A Jihadist By Any Other Name.....

John McCandlish Phillips is cranky. He's an evangelical Christian, and he's tired of being persecuted by liberal columnists even at his own NYT. He's never seen it this bad, and wants to let everyone know that most evangelicals and conservative Catholics are nice, reasonable people. They helped found today's great universities, and by the way they founded America too. So stop abusing these moderate, right-thinking people already! Stop trying to purge God from America!

Boo-hoo.

I'm sure that most conservative Christians are nice enough people. I even know a couple. That really isn't the point: I'm sure many supporters of the fascists were nice too. Why is fundamentally corrupting is their politics. I don't care what they believe in the privacy of their own home as long as they don't try to make me believe it too. Which is what we are dealing with today. Yes, people of religious faith have done great things. Duh. And yes many of our most important founding figures were men of God. But you know what? They weren't evangelicals. They were somewhere between mainline Protestants and Deistsm, and had a healthy suspicion of religious enthusiasm.

What's difference between religion & politics now and in 1800? First, we aren't talking about the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance. That's not an issue most on the left get exorcised about. What we are more concerned about is real substantive policy changes driven by religious belief - like on gays or abortion or divorce. We are discussing major departures in public policy based solely on an aggressive religious doctrine.

Second, there is a difference in how religious politics is viewed depending on the times. In the old days, there was no major religious force in politics, so it couldn't hurt to throw the word "God" around. But today, there is a major effort to impose a particular religious vision on the rest of the country. It's the difference between saying that you'd like to kill that football referee when you're at home in front of your T.V. and saying it when you and fifty angry drunken buddies see that ref in the parking lot after the game. Context matters.

Let me explain to Mr. Phillips why his political evangelism is unconstitutional and alien to American tradition. The Constitution says that there will be no establishment of religion. Establishing a religion does not just mean that you set up a national church. It also means that you can't establish a government-sanctioned theology. So no claiming that we should pass your law because it comports with God's will. Because that amounts to claiming that your religious opinions are uniquely priveleged above mine.

Which is where the word "jihad" comes in. When we on the left claim that there is an American jihad underway, we are referring to the rise of Islamist parties in the the Middle East whose vision is to enact their idiosyncratic religious dogma on all members of the society, including unbelievers. These parties are borne out of a sense of frustration and alienation from the modern world, and want to turn back the clock to some supposed Golden Age.

And this is precisely what the Christian right in America is up to. The only difference, and I mean ONLY difference, between the two is that one quotes the Koran and the other quotes the Bible. So if you, as a Christian, don't like the label "jihadist," call yourself a "crusader"? Just don't forget that they're the same damn thing.