some cases, they leave the congregation where they worship for a new one. Others, however, <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3088891">give up on religion</a> altogether – one reason for the dramatic growth in the percentage of Americans who <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/12/14/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-are-now-religiously-unaffiliated/">have no religion</a>.</p>
<p>While most of this research has focused on evangelicals’ entanglement with the GOP, it follows that, as a predominantly Republican faith, Mormonism is also likely to experience an exodus. Strikingly, in her research into why people leave the LDS faith, religion writer Jana Riess finds that <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-next-mormons-9780190885205?cc=us&lang=en&">former church members are far more likely to be Democrats </a> than those who stay in the fold. </p>
<p>Older Latter-day Saints continue to identify heavily as Republicans, but members under 30 are <a href="https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/young-mormons-are-abandoning-the?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2">much more likely to describe themselves as Democrats</a>. If those young church members see their church as a bastion of Republicanism, they may decide that Mormonism is not for them – whereas more bipartisanship might keep them in the fold.</p>
<p>This recent call from LDS leaders could create a potential counter-example of a trend within American religion. Increasingly, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12829">Americans tailor their religious beliefs to their politics</a>, rather than the other way around.</p>
<p>Here, on the other hand, is a statement from men whom Latter-day Saints believe speak for God, telling their co-religionists that they should break Republican ranks. If there were ever a case to expect religion to inform people’s politics, this is it – with eyes on the 2024 election.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209296/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Campbell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The faith’s association with conservative politics has stayed strong for decades, but could become a liability, a political scientist argues.David Campbell, Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy, University of Notre DameLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1989022023-02-28T13:57:40Z2023-02-28T13:57:40ZGod and politics in South Africa: the ruling ANC’s winning strategy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510292/original/file-20230215-18-eroxa0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pastors pray for former South African president and ANC leader Jacob Zuma.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rajesh Jantilal/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Religion shapes some of the most controversial decisions that governments need to make: access to abortion, same-sex marriage, the death penalty and the legal status of sex work. Indeed, it is likely that most voters across the world consider religion to be essential to their lives. </p>
<p>Yet research on religion and political parties remains surprisingly inexact. </p>
<p>Much of the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09637494.2022.2048489?journalCode=crss20">research</a> to date has been waylaid by the wrong question: is a political party fundamentally religious or secular? Yet the “essence” of a party resists definition. Is it its manifesto, rhetoric, membership or leadership? What if these contradict each other? What would it mean if religion was integral to officially secular parties?</p>
<p>The difficulty of this approach is clear when considering a party like the <a href="https://www.anc1912.org.za/">African National Congress (ANC)</a>, which has governed South Africa since 1994. From one angle, it is obviously not a religious party: it remains committed to a secular state and many of its policies (such as those on <a href="https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/the-ancs-approach-to-abortion--bathabile-dlamini">abortion</a> and <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2006-11-14-samesex-bill-gets-parliament-goahead/">civil unions</a>) have been <a href="https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/27434/">criticised</a> by religious groups.</p>
<p>Yet the ANC is also religious in important senses. In most of the country, you would struggle to find an ANC meeting that did not start and end with a prayer. Nearly all leaders in the past century have been devout. For many supporters, religion is the water in which the ANC swims. </p>
<p>Rather than asking whether a party is religious, we should look at how it engages with religion. I examined the issue in a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03057070.2022.2136820">recent article</a>. I sought to describe how contemporary parliamentary parties in South Africa had engaged with religion throughout their history, and how academics had analysed this.</p>
<p>It’s possible to learn a great deal about a political party by looking at how it uses religion. My study identified a consistent political strategy: the mix of religious rhetoric and a secular policy agenda by the ANC over the past century.</p>
<p>This strategy has been popular with the party, which has won every national election with a margin of at least <a href="https://results.elections.org.za/dashboards/npe/app/dashboard.html">34 percentage points</a> ahead of the second-largest party. It’s a strategy that works in countries that have the unusual combination of religious electorates and secular governments, such as <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/religious-authority-and-state-africa">Kenya and Senegal</a>.</p>
<p>Rather than being a <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-07-06-south-africas-creeping-christian-conservatism/">threat to secular democracy</a>, religious rhetoric may be important for ensuring a largely religious electorate feels politically at home in a secular state. </p>
<h2>Religion and political parties in South Africa</h2>
<p>My review of academic publications on religion and political parties in South Africa looked at three sets of rules governing party members: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>informal rules (such as what you can say at public events) </p></li>
<li><p>party rules (such as disciplinary codes and who makes decisions) </p></li>
<li><p>the kind of laws proposed by the party. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>I distinguished between the religious or secular emphasis in each of these, and noted whether this emphasis was inclusive of other beliefs. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-south-africans-are-prone-to-falling-for-charlatans-in-the-church-112879">Why South Africans are prone to falling for charlatans in the church</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The framework offered three key insights. </p>
<p>First, political parties engage with religion with nuance and ambiguity. This applies elsewhere in the world too: <a href="https://www.akparti.org.tr/en">Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi</a> in Turkey, for example, relies on a religious electorate for support. Yet it must navigate an officially and sometimes militantly secular state. However, in contrast to South Africa’s major political parties, it <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230106703_9">manages this tension</a> by insisting that it is an inclusive and non-religious party in its rhetoric, while simultaneously pursuing laws that privilege Sunni Islam.</p>
<p>Second, the ANC sometimes uses religious rhetoric while pursuing secular laws and party rules – a combination it has used for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rise-African-Nationalism-South-Africa/dp/0520018109">most of its history</a>. </p>
<p>Third, this nuance might be important to voters in South Africa. Parties that pursue policies underpinned by religion do very poorly in elections. An example of this is the <a href="https://www.acdp.org.za/">African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP)</a>, which claims to offer policies based on the Bible.</p>
<p>About 78% of South Africans identified as Christian <a href="https://www.datafirst.uct.ac.za/dataportal/index.php/catalog/611">in 2016</a>. While estimates vary significantly, between <a href="https://theotherfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ProgPrudes_Report_d5.pdf">45%</a> and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2010/04/15/executive-summary-islam-and-christianity-in-sub-saharan-africa/">74%</a> report being “very” or “highly religious”, and 76% <a href="https://theotherfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ProgPrudes_Report_d5.pdf">agree that</a> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>God’s laws about abortion, pornography and marriage must be strictly followed before it is too late.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>The ANC and religion</h2>
<p>Christianity has been important to the ANC’s values and practices since the party’s <a href="https://jacana.co.za/product/the-founders-the-origins-of-the-african-national-congress-and-the-struggle-for-democracy/">beginning in 1912</a>. In 1949, for example, it called for an annual <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rise-African-Nationalism-South-Africa/dp/0520018109">day of prayer</a> to remember</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Christ who is the Champion of Freedom.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many regions in the country that participated most actively in the 1952 <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/defiance-campaign-1952">Defiance Campaign</a>, a large non-violent campaign of civil disobedience against apartheid, were led by <a href="https://jacana.co.za/product/from-protest-to-challenge-volume-2-hope-and-challenge-1935-1952/">local churches</a>. ANC president Albert Luthuli, who led the organisation from 1952 to 1967, was <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10282580902876514">famously vocal</a> about his religious convictions. This was also true of most presidents of the ANC before him, including <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/823310">Reverend John Langalibalele Dube</a> and <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.4102/hts.v74i1.4844">Reverend Zaccheus Richard Mahabane</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-the-anc-survive-the-end-of-south-africas-heroic-epoch-57256">Can the ANC survive the end of South Africa's heroic epoch?</a>
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<p>Yet the ANC has also always been an <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-anc-insists-its-still-a-political-vanguard-this-is-what-ails-democracy-in-south-africa-141938">ideologically diverse organisation</a>. It has included followers of other religions, communists, traditionalists and <a href="http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/502.html">Garveyites</a> who advocated transnational black nationalism. </p>
<p>In the 1960s the religious rhetoric of the ANC became more ambivalent. Within the context of the Cold War, the organisation worked more closely with the South African Communist Party and increasingly <a href="https://iupress.org/9780253332318/from-protest-to-challenge-volume-5/">espoused</a> a Marxist-Leninist ideology.</p>
<p>Yet even so, ANC president <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-anc-is-celebrating-the-year-of-or-tambo-who-was-he-85838">Oliver Tambo</a>, who led the ANC in exile <a href="https://www.thepresidency.gov.za/national-orders/recipient/oliver-reginald-kaizana-%E2%80%9Cor%E2%80%9D-tambo-posthumous">from 1967 to 1991</a>, continued to publicly espouse the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/we-must-take-sides">unbroken link</a> between the ANC and the church. </p>
<p>The ANC would call for days of prayer, establish a department of religion, publicly affirm liberation theology and issue joint communiqués with churches.
In the early 1990s, the ANC <a href="https://www.amazon.com/State-Secularism-Religion-Tradition-Democracy/dp/1776140575">advocated a secular state</a> in constitutional negotiations with the ruling <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Party-political-party-South-Africa">National Party</a>. Yet even in the 1994 election, the message was mixed. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520273085/wild-religion">ANC advertisements featured religious leaders</a> who argued that the manifesto that best represented “gospel values” was that of the ANC. Conversely, the ANC also promised improved access to abortion: a policy criticised by religious leaders. </p>
<p>This mix of secular laws and religious rhetoric extended into the post-apartheid era. Former ANC president Jacob Zuma’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15570274.2020.1753992">frequent references to religion</a>, for example, invited concern about the ANC’s “<a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-07-06-south-africas-creeping-christian-conservatism/">creeping Christian conservatism</a>”, while the party began exploring <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/650537/new-laws-to-decriminalise-sex-work-in-south-africa/">decriminalising sex work</a>. </p>
<h2>Religion and politics</h2>
<p>Perhaps the combination of religious rhetoric and secular laws is a winning electoral strategy. After all, parties that advocate religious laws have surprisingly little support from voters: the <a href="https://www.acdp.org.za/">ACDP</a> and <a href="https://www.aljama.co.za/">Al Jama-Ah</a>, a Muslim political party, have at most won <a href="https://www.eisa.org/wep/souresults2004.htm">1.6% (in 2004)</a> and <a href="https://results.elections.org.za/dashboards/npe/app/dashboard.html">0.18% (in 2019)</a> of the national vote, respectively. At their best, the ACDP has been the seventh-largest party and Al Jama-Ah the 14th. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/christians-in-nigeria-feel-under-attack-why-its-a-complicated-story-186853">Christians in Nigeria feel under attack: why it's a complicated story</a>
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<p>Conversely, parties that advocate secular laws but shy away from religious rhetoric, such as the main opposition Democratic Alliance, have also failed to win popular support, especially in rural areas. Of course, many other reasons contribute to this too. </p>
<p>In short, we can learn much about a political party by looking at how it uses religion. The ANC may have a winning strategy in its combination of religious rhetoric and a secular policy agenda.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198902/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Jeffery-Schwikkard receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in the United Kingdom through the London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Programme. He is a member of the African National Congress but he does not receive any funding or renumeration from the ANC or represent the ANC in any capacity. </span></em></p>Perhaps the combination of religious rhetoric and secular laws is a winning electoral strategy.David Jeffery-Schwikkard, PhD Candidate (Theology and Religious Studies), King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1998512023-02-23T13:16:58Z2023-02-23T13:16:58ZWhat’s going on with the wave of GOP bills about trans teens? Utah provides clues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510906/original/file-20230217-26-nih602.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C3%2C1017%2C683&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A pride flag flies in front of the temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City during a 2015 protest against church policy toward same-sex couples. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/pride-flag-flies-in-front-of-the-historic-mormon-temple-as-news-photo/497172074?phrase=utah%20pride&adppopup=true">George Frey/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2022, Republican politicians proposed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/10/14/anti-trans-bills/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email">over 150 bills</a> limiting trans rights in state legislatures across the country. By February 2023, the GOP <a href="https://www.equalityfederation.org/tracker/cumulative-anti-transgender">had already surpassed</a> that record by proposing over 200 similar bills.</p>
<p>Many of these bills would legislate access to hormone replacement therapy for transgender individuals, making it illegal – and <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/sb12_00_0000.pdf">in some cases</a>, criminal – for adolescents to receive such treatments. The first to make it into law in 2023 was Utah’s SB 16, “<a href="https://le.utah.gov/%7E2023/bills/static/SB0016.html">Transgender Medical Treatments and Procedures</a>,” which Gov. Spencer Cox signed on Jan. 28.</p>
<p>Across the country, though, <a href="https://www.prri.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PRRI-Oct-2022-AVS_FINAL.pdf">just over half</a> of Americans are opposed to such laws. In a survey of 2,500 adults conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute in September 2022, only 1 in 4 strongly favored laws that prevent parents from allowing their child to receive medical care for gender transition. </p>
<p>Why, then, is there a surge in laws targeting medical treatments for transgender youth? We think Utah offers some answers. One of us is <a href="https://kelsyburke.com">a sociologist</a>; the other is <a href="https://cehs.usu.edu/psychology/people/lefevor-tyler">a Utah-based psychologist</a>. Both of us study Christianity, sexuality and LGBTQ communities. Understanding how religion and politics intersect can provide insight into the broader national push against transgender rights.</p>
<h2>Evolving views</h2>
<p>In Utah, where <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/state/utah/">just over half</a> of adults belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the church is a powerful political force. Church teachings <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-religion-legislature-utah-state-legislature-a5a7ac925a507a7d993fd63cb3ba1ecf">often shape</a> legislation, such as strict liquor laws.</p>
<p>The church’s <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/intro?lang=eng">official policies</a> consider sex to be acceptable only within <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng">a marriage between a man and woman</a>, and binary gender is an important component of its theology. More than a decade ago, the church <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/15/us/politics/15marriage.html">was a major force</a> in promoting Proposition 8, a California ballot measure to block same-sex marriage.</p>
<p>Yet the church has become increasingly supportive of LGBTQ rights. In 2015, its leaders <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/us/politics/utah-passes-antidiscrimination-bill-backed-by-mormon-leaders.html">endorsed a Utah bill</a> that prohibited housing and employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2020, the state enacted a ban on <a href="https://theconversation.com/conversion-therapy-is-discredited-and-increases-risk-of-suicide-yet-fewer-than-half-of-us-states-have-bans-in-place-161330">conversion therapy</a> for minors, which prohibits any intervention, other than spiritual counseling, to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. At the time, Utah was “<a href="https://www.kuer.org/utah-politics/2019-12-03/how-a-bill-became-a-rule-the-journey-of-utahs-conversion-therapy-ban">the only Republican-controlled state</a>” to have passed such laws, according to <a href="https://faculty.utah.edu/u0625806-CLIFFORD_ROSKY/hm/index.hml">law professor Clifford Rosky</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps because of this recent support for LGBTQ nondiscrimination, in 2022 Utah’s governor <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/22/utah-governor-veto-transgender-sports-ban-00019417">vetoed a law</a> banning trans youth from participating in sports. And most recently, <a href="https://www.kuer.org/race-religion-social-justice/2022-11-15/lds-church-comes-out-in-support-of-same-sex-marriage-law">the church itself supported</a> 2022’s Respect for Marriage Act. This federal legislation protects same-sex marriages performed in any state where they are legal, while also protecting religious institutions from having to perform them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a blazer signs something on a table with a sign reading 'The Respect for Marriage Act' as people look on." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer conduct a ceremony after the U.S. House passed the Respect for Marriage Act.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/speaker-of-the-house-nancy-pelosi-d-calif-and-senate-news-photo/1245569074?phrase=%22respect%20for%20marriage%20act%22&adppopup=true">Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Joining the trend</h2>
<p>The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints formally <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/transgender-understanding-yourself/what-is-the-churchs-position-on-transitioning?lang=eng">advises against gender transition</a> and notes that transgender people who medically or socially transition may incur restrictions to church membership. Yet it simultaneously acknowledges that some people are prescribed hormone therapy “to ease gender dysphoria” – a sense of incongruence between one’s internal sense of gender and one’s primary sex characteristics – or to “reduce suicidal thoughts.” The church urges members to research “the potential risks and benefits” for themselves or their child.</p>
<p>Utah’s recently passed bill, <a href="https://le.utah.gov/%7E2023/bills/static/SB0016.html">SB 16</a>, begins by aligning with the church’s guidelines of needing to understand potential risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy. As part of the law, the state will “conduct a systematic review of the medical evidence regarding hormonal transgender treatments and provide recommendations to the Legislature.” </p>
<p>Until that review is complete, however, the bill implements a complete moratorium on any subsequent gender-affirming medical interventions for minors in Utah. </p>
<p>To be clear, gender-affirmative care, including hormone replacement therapy, has been deemed a medically necessary, safe and evidence-based treatment by the <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-reinforces-opposition-restrictions-transgender-medical-care">American Medical Association</a>, the <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/About-APA/Organization-Documents-Policies/Policies/Position-Transgender-Gender-Diverse-Youth.pdf">American Psychiatric Association</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-2162">American Academy of Pediatrics</a>.</p>
<p>Therefore, SB 16 seems <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2023/02/02/g-tyler-lefevor-james-s-mcgraw/">unlikely to improve</a> transgender youth’s mental or physical health. Instead, we agree with <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/03/anti-trans-bills-republicans-sports-bathroom-discrimination.html">other commentators</a> that its aims are political. </p>
<p>The focus on transgender health care in <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/state/utah/party-affiliation/">solidly Republican Utah</a> is representative of how the GOP has turned opposition to transgender rights into a <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/3839471-trump-vows-to-punish-doctors-hospitals-that-provide-gender-affirming-care-to-transgender-minors/">core political issue</a> over the past few years. In <a href="https://www.prri.org/spotlight/religion-politics-the-news-and-americans-polarized-attitudes-about-lgbtq-rights/">a 2022 survey from PRRI</a> (Public Religion Research Institute), 61% of Republicans expressed support for laws prohibiting children from gender-affirming health care, compared to 46% of independents and 22% of Democrats.</p>
<h2>Politics plus religion</h2>
<p>But it is this combination of politics and faith – not religion alone – that creates the current recipe for restricting transgender rights.</p>
<p>Consider that nationally, nearly 60% of Latter-day Saints and white evangelical Protestants – the two groups with the greatest religious representation <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/state/utah/">among Utah residents</a> – support laws that prevent parents from allowing their children to receive gender-affirming medical care. This is a greater percentage than <a href="https://www.prri.org/spotlight/religion-politics-the-news-and-americans-polarized-attitudes-about-lgbtq-rights/">among any other religious group</a>, including Americans with no religious affiliation.</p>
<p>But denominational affiliation is just one factor shaping people’s beliefs. For example, among Latter-day Saints and white evangelicals who report that mainstream news is their most trusted TV news source, as opposed to outlets like Fox News or the far-right Newsmax, <a href="https://www.prri.org/spotlight/religion-politics-the-news-and-americans-polarized-attitudes-about-lgbtq-rights/">the percentage that supports such laws</a> is significantly lower: 49%. </p>
<p>A clear lesson from this data and the recent events in Utah is that legislation limiting LGBTQ rights is not the inevitable outgrowth of conservative religious beliefs. Although the Beehive State has passed laws like SB 16, it has also passed laws <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/12/utah-passes-mormon-backed-lgbt-anti-discrimination-bill">supporting LGBTQ rights</a>.</p>
<p>SB 16’s passage perpetuated a common assumption: that conservative religious beliefs all but guarantee opposition to transgender rights. As Utah illustrates, however, this is but a partial story.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199851/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelsy Burke receives funding from the Public Religion Research Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tyler Lefevor receives funding from the Public Religion Research Institute. </span></em></p>The relationship between faith, politics and LGBTQ rights is more complicated than it can appear at first glance.Kelsy Burke, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Nebraska-LincolnTyler Lefevor, Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology, Utah State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1923782022-11-02T12:29:13Z2022-11-02T12:29:13ZTalk of ‘Christian nationalism’ is getting a lot louder – but what does the term really mean?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492401/original/file-20221029-53244-oaq4zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C3%2C2098%2C1406&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Will the midterm elections help gauge support for Christian nationalist ideas?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/human-hand-inserting-bible-to-ballot-box-before-royalty-free-image/183842007?phrase=christian%20nationalist&adppopup=true">selimaksan/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>According to a May 2022 poll from the <a href="https://criticalissues.umd.edu/sites/criticalissues.umd.edu/files/American%20Attitudes%20on%20Race%2CEthnicity%2CReligion.pdf">University of Maryland</a>, 61% of Republicans favor declaring the United States a Christian nation – even though 57% recognized that it would be unconstitutional. Meanwhile, 31% of all Americans and 49% of Republicans believe “God intended America to be a new promised land where European Christians could create a society that would be an example for the rest of the world,” <a href="https://www.prri.org/research/challenges-in-moving-toward-a-more-inclusive-democracy-findings-from-the-2022-american-values-survey/">a recent survey</a> from the Public Religion Research Institute found.</p>
<p>Those statistics underscore the influence of a set of ideas called “Christian nationalism,” which has been in the spotlight leading up to November 2022 midterm elections. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/over-12-000-christians-condemned-164448708.html">openly identified as a Christian nationalist</a> and called for the Republican Party to do the same. Others, like Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert and Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/08/us/christian-nationalism-politicians.html">Doug Mastriano</a>, have not claimed that label but have embraced its tenets, such as dismissing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/28/lauren-boebert-church-state-colorado/">the separation of church and state</a>.</p>
<p>Few Americans use the term “Christian nationalist” to describe themselves, but many more have embraced some aspects of this worldview. There is widespread confusion over what the label really means, making it important to clearly explain. <a href="https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/government/faculty/elm377">My work</a> on how race and religion shape Americans’ attitudes toward government led me to study Christian nationalism, and to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009029445">co-write a book</a> detailing how it shapes Americans’ views of themselves, their government and their place in the world. </p>
