Project 2025 and Christian Nationalism raises the question: Should we become a theocracy?

Project 2025 and Christian Nationalism raise the question: Should we become a theocracy?

The BBC  has the best, most objective short summary of Project 2025.  Project 2025: The Trump presidency wish list, explained (bbc.com)  copy and paste in your browser if it does not link. The BBC errs regarding women's reproductive rights.  It is as dire a plan as possible. Go to page 428 of the site of the full text and copy and paste the URL if it does not link.  Much more follows the link on other issues 

(Update 7/26.2024: 

The writer of Project 2025 has ties to Opus Dei, called by some a radical Catholic group:Kevin Roberts, architect of Project 2025, has close ties to radical Catholic group Opus Dei | US news | The Guardian 

 Update: 7/30/2024: https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/30/politics/project-2025-paul-dans/index.html The ideological publishing stopped; Trump denies connection; the recruiting and screening of applicants to replace civil servants with right-wing Christian ideologues continue; the blueprint for any future president to use is available. )

Kamala Harris is a Baptist with diverse roots. per the Associated Press".A Baptist married to a Jewish man, she’s inspired by the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and influenced by the religious traditions of her mother’s native India as well as the Black Church.'She’s had the best of two worlds,” says her longtime pastor, the Rev. Amos Brown, who leads Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, "

Donald Trump lists his affiliation as Presbyterian.  I am one, too, but he needs to review his catechism.

JD Vance became a Catholic in 2019. J. D. Vance’s Radical Religion | The New Yorker   )

Kamala Harris Beating Donald Trump With Key Group of Christian Voters: Poll (msn.com)

https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf

  

If you thought Trump would try to replace all civil service employees with partisan loyalists, he tried when he was president and failed because of legal constraints. Now he has the greenlight given by the Supreme Court in their immunity decision to use criminal means to implement such laws that are within his official powers. (The fight to stop Schedule F, a cornerstone of Trump's 'retribution' agenda, is underway (nbcnews.com) He is ready to do it on day one of 2025; the plans are already funded and ready to go... on day one. Trump plan to gut civil service triggers pushback | Reuters

I saw a posting saying that even though God and other Christian-related words do not appear in the Constitution, the signers of our historical documents used the term to date it: "in the year of our Lord." That is how date was expressed in those days. That was not a sign of those agreeing to permit a theocracy.  Now, please show me where the intent of the First Amendment was to establish a national religion or church, . You can't, and it was on purpose. Jefferson advocated the Age of Reason when men had the freedom to come to their own conclusions. Madison because religion had caused centuries of bloody wars in Europe and England and did not want to repeat that. https://theconversation.com/how-jefferson-and-madisons... 

He tried it in his first term and failed. He is ready to do it in a second term.. (The fight to stop Schedule F, a cornerstone of Trump's 'retribution' agenda, is underway (nbcnews.com) He is ready to do it on day one of 2025; the plans are already funded and ready to go... on day one. Trump plan to gut civil service triggers pushback | Reuters.

The GOP's embrace of Project 2025, geared to go into practice on day one of a Trump presidency, has as its intent to establish a theocracy in America in practice, if not calling it in form.  https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/project-2025-us-bishops-cant-stand-silently-political-sidelines#:~:t     From the piece with which I agree: "Project 2025 operationalizes the tenets of white Christian nationalism on such issues as climate change, education, immigration, systemic racism, and abortion. Contrasting the scholars' policies with the bishops' positions on such high-profile concerns reveals what makes the Republican game plan so dangerous.   https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/03/why-trump-only-needs-to-be-dictator-on.html

Christian Nationalists are jumping the gun: While the issue of posting the ten commandments in schools are being fought, Oklahoma has just one upped this: They order the Bible to be taught in classrooms.  MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Oklahoma to require teaching of the Bible in Classrooms. OMG

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/oklahoma-orders-schools-teach-bible-every-classroom-2024-06-27/

The agreement of two adversaries on that issue is not the only reason, but experience as colonies showed the danger of having a national religion. There was already a great deal of diversity, and where a colony attempted it, it was unwise and created problems more often than not.  For example, Massachusetts was so puritan-dominated that a group led by Roger Williams split off and founded Rhode Island.   

For more, go to:

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/04/why-us-does-not-should-not-have.html

Is it fair to stereotype the GOP as the party of white supremacists and neo-Nazis?

