Why I Fear a Secular America
I fear a secular America because both secularism and America have long and nasty traditions of oppressing, exploiting, mistreating, abusing, and sometimes trying to exterminate minorities and dissidents.
Currently, I fear the secularists because they are far more powerful and popular in America. To clarify, if the Christians were dominant I would fear them because their record is worse than the secularists’ bloody history.
Presently, the secularists are dominant in America. Secularists control the money, the corporations, and the financial institutions; the most powerful entities in America. Moreover, the secularists control the government bureaucracy, the courts, the legal system, most of education, entertainment, the media, science, technology, and almost all other key institutions.
Why Secular America Tolerates Conservative Christians
Conversely, certain Christians; mostly evangelicals and conservative Catholics, have some influence over politics and government because they are politically useful.
Some elements of big business and the military tolerate Evangelicals because they are useful allies. However, many skeptics will call conservative Christians “useful idiots” for the powers that be.
The Pentagon tolerates conservative Christians; because it can count on Evangelical members of Christians to vote for the latest weapons system without question. Meanwhile, religious conservatives reliably support low taxes and limited regulation; so Big Business and Wall Street tolerates their presence in government.
Christians must never mistake this tolerance for support or acceptance, however. Big Business, finance, and the military are highly secular institutions with secular cultures. The second Christians become an impediment to such institutions’ plans or operations they will be deleted.
The minute a Christian questions corporate tax policy; the size of the defense budget, or American intervention in the Middle East, he or she is shown the door. Those who do not believe me should ask why Pat Buchanan is not part of the Trump administration.
Finally, today’s conservative Christian leaders are smart enough to realize they are a small minority and accept whatever crumbs fall of the secularist table. Consequently they button their mouths and support the Trump administration; which pays them a little token respect.
Secularism’s Bloody History
America’s historic tolerance for some forms of Christianity stands out from the record of other secular nations.
History shows that secular regimes and people of faith cannot coexist. In fact, the demonization, persecution, oppression, brutalization, and extermination of people of faith have been consistent features of secular regimes since the French Revolution.
Highlights of the French Revolution include the murder of priests; and the genocide of devout Catholic peasants during the Vendée guerrilla war. Americans need to study the Vendée; because those who perpetuated it were capitalists, rationalists, technocrats, and democrats, not Marxists.
Indeed, one motivation for the capitalists’ support of the Vendée; and the Reign of Terror, was the desire to seize the land, money, and other economic resources of the Roman Catholic Church. The military went along because Church leaders were siding with the nation’s enemies; royalists, and foreign monarchs.
Importantly, the Vendée is far from an isolated event. Massacres of people of faith occurred under a variety of secularist regimes; including the Mexican Revolution, the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic of China, and the Loyalists of the Spanish Civil War. Tellingly, the oppression of Christians continues in China, although the country’s Communist leaders have traded Marxism for Capitalism.
American Secularism is not as nice as You Think
The United States is almost unique as a highly secularist and capitalist nation with only one example of serious religious oppression in its 243-year history. That example was the vicious persecution of Mormons in the 19th Century.
Notably, one of the major charges 19th Century bigots leveled against Mormons was their lack of secularism. Specifically, bigots labeled Mormon leaders Joseph Smith and Brigham Young’s quest for political power a threat to America.
In fact, Smith was arrested; and eventually lynched, for trying to suppress an anti-Mormon newspaper. Young was driven into hiding by the US Army in an attempt to crush his efforts to create a Mormon state in Utah.
One of the Mormons’ crimes was to challenge America’s secular status quo. Sadly, many Christians supported the persecution because they viewed Mormons as heretics.
Will Secular America stop Tolerating Christians?
History teaches us that secular tolerance for people of faith can end suddenly and brutally even in America.
Generally, secularists turn on believers when leaders perceive them as a threat to the status quo, or progress. Disturbingly, such thinking is gaining ground in America.
Many of the attacks being leveled against the partially religious motivated anti-vaccination or anti-vaxxer movement have the earmarks of classic secularist anti-Christian bigotry. This New York Times op-ed which labels anti-vaxxers as “insane” and “pitiable sheep” is a good example.
Will Secularists Strip Christians of their Political Power?
Nor is it just the anti-vaxxers being targeting. The passage of extreme anti-abortion laws in several states is leading to demands to strip conservative evangelicals of their political power in the leftist press.
Frighteningly, this movement has some support in corporate America; including the sympathy of Bob Iger, the influential CEO of the powerful Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS). The Los Angeles Times reports Iger is considering ending Disney and Marvel movie production in Georgia because of abortion laws.
“Protecting middle-class jobs” will be the pretext for throwing Christians out of the legislatures and Congress. In fact, I think they could exclude Christians from most state legislatures and the US House of Representatives by redrawing a few maps.
Will the US Military Turn on Christians?
America could see terrible persecution of Christians, and other believers; including Muslims, if two powerful and extremely secularist institutions turn on people of faith. Those institutions are the military and Silicon Valley which have close connections.
Historically, the US military has tolerated Christianity because many of its recruits are Christians. However, Christianity plays no role in our military’s decision making. Tellingly, the US military has never hesitated from using weapons and tactics many Christian theologians condemn.
Historical examples of the US military’s unchristian behavior are legion. Instances of that behavior include nuclear weapons; bombing of civilian targets, drone warfare, napalm, and the indiscriminate killing of civilians; particularly in the Philippine-American War, or Philippine Insurrection.
Climate Change is why the Military will turn on Christians
Given this history it is easy to imagine the US military turning its guns on Christians. Interestingly, Climate Change could be the catalyst that turns the military against Christians.
America’s generals and admirals view Climate Change as a grave danger to America’s survival, Climate and Security reports. Moreover, many officers see Climate Change as a threat to national security and military readiness, Inside Climate News reveals.
Yet, some Christians; particularly evangelicals, are vocal Climate Change deniers. Notably, those Evangelicals helped up a Climate-Change denier; Donald J. Trump (R-New York) reach the White House.
Consequently, I can imagine the military taking action to silence Evangelicals or disrupt their political activities. Moreover, some secular political leaders; like the presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Liz Warren (D-Massachusetts), are demanding the military take action against Climate Change.
Thus, I believe all it will take is a high-body count from a Climate Change disaster in the United States to turn the military against Evangelicals. Anti-Christian persecution could be inevitable if politicians need a scapegoat for their failure to deal with Climate Change.
Ignorant Bible thumpers; and crooked preachers, will make perfect scapegoats for the failures of our political leaders and the business leaders who sign their paychecks. Those who doubt me should examine the outburst of anti-Moslem bigotry that followed the September 11 attacks and the Anti-Japanese hysteria after Pearl Harbor.
Will Silicon Valley turn on Christians?
Silicon Valley has historically been neutral on matters of religion, but its culture is aggressively secular. Big Tech, like most businesses, could easily turn on Christians, if they threaten its profits.
Frighteningly, efforts to cleanse social media; like YouTube and Twitter, of controversial conservative content are already underway. YouTube demonetized comedian Steven Crowder after leftists labeled him a homophobe, for instance.
It is easy to imagine corporations extending such efforts to theologians or Christian clergy. Removal of preachers that denounce artificial intelligence as godless; or commentators who ask Christians to unplug from the web or smartphones, is a likely next step in social media censorship.
Efforts to defuse popular anger over growing technological employment are likely to lead to a crackdown on criticism of Silicon Valley. Next will be the removal of anti-Vaxxers, Climate Change deniers, and possibly antiabortionists from social media.
Why you should Fear Secular America
Finally, I fear secular; or rather Post-Christian America because demographers estimate traditional Christians are now a minority in the United States.
Specifically, the Pew Religious Study estimates the number of “Protestant Evangelicals” in America at 25.4%. Meanwhile, Pew estimates “Mainline Protestants” at 14.7%, “historically black Protestants” at 6.5%, Mormons at 1.6% and Catholics at 20.8%. Additionally, Pew estimates there are tiny numbers of Orthodox Christians (0.5%), Jehovah’s Witnesses (0.8%) and “other” Christians (0.4%) in America.
Theoretically, this gives “Christians” a 70.7% majority in America, but only if all Christians unite. Given our history, and human nature, the likely response to Christian persecution will be for Christians to throw other Christians to lions. “Historically Black Protestants” and Mormons are unlikely to lift a finger to help “White Evangelicals” given the white church’s long history of racism and bigotry for example.
Will America Turn on Christians?
Additionally, huge Christian majorities in countries like France and Russia did not prevent ruthless secularist minorities from persecuting and massacring Christians. Notably, the Christians in Revolutionary France and Revolutionary Russia were less diverse and more united than modern American Christians.
France had a huge Christian Majority and a rich, powerful, and well-organized Catholic hierarchy in 1790. Likewise, Russia had a significant Orthodox majority, a Christian culture, and a powerful church in 1917, but that did not stop Lenin from setting up a secularist dictatorship, murdering clergy, and persecuting the Church.
Evangelical Christians, in particular, should be afraid because America has a long and ugly history of mistreating, abusing, exploiting, oppressing, and even trying to exterminate minorities. At different times in our history African Americans, Native Americans, Roman Catholics, Asians, German-Americans, Mormons, Japanese-Americans, Communists, and Moslems have faced varying levels of persecution and oppression.
Therefore, a Secular America may not be a free or tolerant place. Americans need to make a strong commitment to protecting everybody’s freedom, especially Evangelicals if we want our country to remain free.