<p>Christian nationalism is more than religiosity and patriotism. It is a worldview that guides how people believe the nation should be structured and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X10371300">who belongs there</a>.</p>
<h2>Mission from God</h2>
<p>The phenomenon of white Christian nationalism has been studied by <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631495731">historians</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190057886.001.0001">sociologists</a>, political scientists <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12684">scholars of religion</a> and many others. While their definitions may differ, they share certain elements. </p>
<p>Christian nationalism is a religious and political belief system that argues the United States was founded by God to be a Christian nation and to complete God’s vision of the world. In this view, America can be governed only by Christians, and the country’s mission is directed by a divine hand.</p>
<p>In my recent book “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009029445">The Everyday Crusade: Christian Nationalism in American Politics</a>,” written with fellow political scientists <a href="https://asianstudies.georgetown.edu/profile/irfan-nooruddin/">Irfan Nooruddin</a> and <a href="https://www.ou.edu/cas/psc/faculty/shortle">Allyson Shortle</a>, we demonstrate that this worldview has existed since the Colonies and <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/R/bo67822116.html">played a central role in developing American identity</a>. During the American Revolution, political and religious leaders linked independence from the British as part of <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/sacred-scripture-sacred-war-9780199843497?cc=us&lang=en&">God’s plan to set the world right</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A black and white drawing shows a man with arms outstretched rising up toward a heavenly light." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492409/original/file-20221030-79255-lt2ynt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492409/original/file-20221030-79255-lt2ynt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=786&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492409/original/file-20221030-79255-lt2ynt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=786&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492409/original/file-20221030-79255-lt2ynt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=786&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492409/original/file-20221030-79255-lt2ynt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=987&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492409/original/file-20221030-79255-lt2ynt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=987&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492409/original/file-20221030-79255-lt2ynt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=987&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">‘Apotheosis of Washington,’ by John James Barralet, imagining the first president rising from his tomb.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/apotheosis-of-washington-1800-1802-artist-john-james-news-photo/1426004087?phrase=%22george%20washington%22&adppopup=true">Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>From then on, many Americans’ belief that God favors their nation has guided their view of pivotal events – such as supporting Manifest Destiny, the idea that the U.S. was destined to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8040068">expand west</a> across North America; or framing the “war on terror” as a <a href="https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/confronting-christian-islamophobia">conflict between Christians and non-Christians</a> in the 21st century.</p>
<p>Today, only about <a href="https://www.prri.org/research/2020-census-of-american-religion/">4 in 10 people</a> in the U.S. are white Christians. The thought of <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/modeling-the-future-of-religion-in-america/#fn-38123-1">no longer being the majority</a> has prompted some of them to see Christian nationalism as the only way to get the nation <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009029445">back on the right track</a>. Christian nationalism typically restricts adherents’ view of who can be considered a “true” American, limiting it to people who are white, Christian and U.S.-born, and whose families have European roots.</p>
<h2>Dissidents, disciples and laity</h2>
<p>The majority of Americans <a href="https://www.prri.org/research/challenges-in-moving-toward-a-more-inclusive-democracy-findings-from-the-2022-american-values-survey/">do not embrace</a> Christian nationalism. Even so, its echoes appear everywhere from American flags in church pulpits, to the Pledge of Allegiance, to “In God We Trust” on money, <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2022/05/19/tennessee-license-plate-in-god-we-trust-nashville-drivers/9811564002/">license plates</a> and <a href="https://www.salisburypost.com/2022/08/11/town-to-consider-adding-in-god-we-trust-to-government-cars-buildings/">government vehicles</a>. </p>
<p>My book co-authors and I argue that Christian nationalist ideas exist along a spectrum. For our book project, we developed a measure we refer to as “American Religious Exceptionalism” and used it to analyze <a href="https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/Z4IJZI">nationally representative and state surveys from 2008 to 2020</a>. Based on that data, we categorized U.S. citizens into three groups: dissidents, laity and disciples. </p>
<p>“Dissidents” reject the idea of the U.S. having a divine founding and plan, and express a more open understanding of what it means to be an American. Among the nationally representative samples, the proportion of dissidents ranges from 37% to 49% of the population. </p>
<p>On the opposite end of the spectrum, the “disciples” strongly believe in the divine founding and guidance of the U.S. and express more restrictive ideas about who can be a “real” American and who should be allowed to enter the country. Disciples, who represent between 10% and 14% of the population, are more likely to see immigrants as a threat to American culture, and to express concern about the decreasing percentage of Americans who are white and Christian.</p>
<p>Those in the “laity” in the middle represent between 37% and 52% of the population. They demonstrate support for many of the same views the disciples do, such as anti-immigrant, anti-Black, and anti-Muslim attitudes, but less intensely.</p>
<h2>Master salesman</h2>
<p>Politicians can be thought about as entrepreneurs constantly looking for new consumers. Some of them have found <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781635573435">a devoted audience</a> among the disciples, who tend to be politically engaged and eager to vote for a candidate who will advance their view of the nation.</p>
<p>Former President Donald Trump has been particularly successful at attracting voters who are sympathetic to Christian nationalist ideas, by portraying himself as a defender of Christians “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/18/politics/donald-trump-liberty-two-corinthians/index.html">under siege</a>.” In June 2020, in the midst of upheaval over police killings of unarmed Black Americans, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/02/867705160/he-did-not-pray-fallout-grows-from-trump-s-photo-op-at-st-john-s-church">tear gas was used to disperse protesters</a> to allow then-President Trump to have his picture taken holding a Bible in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. His <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/20/i-think-islam-hates-us-a-timeline-of-trumps-comments-about-islam-and-muslims/">open animus toward Muslims</a> has also helped bring Christian nationalists from the fringes into the mainstream.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Someone draped in a flag that says 'Trump,' holding an American flag, kneels before a man holding a large cross outside on a sidewalk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492407/original/file-20221030-111288-b634du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492407/original/file-20221030-111288-b634du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492407/original/file-20221030-111288-b634du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492407/original/file-20221030-111288-b634du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492407/original/file-20221030-111288-b634du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492407/original/file-20221030-111288-b634du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492407/original/file-20221030-111288-b634du.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supporters of then-President Donald Trump pray outside the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/supporters-of-u-s-president-donald-trump-pray-outside-the-u-news-photo/1294873105?phrase=prayer%20trump&adppopup=true">Win McNamee/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Images linking Christianity with the nation and with Trump, as part of a larger divine mission, <a href="https://bjconline.org/jan6report/">were on full display</a> during the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In the most extreme Christian nationalist views, the government must be brought into alignment with this ideology – even if force is necessary.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009029445">Our research</a> found that 68% of disciples agree that force may be necessary to maintain the traditional American way of life. Most disciples express strong support for representative democracy; however, 48% of disciples support the idea of military rule, compared with 6% of dissidents.</p>
<h2>Heading to the polls</h2>
<p>Christian nationalism’s movement toward the mainstream is evident in the 2022 midterms, as several candidates have announced their support for Christian nationalism or <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2022/09/12/what-message-is-desantis-sending-with-religious-full-armor-of-god-rhetoric/">made statements highly in line with it</a>. Not only does such rhetoric mobilize disciples, but it has the potential to persuade the laity that these candidates will best represent their interests. An atmosphere of increasing partisan polarization, where political debates are sometimes portrayed as between <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/22/us/politics/republican-election-objectors-rhetoric.html">angels and demons</a> destroying the country, provides a fertile environment.</p>
<p>What this means for American democracy is unclear. But as some white and Christian Americans <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197618684.003.0005">fear a loss of status</a>, I believe Christian nationalism is coming back – attempting to reclaim its “holy land.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192378/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric McDaniel receives funding from the National Science Foundation. He is the co-director of the Politcs of Race and Ethnicity Lab and is a fellow of the Public Voice Program. </span></em></p>Christian nationalist ideas are about more than simply being religious and patriotic. They form a worldview about how the nation should be structured and who belongs there.Eric McDaniel, Associate Professor of Political Science, The University of Texas at AustinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1930732022-10-27T12:28:20Z2022-10-27T12:28:20ZAmericans who aren’t sure about God are a fast-growing force in politics – and they’re typically even more politically active than white evangelicals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491429/original/file-20221024-17-7gs3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C1%2C1020%2C680&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Religion shapes how many people vote – and lack of religion does, too. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/primary-day-voters-use-voting-booths-as-they-cast-their-news-photo/509150980">Joe Raedle/Getty Images News via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s hard to remember now, given the <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-issued-jan-subpoena-orchestrated-effort-overturn-2020/story?id=91677206">attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election</a>, but the day after votes were cast, one theme stood out: voter turnout.</p>
<p>Every state in the nation saw higher turnout in 2020 than 2016, according to an <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/28/turnout-soared-in-2020-as-nearly-two-thirds-of-eligible-u-s-voters-cast-ballots-for-president/">analysis from the Pew Research Center</a>. Overall, there were more than 158 million votes cast, <a href="https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/2020presgeresults.pdf">according to the Federal Election Commission</a> – <a href="https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/federalelections2016.pdf">nearly 22 million more</a> than just four years prior.</p>
<p>Turnout will likely play an outsize role in the 2022 midterms, too, as voters determine what political party will have control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate in January 2023. As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XnbzexUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">a political scientist</a> who studies the intersection of religion and politics, I am interested in which groups may have a strong impact on the balance of power. And if the data is any guide, there are two key communities political analysts often overlook: atheists and agnostics. </p>
<h2>Partisan divides</h2>
<p>In 2008, almost 8% of the entire U.S. population claimed to be atheist or agnostic, according to my analysis of data from the <a href="https://cces.gov.harvard.edu/">Cooperative Election Study</a>, or CES – an annual survey coordinated by a team at Harvard University. Atheists believe that there is no higher power in the universe, while agnostics contend that a higher power may exist but it’s impossible to know for certain. </p>
<p>By 2021, that share had risen to just about 12%. But atheists and agnostics are often left-leaning in their political persuasion, and their <a href="https://doi.org/10.54561/prj1502313d">rapid ascendance in the American religious landscape</a> is proving much more consequential to the Democratic Party than the GOP. </p>
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<p>Just 4% of people who align with the Republican Party <a href="https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506465852/The-Nones">say that they are atheist or agnostic</a>. That same figure was 3% when Barack Obama won the White House in 2008.</p>
<p>However, according to my analysis of <a href="https://cces.gov.harvard.edu/">the CES data</a>, 1 in 5 Democrats today are atheist or agnostic, an increase of eight percentage points from 2008.</p>
<h2>Getting to the ballot box</h2>
<p>Just because these groups have increased as a percentage of the overall population does not necessarily mean their growth will translate to political wins during the 2022 midterms. While political scientists <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfw021">have struggled</a> with how to measure voter turnout through survey data, it’s possible to use other measures to infer just how politically active atheists and agnostics are – and there’s strong evidence that they will make their presence felt on Election Day. </p>
<p><iframe id="43bQ2" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/43bQ2/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="https://cces.gov.harvard.edu/">The CES</a> asks respondents if they have engaged in a number of political activities over the prior 12 months. Secular Americans’ political engagement comes into sharper focus when their behavior is compared with that of another group, one that is often considered <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Onward-Christian-Soldiers-The-Religious-Right-in-American-Politics/Wilcox-Robinson/p/book/9780813344539">very politically active</a>: white evangelicals.</p>
<p>Over the past 40 years, the religious right has won many victories by organizing a loose coalition of theologically and politically conservative faith groups to vote, advocate and agitate. <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/19-1392">Overturning the Roe v. Wade decision</a>, for example – which the Supreme Court did in June 2022 – was a long-cherished goal of the movement, resulting in several states’ <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html">banning abortion</a> in nearly all circumstances.</p>
<p>In 2020, 8% of white evangelicals attended a political meeting such as school board or city council, <a href="https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi%3A10.7910/DVN/E9N6PH">according to the CES</a>. Yet the percentage is even higher for atheists – 11% – and agnostics – 10%. There was also a small difference in the data about putting up a political yard sign or bumper sticker. Among atheists, 27% had done so, compared with 21% of white evangelicals.</p>
<p>However, when it comes to political protests, there’s no doubt that secular Americans are more politically engaged. In 2020, 18% of atheists and 16% of agnostics said that they had gone to a march or rally about a political issue, versus just 5% of white evangelicals, based on <a href="https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi%3A10.7910/DVN/E9N6PH">CES data</a>. When it comes to donations, the gulf is even wider. In 2020, half of all atheists made a political donation, along with 43% of agnostics. In comparison, only about a quarter of white evangelicals made a political donation to a candidate or party.</p>
<h2>Speaking up – and being heard</h2>
<p>Democratic candidates have shown increasing awareness that they are becoming more dependent on secular voters. For instance, in April 2018, members of Congress <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/385573-dem-reps-launch-congressional-freethought-caucus/">founded the Congressional Freethought Caucus</a> to specifically focus on these voters’ needs and concerns. </p>
<p>Though atheists and agnostics are still a relatively small portion of the population, there’s strong evidence they will make their voices heard during the 2022 midterms – and help campaigns with funding and support at every stage, not just on Election Day. Whether Republicans can counter this level of engagement from specific religious groups will be a key question of the upcoming midterms.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193073/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan Burge is the Director of Research of Faith Counts, a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group based in DC. He also gave a presentation to the Congressional Freethought Caucus over the summer. </span></em></p>Winning elections isn’t just a matter of how many players you have. It’s how engaged they are.Ryan Burge, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Eastern Illinois UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1912472022-10-25T12:29:59Z2022-10-25T12:29:59ZHow the threat of ‘taxpayer-funded abortion’ is being used to mobilize conservative religious voters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491095/original/file-20221021-22-p7zmxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C0%2C5824%2C3894&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The right to abortion is among the top issues on the ballot in several states.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Election2022AbortionSpending/26d21852175d45aeb9df5997813de5f3/photo?Query=abortion%20midterm&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=29&currentItemNo=5">AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf">Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization</a> and the wave of <a href="https://time.com/6222346/abortion-care-after-roe-doctors-lawyers/">state-level abortion bans</a> that followed, it might appear that anti-abortion activists could declare victory and go home.</p>
<p>However, from their perspective, a major threat still looms: Their tax dollars may be used to fund abortion in states where abortion is legal.</p>
<p>As it currently stands, several policies are in place that <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2015/10/02/are-american-taxpayers-paying-for-abortion/#394e82c6a4bd">almost entirely prevent</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizfarmer/2022/06/24/how-overturning-roe-v-wade-affects-taxpayer-funded-abortions/?sh=1a05219f5859">federal funds</a> from being used to directly pay for abortion services. Since 1976, the Hyde Amendment has prohibited the public funding of abortion through Medicaid except in rare exceptions. In the years since, “<a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2016/09/40-years-enough-lets-end-harmful-and-unjust-hyde-amendment">Hyde-like restrictions</a>” have been added to other federal healthcare programs, as well as to <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-patient-protection-and-affordable-care-acts-consistency-with-longst">private insurance plans</a> purchased through the health insurance exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act. </p>
<p>There are also restrictions on federal funds granted to organizations that provide reproductive healthcare for low-income women, like Planned Parenthood, such that these funds <a href="https://opa.hhs.gov/grant-programs/title-x-service-grants/title-x-statutes-regulations-and-legislative-mandates">cannot be used for abortion services</a>. Even so, anti-abortion activists insist that because money is fungible, any federal support for organizations that provide abortion services or counseling represents an <a href="https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/new-congressional-bill-would-permanently-defund-planned-parenthood-ban-taxpayer-funded-abortions">indirect taxpayer subsidy to the “abortion industry</a>.” </p>
<p>As such, despite the multitude of restrictions currently in place, anti-abortion activists promote the idea that Americans are nonetheless being forced to pay for abortions. When the Democratic Party <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/06/democrats-hyde-amendment-history/591646/">declared in 2016</a> its intention to roll back these restrictions, framing them as unjust barriers to abortion access, anti-abortion activists only ramped up this existing rhetoric.</p>
<p>In the post-Dobbs world of the 2022 midterms, abortion debates are primarily focused on whether abortion will be legal, but anti-abortion leaders are also highlighting the implications of these laws for voters’ tax dollars. </p>
<p>This should not be surprising. In the course of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12761">my research</a> on debates about taxpayer-funded abortion, I found that this threat has historically been used to motivate and mobilize anti-abortion voters. This message has especially resonated for those conservative evangelical Christians and Catholics who believe that when abortion is funded using their tax dollars, this makes them personally complicit in sin. </p>
<h2>Opposition to public funding</h2>
<p>The U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops has long been a central player in advocacy campaigns to “stop taxpayer funding of abortion.” As one <a href="https://www.usccb.org/resources/no-taxpayer-abortion-sample-message-options">message</a> encouraging voters to support this advocacy puts it, “Don’t let our government force you to pay for the deaths of unborn children.” </p>
<p>This concern resonates for Catholic Republicans, more than 7 in 10 who oppose the use of public funds for abortion, according to an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12761">analysis</a> of national survey data that I conducted in 2021 with scholars <a href="https://liberalarts.iupui.edu/departments/sociology/directory/andrew-whitehead/">Andrew Whitehead</a> and <a href="http://ryanburge.net/">Ryan Burge</a>. This opposition is even stronger among Republicans who identify as born-again or evangelical Christian – between 84% and 90%.</p>
<p>But abortion funding bans also appeal to fiscally conservative voters who oppose welfare spending in general, whether or not they are morally opposed to abortion. Since the 1970s, anti-abortion leaders have argued that “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108653138.003">funding bans protected taxpayers’ wallets as well as their consciences</a>,” according to the legal historian <a href="https://law.ucdavis.edu/people/mary-ziegler">Mary Ziegler</a>. National survey data my colleagues and I analyzed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12761">suggests</a> that this argument continues to resonate. Six out of 10 Republicans with no religious affiliation support abortion funding bans; so do between 14% and 17% of Republicans who support legal abortion. </p>
<p>Opposition to taxpayer-funded abortion, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12761">even more than abortion itself</a>, is a thread connecting religious and fiscal conservatives within the Republican coalition.</p>
<h2>A winning strategy</h2>
<p>Campaigns to prevent tax dollars from funding abortion have kept these anti-abortion activists and other Republican voters engaged and mobilized for decades, even when a ban on legal abortion itself seemed unlikely.</p>
<p>As one leader of an anti-abortion organization told me in a 2021 interview: “Ultimately, I think our focus should still remain on criminalizing [abortion]. … But I think in the meantime we also should oppose the taxpayer funding of it … just because it’s a winning strategy.”</p>
<p>This seems no less true post-Dobbs. As the midterms approach, I have found that Republican candidates and movement leaders are continuing to stoke fear about taxpayer-funded abortion in order to mobilize voters, especially religious conservatives. </p>
<h2>Bill codifying federal abortion rights</h2>
<p>A major issue energizing voters this cycle is the possibility that Congress might pass a bill <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/23/biden-promises-to-codify-roe-if-two-more-democrats-are-elected-to-the-senate.html">codifying abortion rights</a>. While the primary issue at stake is whether abortions would be legal nationwide, abortion opponents are quick to note that such a bill would also “<a href="https://www.lifenews.com/2022/08/18/democrat-senate-candidates-promote-unlimited-abortions-up-to-birth/">force taxpayers to pay for them</a>,” as the anti-abortion news website LifeNews.com put it. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491099/original/file-20221021-19-51ngbb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Anti-abortion activists march outside of the U.S. Supreme Court during the March for Life in Washington, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491099/original/file-20221021-19-51ngbb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491099/original/file-20221021-19-51ngbb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491099/original/file-20221021-19-51ngbb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491099/original/file-20221021-19-51ngbb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491099/original/file-20221021-19-51ngbb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491099/original/file-20221021-19-51ngbb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491099/original/file-20221021-19-51ngbb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Anti-abortion activists are motivating voters by saying that they would be forced to pay for abortions through their tax dollars.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AbortionMarchforLife/3726f08181e146b7853990c0ab489730/photo?Query=anti%20abortion%20activists%202022&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=220&currentItemNo=13">AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>National Right to Life president <a href="https://www.nrlc.org/wp-content/uploads/NRLNewsSept2022.pdf">Carol Tobias warned</a> in the September 2022 issue of the organization’s newsletter that “Proponents of the bill claim this bill would codify Roe v Wade. Don’t be fooled – it goes much, much further.” In particular, she writes, “tax dollars would flow to pay for abortion.” Jeanne F. Mancini, President of March for Life, <a href="https://marchforlife.org/why-we-will-continue-to-march-for-life/">warned</a> that if this “extreme bill” is passed, it would “force taxpayers to pay for abortions nationwide — up until birth.”</p>
<p>Even in the absence of such a bill, abortion opponents are raising the alarm about existing Biden administration policies that allow public funds to be used for abortion services, like a new Pentagon policy that would “<a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/10/20/1130316976/pentagon-abortion-travel">pay for service members to travel for abortion care</a>.” </p>
