What is the Religious Right?
A friend wrote as follows:
“I think my main point is that what we call ‘conservatism’ or ‘the extreme right’ may be less of a monolithic mentality and more a hodgepodge of not completely compatible worldviews, and our response to it may misfire if we oversimplify and stereotype the character of the opposition. But I don't yet feel like I really know what is going on.”
I agree in part, but I think a historian, or even a mere Blogger, could find plenty of commonalities. What are the common features of the Religious Right?
It is a fundamentalist movement that largely rejects any modern method of Biblical interpretation; it focuses a lot of energy on End Times prophecy, which accounts in part for its ease in ignoring the Gospels, the actual ministry of Jesus; it is anti-intellectual and hostile to science; it either openly embraces or flirts heavily with American Exceptionalism, the idea that brought us Manifest Destiny and the radical idealism of the Neo-Cons; it has great confidence in its own moral judgments, particularly those relating to sexuality and reproduction; it rejects pluralism, moral relativism and is hostile to the moral claims of tolerance; there is often a sincerity that seems rooted in nostalgia, like so many previous movements of the right; finally, while it has ideological cleavages, there are many common cultural, political and financial linkages.
Look at Time’s list-- these folks have a lot in common.
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050207/photoessay/index.html?
“I think my main point is that what we call ‘conservatism’ or ‘the extreme right’ may be less of a monolithic mentality and more a hodgepodge of not completely compatible worldviews, and our response to it may misfire if we oversimplify and stereotype the character of the opposition. But I don't yet feel like I really know what is going on.”
I agree in part, but I think a historian, or even a mere Blogger, could find plenty of commonalities. What are the common features of the Religious Right?
It is a fundamentalist movement that largely rejects any modern method of Biblical interpretation; it focuses a lot of energy on End Times prophecy, which accounts in part for its ease in ignoring the Gospels, the actual ministry of Jesus; it is anti-intellectual and hostile to science; it either openly embraces or flirts heavily with American Exceptionalism, the idea that brought us Manifest Destiny and the radical idealism of the Neo-Cons; it has great confidence in its own moral judgments, particularly those relating to sexuality and reproduction; it rejects pluralism, moral relativism and is hostile to the moral claims of tolerance; there is often a sincerity that seems rooted in nostalgia, like so many previous movements of the right; finally, while it has ideological cleavages, there are many common cultural, political and financial linkages.
Look at Time’s list-- these folks have a lot in common.
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050207/photoessay/index.html?
posted by Faithful Progressive at 1:07 AM
10 Comments:
Hi Faithful Progressive:
I think you get some things right about the right, but really get it wrong with your comment about them being hostile to science. I should know b/c I grew up in a fundamentalist home. As I point out on my blog, reweavingtherainbow.blogspot.com, what they are hostile to is not the scientific method or its discoveries, but the hubris of scientists who claim to know more than they do, and who claim full power to do whatever they please (eugenics, etc.) so long as the name of science is invoked.
"great confidence in its own moral judgments"...
FP... is the cat calling the kettle... ?
ps - i've found that at my right wing nut job church most are focused on their personal relationship to our Savior... I think that is why we are more comfortable with the idea of personal responsibility/charity and away from gov programs & socialism...
And the marriage thing isn’t too complicated… we like it as is… and we don’t like it being changed without a vote (courts). I say if you want to change it… put it to a vote… that’s the American way.
I guess it’s inevitable that you will judge us by those among us with the biggest mouths (or the biggest TV station or the biggest hair). Yes, Farwell & I probably vote alike, but he sure doesn’t speak for this conservative Christian.
My pastor tells us its time for us (including the Christian right) to stop talking about what we're against & start acting on what we are for... by directly helping those in need... and that’s what we are going to do. there is a new purpose driven movement arising in our evangelical churches... keep an eye out for us.
Anonymous:
Hostile to science? Yes! How sad that American scientists are reduced to using only mouse-contaminated stem cells because of a ridiculous compromise instigated almost exclusively from the religious right!
Study Says All Stem Cell Lines Tainted
By Karen Kaplan
LA Times Staff Writer
January 24, 2005
All human embryonic stem cell lines approved for use in federally funded research are contaminated with a foreign molecule from mice that may make them risky for use in medical therapies, according to a
study released Sunday.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/la-sci-stemcells24jan24,1,973031.story?coll=la-health-medicine&ctrack=1&cset=true
Regarding science and evolution, here's what's happening in once progressive Wisconsin.
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=26350&ntpid=1
For excellent discussion of the Intelligent Design debate, check out this report from Natural History magazine.
http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/nhmag.html
FP
Old Saw:
Is the pot calling the kettle black?
The only way to know for sure
Is to keep coming back.
FP
"My pastor tells us its time for us (including the Christian right) to stop talking about what we're against & start acting on what we are for... by directly helping those in need... and that’s what we are going to do. there is a new purpose driven movement arising in our evangelical churches... keep an eye out for us."
Yes!! Maybe your church would like to join Faithful Progressive in supporting The Call to Renewal?
http://www.calltorenewal.com/
SBGeorge
My problem with many in the religious right is their selective reading of the Bible.
It has always occurred me that those who claim to be Christians, should be first and foremost be interested in the teachings of Christ and His New Testament.
They want government to legislate morality—but not the morality or ethics emphasized in the teachings of Christ.
Tolerance: Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
Peace: Blessed are the peacemakers
Compassion: The Good Samaritan
Concern for the poor: As you do for the least among you
Forgiveness: How many times should you forgive?
Humility: Do not make a show of religiosity and but pray silently.
Those who follow the teaching of Christ and want to insure that their government and society follow HIS values would promote, peace, compassion, tolerance, forgiveness, and would be the strongest advocates for the hungry, the homeless, the sick, and those in prison. As Christ taught.
SB George wrote:
Tolerance: Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
Peace: Blessed are the peacemakers
Compassion: The Good Samaritan
Concern for the poor: As you do for the least among you
Forgiveness: How many times should you forgive?
Humility: Do not make a show of religiosity and but pray silently.
Those who follow the teaching of Christ and want to insure that their government and society follow HIS values would promote, peace, compassion, tolerance, forgiveness, and would be the strongest advocates for the hungry, the homeless, the sick, and those in prison. As Christ taught."
This is the Gospel teaching as I know it...I really do think that the focus on Revelations takes many well meaning people off course. I bet a lot of them don't know that Revelations is not in the Bible used around the world by Orthodox Christians, or that Martin Luther included it only as an Appendix (because he didn't think it belonged in the official canon) when he translated The Bible into German. There was a fierce debate about which books belonged in the Bible--the way to get a text in was to say it came from an Apostle. There was another Apocalypse attributed to St. Peter that didn't get in, but the one attributed to John just made it. Alas, as far as I'm concerned.
FP
I agree with you SB. What the religious right doing is definitely counter to what Christ taught. In a way it can not be called true "Christianity" as it is following another set of beliefs entirely.
For a thoughtful conservative Christian response to this post See:
http://lawnrangers.blogspot.com/
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