Updated 5/25/23

Is it fair to stereotype the GOP as the party of white supremacists, Christian nationalists, and neo-Nazis? It is not fair, but so long as those running for office do not disown them and tacitly or actively dog whistle to get their support, they are vulnerable to looking like it.  The leading contenders for the Republican nomination for president at this time, Trump and DeSantis, are in the active column, you say? The  NAACP just issued a travel warning to visitors to Florida that Florida is hostile to black people as the result of DeSantis' attempt to grab more of those that Trump had previously corralled. The prime reason Biden said he ran was Trump's calling fine people the neo-Nazis and other white nationalists in the Charleston tiki torch march, and Trump underlined his support by expressing his love for those similar participants on January 6. Recently he was heard saying if elected, he would pardon most of those who pleaded or were found guilty, some imprisoned for seditious conspiracy. 

 I agree with Charlie Sykes this AM on MSNBC that the more in the race that divides up the non-Trump votes and ensures Trump is the candidate in the primary. That was the lesson of 2016.  However, so long as candidates depend on the votes from these elements to win a contest and win the GOP primary too, and either dog whistle or tolerate them publicly, ..that will add fuel to anyone stereotyping the GOP.  They will leave others of are still loyal to the GOP and who object to the overt racism of some candidates sadly in a minority of their own party.. Some in my immediate and extended family are supporters of Pence and old-line Reagan Republicans (as were my parents and brother). They would be appalled at what the GOP has become dominated by Trump and fellow travelers. 

 Both Trump and DeSantis may not be white nationalists, Christian nationalists, or neo-Nazis, but they are skillful demagogues and invite, tolerate, or welcome their support. Any vote is a vote they might need. The rest of the field so far has failed to raise a voice against them, Trump, DeSantis, or the white nationalist dog whistles they utter. In that sense, their silence is complicit.  I am waiting to see any GOP aspirants speak out or attack Trump or DeSantis for appealing to these elements. It will take courage and possibly risk a certain loss in the primaries. Tell me this is not true.

A word about Christian Nationalists. They are theocrats. They want a government controlled by their religions and religious leaders. I call them theocrats because they want the government to force their citizens to comply with their interpretation.  There is no room in their world for those who follow the words of Jesus instead of those who make up or revise what He said.  There is no room for Jews, Buddhists, or atheists.  It is an exclusionary view of their democracy that is twisted to mean the priority of granting rights is for their groups of believers, and the rest should not apply, or they should just keep quiet and comply.   

It is particularly disturbing for practicing Christians like me when the theocrats of the extreme religious right go off on tangents that are not even discussed in the New Testament.  I recall growing up in the Bible Belt dominated by Southern Baptists in my youth, where only those who were baptized by dunking were considered by them to be saved or real Christians, condemning to hell or some second-class status not only my Jewish friends but those who got sprinkled such as  Presbyterians like me and Episcopalians and Catholics.  The greatest debate theological debate among my Baptist friends in the dying days of the Jim Crow South was whether Christians should go to movies on Sunday. 

 I am trying to find where Christ discussed homosexuality and abortion.   Both were practiced in His time.    In Jerusalem, the theocracy and the money changers at the Temple ruled while Caesar's appointees washed their hands of interference when Jesus preached against the corruption of the locally reigning Jewish officials and claimed He was the Son of God..a blasphemy,  paving the way to His crucifixion.  In instances where the government did play a role as a lawgiver and an enforcer, such as tax collection, as Christ said, render unto Caesar what was Caesars, but unto God that is God's. 

 The founders of our Constitution wrote the First Amendment (no establishment of a state church) in their revolt against the Church of England being the English government's "established" religion.  Examples of theocracies in today's world are in Iran, the current Afghanistan of the Taliban, and Saudi Arabia, where the mullahs or men only are the rulers and enforcers of both the temporal and religious laws.