<p>As reported by <a href="https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/southern-baptist-leaders-call-on-va-to-repeal-abortion-rule/">the Baptist Press</a>, the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission raised concerns that “the interim rule forces taxpayers to fund the taking of preborn human lives.” Meanwhile, the Christian Right organization Concerned Women for America <a href="https://concernedwomen.org/biden-admin-uses-va-to-provide-abortion-on-demand/">warned</a>, “A baby has already been killed under this cruel ploy. … Not only that, but the Administration wants Americans to pay for it.” </p>
<h2>Abortion on state-level ballots</h2>
<p>Voters in <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/abortion-rights-2022-midterm-elections-ballot-initiatives/">several states</a> are also directly deciding the fate of their states’ abortion laws in November 2022. In at least two of these states, anti-abortion leaders are highlighting the implications for voters’ tax dollars. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/10/3/23380800/abortion-midterms-governor-attorney-ballot">in Kentucky</a>, where a near-total abortion ban went into effect shortly after Dobbs, voters will decide whether to amend the state constitution to say, “To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.” </p>
<p>Explaining why voters should vote “Yes for Life,” the chair of the campaign supporting the amendment <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Kentucky_Constitutional_Amendment_2,_No_Right_to_Abortion_in_Constitution_Amendment_(2022)">led with its implications for taxpayers</a>: “The constitutional amendment is very clear. It protects taxpayer dollars, and it makes sure there is not an interpreted right of abortion in the constitution.”</p>
<p>In Michigan, where a ballot measure called Proposal 3 would enshrine abortion rights, backlash from anti-abortion activists led by local <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_Proposal_3,_Right_to_Reproductive_Freedom_Initiative_(2022)">Catholic organizations</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ArchofDet/status/1577088135023894531">prominently features</a> the claim that “If passed, Proposal 3 would result in taxpayer-funded abortion.”</p>
<h2>Municipal politics</h2>
<p>Cities dedicating public funds to abortion post-Dobbs have also faced scrutiny in the lead-up to the midterms, especially from conservative religious groups. </p>
<p>In Philadelphia, for example, anti-abortion activists represented by the conservative Catholic <a href="https://thomasmoresociety.org/citizens-sue-philadelphia-and-its-mayor-for-illegally-using-taxpayer-money-to-pay-for-abortions/">Thomas More Society</a> have filed <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2022/10/07/philadelphias-500k-tax-funded-abortion-bankroll-proves-democrats-want-more-than-to-codify-roe/">suit against city leaders</a> “for illegally using taxpayer money to pay for abortions.” Only weeks before the election, the <a href="https://www.prolifeunion.org/">Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia</a> rallied supporters to a hearing on the case, pleading “Don’t let Mayor (Jim) Kenney get away with it!” </p>
<p>Abortion debates are certainly not only about how abortions will be paid for. But journalists and scholars often pay far too little attention to anti-abortion activists’ persistent focus on the possibility that some abortions will be paid for with their tax dollars. If history and current research is any guide, this threat resonates with a diverse array of Republicans and will be used to mobilize voters in 2022 and beyond. </p>
<p><em>Gloria Dickson and Brianna Monte, undergraduate research assistants at the University of Connecticut, contributed research to this piece.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191247/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Braunstein has received funding from the Louisville Institute, the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR), and the University of Connecticut. She serves on the Board of Directors of PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute). </span></em></p>In the midterms, some religious voters may be motivated by the argument that if abortion is funded with tax dollars, it makes them personally complicit in sin.Ruth Braunstein, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1929972022-10-24T19:47:24Z2022-10-24T19:47:24ZNew Congress has a humanist rep and a religiously unaffiliated senator – but why is it so hard for outright atheists to get voted in?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502981/original/file-20230103-64877-i1f8s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C1%2C1019%2C680&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Congress includes people of many faiths – but not many who profess no faith at all.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-house-of-representatives-votes-on-speaker-of-the-house-news-photo/1245964216?phrase=congress&adppopup=true">Kent Nishimura /Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the 118th session of Congress begins on Jan. 3, 2023, members with a wide range of religious beliefs will enter the Capitol.</p>
<p>But while self-identified <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/01/04/faith-on-the-hill-2021/">Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and Hindus</a> rub shoulders in the corridors of power, one group is noticeably absent: atheists. And despite a <a href="https://onlysky.media/hemant-mehta/nonreligious-candidates-2022/">growing number of openly nonreligious candidates</a> running for office – and the growing number of Americans who are religiously unaffiliated – it remains difficult for atheists to get a foothold in Congress.</p>
<p>Of the 534 members to be sworn in (Virginia’s 4th District seat is currently unfilled, because of Rep. Donald McEachin’s recent death), 88% identify as Christian, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/01/03/faith-on-the-hill-2023/">according to Pew Research Center</a>. Those of a Jewish faith make up 6%. Only two people in Congress don’t openly identify with any mainstream religion, according to Pew – Rep. Jared Huffman, a Californian Democrat who identifies as a “humanist”; and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who describes herself as religiously unaffiliated – although the affiliations of another 20 are unknown. But neither Huffman nor Sinema has self-identified as being an “atheist.”</p>
<p>A <a href="http://freethoughtequality.org/2022-endorsements/">list compiled by the Freethought Equality Fund Political Action Committee</a> indicates that atheists are running for a few seats in the U.S. Congress, and many more are doing so at the state level.</p>
<p>But throughout history, only one self-identified atheist in the U.S. Congress comes to mind, the late <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/27/us/politics/pete-stark-dead.html">California Democrat Peter Stark</a>.</p>
<h2>‘In atheists, they don’t trust’</h2>
<p>This puts the country at odds with democracies the world over that have elected openly godless – or at least openly skeptical – leaders who went on to become revered national figures, such as <a href="https://humanism.org.uk/humanism/the-humanist-tradition/20th-century-humanism/nehru/">Jawaharlal Nehru in India</a>, <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/09/sweden-social-democracy-olaf-palme-assasination-reforms/">Sweden’s Olof Palme</a>, <a href="https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2012/05/19/theres-an-openly-atheist-president-in-uruguay/">Jose Mujica in Uruguay</a> and <a href="https://www.hpb.com/products/the-portable-atheist-9780306816086">Israel’s Golda Meir</a>. New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, the global leader who has arguably navigated the coronavirus crisis with the most credit, <a href="https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2017/10/19/new-zealands-next-prime-minister-set-to-be-agnostic-woman-who-left-mormonism/">says she is agnostic</a>.</p>
<p>But in the United States, self-identified nonbelievers are at a distinct disadvantage. A <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/254120/less-half-vote-socialist-president.aspx">2019 poll asking Americans who they were willing to vote for</a> in a hypothetical presidential election found that 96% would vote for a candidate who is Black, 94% for a woman, 95% for a Hispanic candidate, 93% for a Jew, 76% for a gay or lesbian candidate and 66% for a Muslim – but atheists fall below all of these, down at 60%. That is a sizable chunk who would not vote for a candidate simply on the basis of their nonreligion.</p>
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<p>In fact, a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2014/05/19/for-2016-hopefuls-washington-experience-could-do-more-harm-than-good/">2014 survey</a> found Americans would be more willing to vote for a presidential candidate who had never held office before, or who had extramarital affairs, than for an atheist.</p>
<p>In a country that <a href="https://petitions.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/petition/change-motto-united-states-america-e-pluribus-unum/">changed its original national motto in 1956</a> from the secular “e pluribus unum” – “out of many, one” – to the faithful “in God we trust,” it seems people don’t trust someone who doesn’t believe in God.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.pitzer.edu/academics/faculty/phil-zuckerman/">scholar who studies atheism in the U.S.</a>, I have long sought to understand what is behind such antipathy toward nonbelievers seeking office.</p>
<h2>Branding issue?</h2>
<p>There appear to be two primary reasons atheism remains the kiss of death for aspiring politicians in the U.S. – one is rooted in a reaction to historical and political events, while the other is rooted in baseless bigotry. </p>
<p>Let’s start with the first: atheism’s prominence within communist regimes. Some of the most murderous dictatorships of the 20th century – including <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2010/09/23/naimark-stalin-genocide-092310/">Stalin’s Soviet Union</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-10684399">Pol Pot’s Cambodia</a> – were explicitly atheistic. Bulldozing human rights and persecuting religious believers were fundamental to their oppressive agendas. Talk about a branding problem for atheists.</p>
<p>For those who considered themselves lovers of liberty, democracy and the First Amendment guarantee of the free exercise of religion, it made sense to <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-spiritual-industrial-complex-9780195393460?cc=us&lang=en&">develop fearful distrust of atheism</a>, given its association with such brutal dictatorships.</p>
<p>And even though such regimes have long since met their demise, the <a href="https://www.americanpopularculture.com/journal/articles/spring_2005/aiello.htm?report=reader">association of atheism with a lack of freedom</a> lingered long after.</p>
<p>The second reason atheists find it hard to get elected in America, however, is the result of an irrational linkage in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12035">many people’s minds between atheism and immorality</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/csnp2">Some assume</a> that because atheists don’t believe in a deity watching and judging their every move, they must be more likely to murder, steal, lie and cheat. One recent study, for example, found that Americans even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0092302">intuitively link atheism with necrobestiality and cannibalism</a>. </p>
<p>Such bigoted associations between atheism and immorality do not align with reality. There is simply no empirical evidence that most people who lack a belief in God are immoral. If anything, the evidence points in the other direction. Research has shown that atheists tend to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868309352179">less racist</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2018.1522809">less homophobic</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0379-3">less misogynistic</a> than those professing a belief in God.</p>
<p>Most atheists subscribe to <a href="https://thehumanist.com/magazine/september-october-2019/features/living-humanist-values-the-ten-commitments">humanistic ethics</a> <a href="https://www.counterpointpress.com/dd-product/what-it-means-to-be-moral/">based on compassion and a desire to alleviate suffering</a>. This may help explain why atheists have been found to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134868">more supportive of efforts to fight climate change</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/05/24/republicans-turn-more-negative-toward-refugees-as-number-admitted-to-u-s-plummets/">more supportive of refugees</a> and of <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3712123">the right to die</a>.</p>
<p>This may also explain why, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199644650.013.010">according to my research</a>, those states within the U.S. with the least religious populations – as well as democratic nations with the most secular citizens – tend to be the most humane, safe, peaceful and prosperous.</p>
<h2>Freethought Caucus</h2>
<p>Although the rivers of anti-atheism run deep throughout the American political landscape, they are starting to thin. More and more nonbelievers are <a href="https://www.barna.com/rise-of-atheism/">openly expressing their godlessness</a>, and swelling numbers of Americans are becoming secular: In the past 15 years, the <a href="https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/">percentage of Americans claiming no religious affiliation has risen</a> from 16% to 26%. Meanwhile, some find the image of a Bible-wielding Trump troubling, opening up the possibility that suddenly Christianity may be contending with a branding problem of its own, <a href="https://www.prri.org/research/prri-rns-poll-nones-atheist-leaving-religion/">especially in the skeptical eyes of younger Americans</a>.</p>
<p>In 2018, a new group emerged in Washington, D.C.: The Congressional Freethought Caucus. Although it has only 16 members, it portends a significant shift in which some elected members of Congress are no longer afraid of being <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/11/09/this-lawmaker-is-skeptical-that-god-exists-now-hes-finally-decided-to-tell-people/">identified as, at the very least, agnostic</a>. Given this development, as well as the growing number of nonreligious Americans, it shouldn’t be a surprise if one day a self-identified atheist makes it to the White House.</p>
<p>Will that day come sooner rather than later? God only knows. Or rather, only time will tell.</p>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-it-so-hard-for-atheists-to-get-voted-in-to-congress-146748">article that was originally published</a> on Oct. 5, 2020.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192997/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phil Zuckerman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite a growing number of non-religious Americans, self-declared atheists are few and far between in the halls of power – putting the US at odds with other global democracies.Phil Zuckerman, Professor of Sociology and Secular Studies, Pitzer CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1917212022-10-24T12:28:16Z2022-10-24T12:28:16ZThere’s no one ‘Latino vote’ – religion and geography add to voters’ diversity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490107/original/file-20221017-19-69dtba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C0%2C1017%2C682&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Volunteers laugh during a 2020 meeting of Jolt, a nonprofit that works to increase civic participation of Latinos in Texas.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/volunteers-daisy-campos-victor-ibarra-jr-and-michael-garza-news-photo/1204578906?phrase=latino%20vote%20u.s.&adppopup=true">Mark Felix/AFP/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/06/14/a-brief-statistical-portrait-of-u-s-hispanics/">Nearly 1 in 5</a> people in the United States today are Latino, and “the Latino vote” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/12/opinion/midterms-latino-voters.html">has attracted</a> significant <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-democrats-and-republicans-are-courting-hispanic-and-latino-voters-ahead-of-midterms">news coverage</a> as their political voice grows stronger. Yet considering <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/06/14/a-brief-statistical-portrait-of-u-s-hispanics/">all 62 million Latinos</a> as a group isn’t necessarily all that helpful in understanding attitudes or voting patterns, as some <a href="https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/matt-barreto/latino-america/9781610395021/">scholars</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/923723249">journalists</a> have pointed out.</p>
<p>The U.S. Latino population is extremely diverse. As scholars who study immigration in the fields of <a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/ollas/about-us/directory/cristi%C3%A1n-dona-reveco.php">sociology</a> and <a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/religion/about-us/directory/laura-alexander.php">religious ethics</a>, we are especially interested in the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2014/05/07/the-shifting-religious-identity-of-latinos-in-the-united-states/">growing religious diversity</a> and often overlooked geographical diversity among Latino populations. </p>
<p>These aspects of Latino identity are just beginning to be recognized more clearly in media reports. Yet they are as informative as gender, race and other characteristics for understanding Latino voters – and will likely come into play when Americans go to the polls in November. </p>
<h2>Religious diversity</h2>
<p>Historically, Latinos in the U.S. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2019/10/Detailed-Tables-v1-FOR-WEB.pdf">have mostly been Catholic</a>, but the numbers have recently changed. In 2020, <a href="https://www.prri.org/research/2020-census-of-american-religion/">the Public Religion Research Institute reported</a> that 50% of Latinos say they are Catholic, 14% are <a href="https://www.prri.org/research/2020-census-of-american-religion/">evangelical Protestant</a>, 10% non-evangelical Protestant and 19% religiously unaffiliated. Some researchers <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538153147/Latino-Protestants-in-America-Growing-and-Diverse">have estimated</a> that by 2030, fully half of U.S. Latinos will identify as Protestant.</p>
<p>This diversity has implications for <a href="https://www.prri.org/spotlight/religion-divides-hispanic-opinion-in-the-u-s/">political ideology and affiliation</a>. Latino Protestants, particularly evangelicals, are generally more likely to identify as politically conservative and to support Republican candidates than Latino Catholics are, according to the Public Religion Research Institute’s 2020 Census of American Religion. Religiously unaffiliated Latinos, on the other hand, are generally more likely to identify as politically liberal and to support Democratic candidates.</p>
<p>These trends are <a href="https://www.prri.org/spotlight/the-politics-of-unaffiliated-americans/">similar</a> <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/23/u-s-religious-groups-and-their-political-leanings/">to those</a> among non-Latino white Americans. Political ideology by age also looks similar: Whether Latino or not, younger groups are <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2022/09/29/latinos-and-the-2022-midterm-elections/">more likely to identify as politically liberal</a>, whereas older groups are more likely to identify as politically conservative. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A roll of tape on a black table next three cards which say 'Your vote matters' and 'Tu voto cuenta.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490108/original/file-20221017-8454-t9lss5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490108/original/file-20221017-8454-t9lss5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490108/original/file-20221017-8454-t9lss5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490108/original/file-20221017-8454-t9lss5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490108/original/file-20221017-8454-t9lss5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490108/original/file-20221017-8454-t9lss5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490108/original/file-20221017-8454-t9lss5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Your vote matters – whichever language you’re voting in.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/stickers-in-spanish-and-english-and-a-roll-of-tape-sit-on-a-news-photo/1204578950?phrase=latino%20vote%20u.s.&adppopup=true">Mark Felix/AFP/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Indeed, Latino groups’ voting preferences may be better understood by looking at religious affiliation, not ethnicity. <a href="https://www.davidson.edu/people/gerardo-marti">Sociologist Gerardo Marti</a>, for example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srab054">has shown</a> that Latinos who identify as evangelical Protestants are more likely than other Latinos to embrace Christian nationalist ideas. This ideology promotes the view that the U.S. has a special relationship with God and that it should be governed by Christian principles. Marti also shows that evangelical Latinos are more likely to align with white evangelicals in favoring policies that maintain the political dominance of white Americans.</p>
<p>Protestant Latinos are also <a href="https://www.prri.org/spotlight/religion-divides-hispanic-opinion-in-the-u-s/">more likely</a> than other Latinos to hold anti-immigrant sentiments, which track with attitudes among non-Latino white evangelicals. This may seem counterintuitive, since Latinos have been subject to racist stereotyping and often have connections to immigrant communities. However, immigrant groups’ attitudes toward newcomers <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/42864106">do change over time</a>, especially if those groups begin to gain access to privileges associated with whiteness.</p>
<h2>Geographic diversity</h2>
<p>The media has begun to pay more attention <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/10/30/929575586/what-pundits-get-wrong-about-the-latino-vote">to Latino diversity</a>, especially in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, but tends to focus on states like Florida, California and Texas. Regions where Latino communities are smaller but growing are understudied, particularly in the Midwest – home to five of the 13 <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Presidential_battleground_states,_2020">battleground states</a> in 2020. </p>
<p>Comparing by <a href="https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf">Census regions</a>, the <a href="https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0200000US1,2,3,4&y=2020&d=DEC%20Redistricting%20Data%20%28PL%2094-171%29&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2">Latino population of the Midwest</a> grew 28% between 2010 and 2020: the second-largest rate of all regions, only 2 percentage points less than in the South. The Midwest also has <a href="https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=latinos%20age&g=0200000US1,2,3,4&y=2020&tid=ACSDT5Y2020.B01001I&moe=false">the youngest Latino population</a>, with <a href="https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B01002I%3A%20MEDIAN%20AGE%20BY%20SEX%20%28HISPANIC%20OR%20LATINO%29&g=0100000US_0200000US1,2,3,4&y=2020&tid=ACSDT5Y2020.B01002I&moe=false">a median age</a> of 26.7 years. Because there is a significant association between age and political opinion, and because younger Latinos are <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/13/key-facts-about-young-latinos/">more likely to be U.S. citizens</a> and therefore able to vote, this could become a factor in the future. </p>
<h2>Taken together</h2>
<p>The intersection of religious and political affiliation among Latinos in the United States also seems to vary by geography. Considering geography and religion together helps highlight diversity among Latino voters.</p>
<p>Based on our analysis of polling data from the Pew Research Center’s <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/dataset/american-trends-panel-wave-86/">American Trends Panel Wave 86</a>, Latino Protestants in the Midwest are more likely to identify as Democrat or Democrat-leaning than in other regions: about 74%, compared with approximately 63% in the Northeast and 52% in the West and South. Meanwhile, 86% of Latino Catholics in the Northeast identify with the Democratic Party – but only 66% in the South.</p>
<p>Among religiously unaffiliated Latinos, meanwhile, 65% in the Midwest identify with the Democrats, lower than in any other region. These differences are intriguing, but since Pew only surveyed 207 Latinos in this region, representing just 6.1% of the total sample, it is difficult to reach statistically well-grounded conclusions – another reason for more research in the Midwest.</p>
<p><iframe id="UhV2A" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/UhV2A/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The problem with understanding “the Latino vote” is that there really is no such thing. Latino communities have always been diverse, and are growing even more so.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191721/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura E. Alexander receives funding as a 2021-23 Public Fellow of the Public Religion Research Institute.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cristian Doña-Reveco does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If you think of Latino voters as left-leaning Catholics, think again.Laura E. Alexander, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Goldstein Family Community Chair in Human Rights, University of Nebraska OmahaCristian Doña-Reveco, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology; Director, Office of Latino/Latin American Studies, University of Nebraska OmahaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1914892022-10-19T12:38:23Z2022-10-19T12:38:23ZWhy the GOP’s battle for the soul of ‘character conservatives’ in these midterms may center on Utah and its Latter-day Saint voters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490375/original/file-20221018-8391-wkks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=96%2C16%2C5289%2C3011&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Utah Sen. Mike Lee, right, and his challenger Evan McMullin before their debate Oct. 17, 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Election2022SenateUtah/abf9316077f54ba9b10c76472d688fa0/photo?Query=mcmullin&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=154&currentItemNo=2">AP Photo/Rick Bowmer</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>U.S. Sen. Mike Lee is seeking reelection in Utah – a typically uneventful undertaking for an incumbent Republican in a state that hasn’t had a Democratic senator <a href="https://historytogo.utah.gov/senators/">since 1977</a>. But he faces a unique challenger: Evan McMullin.</p>
<p>The former CIA operative, investment banker and Republican policy adviser left the GOP in 2016 because of Donald Trump. McMullin then ran for president as an independent, styling himself as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2016/11/09/evan-mcmullin-conservatives-must-now-abandon-the-republican-party/">a principled conservative</a>, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/utah">won 21%</a> of Utahans’ votes.</p>
<p>Lee himself <a href="https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=11167528&itype=storyID">voted for McMullin</a> in 2016, <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/mike-lee-trump-rant-224970">saying Trump was “wildly unpopular</a>” in Utah because of “religiously intolerant” statements about Muslims. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-utah-salt-lake-mormons-20181215-story.html">Some 62% of the state’s residents</a> belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has its own history of suffering persecution. Yet Lee embraced Trump after his election, and now McMullin is trying to upend him.</p>
<p>Both men are devoted members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often known as the Mormon church or the LDS church. As <a href="https://www.utica.edu/people/luke-perry">a scholar of U.S. elections</a> and author of <a href="https://www.abc-clio.com/products/a3928c/">two books</a> on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137360823">LDS politics</a>, I see their November face-off as part of a larger fight over what it means to be a “character conservative.” This battle has been raging around the country, not only in Utah; but <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/18/us/politics/arizona-mormons-trump-biden.html">LDS voters</a> have become an especially interesting example since Trump’s rise.</p>
