Onward Christian soldiers… Will religions finally get taxed because RW militias may join the Family Research Council in registering themselves as churches. Darn that identity politics.
Americans who stand outside the movement have consistently underestimated its radicalism. But this movement has been explicitly antidemocratic and anti-American for a long time.
It is also a mistake to imagine that Christian nationalism is a social movement arising from the grass roots and aiming to satisfy the real needs of its base. It isn’t. This is a leader-driven movement. The leaders set the agenda, and their main goals are power and access to public money. They aren’t serving the interests of their base; they are exploiting their base as a means of exploiting the rest of us.
Christian nationalism isn’t a route to the future. Its purpose is to hollow out democracy until nothing is left but a thin cover for rule by a supposedly right-thinking elite, bubble-wrapped in sanctimony and insulated from any real democratic check on its power.
www.nytimes.com/...
"Christian nationalism identifies the nation with God's will and action in the world; conflates national and Christian identity; and identifies service of the nation with service of God,"
That shared soil—this idealization of an imaginary past with greater freedom—creates a way for members and even some entire units to move across this spectrum. They can start off merely telling stories around a campfire but over time turn to conspiratorial thinking, open hostility or even violent action. I have observed an increase in extremism in recent years, with people who used to focus on camaraderie and preparedness at militia events now echoing claims that the insurrection at the Capitol was nothing more than a protest. Others repeatedly posted on social media about the need to personally “do something” about the supposedly stolen presidential election. Members making this shift were on edge in 2020, believing their core values of individualism and self-determination have been threatened by racial justice movements, the pandemic and efforts to control it and by what they claimed—falsely—was fraudulent voting.
Many of these people heard their fears reinforced through right-wing news media and Donald Trump’s rhetoric about threats from immigrants and corrupt Democrats. The most apprehensive members possess stronger racist or xenophobic attitudes and are more prone to move toward the extreme end of the spectrum. They are susceptible to appeals from hate groups such as the Proud Boys or overt neo-Nazis, believing that despite differences they all share the overarching value of protecting what they see as America’s foundation.
www.scientificamerican.com/...
(2017) These units eerily resemble church militias and have been reported by the media as such. This "Church Militia Bill" is formally known as House Bill 36 (HB36), the Alabama Church Protection Act legiscan.com/… The conclusions for militia involvement indicate a closing space between church and security force, even from a state-sanctioned perspective. There are a number of different religiously-motivated militias active in the US, but the security forces attached to Briarwood and similar Alabama churches will set new precedents for security forces aligned directly with political churches. The permission from and direct coordination with the state is something wholly new, especially since this sort of security force is not technically covered under Constitutional militia law. medium.com/...
(2016) "Religious institutions are already exempt from taxation, financial transparency and many civil rights laws. The Mississippi Church Protection Act would constitute an unprecedented and dangerous next step. Belonging to a church should not afford anyone the same rights and protections as law enforcement. This legislation emboldens extremists by creating a legal means for radical preachers to enlist their congregants into 'God’s army.'"
(2012) A California church with longstanding ties to far-right extremists and a militia of its own is preparing for war. In a 22-acre compound at the southern edge of Sequoia National Park in California, a secretive cohort of militant Christian fundamentalists is preparing for war.
As of 2020, the following militia groups have a national presence: