I agree w/ the 1st sentence but I'm not so sure enough churches will do the work he talks about.
"Christian nationalism is not actually faithful to Christianity. In churches, pastors, they’re the ones who are going to be crucial to pushing back against the forces of extremism because they’re the ones who need to speak to their neighbors, friends and church members about the idea that America is a Christian nation is actually not faithful to historic Christianity."
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/05/us/white-christian-evangelicals-blake-cec
@see_the_sus A few notable examples aside, for the most part, pastors are not leading this surge. It's a grassroots movement that is circumventing all of the structures, conventions, and guardrails.
Research is pointing to an on-record, intentional rejection of Jesus Christ's teaching, while people continue to tenaciously grasp the label "Christian" in order to push for conservative extremism.
This phenomenon is spreading internationally.
It's truly a bizarre moment.
The few times I've gone with my mom to her church, (Catholic), and every time I hear the Catholic radio she listens to, Relevant Radio, they're very vocal against and spread lies about women's rights to have control over our bodies, the LGBTQ community, anything to do with Biden & other members of his administration, climate change, etc. I'm no fan of Biden but I also don't stand for lies.
@see_the_sus My parents are evangelical in Canada, and I see the same thing happening to them.
They're becoming increasingly radicalised, falling for every conspiracy including the current shenanigans around "parental rights."
It's bewildering to watch the people who raised me to be rational, empathetic and generous take this ride so eagerly.
My mom managed to stop listening to the assholes at Focus On the Family but she still gets caught up in conspiracy chatter that Relevant spews. She didn’t used to be so extreme but ever since my dad died 25 years ago, she gave up in a lot of ways and became more obsessed with religion.
@see_the_sus It's hard to take. When the core of the religion is about giving and loving and eradicating prejudice, to see it twisted in this way, on this scale, is profoundly disturbing.