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<img alt="A man with a shaved head smiles while standing outside in a light blue suit and white shirt." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489637/original/file-20221013-22-ujdh2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C16%2C5383%2C3573&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489637/original/file-20221013-22-ujdh2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489637/original/file-20221013-22-ujdh2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489637/original/file-20221013-22-ujdh2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489637/original/file-20221013-22-ujdh2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489637/original/file-20221013-22-ujdh2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489637/original/file-20221013-22-ujdh2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Utah’s Evan McMullin speaks during an interview on July 23, 2022, in Provo, Utah.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Election2022UtahSenate/a54d883f07304c81b12103f976b4f3c0/photo?Query=utah%20senate&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=2646&currentItemNo=5">AP Photo/Rick Bowmer</a></span>
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<h2>Road to acceptance</h2>
<p>Over two centuries, Latter-day Saints have transformed themselves from among the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mormons-opposition/">most persecuted religious groups</a> in U.S. history to a global religion <a href="https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2021-statistical-report-april-2022-conference">of almost 17 million members</a>, by their own count, with an estimated <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-mormon-church-amassed-100-billion-it-was-the-best-kept-secret-in-the-investment-world-11581138011">US$100 billion</a> in resources.</p>
<p>Politics has always been woven into this history. Early Latter-day Saints were forced gradually westward from state to state because of neighbors’ distrust, mob justice and government oppression – most notably, <a href="https://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/mormon.asp">an extermination order</a> was issued by the state of Missouri in 1838. The church ultimately fled the U.S. after founder Joseph Smith was killed and settled around Salt Lake, which was a Mexican territory when church members first arrived.</p>
<p>Utah was <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mormons-utah/#:%7E:text=Congress%20would%20refuse%20the%20Utah,Union%20on%20January%204%2C%201896.">granted statehood</a> in 1896, and the Senate provided a building block for increased LDS immersion into American culture – though it didn’t look that way at first. In the early 1900s, the church was so widely reviled that Sen.-elect Reed Smoot <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/The_Seating_of_Reed_Smoot.htm">was blocked from taking his seat</a> over accusations that his role in the church made him inherently hostile to the government.</p>
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<img alt="A black and white photo shows a formally dressed man in a light-colored suit walking across a lawn." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489655/original/file-20221013-23-l2qugm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489655/original/file-20221013-23-l2qugm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489655/original/file-20221013-23-l2qugm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489655/original/file-20221013-23-l2qugm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489655/original/file-20221013-23-l2qugm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1013&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489655/original/file-20221013-23-l2qugm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1013&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489655/original/file-20221013-23-l2qugm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1013&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sen. Reed Smoot, photographed between 1913 and 1917.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/senator-reed-smoot-between-1913-and-1917-american-news-photo/1425951053?phrase=reed+smoot&adppopup=true">Heritage Art/Heritage Images/Hulton Archive via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Yet Smoot was exonerated, and his three-decade tenure significantly enhanced the church’s acceptance in national politics. The soft-spoken senator became a leading voice of conservative morality and embodiment of <a href="https://www.abc-clio.com/products/a3928c/">Mormonism in wider American culture</a>, replacing Brigham Young, the bearded patriarch with multiple wives.</p>
<p>LDS ascendance throughout the 20th century culminated in Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential nomination and wider cultural attention dubbed “<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2012/02/the-mormon-moment-072361">the Mormon moment</a>.” Some LDS beliefs and practices – such as the teaching that Smith discovered scripture on golden plates buried in upstate New York – have long generated curiosity, if not derision, from other Americans. Many Latter-day Saints and observers felt Romney’s nomination suggested <a href="https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=jiass*">greater acceptance</a> of the religion.</p>
<p>In particular, LDS conservatives have become political allies with white evangelicals when it comes to social issues <a href="https://religionnews.com/2014/09/08/mormon-leaders-gay-marriage-supreme-court/">such as opposing gay marriage</a>. In popular culture, Latter-day Saints are often seen as the embodiment of 1950s conservative Americana. LDS cultural norms such as <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1976/07/gods-hand-in-the-founding-of-america?lang=eng">patriotism</a>, <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/word-of-wisdom?lang=eng">abstinence from tobacco and alcohol</a> and prioritizing child rearing, family life and devotion to service have forged a conception of character widely embraced by conservatives. </p>
<p>This all helped position Latter-day Saints as a small but influential group within the Christian right. </p>
<p>And then Trump decided to run for president.</p>
<h2>An inconvenient candidate</h2>
<p>Trump galvanized parts of the Republican Party. Yet conservatives were divided over the candidate’s character – especially his <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-primary-is-over-but-donald-trump-keeps-attacking-fellow-republicans/2016/05/25/f1ab3c4e-2291-11e6-aa84-42391ba52c91_story.html">unorthodox attacks</a> on primary rivals and <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/trump-attacks-mccain-i-like-people-who-werent-captured-120317">former GOP presidential candidates</a>, the “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_2">Access Hollywood” video</a> in which he bragged about groping women, and numerous <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/10/21/trump-sexual-assault-allegations-share-similar-patterns-19-women/5279155002/">allegations of sexual assault</a>.</p>
<p>Latter-day Saints are <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/23/u-s-religious-groups-and-their-political-leanings/">the most Republican</a> religious group in the country, making them a particularly interesting <a href="https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/social-conservative-rebels-shake-lds-gop-alignment">case study</a> of character conservatism. Trump’s overlap with the LDS community “starts and stops” with his GOP affiliation, as Brigham Young University political scientist <a href="https://politicalscience.byu.edu/directory/quin-monson">Quin Monson</a> <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-clinton-mormons-20161019-snap-story.html">told the Los Angeles Times</a> in 2016.</p>
<p>Romney thoroughly criticized Trump and encouraged Republicans to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/03/03/mitt-romney-trump-is-a-phony-a-fraud-who-is-playing-the-american-public-for-suckers/">vote for any other primary candidate</a>. Grounded in his LDS faith, which prioritizes family <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/africacentral/beliefs/family-values">on Earth</a> and <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/africacentral/beliefs/families-together-forever">for eternity</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/us/politics/mitt-romney-speech.html">Romney urged Utahans</a>: “Think of Donald Trump’s personal qualities. The bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third-grade theatrics. … Imagine your children and your grandchildren acting the way he does.”</p>
<p>Deseret News, the church-owned newspaper in Salt Lake, <a href="https://www.deseret.com/2016/10/8/20598212/in-our-opinion-donald-trump-should-resign-his-candidacy">opposed Trump</a> for not upholding “the ideals and values of this community.” Just <a href="https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4573783&itype=CMSID">16% of Latter-day Saints</a> thought he was a moral person.</p>
<p>When McMullin ran in 2016, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/utah">Trump still won Utah</a>, but with 45% – the lowest for a Republican nominee there since 1992. Nationwide, just over 50% of Latter-day Saints <a href="https://theconversation.com/faith-in-numbers-trump-held-steady-among-believers-at-the-ballot-it-was-the-nonreligious-vote-he-lost-in-2020-158513">voted for Trump in 2016</a>, almost 30 percentage points lower than white evangelicals. The second time around, he won over 60% of the LDS vote, but most church members who are people of color or are under 40 <a href="https://religionnews.com/2021/04/01/younger-u-s-mormons-voted-for-biden-but-trump-performed-well-overall/">did not vote for him</a>.</p>
<h2>GOP soul-searching</h2>
<p>Jan. 6, 2021, was a pivotal moment for the Trump presidency and character conservatives. Half of Republicans believed Trump <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/01/04/a-look-back-at-americans-reactions-to-the-jan-6-riot-at-the-u-s-capitol/">bore at least some responsibility</a> for what happened. Voters’ disapproval was compounded by further activities, such as Trump’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/06/trumps-brazen-attempt-overturn-2020-election-timeline/">trying to overturn the 2020 election</a> and taking <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/13/1117297065/trump-documents-history-national-archives-law-watergate">highly classified documents</a>. Still, GOP candidates face strategic pressure to pledge allegiance to Trump: The Republican National Committee, for example, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/rnc-warning-trump-run-president-stop-paying-legal/story?id=87486985">has directed millions of dollars</a> to his legal defense.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People at a fair, many of them in cowboy hats, inspect a pig standing on straw." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489680/original/file-20221013-13-i2l2zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489680/original/file-20221013-13-i2l2zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489680/original/file-20221013-13-i2l2zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489680/original/file-20221013-13-i2l2zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489680/original/file-20221013-13-i2l2zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489680/original/file-20221013-13-i2l2zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489680/original/file-20221013-13-i2l2zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, standing center, with an award-winning hog at the Weber County Fair on Aug. 13, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Election2022UtahSenate/8ebf0cd0cbea4b8e830783771b3695a4/photo?Query=evan%20mcmullin&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=76&currentItemNo=0">AP Photo/Sam Metz</a></span>
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<p>Character conservatives are reckoning with two different impulses. Trump is not a role model, but he has demonstrated willingness to fight for some religious-conservative values, such as reconfiguring the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/24/roe-v-wade-decision-trump-takes-credit-for-supreme-court-abortion-ruling.html">to enable the overturning of Roe v. Wade</a>. Some character conservatives support Trump, believing the ends justify means. Others reject Trump’s behavior as immoral and unacceptable for democracy – and the majority are probably somewhere in the middle.</p>
<p>The Utah Senate contest will provide some clarity to these countervailing trends. Lee has previously <a href="https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/10/29/21540402/news-sen-mike-lee-compares-donald-trump-to-captain-moroni-from-book-of-mormon">compared Trump with Captain Moroni</a>, <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/moroni-captain?lang=eng">a hero from LDS scripture</a>. McMullin, meanwhile, contends that Lee’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/25/utah-democrats-mcmullin/">brazen treachery</a>.”</p>
<p>Independent polling has Lee and McMullin <a href="https://www.deseret.com/utah/2022/10/10/23396679/evan-mcmullin-mike-lee-locked-utah-senate-race-poll-attack-ads">in a virtual tie</a>. Incumbency advantage is powerful, but Utah’s Democratic Party has uncharacteristically <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/24/politics/utah-democrats-evan-mcmullin-mike-lee">decided to support McMullin</a> rather than field its own candidate. </p>
<p>The character divide between Trump-supporting candidates and McMullin questions the extent to which LDS values and the carefully crafted public identity of the church can be disentangled from the modern Republican Party. Lee remains the favorite, but the fact that this is a competitive race speaks to how ongoing concerns continue to trouble the former president’s party, even in deeply red Utah.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191489/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Perry does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many Republicans have wrestled with whether to embrace Donald Trump and his brash political style. Latter-day Saints are an especially telling example.Luke Perry, Professor of Political Science, Utica UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1905092022-09-26T12:30:21Z2022-09-26T12:30:21ZReligion is shaping Brazil’s presidential election – but its evangelicals aren’t the same as America’s<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485771/original/file-20220921-23-c08j0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C11%2C3958%2C2646&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pastor Silas Malafaia, second from left, prays alongside President Jair Bolsonaro, far left, at the Assembly of God Victory in Christ Church in Rio de Janeiro.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BrazilBolsonaro/84f1a83da90b4bf8a0f544cf37b7936b/photo?Query=brazil%20pray&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=495&currentItemNo=7">AP Photo/Bruna Prado</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With one week to go before Brazil’s presidential election, the two front-runners are battling for the religious vote.</p>
<p>Last month, first lady Michelle Bolsonaro told an evangelical church service that the presidential palace had been “<a href="https://jc.ne10.uol.com.br/colunas/jamildo/2022/08/15059184-video-michelle-bolsonaro-fala-sobre-expulsao-no-planalto-em-culto-evangelico-entenda.html">consecrated to demons</a>” under previous presidential administrations – a gibe against former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commonly known as Lula, and his center-left Workers’ Party.</p>
<p>Lula is running again in this year’s election, whose first round is Oct. 2, 2022, and has joined the fray. In his official campaign kickoff in August 2022, for instance, he alleged that the right-wing current president, Jair Bolsonaro, is “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/16/lula-bolsonaro-brazil-possessed-by-devil-election">possessed by the devil</a>.” </p>
<p>Lula has been heavily favored to win the election and retake the office he held from 2003 to 2010. In polls, he currently runs <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/lula-maintains-large-lead-over-bolsonaro-ahead-brazil-election-poll-2022-09-20/">about 15 percentage points</a> ahead of Bolsonaro. </p>
<p>Religious voters are an important part of the story. Bolsonaro – whom international media dubbed the “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-brazil-bdc70648e5814d25b549d1c252910006">Trump of the Tropics</a>” for his persona as a conservative firebrand, his <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/14/bolsonaro-brazil-trump-anti-democracy-elections/">anti-democratic streak</a>, and his ability to attract a Christian base – garnered <a href="https://epocanegocios.globo.com/Brasil/noticia/2022/05/como-pensam-evangelicas-que-podem-definir-eleicao-para-presidente.html">70% of evangelical support in the 2018 election</a>. <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/religion-and-brazilian-democracy/D9B7921525E8C676CFE11AEDC5C4102D">Scholars, including me, argue</a> that without the evangelical vote, he would have narrowly lost.</p>
<p>However, as <a href="https://www.pols.iastate.edu/directory/amy-erica-smith/">a political scientist</a> who has written a book about <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/religion-and-brazilian-democracy/D9B7921525E8C676CFE11AEDC5C4102D">religious politics in Brazil</a>, I see these comparisons between the U.S. and Brazil as also glossing over key differences. Yes, Bolsonaro and Trump are very similar in how they use religion. Yet the ways evangelical communities work and how religion shapes politics is different in each country – and my own research suggests that conservative Christians will not be as consistent a base for Bolsonaro as they are for Trump and the Republican Party.</p>
<h2>Who’s who</h2>
<p>One key difference is the language used: who “evangelicals” are in the first place. </p>
<p>In Latin America, traditionally a Catholic stronghold, the Spanish and Portuguese term “evangelico” is applied to nearly all non-Catholic Christians, including Protestant denominations that are usually classified as “mainline” or even “progressive” in the U.S. Estimates indicate that <a href="https://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2020/01/13/50percent-dos-brasileiros-sao-catolicos-31percent-evangelicos-e-10percent-nao-tem-religiao-diz-datafolha.ghtml">around a third of Brazilians identify as evangelical today</a>, up from just a few percentage points in 1970. In the same period, the percentage of Catholics has fallen <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/07/18/brazils-changing-religious-landscape/">from over 90%</a> to right about half.</p>
<p>By contrast, in the U.S. the term “evangelical” is reserved for theologically conservative Protestant groups, as well as Christians who have had a “born-again” experience of religious awakening. Americans also increasingly apply the term “evangelical” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/26/opinion/evangelical-republican.html">in a political sense</a>, to refer to predominantly white political conservatives who are affiliated with Protestant churches.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Several women in red T-shirts with pictures of Jesus dance and sing at a rally." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485772/original/file-20220921-12-uzvh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485772/original/file-20220921-12-uzvh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485772/original/file-20220921-12-uzvh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485772/original/file-20220921-12-uzvh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485772/original/file-20220921-12-uzvh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485772/original/file-20220921-12-uzvh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485772/original/file-20220921-12-uzvh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Evangelicals pray and dance during a campaign rally for former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro on Sept. 9, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BrazilElections/486bc16881b846d6a1edc79d749f2c97/photo?Query=brazil%20pray&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=495&currentItemNo=8">AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a result, the group of people termed “evangelicals” is much more diverse in Latin America than in the United States – and it’s politically quite diverse, too. All this said, many evangelicals in Brazil do have some <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/religion-and-brazilian-democracy/D9B7921525E8C676CFE11AEDC5C4102D">tendency to adopt theologically conservative</a> beliefs, such as interpreting the Bible literally.</p>
<h2>Dozens of parties</h2>
<p>A second major difference is the lack of strong partisan affiliation on Brazil’s religious right. Since the 1970s, many Americans are used to associating evangelicalism with the Republican Party. The founding of groups such as Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority helped spur <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1386573">evangelicals to become a strong base for political conservatism</a>.</p>
<p>However, there is no political party in Brazil that can claim such a strong link to evangelicals as a whole. Brazilian politics is <a href="https://doi.org/10.5129/001041521X15941508069585">famously fragmented</a>, especially on the right, and there are dozens of parties in Congress at any given time. Many parties – mostly conservative ones – court evangelicals, but none have shored up strong loyalty across the wide spectrum of evangelical denominations and churches. </p>
<p>Jair Bolsonaro personifies this weak partisanship. Bolsonaro ran for the presidency in 2018 under the Social Liberal Party, but then left the party to attempt to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50507996">form his own party</a> in 2019 after taking office. Those efforts ultimately failed, and he joined the Liberal Party <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/30/brazil-bolsonaro-officially-joins-centre-right-liberal-party">in late 2021</a>. </p>
<p>Evangelicals may support Jair Bolsonaro, but polls have shown they have little loyalty to whatever party he is affiliated with at the moment. As a result, the president cannot count on his voters to also elect his political allies. Ultimately, this very weak partisanship in the electorate weakens presidents, since they have to negotiate with <a href="https://brazilian.report/power/2018/11/13/brazilian-congress-fragmented/">a highly fragmented Congress</a>. </p>
<h2>Key issues</h2>
<p>A third difference between evangelicals in Brazil and the U.S. relates to their views on political issues. Like their counterparts in the U.S., religious conservatives in Brazil feel very strongly about issues related to sex and gender. In a striking parallel to recent controversies in U.S. public schools, Brazilian <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/05/12/i-became-scared-was-their-goal/efforts-ban-gender-and-sexuality-education-brazil">evangelicals mobilized politically over the past decade</a> to oppose efforts to teach children and teenagers tolerance on LGBTQ issues.</p>
<p>However, Brazilian evangelicals are much less conservative than their American counterparts on many other issues. This is particularly the case for topics on which U.S. evangelicals often follow cues from the Republican Party. For instance, my <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12656">research shows</a> that Brazilian evangelicals from a wide range of denominations are highly supportive of environmental action such as preventing deforestation. </p>
<p>Many Brazilian evangelicals have historically tended to come from poor areas and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3875688#metadata_info_tab_contents">communities of color</a>, leading them to <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/religion-and-brazilian-democracy/D9B7921525E8C676CFE11AEDC5C4102D">support issues</a> such as welfare policy and affirmative action. About <a href="https://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2020/01/13/50percent-dos-brasileiros-sao-catolicos-31percent-evangelicos-e-10percent-nao-tem-religiao-diz-datafolha.ghtml">1 in 3</a> Brazilian evangelicals identifies as white, versus <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2017/september/1-in-3-american-evangelicals-person-of-color-prri-atlas.html">2 in 3</a> in the U.S.</p>
<p>As a result, they are likely to be attracted to President Bolsonaro for his conservative stances on gender and sexuality. However, they may penalize him for his <a href="https://apnews.com/article/jair-bolsonaro-science-caribbean-forests-brazil-580acb5091b553a5a0b5b7028c818b7a">very weak record of environmental protection</a> as well as what is generally recognized as poor performance <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2021/11/13/president-jair-bolsonaro-is-bad-for-brazils-economy">on the economy</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/bolsonaro-faces-crimes-against-humanity-charge-over-covid-19-mishandling-5-essential-reads-170332">COVID-19</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man in a pink shirt and straw hat walks by three large campaign posters on a wall." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485774/original/file-20220921-22-m88a16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485774/original/file-20220921-22-m88a16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485774/original/file-20220921-22-m88a16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485774/original/file-20220921-22-m88a16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485774/original/file-20220921-22-m88a16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485774/original/file-20220921-22-m88a16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485774/original/file-20220921-22-m88a16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Electoral merchandise with images of former President Lula are displayed on a street in Brasilia, Brazil, Sept. 20, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BrazilElections/1b36d069b3bf41dcbc134f7a02f9d76d/photo?Query=brazil%20elections&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=5204&currentItemNo=14">AP Photo/Eraldo Peres</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Tea leaves</h2>
<p>What does this mean for the upcoming presidential election? Bolsonaro is again attracting evangelicals, though not yet as strongly as in 2018. New evidence indicates that <a href="https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2022/09/campanha-eleitoral-e-minoria-barulhenta-nos-cultos-evangelicos.shtml?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsfolha">only about a quarter</a> of evangelical churches are getting involved in the campaign so far this year – a substantially lower share <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168021990204">than what my co-authors and I documented in 2018</a>.</p>
<p>However, particular churches are still taking a strong stance. Brazil’s most politically engaged Pentecostal church, <a href="https://polarjournal.org/2021/08/31/far-right-messianism-and-urban-religious-reassembling-in-brazil/">the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God</a>, is urging its followers to begin a monthlong “fast” from secular news sources. This will presumably increase the political influence of church leaders, including the church’s head, Bishop Edir Macedo, who is an ardent Bolsonaro supporter.</p>
<p>Like their U.S. counterparts, Brazilian evangelicals tend to be highly religious and believe that <a href="https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2022/09/datafolha-56-dizem-que-politica-e-valores-religiosos-devem-andar-juntos.shtml?utm_source=newsletter&%E2%80%A6">religion should influence politics</a>. What that means in 2022, however, is harder to divine than ever. After Bolsonaro’s four years in office, evangelicals may well judge him by his track record, not just by his promises – which could be both a blessing and a curse for him.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190509/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Erica Smith currently receives funding from an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship, as well as a Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Professorship at Iowa State University. Research reported in this article was previously funded by a Fulbright Fellowship, a Luce/ACLS Fellowship in Religion, Journalism, and International Affairs, a Wilson Center Fellowship, and a Seed Grant from the Global Religion Research Initiative. She sits on the Research Council of Instituto Civis, as well as the editorial boards of a number of journals, including the Journal of Democracy. She also sits on the Ames Community School Board in Ames, Iowa, USA.</span></em></p>Trump and Bolsonaro use religion in similar ways, but there are key differences between the two countries’ evangelical communities – and politics.Amy Erica Smith, Associate Professor of Political Science as well as Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Professor, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1906502022-09-25T12:38:13Z2022-09-25T12:38:13ZDid the Morrison government change the relationship between religion and politics in Australia?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485753/original/file-20220921-26-jrzxdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4169%2C2831&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The ABC <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-01/vic-liberal-party-branch-stacking-claims-city-builders-church/101388642?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web">recently reported</a> on the “infiltration” of Liberal Party branches in regional Victoria by Pentecostals, on a mission to influence Liberal Party positions on so-called morality issues such as abortion and LGBTIQ+ rights.</p>
<p>This isn’t a new development. In the middle of 2021, the Liberal Party memberships of hundreds of people linked to Pentecostal churches in South Australia created <a href="https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2021/06/26/how-the-religious-right-trying-take-over-the-liberal-party/162462960011952">significant controversy</a> and led to an internal investigation.</p>
<p>And in 2018, concerns were being raised about the growing influence of the Christian Right <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/politics/liberal/wa-liberal-senate-candidate-trish-botha-ng-b88861653z">in the WA Liberal Party</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps Scott Morrison’s federal party leadership and the election win of 2019 has served to embolden like-minded Christians to become more involved in political parties. </p>
<p>There’s no doubt Morrison’s religion and his government’s disastrous attempt to legislate a religious discrimination bill have stirred up renewed public debate about the relationship between religion and politics.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-aspects-of-pentecostalism-that-shed-light-on-scott-morrisons-politics-117511">Five aspects of Pentecostalism that shed light on Scott Morrison's politics</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Religious freedom</h2>
<p>Much of this debate has centred on the interests and influence of conservative and fringe Christian organisations and lobby groups.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-religious-discrimination-bill-will-cause-damage-to-australian-society-that-will-be-difficult-to-heal-172303">unnecessarily divisive</a> debate on religious freedom has taken a harsh toll on LGBTIQ+ people, trans people especially.</p>
<p>It has also drawn attention away from the religious freedom abuses perpetrated against First Nations peoples and the prejudice and discrimination being experienced by people of other religious groups, including Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1463318045913460741"}"></div></p>
<p>Debates about the appropriate place and influence of religion in this secular state have flared up at various times over the last 200 years or so. The <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/Records_of_the_Australasian_Federal_Conventions_of_the_1890s">Constitutional debates</a> ahead of federation in 1901 included the question of whether the (Christian) God should rate a mention in the new Constitution and, if so, where.</p>
<p>In 1973, then Labor Attorney-General Lionel Murphy attempted to <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22hansard80%2Fhansards80%2F1973-11-21%2F0050%22">legislate a human rights bill</a> but faced strong opposition from almost all churches arguing against the inclusion of protection for religious freedom. </p>
<p>More recently, the Howard government’s school chaplaincy program led to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/19/school-chaplains-struck-down-high-court">a High Court case</a> and is still <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-give-schools-real-choice-about-secular-school-chaplains-latest-change-needs-to-go-further-185487">causing controversy</a>. </p>
<h2>Morrison’s religious expressions</h2>
<p>But <a href="https://www.crikey.com.au/topic/god-in-the-lodge/">until Morrison</a>, we had never had a Pentecostal prime minister – one whose version of Christianity is so strange to most Australians.</p>
<p>Christians, atheists and journalists alike were engaged by both his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jul/03/scott-morrison-pledges-bipartisan-approach-on-religious-freedoms">policy agenda</a> and expressions of religiosity. These included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/apr/21/scott-morrison-invites-media-into-pentecostal-church-amid-election-campaign-truce">ubiquitous photos</a> of Morrison during the 2019 election campaign, arm raised in worship, at Horizon Church’s Easter service </p></li>
<li><p>a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2020/apr/01/scott-morrison-prays-for-australia-amid-the-coronavirus-outbreak-video">leaked video</a> of him in an online prayer group </p></li>
<li><p>his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/video/2019/jul/10/scott-morrison-discusses-freedom-of-religion-during-hillsong-conference-video">support for Hillsong</a>, including trying to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/03/scott-morrison-confirms-he-sought-white-house-invite-for-hillsong-pastor-brian-houston">procure an invitation</a> to the White House for Hillsong founder Brian Houston </p></li>
<li><p>his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/26/scott-morrison-tells-christian-conference-he-was-called-to-do-gods-work-as-prime-minister">speech</a> at an Australian Christian Churches conference on the Gold Coast in April 2021 where he called misuse of social media the work of the devil and told the audience that he practised the “laying on of hands” while he was meeting people in his role as prime minister.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-religion-is-australias-second-largest-religious-group-and-its-having-a-profound-effect-on-our-laws-185697">'No religion' is Australia's second-largest religious group – and it's having a profound effect on our laws</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What to watch out for</h2>
<p>So, after three years of focused attention, did the Morrison government, or Morrison himself, change the relationship between religion and politics in our increasingly <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/religious-affiliation-australia">non-religious</a> and religiously diverse nation?</p>
<p>While it’s too early to be sure, there will be clues. Here are some things to watch out for. </p>
<p><strong>No religious discrimination bill</strong></p>
<p>If the Albanese government doesn’t move to legislate a religious discrimination act, it will be a sign the Morrison government has made it diabolically difficult to address religious freedom in a way that doesn’t pit people against each other and undermine the rights of the LGBTIQ+ people. Legislating a human rights act or charter would be more fruitful.</p>
<p><strong>A minimalist bill</strong></p>
<p>If, on the other hand, the government tables a more modest religious discrimination bill then, regardless of any ongoing political mobilisation of the Christian Right, we may settle back into the pattern of occasional confusion about where to draw the line in our <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-australia-a-secular-country-it-depends-what-you-mean-38222">not-quite entirely secular nation</a>.</p>
<p>It’s worth noting here that, as University of Sydney academic David Smith has written for The Conversation, the Christian Right is <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-christian-nation-no-longer-why-australias-religious-right-loses-policy-battles-even-when-it-wins-elections-165169">not good at winning policy battles</a>, even when it wins elections.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1423447785823739911"}"></div></p>
<p><strong>The culture warriors</strong></p>
<p>The Morrison government set in public consciousness the idea that religious freedom and equality rights are irreconcilable. This gave the culture warriors (religious and irreligious) both permission and an excuse to continue their ongoing persecution of transgender people.</p>
<p>If the Morrison government’s approach to religious freedom has stuck, “religious freedom” will <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1323238X.2021.1885290">continue to provide the culture warriors</a> with cover for any number of pet causes.</p>
<p><strong>How we talk about religion</strong></p>
<p>The “statements of belief” clause in the failed religious discrimination bill represented a white, western, Protestant understanding of religion as individual and autonomous consent to a series of “beliefs”, especially about “moral” issues. </p>
<p>The alternative is to reframe religion in a way that reflects the diversity, richness and complexity of religion in the lives of people and communities.</p>
<p>If we fail to do this, then the Morrison government will have indeed made a lasting, and damaging, impact on the relationship between religion and politics in Australia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190650/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elenie Poulos is an ordained minister in the Uniting Church in Australia. She has worked on an Australian Research Council funded project to investigate Religious Freedom, LGBT+ Employees, and the Right to Discriminate (DP200100395).</span></em></p>Morrison’s religion and his government’s disastrous attempt to legislate a religious discrimination bill stirred up renewed public debate about the relationship between religion and politics.Elenie Poulos, Honorary Postdoctoral Associate, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1880552022-08-05T12:12:59Z2022-08-05T12:12:59ZAfter Trump, Christian nationalist ideas are going mainstream – despite a history of violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477719/original/file-20220804-17-xtxnvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2500%2C1785&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Separation of church and state: no longer so separate?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/the-flag-and-the-cross-royalty-free-image/1058861544?adppopup=true">Amanda Wayne/iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the run-up to the U.S. midterm elections, some politicians continue to ride the wave of what’s known as “Christian nationalism” in ways that are increasingly vocal and direct.</p>
<p>GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right Donald Trump loyalist from Georgia, told an interviewer on July 23, 2022, that the Republican Party “need[s] to be the party of nationalism. And I’m a Christian, and I say it proudly, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/27/opinions/christian-nationalism-marjorie-taylor-greene-tyler/index.html">we should be Christian nationalists</a>.”</p>
<p>Similarly, Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, recently <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1109141110">said</a>, “The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church.” Boebert called the separation of church and state “junk.”</p>
<p>Many Christian nationalists repeat conservative activist <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/29/texas-church-state-separation-opposition/">David Barton’s</a> argument that the Founding Fathers did not intend to keep religion out of government.</p>
<p>As a scholar of racism and communication who has written about <a href="http://contemporaryrhetoric.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Perry8_1_2_5.pdf">white nationalism</a> during the Trump presidency, I find the amplification of Christian nationalism <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/944_OPSR_TEVUS_Comparing-Violent-Nonviolent-Far-Right-Hate-Groups_Dec2011-508.pdf">unsurprising</a>. Christian nationalism is prevalent among Trump supporters, as religion scholars <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=I1K3emoAAAAJ&hl=en">Andrew Whitehead</a> and <a href="https://www.ou.edu/cas/soc/people/faculty/samuel-perry">Samuel L. Perry</a> argue in their book “<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/taking-america-back-for-god-9780190057886?cc=us&lang=en&">Taking Back America for God</a>.”</p>
<p>Perry and Whitehead <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=BDLNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA10">describe the Christian nationalist movement</a> as being “as ethnic and political as it is religious,” noting that it relies on the assumption of white supremacy. Christian nationalism combines belief in a particular form of Christianity with nativist and populist political platforms. American Christian nationalism is a worldview based on the belief that America is superior to other countries, and that that superiority is divinely established. In this mindset, only Christians are true Americans.</p>
<p>Parts of the movement fit into a broader right-wing extremist history of violence, which has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aps.43">been on the rise</a> <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/escalating-terrorism-problem-united-states">over the past few decades</a> and was particularly on display <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/opinion/christian-nationalists-capitol-attack.html">during the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021</a>.</p>
<p>The vast majority of Christian nationalists never engage in violence. Nonetheless, <a href="https://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/common-witness-ncc/the-dangers-of-christian-nationalism-in-the-united-states-a-policy-statement-of-the-national-council-of-churches/">Christian nationalist thinking</a> suggests that unless Christians control the state, the state will suppress Christianity. </p>
<h2>From siege to militia buildup</h2>
<p>Violence perpetrated by Christian nationalists has manifested in two primary ways in recent decades. The first is through their <a href="http://www.religion-online.org/article/militias-christian-identity-and-the-radical-right/">involvement in militia groups</a>; the second is seen in <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43406-3_3">attacks on abortion providers</a>.</p>
<p>The catalyst for the growth of militia activity among contemporary Christian nationalists stems from <a href="https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510356/no-compromise">two events</a>: the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff and the 1993 siege at Waco.</p>
<p>At Ruby Ridge, former Army Green Beret Randy Weaver engaged federal law enforcement in an 11-day standoff at his rural Idaho cabin over charges relating to the sale of sawed-off shotguns to an ATF informant investigating <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/08/18/544523302/how-what-happened-25-years-ago-at-ruby-ridge-still-matters-today">Aryan Nation</a> white supremacist militia meetings. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Randy Weaver supporters at Ruby Ridge in northern Idaho." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378882/original/file-20210114-22-s8w942.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378882/original/file-20210114-22-s8w942.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378882/original/file-20210114-22-s8w942.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378882/original/file-20210114-22-s8w942.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378882/original/file-20210114-22-s8w942.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378882/original/file-20210114-22-s8w942.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378882/original/file-20210114-22-s8w942.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supporters of Randy Weaver. The Ruby Ridge standoff sparked the expansion of radical right-wing groups.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RubyRidgeAnniversary/d360905c59104a4a9a2c41c25874643b/photo?Query=ruby%20AND%20ridge&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=75&currentItemNo=1">AP Photo/Jeff T. Green, File</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Weaver ascribed to the <a href="https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/106598/Contribution_514_final.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">Christian Identity movement</a>, which emphasizes adherence to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2645906">Old Testament laws</a> and white supremacy. Christian Identity members believe in the application of the <a href="https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/fall-2012-politics-issue/his-truth-marching">death penalty</a> for adultery and LBGTQ relationships in accordance with their reading of some biblical passages. </p>
<p>During the standoff, Weaver’s wife and teenage son were shot and killed before he surrendered to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/26/ruby-ridge-1992-modern-american-militia-charlottesville">federal authorities</a>.</p>
<p>In the Waco siege a year later, cult leader David Koresh and his followers entered a standoff with federal law enforcement at the group’s Texas compound, once again concerning <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/4/19/17246732/waco-tragedy-explained-david-koresh-mount-carmel-branch-davidian-cult-25-year-anniversary">weapons charges</a>. After a 51-day standoff, federal law enforcement laid siege to the compound. A fire took hold at the compound in disputed circumstances, leading to the deaths of 76 people, including Koresh. </p>
<p>The two events spurred a nationwide <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/26/ruby-ridge-1992-modern-american-militia-charlottesville">militia buildup</a>. As sociologist Erin Kania <a href="https://docs.rwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1043&context=rr">argues</a>: “Ruby Ridge and Waco confrontations drove some citizens to strengthen their belief that the government was overstepping the parameters of its authority. … Because this view is one of the founding ideologies of the American Militia Movement, it makes sense that interest and membership in the movement would sharply increase following these standoffs between government and nonconformists.”</p>
<p>Distrust of the government blended with strains of <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-04-24-9504240157-story.html">Christian fundamentalism</a> have brought together two groups with formerly disparate goals. </p>
<h2>Christian nationalism and violence</h2>
<p>Christian fundamentalists and white supremacist militia groups both figured themselves as targeted by the government in the aftermath of the standoffs at Ruby Ridge and Waco. As <a href="https://www.hofstra.edu/faculty/fac_profiles.cfm?id=177">scholar of religion Ann Burlein</a> <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/lift-high-the-cross">argues</a>, “Both the Christian right and right-wing white supremacist groups aspire to overcome a culture they perceive as hostile to the white middle class, families, and heterosexuality.”</p>
<p>Significantly, in 1995, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and accomplice Terry Nichols <a href="http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mcveigh/mcveighaccount.html">cited revenge</a> for the Waco siege as a motive for the bombing of the Alfred Murrah federal building. The terrorist act killed 168 people and injured hundreds more.</p>
<p>Since 1993, at least 11 people have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/11/29/us/30abortion-clinic-violence.html">murdered in attacks on abortion clinics</a> in cities across the U.S., and there have been numerous other plots. </p>
<p>They have involved people like <a href="https://womrel.sitehost.iu.edu/REL%20133/Juergensmeyer_Terror/Soldiers%20for%20Christ.pdf">the Rev. Michael Bray</a>, who attacked multiple abortion clinics. Bray was the spokesman for Paul Hill, a Christian Identity adherent who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/04/us/florida-executes-killer-of-an-abortion-provider.html">murdered</a> physician John Britton and his bodyguard James Barrett in 1994 outside of a Florida abortion clinic. </p>
<p>In yet another case, Eric Rudolph bombed the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. In his confession, he cited his opposition to abortion and anti-LGBTQ views as <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4600480">motivation to bomb</a> Olympic Square. </p>
<p>These men cited their involvement with the <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2018/holy-hate-far-right%E2%80%99s-radicalization-religion">Christian Identity</a> movement in their trials as motivation for engaging in violence.</p>
<h2>Mainstreaming Christian nationalist ideas</h2>
<p>The presence of Christian nationalist ideas in recent political campaigns is concerning, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-021-09758-y">given its ties to violence and white supremacy</a>.</p>
<p>Trump and his advisers helped to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/18/opinion/christian-nationalism-great-replacement.html">mainstream</a> such rhetoric with events like his <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/6/11/22527796/ig-report-trump-bible-lafayette-square-protest">photo op with a Bible</a> in Lafayette Square in Washington following the violent dispersal of protesters, and making a show of pastors <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-secretly-mocks-his-christian-supporters/616522/">laying hands on him</a>. But that legacy continues beyond his administration. </p>
<p>Candidates like <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-pennsylvania-religion-nationalism-8bf7a6115725f508a37ef944333bc145">Doug Mastriano</a>, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Pennsylvania who attended the Jan. 6 Trump rally, are now using <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/on-religion/a-pennsylvania-lawmaker-and-the-resurgence-of-christian-nationalism">the same messages</a>.</p>
<p>In some states, such as Texas and Montana, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/24/politics/texas-far-right-politics-invs/index.html">hefty funding</a> for <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/power-issue-tim-dunn-pushing-republican-party-arms-god/">far-right Christian candidates</a> has helped put Christian nationalist ideas in the mainstream. </p>
<p>Blending politics and religion is not necessarily a recipe for Christian nationalism, nor is Christian nationalism a recipe for political violence. At times, however, Christian nationalist ideas can <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-021-09758-y">serve as a prelude</a>.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-capitol-siege-recalls-past-acts-of-christian-nationalist-violence-153059">an article originally published on Jan. 15, 2021</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188055/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samuel Perry does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Distrust of government blended with strains of Christian fundamentalism can produce a violent form of Christian nationalism, a scholar explains.Samuel Perry, Associate Professor, Baylor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1869832022-07-20T12:22:02Z2022-07-20T12:22:02ZWhat the Bible actually says about abortion may surprise you<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474399/original/file-20220716-16-ksf3wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C6%2C996%2C683&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Activist Jason Hershey reads from a Bible as he protests in front of the U.S. Supreme Court with the anti-abortion group Bound for Life in 2005 in Washington, D.C.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/pro-life-activist-jason-hershey-reads-from-a-bible-as-he-news-photo/56303642?adppopup=true">Win McNamee via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the days since the Supreme Court <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-revolutionary-ruling-and-not-just-for-abortion-a-supreme-court-scholar-explains-the-impact-of-dobbs-185823">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>, which had established the constitutional right to an abortion, some <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/fort-worth/article262921023.html">Christians have cited the Bible</a> to argue why this decision should either be celebrated or lamented. But here’s the problem: This 2,000-year-old text says nothing about abortion.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.fresno.edu/person/001g000001wnx9yiac/melanie-howard">a university professor of biblical studies</a>, I am familiar with faith-based arguments Christians use to back up views of abortion, whether for or against. Many people seem to assume the Bible discusses the topic head-on, which is not the case. </p>
<h2>Ancient context</h2>
<p>Abortions were <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674168763">known and practiced</a> in biblical times, although the methods differed significantly from modern ones. The second-century <a href="https://www.fulcrum.org/concern/monographs/n870zr06z">Greek physician Soranus</a>, for example, recommended fasting, bloodletting, vigorous jumping and carrying heavy loads as ways to end a pregnancy. </p>
<p>Soranus’ <a href="https://www.fulcrum.org/concern/monographs/n870zr06z">treatise on gynecology</a> acknowledged different schools of thought on the topic. Some medical practitioners forbade the use of any abortive methods. Others permitted them, but not in cases in which they were intended to cover up an adulterous liaison or simply to preserve the mother’s good looks. </p>
<p>In other words, the Bible was written in a world in which abortion was practiced and viewed with nuance. Yet the Hebrew and Greek equivalents of the word “abortion” do not appear in either the Old or New Testament of the Bible. That is, the topic simply is not directly mentioned. </p>
<h2>What the Bible says</h2>
<p>The absence of an explicit reference to abortion, however, has not stopped its opponents or proponents from looking to the Bible for support of their positions.</p>
<p>Abortion opponents turn to several biblical texts that, taken together, seem to suggest that human life has value before birth. For example, the Bible opens by describing the creation of humans “<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen+1%3A27&version=NRSVUE">in the image of God</a>”: a way to explain the value of human life, presumably even before people are born. Likewise, the Bible describes several important figures, including the prophets <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jeremiah+1%3A5&version=NRSVUE">Jeremiah</a> and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isa+49%3A1&version=NRSVUE">Isaiah</a> and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gal+1%3A15&version=NRSVUE">the Christian Apostle Paul</a>, as having being called to their sacred tasks since their time in the womb. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+139&version=NRSVUE">Psalm 139</a> asserts that God “<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+139%3A13-15&version=NRSVUE">knit me together in my mother’s womb</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A painting shows God's hand reaching out to touch Adam, the first human in the Bible's story of creation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474400/original/file-20220716-16-uee3tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474400/original/file-20220716-16-uee3tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474400/original/file-20220716-16-uee3tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474400/original/file-20220716-16-uee3tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474400/original/file-20220716-16-uee3tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474400/original/file-20220716-16-uee3tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474400/original/file-20220716-16-uee3tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘The Creation of Adam’ from the Sistine Chapel ceiling in the Vatican, painted by Michelangelo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-creation-of-adam-from-the-sistine-chapel-ceiling-by-news-photo/566419839?adppopup=true">GraphicaArtis/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, abortion opponents are not the only ones who can appeal to the Bible for support. Supporters can point to other biblical texts that would seem to count as evidence in their favor. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exod+21%3A22-25&version=NRSVUE">Exodus 21</a>, for example, suggests that a pregnant woman’s life is more valuable than the fetus’s. This text describes a scenario in which men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and cause her to miscarry. A monetary fine is imposed if the woman suffers no other harm beyond the miscarriage. However, if the woman suffers additional harm, the perpetrator’s punishment is to suffer reciprocal harm, up to life for life.</p>
<p>There are other biblical texts that seem to celebrate the choices that women make for their bodies, even in contexts in which such choices would have been socially shunned. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mk+5%3A25-34&version=NRSVUE">The fifth chapter of the Gospel of Mark</a>, for example, describes a woman with a gynecological ailment that has made her bleed continuously taking a great risk: She reaches out to touch Jesus’ cloak in hopes that it will heal her, even though the touch of a menstruating woman was believed to cause ritual contamination. However, Jesus commends her choice and praises her faith. </p>
