No, actually they're Christians. This is Christian terrorism. Call it by its name. Lay the blame at the feet of the guilty. Don't distract from who is evil here. White Christians.
Hmmm... I don't know that they are Christians... More like "Christians in name only". They sure as hell don't follow the teachings of Christ.
I say that, simply because I know a significant number of ACTUAL Christians that DO follow those teachings, and they are honestly good humans.
They think they're Christians, so surely that's enough.
I get the desire to want to other them and say "they're not like us and they're not part of us" but that's not how it works when people who share your broad religiocultural background are being shitty.
The reality is if US Christians want to dissassociate themselves from the Christofash element, they need to do more than just say "they're not part of us".
There needs to be a huge movement to show disapproval and attempt to rein in the Christofash.
Shit, cause a full on schism. Break off communications with Christofash elements, disassociate with them and remove any recognition of them as part of your sect, DO SOMETHING beyond saying "We don't agree with them, they're not with us"
TBH, this already happens and has happened quite a bit throughout the history of Christian denominations and traditions—it's often the fashy elements breaking off, though.
And they don't necessarily care about recognition and good relations with other Christian traditions.
The point being, I am picturing something more like duelling Christianities fighting over control of Christian messaging as a whole. At least the idea of alternatives and those alternatives being loud and loudly denouncing Christofash bullshit in force. And sticking with it.
Hearing a story of a bunch of Unitarian Universalists or Episcopalians going out and confronting Christian nationalists would definitely be preferable to them doing nothing but give excuses and make themselves look better
Even just a major mainstream denomination very openly and publicly taking a stand that Nationalism Is Bad, and Jesus wouldn’t have approved of Christian nationalism, would be *something.*
TBH, this already happens and has happened quite a bit throughout the history of Christian denominations and traditions—it's often the fashy elements breaking off, though.
And they don't necessarily care about recognition and good relations with other Christian traditions.
Also...it very much is part of "us"! Lots of this comes from huge mainstream American denominations! The Southern Baptist Convention, for example, is team Christofash.
Yeah, the specific Christian Nationalist groups bribing politicians & drawing up plans for Project 2025 aren’t fringe little cults who meet in an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. These are established orgs and think tanks with a lot of money and a lot of influence.
Not to mention the white nationalist/Christian nationalist movement behind these groups has been going on for well over 50 years. Secular media didn’t raise any alarms because they dismissed them as harmless kooks or were bought by billionaires who were members/masterminds of the movement.
And they’re never really called “cults” or “religious movements” when involved in politics. Mostly they use harmless, secular-sounding buzzwords to describe themselves, like “family values” or “patriotism,” b/c to them their specific Christian denomination *is* the family, *ought to be* the state.
We got to this point because nobody on the outside was willing to call a spade a spade or challenge the idea that “religious liberty” only applies to the Christofash’s entitlement to force others to obey their church’s tenets.
Which is largely because most Americans, even the "nones", are culturally Christian and it feels weird and rude to say that about a church, especially if you don't have a negative experience to make it clear how tied mainstream US Xtianity is to the fash.
Also for a lot of of people in the US, the nat-c's are the only vocal Christian's they hear from. Everybody else is quietly doing their own thing. Which creates the impression that the rest of the devout christians don't object to the christofascism. Which is unfair, but hardly surprising.
Christofash has been faught by fellow Christians since, if you interpret it, disciples arguing with each other.
Like all groups arguing against the powerful, these fights are rarely seen.
You think those of us doing this are not saying to ourselves "We are not doing good enough"?!?!! (1)
Our best approach against Christofash tendencies is to slowly pick off the people who can think and protect others from going down that route.
Our #1 tool is "They are not real Christians and here's why"
We are IN this fight...many of us for decades
Please don't fight us instead of fighting them
You are being told "they are not real Christians" is a worthless exercise.
Because it is. I can tell you that I grew up in a Mennonite Church and when I was born it was not very evangelical (because Anabaptism isn't) but it has slowly embraced and shifted further right with evangelicalism.
This is a rot within Christian churches of all denominations and traditions in the US. Because it calls itself and believes it is Christianity, it has been given time and attention and treated as worth considering within hugely diverse Christian traditions.
It is more effective to say "this isn't the kind of Christians we are" than "those people aren't Christians".
One of those says "Yes, we know this is a real problem and we have to deal with it." The other says "Uh, this isn't our problem!"
I can tell you which one gets my respect.