An example of a particular theocracy-run amuck is Afghanistan.  Years ago, I saw an American version of the Taliban on the horizon and wrote a column about it. It was reposted with a note about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade in 2022.  https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-gop-is-becoming-american-taliban.html

From the theological standpoint, Christ did say the two most important Jewish laws to obey (when asked by a Temple scribe) were "Love your God with all your heart" and the Golden Rule, treat your neighbors as you would like to be treated yourself. Matt. 22:37-40 He also preached, "We are our brothers' keeper'"Amen to this remarkable opinion piece that appeared in the New York Times recently.  A Wyoming Republican revolted against Christian nationalism and asked: Are we our brother's keeper? The correct answer is "yes", the writer said..    The meaning of this dating to Genesis is long debated, but I stand with this: Christ Says We Are Our Brother’s Keeper | The News and Times Politics  It is a sin to ignore this by not addressing related issues, and the writer of this piece felt so called to do so.  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/21/opinion/wyoming-republicans-christian-nationalism.html?unlocked_article_code=7LWh8WY5ZLab6-0OI43IWcqNb0Tv74ReOU2QxN0YRcnoiMky90949LkCyYbfxDZAaWYLPWN4F_2O0tcLt4axtOG3jpqURwRn3zDkgZoHGUQoSneMROQuEUV2LF85usbpslIQnTvc8-tvMHhRFqEwnEr8V9WkVGpHQvLACbeHTUw1Mbt3uv9D3WHD6tTA07QETLBDZHxTxuuwASPKDQaTXDcRu3VeulwbtIfD5gyjKzcb4NNs3FxD2NvJQM53ieMNM157PJyapwNsldF3k5QOiirln8YvXx24wwKYzaPNJpz-kj4U_eDa6b-26EmkiymzKmhVqPDMP66FHmznGycUpGsdzC8qqf9w8ua5YYiRNAkWh4A&smid=url-share

An example of a particular theocracy run amuk is Afghanistan.  Years ago I saw an American version of the Taliban on the horizon and wrote a column on it: https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-gop-is-becoming-american-taliban.html

NAACP Issues Travel Warning In Florida - Bing News

Trump Said He Would Pardon Jan 6 Participants - Bing News

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/09/us/capitol-hill-insurrection-extremist-flags-soh/index.html

Betsy de Vos and her not so hidden agenda

Updated and revised: April 6, 2019

A version of this was published online in the Sky-Hi Daily News April 11, 2019
https://www.skyhinews.com/opinion/opinion-muftic-betsy-devos-and-her-not-so-hidden-agenda/


Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's proposed budget that would reduce the Department of Education by over $7 billion,  is cruel and possibly racist-tinged. Her budget eliminated all federal funding for Special Olympics while putting in her budget $5billion in tax credits for those funding vouchers for students to attend private schools. Public outcry caused Donald Trump to order her to reverse course on Special Olympics.

 Other cuts in federal funds remaining in her budget are harmful to programs which have helped low income and minorities, including, a program that operates after-school programs for low-income kids. Cuts also targeted programs that provide professional development for teachers and provide mental health services. The cuts in assistance to mental health services in the light of recent horrific school shootings are particularly disturbing. She also cut millions to literacy programs. https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/04/10/betsy-devos-education-literacy-cuts/3425172002/



 This was only a budget proposal and the Democratic-controlled House would have stopped it, but it is an indication of where she sees her priorities: find a way to fund private education by reducing support of programs for the most vulnerable, those with disabilities, and those from low-income families. 

DeVos has a long established history of advocating taxpayer support of religious-based schools, private education, and charter schools. That may be music to Donald Trump's Evangelical base and school choice advocates, but it strikes a sour note with supporters of public education and civil libertarians.   In Michigan where her influence in shaping her favored education policy implementation has been extensive,  test scores dropped in math and reading. While her banner is school choice, in Michigan that choice has been of poorer educational opportunities.

DeVos has clearly stated that she intends to interpret laws to suit her religious agenda.  Her agenda has always been to get federal funding for religious-based education. The separation of church and state has always been a fundamental provision of the Constitution that forbids the government from establishing a state religion. Those opposed to public funding of religious-based schools cite this as a reason. DeVos' way around this is to give vouchers to parents to use wherever they wish. In 2002, the US Supreme Court in a 5 to 4 split ruled in favor of a voucher program in Ohio if it went to parents, not to schools, had a secular purpose,  and did not fund religious education.   

In recent Congressional testimony, DeVos also was charged with racism since she is reviewing department guidance that protected minorities from unequal disciplinary treatment in public education. Rates of disciplinary action against African Americans are much higher for the same infractions as White students. DeVoss has cited a source that concluded that certain racial groups had more behavior problems, so they needed more frequent discipline.   The question was not only would she permit treatment of  African American students differently, but she cut the budget for enforcement of civil rights by $1million.  Critics of private education note that private schools can pick and choose who they admit and are exempted from federal anti-discrimination laws so long as they do not receive federal money.  There are limits and permissions, however,  that vary from state to state,  particularly regarding religious preferences and sexual orientation.