<p>Similarly, in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ follower Mary <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+12%3A1-8&version=NRSVUE">seemingly wastes resources</a> by pouring an entire container of costly ointment on his feet and using her own hair to wipe them – but he defends her decision to break the social taboo around touching an unrelated man so intimately.</p>
<h2>Beyond the Bible</h2>
<p>In the response to the Supreme Court’s decision, Christians <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/25/us/abortion-christian-debate-blake-cec/index.html">on both sides of the partisan divide</a> have appealed to any number of texts <a href="https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/tony-evans-urges-christians-to-promote-a-womb-to-the-tomb-strategy-for-pregnant-women.html">to assert that their particular brand of politics is biblically backed</a>. However, if they claim the Bible specifically condemns or approves of abortion, they are skewing the textual evidence to fit their position.</p>
<p>Of course, Christians can develop their own faith-based arguments about modern political issues, whether or not the Bible speaks directly to them. But it is important to recognize that although the Bible was written at a time when abortion was practiced, it never directly addresses the issue.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186983/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie A. Howard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Faith can inform opinions about abortion on both sides of the political debate, but the Bible itself says nothing directly about the topic, a biblical scholar explains.Melanie A. Howard, Associate Professor of Biblical & Theological Studies, Fresno Pacific UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1866972022-07-18T12:25:51Z2022-07-18T12:25:51ZShinto religion has long been entangled with Japan’s politics – and Shinzo Abe was associated with many of its groups<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473990/original/file-20220713-9316-i1xsus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C25%2C4247%2C2780&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People line up to pay their respects before the funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on July 12, 2022, at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Japan/23bee50a27e14cb68997309edebd0398/photo?Query=shinzo%20abe&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=14402&currentItemNo=37">AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s alleged shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, <a href="https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/6b0e33d621afef8e8a889b570426786d22ed69d3">told the police</a> that he was motivated by Abe’s connections to the messianic new religious movement known as the Unification Church. </p>
<p><a href="https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/6b0e33d621afef8e8a889b570426786d22ed69d3">Yamagami explained</a> that his mother had made a “huge donation” to the group, and he blamed the church for bankrupting his mother and ruining his family. In a press conference on July 11, 2022, the president of the Unification Church’s Japanese branch <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/07/11/national/crime-legal/abe-assassination-unification-church/">confirmed</a> that Yamagami’s mother was a member, though the suspected killer and Abe were not. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Unification-Church">Unification Church</a> was founded in 1954 by the late Korean religious leader <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sun-Myung-Moon">Sun Myung Moon</a>. Moon claimed to have been sent by Jesus to save families and achieve world peace. His followers are colloquially called “Moonies.” </p>
<p>Aside from his religious activities, Moon was very involved in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/sun-myung-moon-dies-at-92-washington-times-owner-led-the-unification-church/2012/09/02/001b747a-f531-11e1-aab7-f199a16396cf_story.html">international business dealings</a> and conservative, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/08/28/moons-cause-takes-aim-at-communism-in-americas/75dc776e-95ee-497b-b580-f78e8770c43b/">anti-communist politics</a>. </p>
<p>The Abe family’s <a href="https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220712/p2a/00m/0na/002000c">political connections to the Unification Church</a> go back three generations, including his maternal grandfather, <a href="http://moderntokyotimes.com/killer-of-shinzo-abe-and-the-moonies-link-in-his-mind-anti-communism/">Nobusuke Kishi</a>, and his father, <a href="https://shingetsunewsagency.com/2022/07/10/the-crime-that-killed-shinzo-abe/">Shintaro Abe</a>. Shinzo Abe appeared as a <a href="https://www.upf.org/resources/speeches-and-articles/9944-s-abe-address-to-rally-of-hope-vii">paid speaker</a> at Unification Church-related events as recently as 2021. </p>
<p>The possible motive behind the shooting surprised many people who view Japan <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2017/11/Religion20171117.pdf">as one of the least religious countries</a>. As a <a href="https://www.ugoretzresearch.org">scholar of Japanese religion</a>, I know that Abe and his political party, the ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party, have <a href="https://www.conversationsix.com/p/kQJJmEsD9WDWQnJTZ">connections with several religious traditions </a> and <a href="https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2021/12/03/the-hidden-power-of-komeito-on-japanese-politics/">religious political parties</a>. Yet somehow Abe’s deep connections with Shinto religion rarely make the news. </p>
<p>Shinto has long been a part of Abe’s politics and continues to be so for the LDP.</p>
<h2>What is Shinto?</h2>
<p>Shinto is one of Japan’s two major religions, along with Buddhism. <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/shinto-9780190621711?cc=us&lang=en&">Like many religious traditions, Shinto can have different meanings for people</a>. For some, it is the <a href="https://www.jinjahoncho.or.jp/en/shinto/index.html">central faith of the Japanese people</a>. Others do not see it as a religion at all.</p>
<p>Shinto is typically translated as the “Way of the Gods.” Simply put, Shinto is a collection of ritual traditions that focus on the worship of deities called “Kami.” These powerful deities are believed to be responsible for many things, like helping crops to grow and protecting people’s health.</p>
<p>A certain group of Shinto deities is known for <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/social-history-of-the-ise-shrines-9781350081192/">connections to the imperial family</a> of Japan. In particular, the sun goddess Amaterasu is revered as the ancestor of Japan’s emperors and empresses and protector of the nation. She is worshiped at the Grand Shrines of Ise, often characterized as the holiest site in Japan.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474017/original/file-20220714-20-y2xxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A ritualistic procession showing men dressed in black suits walking in a single line." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474017/original/file-20220714-20-y2xxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474017/original/file-20220714-20-y2xxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474017/original/file-20220714-20-y2xxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474017/original/file-20220714-20-y2xxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474017/original/file-20220714-20-y2xxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474017/original/file-20220714-20-y2xxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474017/original/file-20220714-20-y2xxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former Japanese Emperor Akihito leaves the outer shrine of Ise Jingu Shrine in Ise in the central Japanese prefecture of Mie on April 18, 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/japans-emperor-akihito-leaves-the-outer-shrine-of-ise-jingu-news-photo/1137831124?adppopup=true">Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Shinto rituals are performed by priests at shrines around Japan – <a href="https://theconversation.com/japans-shinto-religion-is-going-global-and-attracting-online-followers-174924">and the world</a> – on behalf of the deities and the local communities of people under their purview. The emperor of Japan also <a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/11/fa3309a74441-in-photos-daijosai-rite-by-japanese-emperor-naruhito.html">performs Shinto rituals</a> yearly for a good harvest and at the time of his <a href="https://japan-forward.com/emperor-naruhito-performs-the-daijosai-the-imperial-ascensions-last-major-ceremony/">enthronement</a> – and, sometimes, <a href="https://religionnews.com/2019/04/18/emperor-performs-ritual-to-report-abdication-to-shinto-gods/">abdication</a> – on behalf of the nation.</p>
<p>For some, participating in rituals is a sacred and spiritually uplifting experience. For others, visiting a Shinto shrine is simply a matter of tradition or national pride.</p>
<h2>Entanglement with politics</h2>
<p>Shinto has a <a href="https://youtu.be/TgbIhdvviBU">long and complex history</a> of entanglement with politics and the state. The earliest surviving Japanese texts recalled the mythical deeds of the gods from whom the emperor and court officials claimed to descend, legitimizing their rule. </p>
<p>In his book “<a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/F/bo36844848.html">Faking Liberties</a>,” <a href="https://rels.sas.upenn.edu/people/jolyon-thomas">scholar Jolyon Thomas</a> shows how Shinto was at the center of a centurylong debate over what constitutes religion in modern Japan. Until the 19th century, <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo13657764.html">there was no concept in Japan</a> of what is considered in the West as “religion,” and there was no word in Japanese for it. But when the 1889 Meiji Constitution included the right to religious freedom, the government had to decide what traditions and groups were or weren’t religious.</p>
<p>At that time, Shinto was officially split. Rituals concerning the emperor and his divine ancestors were categorized as nonreligious civil ritual – sometimes called “State Shinto” – and other matters of personal belief and practice as private religion.</p>
<p>After World War II, the Allies led by the United States formed an occupation government in Japan and <a href="https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/id=8852">separated all of Shinto</a> from the postwar state by categorizing it as religion. But, like other religions, Shinto continued to be involved in Japan’s politics.</p>
<p>One key group in Japan is the <a href="https://www.sinseiren.org">Shinto Association for Spiritual Leadership</a>. The SAS was founded in 1969 as the political arm of the Association of Shinto Shrines, an umbrella organization for around 80,000 member shrines.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473993/original/file-20220713-17579-4ivxxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three men in black suits walk through a hallway with a priest ahead of them and three others bowing to them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473993/original/file-20220713-17579-4ivxxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473993/original/file-20220713-17579-4ivxxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473993/original/file-20220713-17579-4ivxxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473993/original/file-20220713-17579-4ivxxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473993/original/file-20220713-17579-4ivxxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473993/original/file-20220713-17579-4ivxxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473993/original/file-20220713-17579-4ivxxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shinzo Abe, then deputy secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, follows a Shinto priest after offering prayers for the country’s war dead at Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, 2005.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/shinzo-abe-deputy-secretary-general-of-prime-minister-news-photo/53388857?adppopup=true">Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>According to scholar <a href="http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n88047898/">Mark Mullins</a>, the nationalist group’s aims include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1163/221183412X628442">promoting the power of the emperor, revising the constitution and implementing Shinto moral education in schools</a>. They also support government officials’ visits to Tokyo’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-19987251">Yasukuni Shrine</a> – a controversial space that represents Japan’s past militarism. In this shrine, spirits of war dead – including colonial subjects and war criminals – are enshrined as Shinto deities. </p>
<p>Abe and his administrations worked closely with the SAS for decades. <a href="https://apjjf.org/2016/21/Mizohata.html">In 2016</a>, 19 of the 20 members of Abe’s Cabinet were affiliated with the SAS. Fourteen were members of the Japan Conference, “Nippon Kaigi” in Japanese, which is another right-wing nationalist group with ties to Shinto groups such as the Society to Defend Japan, or “Nihon wo Mamoru Kai.” Abe served as a member and special adviser to the Japan Conference. </p>
<p>Abe and his family have also been associated with other right-wing religious projects outside of government. In 2017, Abe and his wife were involved in a corruption scandal concerning an ultranationalist private <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/japans-shinzo-abe-could-be-brought-down-by-kindergarten-corruption">Shinto elementary school</a>. The Abes cut ties with it, and plans for the school were abandoned, when questions arose around the government’s <a href="https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14176077">massive discount</a> for the land acquisition.</p>
<p>Apart from nationalism, Abe helped politicize other aspects of contemporary Shinto, such as environmentalism. In 2016, he invited the G-7 leaders to visit the Inner Shrine of Ise in Mie Prefecture, where Amaterasu is worshiped. The visit included a tree-planting ceremony. Scholar <a href="https://www.hf.uio.no/ikos/english/people/aca/japanese-studies/tenured/aikepr/">Aike Rots</a> has written about how Abe used the event to <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/shinto-nature-and-ideology-in-contemporary-japan-9781474289948/">acquire legitimacy and promote Shinto</a> as a form of national public spirituality.</p>
<p>During his time as prime minister and even after, Shinzo Abe was a leader and a model for Shinto politics for a generation of conservatives, nationalists and adherents. This legacy lives on.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186697/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kaitlyn Ugoretz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A scholar of Japanese religion explains the connections that Japan’s political parties have with several religious groups and how religion is tied in with the legacy of Shinzo Abe.Kaitlyn Ugoretz, PhD Candidate, East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, University of California, Santa BarbaraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1832002022-07-07T12:18:39Z2022-07-07T12:18:39ZThe patriotic Virgin: How Mary’s been marshaled for religious nationalism and military campaigns<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472863/original/file-20220706-12046-7z7nen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C73%2C8178%2C5395&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A mural in Kyiv depicts the Virgin Mary cradling a U.S.-made anti-tank weapon, a Javelin, which is considered a symbol of Ukraine's defense against Russia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RussiaUkraineWar/26f26565d15c43dfa1ff107062c49a43/photo?Query=javelin&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=4051&currentItemNo=1">AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ever since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, analysts picking apart Vladimir Putin’s motives and messaging about the war have looked to religion for some of the answers. Putin’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/holy-wars-how-a-cathedral-of-guns-and-glory-symbolizes-putins-russia-176786">nationalist vision</a> paints Russia as a defender of traditional Christian values against a liberal, secular West.</p>
<p>Putin’s Russia, however, is only the latest in a centurieslong lineup of nations using religion to bolster their political ambitions. As <a href="https://dornsifecms.usc.edu/iacs/staff/">a Jesuit priest and scholar of Catholicism</a>, I’ve seen in my research on <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739140895/Toward-a-Catholic-Theology-of-Nationality">nationalism and religion</a> how patriotic loyalties and religious faith easily <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54484-7_1">borrow one another’s language, symbols and emotions</a>.</p>
<p>Western Christianity, including Catholicism, has often been enlisted to stir up patriotic fervor in support of nationalism. Historically, one <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43443-8">typical aspect of the Catholic approach</a> is linking devotion to the Virgin Mary with the interests of the state and military.</p>
<h2>The birth of a belief</h2>
<p>An Egyptian papyrus fragment from the fourth century is <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/j.ctv8pzdqp.10.pdf">the first clear evidence</a> of Christians’ <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F106385120801700106">praying to the Virgin Mary</a>. The brief prayer, which seeks Mary’s protection in times of trouble, is written in the first person plural – using language like “our” and “we” – which suggests a belief that Mary would respond to groups of people as well as individuals. </p>
<p>That conviction appeared to grow in the following centuries. After the Roman Emperor Constantine <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/654203/summary">converted to Christianity</a> in A.D. 312, the new faith developed a close relationship with his empire, including a belief that Mary looked with particular favor on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108990530.001">the capital city of Constantinople</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A gold mosaic shows a man with a halo holding up a model of a city." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472594/original/file-20220705-12-ipwdcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472594/original/file-20220705-12-ipwdcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472594/original/file-20220705-12-ipwdcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472594/original/file-20220705-12-ipwdcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472594/original/file-20220705-12-ipwdcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=716&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472594/original/file-20220705-12-ipwdcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=716&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472594/original/file-20220705-12-ipwdcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=716&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A 10th-century Byzantine mosaic of Constantine the Great offering Constantinople to the Virgin Mary, at the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/constantine-the-great-byzantine-mosaic-with-representation-news-photo/946130124?adppopup=true">Photo by PHAS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Political and religious leaders asked the Virgin for victory in battle and <a href="https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-02551-3.html">shelter from plagues</a>. In A.D. 626, Constantinople was besieged by a Persian navy. Christians believed that their prayers to the Virgin destroyed the invading fleet, saving the city and its inhabitants. The Akathist hymn, which has been prayed in both the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches ever since, gives Mary the military title “Champion General” <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203036174">in thanks for that victory</a>. </p>
<p>In the Catholic West, military successes such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1163/22141332-00703003">European victories over the Ottoman Empire</a> were attributed to Mary’s intervention. Her blessing has been sought on <a href="https://doi.org/10.7560/706026">imperialist endeavors</a>, including <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/la-conquistadora-9780199892983?cc=us&lang=en&">Spain’s conquest of the Americas</a>. </p>
<p>Even today, Mary holds the title of general in the armies of <a href="https://www.liceosanmartin.edu.ar/24-de-septiembre-virgen-de-la-merced-patrona-del-ejercito-argentino/">Argentina</a> and <a href="https://www.ejercito.cl/efemerides/events/Njk=">Chile</a>, where she is considered <a href="http://www.iglesia.cl/detalle_noticia.php?id=2102">a national patroness</a>. The same association between Marian devotion and patriotism can be found in <a href="http://coloquioscanariasamerica.casadecolon.com/index.php/CHCA/article/view/10523/9898">many Latin American countries</a>.</p>
<h2>National symbol</h2>
<p>Off the battlefield, many Catholic cultures have historically felt they had a special relationship with Mary. In 1638, King Louis XIII <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhef_0300-9505_1938_num_24_102_2849">formally dedicated France</a> to the Virgin Mary. Popular belief interpreted the subsequent birth of the future Louis XIV as Mary’s miraculous reward, after 23 years of waiting for a male heir. </p>
<p>About two decades later, Polish King Jan II Kazimierz <a href="https://polishfreedom.pl/en/lwow-vows-of-jan-kazimierz/">consecrated his country</a> to Mary amid a war. Both acts reflected church and political leaders’ beliefs that their countries had a sacred mission and divine approval for their political ambitions.</p>
<p>When these kinds of beliefs become widespread in a society, many scholars would label them religious nationalism – though there is a long-standing debate about when affection for one’s country becomes “<a href="http://journal.unair.ac.id/download-fullpapers-11-DUGIS.pdf">nationalism</a>.” There is widespread consensus, though, that religion is one of the most common <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/03058298000290030301">elements of nationalism</a>, and many nationalist projects have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43443-8">invoked Mary’s blessing</a>. </p>
<p>Polish territory, for example, was divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria for more than a century. But Polish Catholics continued to address Mary as “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anna-Niedzwiedz/publication/314485295_Mary_in_Poland_A_Polish_Master_Symbol/links/58c2be7ba6fdcce648de1d36/Mary-in-Poland-A-Polish-Master-Symbol.pdf">Queen of Poland</a>.” Her title asserted the existence of the Polish people as a nation. And it implied that efforts to reestablish Poland as a sovereign country had a heavenly helper.</p>
<p>Similarly, in the 19th century, both Queen Victoria and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137315472_10">the Virgin Mary</a> were referred to in different contexts as “Queen of Ireland,” expressing two rival visions of Ireland: part of the Protestant United Kingdom, or a separate and essentially Catholic country.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="An illustration of the Virgin Mary inside a gold frame hangs on a wall beside a Mexican flag." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472600/original/file-20220705-18-8ylgw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472600/original/file-20220705-18-8ylgw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=914&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472600/original/file-20220705-18-8ylgw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=914&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472600/original/file-20220705-18-8ylgw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=914&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472600/original/file-20220705-18-8ylgw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472600/original/file-20220705-18-8ylgw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472600/original/file-20220705-18-8ylgw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An illustration of the Virgin de Guadalupe in the Cathedral San Ildefonso in Mexico.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/cathedral-san-ildefonso-in-merida-mexico-royalty-free-image/610839557?adppopup=true">John Elk III/The Image Bank via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Many different movements have used the figure of the Virgin to support their agendas. In colonial Mexico, the figure of Our Lady of Guadalupe, one title for Mary, was originally interpreted as <a href="http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?pid=S1405-09272010000200005&script=sci_arttext">being a champion of the “criollos</a>,” native-born inhabitants of Spanish descent. During the 1810-21 War of Mexican Independence, “<a href="https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/our-lady-of-guadalupe">la Guadalupana</a>” <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/537957">figured on the banners</a> of the “independista” forces. The Spanish army, meanwhile, adopted the “Virgin of Los Remedios,” another title for Mary, as their own patroness. She would later be invoked in support of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.013.509">Indigenous people and mestizos, people with both Indigenous and Spanish ancestry</a>.</p>
<p>Mary is invoked not only by nationalist causes. Sometimes she is inspiration for countercultural or protest movements, from <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19990124_mexico-autodromo.html">the pro-life cause</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137077714">Latina feminists</a>. Labor leader Cesar Chavez placed the image of Guadalupe <a href="https://libraries.ucsd.edu/farmworkermovement/gallery/displayimage.php?album=60&pid=1412#top_display_media">on banners</a> as his organization marched for farmworkers’ rights.</p>
<h2>Mary’s future</h2>
<p>All these uses draw on the ancient belief in Mary’s power to intervene in times of trouble. However, ideological, political and especially military ambitions and religious sentiment are a volatile mix. As the current war in Ukraine shows, allegiance to one’s nation, especially when it claims Christian inspiration, can inspire both <a href="https://theconversation.com/holy-wars-how-a-cathedral-of-guns-and-glory-symbolizes-putins-russia-176786">imperialist expansionism</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-war-rages-some-ukrainians-look-to-mary-for-protection-continuing-a-long-christian-tradition-178394">heroic resistance</a> to it.</p>
<p>This makes a better understanding of religious nationalism urgently important, especially for the church. Twentieth- and 21st-century popes have condemned <a href="https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-chronicles/nations-stirring-nationalism-betray-their-mission-pope-says">aggressive nationalism</a> but have not defined it clearly.</p>
<p>In cultures that are largely secularized, appeals for Mary’s protection or claims that she has a special relationship with any one nation are now likely to seem archaic, outlandish or sectarian. But what I know of both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935420.013.62">Marian devotion</a> and <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739140895/Toward-a-Catholic-Theology-of-Nationality">national identity</a> has convinced me that ancient patterns often survive and reassert themselves in new times and places. </p>
<p>Even where the practice of Catholicism is in decline, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gere.12307">Mary’s cultural significance</a> remains strong. And religion continues to be a regular element of many <a href="https://doi.org/doi:10.1017/nps.2021.17">nationalist agendas</a>. </p>
<p>My guess is that we have not seen the last of the warrior Virgin.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183200/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dorian Llywelyn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many religions have been used to prop up nationalism, and Catholicism is no exception, as a Jesuit priest and scholar explains.Dorian Llywelyn, President, Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1824852022-05-06T12:33:44Z2022-05-06T12:33:44ZWhat a cathedral and a massive military parade show about Putin’s Russia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461623/original/file-20220505-16-sn42nm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C41%2C5481%2C3769&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, center, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, right, at the consecration of the Cathedral of Russian Armed Forces outside Moscow, June 14, 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RussiaCathedralofRussianArmedForces/be720ae8c2714e8f95f6288f7514d221/photo?Query=church%20cathedral%20russian%20armed%20forces&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=33&currentItemNo=11">Oleg Varov, Russian Orthodox Church Press Service via AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>May 9, 2022, marks the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany. Victory Day has traditionally been a day to honor veterans and hold <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2020/jun/24/moscows-victory-day-parade-in-pictures">an enormous parade in Moscow</a> to display the country’s military prowess.</p>
