More on the Religious Right

Whenever I discuss right-wing religious groups, I try to avoid using descriptors like "Christian Right" because in the context of most discussions, Christianity isn't really involved. That's why I use the term Religious Right (which can also be a misnomer), since it really is far removed from Christian beliefs. On the contrary, the Religious Right is a business, and a big one at that.

I came across this article in The Guardian which is a good case in point. This particular article is about a group of "Christians" who have decided that disenfranchising voters is a "spiritual battle" for "control of the free world". It's not only Trump who hates mail-in voting. Apparently God does, too. One leader of the movement has apparently been "anointed" to do this important work of voter suppression because--and I quote: "We know that this [voting by mail] is from Satan".

This is only one example. Others on the Religious Right claim that Biblical Christianity demands gun ownership and Second Amendment "rights", low marginal tax rates, lots of military spending, and laissez faire capitalism. Oh, and also no masks. One thing to note here is the Americentrism of this brand of Christianity: God is mostly looking at and worried about America, not so much the rest of the world. God "chooses" America's leaders (at least the Republican ones), but not the leaders in the rest of the world (nor ones named Obama).

The irony is that the more conservative Christians claim they adhere to Biblical literalism and/or inerrancy. And yet, most of the political positions that they claim are demanded by their religion are not even remotely Biblical. They are simply human political causes and beliefs (and bizarre ones at that) which they try to shoehorn into the Bible. It's really quite extraordinary, and almost blasphemous.