 Charter schools have a great deal of bi-partisan political support.  While charter schools are publicly financed and are bound by anti-discrimination rules and law, in practice some have found a way around that standard by making the admissions application process difficult for minority families. Minority students also have a record of more frequent expulsions. Charter schools have also been found to discriminate against admitting  "hard" to educate kids with behavior problems, low achievement scores, and special needs by ignoring inquiries from their parents seeking admission.   Often charter schools are administered by for-profit enterprises.


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In my blog posting 11/27/16, there was a more thorough discussion of vouchers for religious-based school based on an attempt to set up a program in Douglas County, Colorado. Below are some excerpts.
"
So what is wrong about those who support using taxpayer money vouchers in support of "religious education".  What is at issue is the separation of church and state in the Constitution and if funding religious schools violates that. provision.
There was an attempt in a Denver suburb, Douglas County, to allow vouchers to be used for religious based schools. The effort failed in a federal court.


On the other hand, the Supreme Court in a 5 to 4 split ruled in favor of a voucher program in Ohio if it went to parents, not to schools, had a secular purpose,  and did not fund religious education.  

https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/private-school-voucher-program-nearly-double-some-suburbs-affected/c3PjW84qCy6rjmryeICx8I/

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The Private Choice Test developed by the Court, for a voucher program to be constitutional was that  it must meet all of the following criteria:

• the program must have a valid secular purpose
• aid must go to parents and not to the schools
• a broad class of beneficiaries must be covered
• the program must be neutral with respect to religion
• there must be adequate nonreligious options

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelman_v._Simmons-Harris
However, the results have had mixed performance on student tests. From a public policy viewpoint, it has not been a great success.
." http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/charterschoice/2016/07/ohio_vouchers_have_mixed_impact_on_student_performance_study_finds.html

" From the public policy perspective, will students' education benefit?  We do have some experience with vouchers and the results are contrary to expectations of many. advocates of vouchers.  From the public policy perspective, Students using vouchers to attend private schools in Ohio performed significantly worse on state tests than their peers who remained in public schools, according to a new study. In Wisconsin, a study finds little or no indication that pupils in those Milwaukee public schools that have more school choice possibilities nearby made significantly greater year-to-year gains in primary school tests than pupils in other Milwaukee public schools. (http://www.epi.org/publication/book_vouchers/)

The conclusion from these experiences is that vouchers do not benefit the students so much as it satisfies ideological and political beliefs that choice that includes private schools is the most important criteria or that anything private is better than that which is government funded."

Posted on Facebook in the comment section of the posting of this was a very well expressed comment: by Maggie Orth.
"The problem with vouchers is that they create a baseline cost for education. Those who can only afford the vouchers will get crap. Those who can supplement will get more. Moreover, vouchers assume that working parents have the resources and time to weed through a complex marketplace-- just as Medicare vouchers do with seniors. I shudder to think of my poor parents who are struggling with my father's Alzheimer's trying to sort through "market-based Medicare options." The only thing education vouchers guarantee is a parent's right to indoctrinate their children and deny them access to ideas the parents don't like. There are facts in the world- like geology and science. If people think the US can be a world-class stable democracy and economy when people can teach their children whatever facts they want, they are very wrong."

• www.privateschoolreview.com
 

https://www.futurity.org/charter-schools-students-1937902/

The private elementary school average is $8,522 per year and the private high school average is $12,953

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/05/16/betsy-devos-knows-little-about-public-education-and-she-doesnt-want-to-learn/?utm_term=.1bf2031f89ae.

https://www.apnews.com/0fdc0d971120465f881d50b947935ddf

https://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/01/13206/devos-math-reading-scores-tanking-michigan

https://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/01/13206/devos-math-reading-scores-tanking-michigan

https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2019-03-28/the-controversial-race-research-devos-used-to-revoke-school-discipline-guidance

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/02/16/how-charter-schools-choos


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/11/us/politics/betsy-devos-religious-restrictions-education.html

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/26/politics/betsy-devos-budget-cuts-special-olympics/index.html