<p>Under President Vladimir Putin, May 9 has become one of Russia’s most revered holidays. Spokesperson Dmitri Peskov has described it as the “holiest holiday in our country. It has been and will remain the holiest holiday for all Russians,” <a href="https://defence-blog.com/kremlin-claims-russian-troops-prepare-for-its-may-9th-military-parade/">according to the Defence Blog</a>.</p>
<p>Many scholars <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/spsr/38/2/article-p172_6.xml">have researched</a> how World War II has become <a href="https://doi.org/10.2979/histmemo.29.2.05">a cornerstone of Russian nationalism</a> during Putin’s time in power. It is also reflected in Russian rhetoric about <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-russias-fixation-on-the-second-world-war-helps-explain-its-ukraine-invasion-181296">its war in Ukraine</a>. Russian leaders have portrayed the invasion as a fight <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/03/russia-accuses-israel-backing-neo-nazis-kyiv-diplomatic-row-grows">against “Neo-Nazis</a>,” and a <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/welcome-russia-holy-war/">holy war</a>.</p>
<p>This fusion of World War II, religion and Russian nationalism are embodied in one unusual building: the Main Church of the Russian Armed Forces, on the outskirts of Moscow. The massive, khaki-colored cathedral in a military theme park <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/06/15/russia-inaugurates-grandiose-armed-forces-cathedral-a70567">was dedicated</a> in June 2020, and celebrates Russian might. The grand opening was supposed to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, but it was delayed due to the pandemic. </p>
<p>Conceived by the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/20/orthodox-cathedral-of-the-armed-force-russian-national-identity-military-disneyland">Russian defense minister</a> after the country’s <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/03/18/five-years-after-crimeas-illegal-annexation-the-issue-is-no-closer-to-resolution/">illegal annexation of Crimea</a> in 2014, the cathedral embodies the powerful ideology espoused by Putin, with support from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09637494.2016.1272893">the Russian Orthodox Church</a>.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://behrend.psu.edu/person/olena-surzhko-harned">a scholar of nationalism</a>, I see this militant religious nationalism as <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13040349">one of the key elements</a> in Putin’s motivation for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraine-crisis-putin-recognizes-breakaway-regions-biden-orders-limited-sanctions-5-essential-reads-177508">invasion of Ukraine</a>, my native country. It also goes a long way in explaining Moscow’s behavior toward the collective “West” and the post-Cold War world order.</p>
<h2>Angels and guns</h2>
<p>The Church of the Armed Forces’ bell tower is <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/consecration-of-the-main-cathedral-of-russian-armed-forces/30671707.html">75 meters (250 feet) tall, symbolizing the 75th anniversary</a> of the end of World War II. Its dome’s diameter is <a href="https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Stalin-and-Putin-disappear-from-Moscow%E2%80%99s-Victory-Church,-but-more-can-be-seen-(Gallery)-50096.html">19.45 meters (64 feet), marking the year of the victory: 1945</a>. A smaller dome is 14.18 meters (47 feet), representing the 1,418 days the war lasted. Trophy weapons are melted into the floor so that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/20/orthodox-cathedral-of-the-armed-force-russian-national-identity-military-disneyland">each step is a blow to the defeated Nazis</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/20/orthodox-cathedral-of-the-armed-force-russian-national-identity-military-disneyland">Frescoes celebrate Russia’s military might</a> though history, from medieval battles to modern-day wars in Georgia and Syria. Archangels lead heavenly and earthly armies, <a href="https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Stalin-and-Putin-disappear-from-Moscow%E2%80%99s-Victory-Church,-but-more-can-be-seen-(Gallery)-50096.html">Christ wields a sword</a> and the Holy Mother, depicted as the Motherland, lends support. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Members of the armed forces walk outside a cathedral in Russia during a ceremony." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Service members and young army cadets gather for an event held outside the cathedral to mark the 80th anniversary of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/servicemen-and-young-army-cadets-gather-for-the-candle-of-news-photo/1233588280?adppopup=true">Gavriil Grigorov\TASS via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘Cradles’ of Christianity</h2>
<p>Frescoes also celebrate <a href="https://khpg.org/en/1587771442">the Crimean occupation</a> that began in 2014, with jubilant people holding a banner that reads “<a href="https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Stalin-and-Putin-disappear-from-Moscow%E2%80%99s-Victory-Church,-but-more-can-be-seen-(Gallery)-50096.html">We are together</a>.”</p>
<p>When Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated, <a href="http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/709770.html">calling Crimea the “cradle” of Russian Christianity</a>. This mythology draws on the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/03/13/dont-underestimate-importance-of-religion-for-understanding-russias-actions-in-crimea/">medieval story of Prince Vladimir</a>, who converted to Christianity in the 10th century and was baptized in Crimea. The prince then imposed the faith on his subjects in Kyiv, and it spread from there.</p>
<p>The Russian Orthodox Church, also called the Moscow Patriarchate, has long claimed this event as its foundational story. The Russian Empire, which linked itself to the church, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1474225X.2014.957635">adopted this foundational story as well</a>.</p>
<h2>‘Russian World’</h2>
<p>Putin and the head of the Russian church, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1bh2kk5.11?seq=8#metadata_info_tab_contents">Patriarch Kirill</a>, have resurrected these ideas about empire for the 21st century in the form of the so-called “<a href="https://dgap.org/en/events/russkiy-mir-russian-world">Russian World</a>” – giving new meaning to a phrase that dates to <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/06/russia-and-ukraine-are-trapped-in-medieval-myths/">medieval times</a>.</p>
<p>In 2007, Putin created a <a href="https://russkiymir.ru/en/">Russian World Foundation</a>, which was charged with the promotion of Russian language and culture worldwide, such as a cultural project preserving interpretations of history approved by the <a href="https://russkiymir.ru/en/grants/index.php">Kremlin</a>.</p>
<p>For church and state, the idea of “Russian World” encompasses a mission of making Russia a spiritual, cultural and political <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2018.1536780">center of civilization, to counter what they see as the liberal, secular</a> <a href="https://uacrisis.org/en/russkiy-mir-as-the-kremlin-s-quasi-ideology">ideology of the West</a>. This vision has been used to justify policies at home <a href="https://publicorthodoxy.org/2022/02/01/russias-scramble-for-africa/">and abroad</a>.</p>
<h2>The Great Patriotic War</h2>
<p>Another <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-military-church/russia-inaugurates-cathedral-without-mosaics-of-putin-stalin-idUSKBN23L0K7">planned mosaic</a> depicted the celebrations of Soviet forces’ defeat of Nazi Germany – the Great Patriotic War, as World War II is called in Russia. The image included soldiers holding a portrait of Josef Stalin, the dictator who led the USSR during the war, among a crowd of decorated veterans. This mosaic <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/consecration-of-the-main-cathedral-of-russian-armed-forces/30671707.html">was reportedly removed</a> before the church’s opening.</p>
<p>The Great Patriotic War has a special, even sacred, place in Russians’ views of history. The Soviet Union <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/05/08/dont-forget-how-the-soviet-union-saved-the-world-from-hitler/">sustained immense losses</a> – 26 million lives is a conservative estimate. Apart from the sheer devastation, many Russians ultimately see the war as <a href="https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/news/society-economy/theology-of-war-in-the-russian-orthodox-tradition">a holy one</a>, in which Soviets defended their motherland and the whole world from the evil of Nazism.</p>
<p>Under Putin, glorification of the war and <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498591546/Bringing-Stalin-Back-In-Memory-Politics-and-the-Creation-of-a-Useable-Past-in-Putin%E2%80%99s-Russia">Stalin’s role</a> in the victory have reached <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/10/vladimir-putin-russia-rehabilitating-stalin-soviet-past">epic proportions</a>. Nazism, for very good reasons, is seen as a manifestation of the ultimate evil.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A soldier stretches his leg by resting his ankle on another soldier's shoulder." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461624/original/file-20220505-1371-p7sd63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461624/original/file-20220505-1371-p7sd63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461624/original/file-20220505-1371-p7sd63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461624/original/file-20220505-1371-p7sd63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461624/original/file-20220505-1371-p7sd63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461624/original/file-20220505-1371-p7sd63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461624/original/file-20220505-1371-p7sd63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Honor guard soldiers warm up prior to a May 5 rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade that will be held May 9, 2022, in St. Petersburg, Russia, to mark 77 years since the victory in World War II.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Russia%20Parade%20Rehearsal/df359849120940dd84edcf0158fbd838?Query=victory%20day%20parade%20russia&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=2082&currentItemNo=6">AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The rhetoric of this militant nationalism has been on display as Russia threatened to and ultimately did invade Ukraine. Putin <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/24/putins-speech-declaring-war-on-ukraine-translated-excerpts">has consistently claimed</a> that Ukraine’s government is run by Nazis, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has even <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia-ukraine-latest-news-2022-05-02/card/russia-foreign-minister-compares-ukraine-s-jewish-president-to-hitler-israel-summons-russian-ambassador-cvzXGLD3avomIPVsNUob-cvzXGLD3avomIPVsNUob">compared Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy</a> – who is Jewish – to Adolf Hitler. </p>
<p>These claims <a href="https://theconversation.com/putins-claim-to-rid-ukraine-of-nazis-is-especially-absurd-given-its-history-177959">are absurd</a>. However, portraying the government in Kyiv as evil helps the Kremlin paint the war in Ukraine in black and white.</p>
<p>Putin has also spoken of fraternal relationships between Russian and Ukrainian people and denied the existence of the Ukrainian state. In his view, <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lseih/2020/07/01/there-is-no-ukraine-fact-checking-the-kremlins-version-of-ukrainian-history/">Ukraine’s sovereignty</a> is an example of extreme, chauvinistic nationalism.</p>
<h2>Patriarchs and parades</h2>
<p>Patriarch Kirill, who has called Putin’s rule a “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-putin-religion/russian-patriarch-calls-putin-era-miracle-of-god-idUKTRE81722Y20120208">miracle of God</a>,” said the Church of the Russian Armed Forces “holds the hope that future generations will pick up the spiritual baton from past generations and <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/06/15/russia-inaugurates-grandiose-armed-forces-cathedral-a70567">save the Fatherland from internal and external enemies</a>.”</p>
<p>Since the beginning of the invasion, Kirill has defended it, painting the conflict as one with “metaphysical significance,” as he <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/28/patriarch-kirill-putin-ally-faces-backlash">said in a sermon</a> soon after the war began.</p>
<p>This religious nationalism will be on display May 9. However, the realities of the war have forced parade planners to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/craighooper/2022/05/02/russian-victory-day-parade-cut-by-35-emphasizing-ukraines-battlefield-prowess/?sh=4e92abdb3485">scale down</a> this year’s celebrations in Moscow, where the biggest Victory Day ceremonies are traditionally held. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials quoted in Western media reports have claimed the Russian military <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/05/ukraine-mariupol-theater-russia-military-parade/">plans to hold celebrations</a> in Mariupol.</p>
<p>U.S. officials have suggested that Russian forces were <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/02/politics/russia-shifting-focus-victory-eastern-ukraine/index.html">under pressure to declare victories</a> by May 9. But the war has ground on for more than two months, <a href="https://theconversation.com/reliable-death-tolls-from-the-ukraine-war-are-hard-to-come-by-the-result-of-undercounts-and-manipulation-179905">with heavy losses</a>, prompting U.S. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61321799">and U.K. officials</a> to question whether the Kremlin could <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/03/europe/russia-victory-day-explainer-intl/index.html">announce an escalation</a>, while Ukrainians wonder what’s next.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of <a href="https://theconversation.com/holy-wars-how-a-cathedral-of-guns-and-glory-symbolizes-putins-russia-176786">an article</a> originally published on March 2, 2022.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182485/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lena Surzhko Harned does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>World War II has a central place in Russian nationalism. Its importance is written all over a new cathedral dedicated to the armed forces.Lena Surzhko Harned, Assistant Teaching Professor of Political Science, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1788532022-03-25T12:08:37Z2022-03-25T12:08:37ZWhen Putin says Russia and Ukraine share one faith, he’s leaving out a lot of the story<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453391/original/file-20220321-17-1emu0ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3988%2C2658&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Ukrainian service member takes a photograph of a damaged church after shelling in a residential district in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 10, 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RussiaUkraineWarTheGrind/f22363ce05a54f43928c0559923e0dc9/photo?Query=ukraine%20church&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1110&currentItemNo=19">AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Russian President Vladimir Putin <a href="https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/ukraine-history-fact-checking-putin-513812/">has often asserted that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people</a>.” He points to a few factors: the Russian language spoken widely in both countries, their similar cultures, and the two countries’ political connections, which date back to medieval times. But there is one more factor that ties all these together: religion.</p>
<p>Grand Prince Volodymyr, leader of the kingdom of Kyiv, converted to Christianity in the 10th century and forced his subjects to do the same. As Putin sees it, Orthodox Christianity established <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/russ.12308">a religious and cultural foundation</a> that outlasted the kingdom itself, creating a shared heritage among the people who live in present-day Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://as.vanderbilt.edu/german-russian-studies/bio/kathryn-david/">a historian of religion and nationalism</a> in Ukraine and Russia, I see Russia’s invasion as, in part, an attempt to restore <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/russian-world-moscows-strategy">this imagined “Russian World</a>.” More than 7 in 10 Ukrainians <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/14/split-between-ukrainian-russian-churches-shows-political-importance-of-orthodox-christianity/">identify as Orthodox Christians</a>, similar to the percentage in Russia. </p>
<p>But what Putin’s claims ignore is a uniquely Ukrainian <a href="https://talkabout.iclrs.org/2021/10/13/interview-catherine-wanner/">religious heritage</a> that transcends church institutions and has long nourished Ukrainians’ <a href="http://doi.org/10.1353/imp.2020.0094">sense of nationhood</a>. Many Ukrainians throughout history have seen religion as something that asserts their separateness from Russia, not their commonality. </p>
<h2>Kyiv vs. Moscow</h2>
<p>Under imperial Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church was often <a href="https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801433276/of-religion-and-empire/#bookTabs=1">a tool of assimilation</a>, with officials eager to use the power of the church to make newly conquered peoples Russian subjects.</p>
<p>Beginning in 1654, when Ukrainian lands <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/826545">were being absorbed</a> into imperial Russia, clergy from Moscow had to decide how to accommodate distinct religious texts, practices and ideas from Kyiv that differed from Moscow’s in subtle yet significant ways. Believing some of the Kyivan practices to be more closely aligned with the Byzantine roots of the Orthodox Church, Russian clergy decided to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511496837">integrate Ukrainian rituals and priests</a> into the Russian Orthodox Church.</p>
<p>Later, some members of the clergy helped promote <a href="https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501710667/children-of-rus/#bookTabs=1">the idea of Russian and Ukrainian unity</a>, rooted in Orthodox faith. Yet 19th-century Ukrainian activists took a different view of this history. They saw the Russian Orthodox Church as a tool of empire. In these activists’ view, the church had adopted <a href="https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780875807898/the-orthodox-church-in-ukraine/#bookTabs=1">Ukrainian traditions</a> in the name of spiritual unity while actually denying Ukrainians’ distinct identity.</p>
<p>These nationalist activists <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/2491745">did not abandon Orthodox Christianity</a>, however. As they pushed for an autonomous Ukraine, they asserted there was a difference between the politics of the church institution and the everyday religion that foregrounded Ukrainian life.</p>
<h2>In the shadow of empire</h2>
<p>Not all Ukrainians lived in the spiritual realm of Moscow. A Ukrainian national movement also <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442682252">grew in the west</a>, in former Kyivan lands that ended up in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Here many in the population were members of a hybrid religious institution, <a href="https://case.edu/ech/articles/b/byzantine-rite-catholics">the Greek Catholic Church</a>, which practiced Orthodox rituals but followed the pope.</p>
<p>Local parishes in the Greek Catholic Church became <a href="https://www.mqup.ca/religion-and-nationality-in-western-ukraine-products-9780773518124.php">important in the national movement</a> as religious institutions that distinguished Ukrainians from not only Russian neighbors to the east, but also from the local Polish population in Austria-Hungary. But Ukrainian activists grappled with how to build a nation that was split between these two main faiths: the Russian Orthodox Church and the Greek Catholic Church.</p>
<p>When imperial Russia <a href="https://huri.harvard.edu/news/ukraine-flames-1917-kyiv-serhii-plokhii">collapsed in 1917</a>, one of the first acts of the new Ukrainian government formed in Kyiv was declaring its own Orthodox Church, separate from Moscow: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-21566-9_14">the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church</a>. The church was intended to use the Ukrainian language and to empower local parishes more than the Russian Orthodox Church had allowed.</p>
<p>As the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed, <a href="https://ukrainianweek.com/History/22266">the leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church</a>, <a href="https://www.history.utoronto.ca/publications/morality-and-reality-life-and-times-andrei-sheptytskyi">Andrei Sheptytsky</a>, put forward a plan for a unified Ukrainian Church under the Vatican but grounded in Orthodox ritual. He hoped such a church could bring Ukrainians together.</p>
<p>But these plans never materialized. The independent government in Kyiv was defeated by the Bolsheviks by 1921, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church based in Kyiv was <a href="https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1012&context=ree">banned by the Soviet Union</a>.</p>
<h2>Crackdown on ‘nationalist’ prayers</h2>
<p>In the first decades of the Soviet Union, the Bolsheviks mounted <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Party_of_Unbelief.html?id=YJVVzgEACAAJ">a campaign against religious institutions</a>, especially the Russian Orthodox Church. They viewed Russian Orthodoxy, in particular, as an instrument of the old regime and a potential source of opposition.</p>
<p>During World War II, however, the Soviet Union <a href="http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1943-2/orthodox-patriarch-appointed/">revived the Russian Orthodox Church</a>, hoping to use it as <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Russian-Orthodox-Church-1917-1948-From-Decline-to-Resurrection/Kalkandjieva/p/book/9781138577992">a tool to promote Russian nationalism at home and abroad</a>.</p>
<p>In western Ukraine, which the Soviet Union annexed from Poland in 1939, this meant <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/the-church-that-stalin-couldn-t-kill-ukrainian-greek-catholic-church-thrives-seventy-years-after-forced-reunification/">forcibly converting</a> 3 million Ukrainian Greek Catholics <a href="https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1063&context=ree">to Russian Orthodoxy</a>.</p>
<p>Many Ukrainians proved resilient in adapting religious life to these circumstances. Some formed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/11/24/silenced-half-their-lives-ukraines-religious-now-recount-life-under-communism/0cfb03e1-576f-4565-afab-15eba55c2fae/">an underground Greek Catholic Church</a>, while others found ways to <a href="https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=7-shlikhta-church-within-the-church&site=15">maintain their traditions</a> despite participating in the Soviet-sanctioned Russian Orthodox Church.</p>
<p>In Soviet secret police records, <a href="https://www.miamioh.edu/cas/_files/documents/havighurst/david-yrc-paper.pdf">officers documented what they called “nationalist” practices at church</a>: believers remaining silent when the Moscow patriarch’s name was to be commemorated, for example, or using prayer books that predated Soviet rule.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People pray in a large crowd, with Ukrainian flags waving in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453985/original/file-20220323-21-1d5s05a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453985/original/file-20220323-21-1d5s05a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453985/original/file-20220323-21-1d5s05a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453985/original/file-20220323-21-1d5s05a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453985/original/file-20220323-21-1d5s05a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453985/original/file-20220323-21-1d5s05a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453985/original/file-20220323-21-1d5s05a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thousands of people attend a mass prayer in front of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv on Oct. 14, 2018, to give thanks after the Orthodox Church in Ukraine gained autocephaly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-attend-a-mass-prayer-in-front-of-st-sophia-cathedral-news-photo/1052112934?adppopup=true">GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Hopes for change</h2>
<p>When the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine found itself in a position to redefine the religious landscape. Some Christians became part of the <a href="https://crossingthesquare.nd.edu/blog/struggle-and-revival-how-greek-catholics-re-emerged-in-independent-ukraine-as-told-by-their-first-spokeswoman/">Greek Catholic Church</a> after it was relegalized. Other Christians saw this moment as a time to declare an “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/autocephalous-church">autocephalous</a>” Ukrainian church, meaning they would still be in communion with other Orthodox churches around the world, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-church-conflict-in-ukraine-reflects-historic-russian-ukrainian-tensions-175818">but not under Moscow’s control</a>. Still others wanted to remain part of the Russian Orthodox Church based in Moscow.</p>
<p>In 2019, a Ukrainian Orthodox church <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/40250/ecumenical-patriarch-recognizes-independence-of-orthodox-church-of-ukraine">was recognized as autocephalous</a> by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of Orthodoxy worldwide, forming the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. </p>
<p><a href="https://razumkov.org.ua/uploads/article/2021_Religiya_eng.pdf">In Ukraine today</a>, only 13% of people say they are affiliated with the Orthodox Church based in Moscow, while 24% follow the Orthodox Church based in Ukraine, and a similar percentage call themselves “simply Orthodox.”</p>
<p>Some Ukrainians have treated the Moscow-based church <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/07/ukraines-pro-russian-monasteries-draw-local-suspicion">with suspicion</a>, recognizing its close ties to Putin’s government. Yet it would be a mistake to assume that all who attend this church agree with its politics. </p>
<p>Putin and other leaders in Moscow have their own ideas about Orthodoxy. But in Ukraine, sacred spaces have long been where many Ukrainians fought for, and won, their right to self-determination.</p>
<p>[<em>Explore the intersection of faith, politics, arts and culture.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/this-week-in-religion-76/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=religion-explore">Sign up for This Week in Religion.</a>]</p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to correct the percentage of Ukrainians affiliated with the Orthodox Church based in Moscow.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178853/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn David does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Religion plays an important role in expansive views of Russian nationhood. But faith has played a role in Ukrainian nationalism, too.Kathryn David, Mellon Assistant Professor of Russian and East European Studies, Vanderbilt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1787322022-03-21T12:14:28Z2022-03-21T12:14:28ZWhy is Russia’s church backing Putin’s war? Church-state history gives a clue<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452660/original/file-20220317-8391-1u02rvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=45%2C15%2C3362%2C2253&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Vladimir Putin speaks to Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill (center) in Samolva, Russia, on Sept. 11, 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RussiaAlexanderNevskyAnniversary/a30706870b2a41d78af9b1ec5104e1f7/photo?Query=kirill&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=3534&currentItemNo=274">Alexei Druzhinin/Pool Photo via AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-did-russia-invade-ukraine-178512">Russia’s invasion of Ukraine</a>, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has defended Russia’s actions and blamed the conflict <a href="https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/response-by-hh-patriarch-kirill-of-moscow-to-rev-prof-dr-ioan-sauca-english-translation">on the West</a>.</p>
<p>Patriarch Kirill’s support for the invasion of a country where millions of people belong to his own church has led critics to conclude that Orthodox leadership has become little more than an arm of the state – and that this is the role it usually plays.</p>
<p>The reality is much more complicated. The relationship between Russian church and state has undergone <a href="https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781451472509/Understanding-World-Christianity">profound historical transformations</a>, not least in the past century – a focus of my work as <a href="https://miamioh.edu/cas/academics/centers/havighurst/about-center/staff-faculty/kenworthy-faculty-page/index.html">a scholar of Eastern Orthodoxy</a>. The church’s current support for the Kremlin is not inevitable or predestined, but a deliberate decision that needs to be understood. </p>
<h2>Soviet shifts</h2>
<p>For centuries, leaders in Byzantium and Russia prized the idea of church and state <a href="https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-eastern-orthodox-church-john-anthony-mcguckin-review-rowan-williams/">working harmoniously together in “symphony</a>” – unlike their more competitive relationships in some Western countries.</p>
<p>In the early 1700s, however, Czar Peter the Great instituted reforms for greater control of the church – part of <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/book/78295">his attempts to make Russia more like Protestant Europe</a>.</p>
<p>Churchmen grew to resent the state’s interference. They did not defend the monarchy in its final hour during <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118620878.ch22">the February Revolution of 1917</a>, hoping it would lead to a “free church in a free state.”</p>
<p>The Bolsheviks who seized power, however, embraced <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691174273/a-sacred-space-is-never-empty">a militant atheism</a> that sought to secularize society completely. They regarded the church as a threat because of its ties to the old regime. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09546545.2018.1480893">Attacks on the church</a> proceeded from legal measures like confiscating property to executing clergy suspected of supporting the counterrevolution.</p>
<p>Patriarch Tikhon, head of the Church during the Revolution, criticized Bolshevik assaults on the Church, but his successor, Metropolitan Bishop Sergy, made <a href="https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/rss/34-1_051.pdf">a declaration of loyalty</a> to the Soviet Union in 1927. Persecution of religion only intensified, however, with repression reaching a peak during the Great Terror of 1937-1938, when <a href="http://ebookiriran.ru/index.php?id=137&section=8&view=article">tens of thousands</a> of clergy and ordinary believers were simply executed or sent to the Gulag. By the end of the 1930s, the Russian Orthodox Church had nearly been destroyed.</p>
<p>The Nazi invasion brought a dramatic reversal. Josef Stalin needed popular support to defeat Germany and <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Russian-Orthodox-Church-1917-1948-From-Decline-to-Resurrection/Kalkandjieva/p/book/9781138577992">allowed churches to reopen</a>. But his successor, Nikita Khrushchev, <a href="https://doi.org/10.2753/RSH1061-1983500304">reinvigorated the anti-religious campaign</a> at the end of the 1950s, and for the rest of the Soviet period, the church was tightly controlled and marginalized.</p>
<h2>Kirill’s campaigns</h2>
<p>The dissolution of the Soviet Union brought yet another complete reversal. The church was suddenly free, yet facing enormous challenges after decades of suppression. With the collapse of Soviet ideology, Russian society <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/book/russia-search-itself">seemed set adrift</a>. Church leaders sought to reclaim it, but faced stiff competition from new forces, especially Western consumer culture and American <a href="https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/cslr-books/77/">evangelical missionaries</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A priest offers Communion to a woman wearing a kerchief." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452688/original/file-20220317-8461-1wk6fbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452688/original/file-20220317-8461-1wk6fbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452688/original/file-20220317-8461-1wk6fbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452688/original/file-20220317-8461-1wk6fbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452688/original/file-20220317-8461-1wk6fbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452688/original/file-20220317-8461-1wk6fbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452688/original/file-20220317-8461-1wk6fbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Russian Orthodox Church priest leads a service at the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin in Sokolniki in Moscow on Feb. 15, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RussiaPresentationoftheLord/a5330f6f17204ca99a17a924931d0397/photo?Query=%22russian%20orthodox%22&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=2601&currentItemNo=5">AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The first post-Soviet head of the church, Patriarch Aleksy II, maintained his distance from politicians. Initially, they were not very responsive to the church’s goals – including Vladimir Putin in his first two terms between 2000 and 2008. Yet in more recent years, the president has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755048320000620">embraced Russian Orthodoxy</a> as a cornerstone of post-Soviet identity, and relations between church and state leadership have changed significantly since Kirill became patriarch in 2009. He quickly <a href="https://doi.org/10.2753/RUP1061-1940490100">succeeded in securing</a> the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/world/europe/24iht-moscow.html">return of church property</a> from the state, religious instruction in public schools and military chaplains in the armed forces. </p>
<p>Kirill has also promoted an influential critique of Western liberalism, consumerism and individualism, contrasted with Russian “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09637494.2016.1272893">traditional values</a>.” This idea argues that <a href="https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/31336">human rights</a> are not universal, but a product of Western culture, especially when extended to LGBTQ people. The patriarch also helped develop the idea of the “<a href="https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/articles_papers_reports/727">Russian world</a>”: a soft power ideology that promotes Russian civilization, ties to Russian-speakers around the world, and greater Russian influence on Ukraine and Belarus.</p>
<p>Although 70%-75% of Russians consider themselves Orthodox, <a href="https://www.pewforum.org/2014/02/10/russians-return-to-religion-but-not-to-church/">only a small percentage</a> are active in church life. Kirill has sought to “re-church” society by asserting that Russian Orthodoxy is central to Russian identity, patriotism and cohesion – and a strong Russian state. He has also created a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Russian-Church-in-the-Digital-Era-Mediatization-of-Orthodoxy/Stahle/p/book/9780367410407">highly centralized church</a> bureaucracy that mirrors Putin’s and stifles dissenting voices.</p>
<h2>Growing closer</h2>
<p>A key turning point came in 2011-2012, starting with massive protests against electoral fraud and Putin’s decision to run for a third term.</p>
<p>Kirill <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/russia_patriarch_kirill_urges_government_to_listen_protests_correct_course/24444845.html">initially called</a> for the government to dialogue with protesters, but later offered unqualified support for Putin and referred to stability and prosperity during his first two terms as a “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-putin-religion-idUKTRE81722Y20120208">miracle of God</a>,” in contrast to the tumultuous 1990s.</p>
<p>In 2012, Pussy Riot, a feminist punk group, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/11/what-pussy-riots-punk-prayer-really-said/264562/">staged a protest</a> in a Moscow cathedral to criticize Kirill’s support for Putin – yet the episode actually pushed church and state closer together. Putin portrayed Pussy Riot and the opposition as aligned with decadent Western values, and himself as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2014.917075">the defender of Russian morality</a>, including Orthodoxy. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/11/russia-law-banning-gay-propaganda">A 2013 law</a> banning dissemination of gay “propaganda” to minors, which was supported by the church, was part of this campaign to marginalize dissent. </p>
<p>Putin successfully won reelection, and Kirill’s ideology has been <a href="https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/142-blittboyd33upajintll3632011pdf">linked to Putin’s</a> ever since.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three women behind a glass panel look out at a courtroom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452835/original/file-20220317-25-1knfva1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452835/original/file-20220317-25-1knfva1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452835/original/file-20220317-25-1knfva1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452835/original/file-20220317-25-1knfva1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452835/original/file-20220317-25-1knfva1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452835/original/file-20220317-25-1knfva1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452835/original/file-20220317-25-1knfva1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot sit in a glass cage at a courtroom in Moscow in 2012. The women were charged with hooliganism connected to religious hatred.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RussiaUnderPutin/605274096ba046d1bf817af231b98a25/photo?Query=pussy%20riot&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1156&currentItemNo=177">AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the eruption of conflict in the Donbas in 2014 also had an enormous impact on the Russian Orthodox Church.</p>
<p>Ukraine’s Orthodox churches remained under the Moscow Patriarchate’s authority after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Indeed, about 30% of the Russian Orthodox Church’s parishes <a href="https://ecfr.eu/publication/defender_of_the_faith_how_ukraines_orthodox_split_threatens_russia/">were actually in Ukraine</a>.</p>
<p>The conflict in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, however, intensified Ukrainians’ calls for an independent Orthodox church. Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of Orthodox Christianity, granted that independence <a href="https://css.ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/center-for-securities-studies/pdfs/RAD231.pdf">in 2019</a>. Moscow not only refused to recognize the new church, but also <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/russian-orthodox-church-breaks-with-constantinople/">severed relations with Constantinople</a>, threatening a broader schism.</p>
<p>Orthodox Christians in Ukraine <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-church-conflict-in-ukraine-reflects-historic-russian-ukrainian-tensions-175818">were divided over which church to follow,</a> deepening Russia’s cultural anxieties about “losing” Ukraine to the West.</p>
<h2>High-stakes gamble</h2>
<p>Kirill’s close alliance with the Putin regime has had some clear payoffs. Orthodoxy has become one of the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/10/25/the-new-putinism-nationalism-fused-with-conservative-christianity/">central pillars</a> of Putin’s image of national identity. Moreover, the “culture wars” discourse of “traditional values” has attracted <a href="https://www.uibk.ac.at/projects/postsecular-conflicts/postsecular-conflicts-research-group/the-moralist-international/">international supporters</a>, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12121036">conservative evangelicals</a> in the United States.</p>
<p>But Kirill does not represent the entirety of the Russian Orthodox Church any more than Putin represents the entirety of Russia. The patriarch’s positions have alienated <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1yOGuXjdFQ1A3BQaEEQr744cwDzmSQ1qePaaBi4z6q3w/viewform?edit_requested=true">some of his own flock</a>, and his support for the invasion of Ukraine will likely split some of his support <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russian-orthodox-church-in-amsterdam-announces-split-with-moscow">abroad</a>. <a href="https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/letter-to-his-holiness-kirill-patriarch-of-moscow-and-all-russia-russian-orthodox-church">Christian leaders</a> around the world are calling upon Kirill to <a href="https://religionnews.com/2022/03/11/more-than-100-us-christian-leaders-ask-kirill-to-help-stop-invasion-of-ukraine/">pressure</a> the government to stop the war.</p>
<p>The patriarch has <a href="https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/split-from-kirill-is-coming-say-ukrainian?s=r">alienated the Ukrainian flock</a> that remained loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate. <a href="https://news.church.ua/2022/02/27/appeal-beatitude-metropolitan-kyiv-ukraine-onufriy-faithful-citizens-ukraine/?lang=en">Leaders of that church</a> have <a href="https://news.church.ua/2022/02/28/obrashhenie-svyashhennogo-sinoda-ukrainskoj-pravoslavnoj-cerkvi-ot-28-fevralya-2022-goda/?lang=ru">condemned Russia’s attack</a> and appealed to Kirill to intervene with Putin. </p>
<p>A broader rift is clearly brewing: A number of Ukrainian Orthodox bishops have already <a href="https://spzh.news/en/news/86823-ryad-jeparkhij-upc-prekrashhajut-pominovenije-patriarkha-kirilla">stopped commemorating Kirill</a> during their services. If Kirill supported Russia’s actions as a way to preserve the unity of the church, the opposite outcome seems likely.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178732/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Kenworthy has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Kennan Institute, Fulbright, the International Researches and Exchanges Board and the Social Science Research Council.</span></em></p>The war in Ukraine is just the latest chapter in a long, tangled relationship between the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church.Scott Kenworthy, Professor of Comparative Religion, Miami UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1767862022-03-02T13:28:01Z2022-03-02T13:28:01ZHoly wars: How a cathedral of guns and glory symbolizes Putin’s Russia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449001/original/file-20220228-12844-brw7mt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=131%2C0%2C5013%2C3408&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, center, attends a ceremony consecrating the Cathedral of Russian Armed Forces outside Moscow. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RussiaCathedralofRussianArmedForces/1fe8aa6c19144a4ca73d5a084cd08ef2/photo?Query=church%20russia%20armed%20forces&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=122&currentItemNo=11">Andrey Rusov, Defense Ministry Press Service via AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>An updated version of this article was published on May 6, 2022. <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-a-cathedral-and-a-massive-military-parade-show-about-putins-russia-182485">Read it here</a>.</em></p>
<p>A curious new church <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/06/15/russia-inaugurates-grandiose-armed-forces-cathedral-a70567">was dedicated</a> on the outskirts of Moscow in June 2020: <a href="http://hram.mil.ru">The Main Church of the Russian Armed Forces</a>. The massive, khaki-colored cathedral in a military theme park celebrates Russian might. It was originally planned to open on the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, in May 2020, but was delayed due to the pandemic.</p>
<p>Conceived by the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/20/orthodox-cathedral-of-the-armed-force-russian-national-identity-military-disneyland">Russian defense minister</a> after the country’s <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/03/18/five-years-after-crimeas-illegal-annexation-the-issue-is-no-closer-to-resolution/">illegal annexation of Crimea</a> in 2014, the cathedral embodies the powerful ideology espoused by President Vladimir Putin, with strong support from the Russian Orthodox Church.</p>
<p>The Kremlin’s vision of Russia connects the state, military and the Russian Orthodox Church. As <a href="https://behrend.psu.edu/person/olena-surzhko-harned">a scholar of nationalism</a>, I see this militant religious nationalism as one of the key elements in Putin’s motivation for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraine-crisis-putin-recognizes-breakaway-regions-biden-orders-limited-sanctions-5-essential-reads-177508">invasion of Ukraine</a>, my native country. It also goes a long way in explaining Moscow’s behavior toward the collective “West” and the post-Cold War world order.</p>
<h2>Angels and guns</h2>
<p>The Church of the Armed Forces’ bell tower is <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/consecration-of-the-main-cathedral-of-russian-armed-forces/30671707.html">75 meters tall, symbolizing the 75th anniversary</a> of the end of World War II. Its dome’s diameter is <a href="https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Stalin-and-Putin-disappear-from-Moscow%E2%80%99s-Victory-Church,-but-more-can-be-seen-(Gallery)-50096.html">19.45 meters, marking the year of the victory: 1945</a>. A smaller dome is 14.18 meters, representing the 1,418 days the war lasted. Trophy weapons are melted into the floor so that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/20/orthodox-cathedral-of-the-armed-force-russian-national-identity-military-disneyland">each step is a blow to the defeated Nazis</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/20/orthodox-cathedral-of-the-armed-force-russian-national-identity-military-disneyland">Frescoes celebrate Russia’s military might</a> though history, from medieval battles to modern-day wars in Georgia and Syria. Archangels lead heavenly and earthly armies, <a href="https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Stalin-and-Putin-disappear-from-Moscow%E2%80%99s-Victory-Church,-but-more-can-be-seen-(Gallery)-50096.html">Christ wields a sword</a>, and the Holy Mother, depicted as the Motherland, lends support. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Members of the armed forces walk outside a cathedral in Russia during a ceremony." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449008/original/file-20220228-15-1jyjvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Service members and young army cadets gather for an event held outside the cathedral to mark the 80th anniversary of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/servicemen-and-young-army-cadets-gather-for-the-candle-of-news-photo/1233588280?adppopup=true">Gavriil Grigorov\TASS via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘Cradles’ of Christianity</h2>
<p>The original plans for the frescoes included <a href="https://khpg.org/en/1587771442">a celebration of the Crimean occupation</a>, with jubilant people holding a banner that read “Crimea is Ours” and “Forever with Russia.” In the final version, the controversial “Crimea is Ours” was replaced by the more benign “<a href="https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Stalin-and-Putin-disappear-from-Moscow%E2%80%99s-Victory-Church,-but-more-can-be-seen-(Gallery)-50096.html">We are together</a>.”</p>
<p>When Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated, <a href="http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/709770.html">calling Crimea the “cradle” of Russian Christianity</a>. This mythology draws on the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/03/13/dont-underestimate-importance-of-religion-for-understanding-russias-actions-in-crimea/">medieval story of Prince Vladimir</a>, who converted to Christianity in the 10th century and was baptized in Crimea. The prince then imposed the faith on his subjects in Kyiv, and it spread from there.</p>
<p>The Russian Orthodox Church, also called the Moscow Patriarchate, has long claimed this event as its foundational story. The Russian Empire, which linked itself to the church, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1474225X.2014.957635">adopted this foundational story as well</a>.</p>
<h2>‘Russian World’</h2>
<p>Putin and the head of the Russian church, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1bh2kk5.11?seq=8#metadata_info_tab_contents">Patriarch Kirill</a>, have resurrected these ideas about empire for the 21st century in the form of the so-called “<a href="https://dgap.org/en/events/russkiy-mir-russian-world">Russian World</a>” – giving new meaning to a phrase that dates to <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/06/russia-and-ukraine-are-trapped-in-medieval-myths/">medieval times</a>.</p>
<p>In 2007, Putin created a <a href="https://russkiymir.ru/en/">Russian World Foundation</a>, which was charged with promotion of Russian language and culture worldwide, such as a cultural project preserving interpretations of history approved by the <a href="https://russkiymir.ru/en/grants/index.php">Kremlin</a>.</p>
<p>For church and state, the idea of “Russian World” encompasses a mission of making Russia a spiritual, cultural and political <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09668136.2018.1536780">center of civilization to counter the liberal, secular</a> <a href="https://uacrisis.org/en/russkiy-mir-as-the-kremlin-s-quasi-ideology">ideology of the West</a>. This vision has been used to justify policies at home <a href="https://publicorthodoxy.org/2022/02/01/russias-scramble-for-africa/">and abroad</a>.</p>
<h2>The Great Patriotic War</h2>
<p>Another <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-military-church/russia-inaugurates-cathedral-without-mosaics-of-putin-stalin-idUSKBN23L0K7">planned mosaic</a> depicted the celebrations of Soviet forces’ defeat of Nazi Germany – the Great Patriotic War, as World War II is called in Russia. The image included soldiers holding a portrait of Josef Stalin, the dictator who led the USSR during the war, among a crowd of decorated veterans. This mosaic <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/consecration-of-the-main-cathedral-of-russian-armed-forces/30671707.html">was reportedly removed</a> before the church’s opening.</p>
<p>The Great Patriotic War has a special, even sacred, place in Russians’ views of history. The Soviet Union <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/05/08/dont-forget-how-the-soviet-union-saved-the-world-from-hitler/">sustained immense losses</a> – 26 million lives is a conservative estimate. Apart from the sheer devastation, many Russians ultimately see the war as <a href="https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/news/society-economy/theology-of-war-in-the-russian-orthodox-tradition">a holy one</a>, in which Soviets defended their motherland and the whole world from the evil of Nazism.</p>
<p>Under Putin, glorification of the war and <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bringing-stalin-back-in-todd-h-nelson/1132424586">Stalin’s role</a> in the victory have reached <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/10/vladimir-putin-russia-rehabilitating-stalin-soviet-past">epic proportions</a>. Nazism, for very good reasons, is seen as a manifestation of the ultimate evil.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A photo of Joseph Stalin stands next to a photo of Vladimir Putin." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449015/original/file-20220228-23-1izplnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449015/original/file-20220228-23-1izplnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449015/original/file-20220228-23-1izplnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449015/original/file-20220228-23-1izplnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449015/original/file-20220228-23-1izplnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449015/original/file-20220228-23-1izplnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449015/original/file-20220228-23-1izplnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Portraits of Soviet leader Josef Stalin (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin on display at the opening of an exhibit called Russia - My History, 1945-2016, at Moscow’s Manege Central Exhibition Hall.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/portraits-of-soviet-leader-joseph-stalin-and-russian-news-photo/621096790?adppopup=true">Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The rhetoric of this militant religious nationalism has been on display as Russia threatened to and ultimately did invade Ukraine. During <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/24/putins-speech-declaring-war-on-ukraine-translated-excerpts">a speech on Feb. 24, 2022</a>, Putin bizarrely called for the “de-nazification” of Ukraine. He also spoke of fraternal relationships between Russian and Ukrainian people and denied the existence of the Ukrainian state. In his view, <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lseih/2020/07/01/there-is-no-ukraine-fact-checking-the-kremlins-version-of-ukrainian-history/">Ukraine’s sovereignty</a> is an example of extreme, chauvinistic nationalism.</p>
<p>Putin’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/putins-claim-to-rid-ukraine-of-nazis-is-especially-absurd-given-its-history-177959">claim that Ukraine’s government is run by Nazis</a> is absurd. However, the manipulation of this image makes sense in the framework of this ideology. Painting the government in Kyiv as evil helps to paint the war in Ukraine in black and white.</p>
<h2>Messianic mission</h2>
<p>Tangible <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-follows-decades-of-warnings-that-nato-expansion-into-eastern-europe-could-provoke-russia-177999">geopolitical issues</a> may be driving Putin’s war in Ukraine, but his actions also seem motivated by a desire to <a href="https://theconversation.com/putin-is-on-a-quest-for-historical-significance-by-invading-ukraine-and-gambling-on-his-own-and-russias-glory-177887">secure his own legacy</a>. In his vision of “Great Russia,” <a href="https://theconversation.com/putins-antagonism-toward-ukraine-was-never-just-about-nato-its-about-creating-a-new-russian-empire-177687">restored to its former size and influence</a>, Putin is a defender who must vanquish its enemies.</p>
<p>The Russian president himself appeared in earlier versions of the cathedral’s frescoes, along with Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. However, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/russia-removes-vladimir-putin-mosaic-from-military-church/a-53310239">the mosaic was removed</a> after controversy, with Putin himself reportedly giving orders to take it down, saying it was too early to celebrate the country’s current leadership.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1253458434407661571"}"></div></p>
<p>Patriarch Kirill, who has called Putin’s rule a “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-putin-religion/russian-patriarch-calls-putin-era-miracle-of-god-idUKTRE81722Y20120208">miracle of God</a>,” said the new cathedral “<a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/06/15/russia-inaugurates-grandiose-armed-forces-cathedral-a70567">holds the hope that future generations will pick up the spiritual baton from past generations and save the Fatherland from internal and external enemies</a>.”</p>
<p>This volatile religious nationalism manifests itself in the militarism unfolding in Ukraine.</p>
<p>On Feb. 24, 2022, the day the invasion began, Patriarch Kirill <a href="https://www.vesti.ru/article/2681581">called for a</a> swift resolution and protection of civilians in Ukraine, while reminding Orthodox Christians of the fraternal connection between the two nations. But he has not condemned the war itself and has referred to “<a href="https://mospat.ru/en/news/89032/">evil forces</a>” trying to destroy the unity of Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lena Surzhko Harned does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>To understand Russia’s war in Ukraine, look to the blend of religious and militaristic nationalism under Putin – on full display in the Church of the Russian Armed Forces.Lena Surzhko Harned, Assistant Teaching Professor of Political Science, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.