Christo Fascism

Christo Fascism

When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.

– attributed to Sinclair Lewis, but actually source unknown

Christo fascism is not a new phenomenon and solely limited to the United States as some may believe from reading today’s media.

It was a motivating force in the Spanish Civil War when Franco’s Falangist followers believed in restoring the Catholic Church’s supremacy that had existed in Spain since 1492 and lasted until Spain became a republic in in 1930.

In Latin America, the Catholic Church often aligned itself with military dictators who claimed to be fighting global communism at the cost of millions of deaths and displacements.

The Church hierarchy remained silent throughout the Holocaust in the belief that it had to remain neutral despite the knowing the truth about the murders of six million Jews and five million Poles, Gypsies, and members f the LGBTQ community.

The Catholic Church also played a significant role in the escape to Argentina and other Latin American countries of thousands of Nazis at the end of the second world war.

Support for fascism has not been limited to the Roman Catholic Church.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin has coopted the Russian Orthodox Church and uses it to motivate many Russians to support his regime through the power of religion as he has sought and obtained the full support of the Russian Orthodox Church and its hierarchy.

While always a movement to be reckoned with in America, Christo Fascism has more recently become a major factor in U.S. politics with the rise of the Christian right since the 1970’s and its influence on the Republican Party.

According to Pew Research, “most Americans (surveyed) think the founders of America intended for the U.S. to be a ‘Christian nation,’ more than four-in-ten (surveyed) think the United States should be a Christian nation, and a third say the country is a Christian nation today.

There is nothing wrong with Christian values. True Christians follow a creed that celebrates love and life, that preaches community and mutual assistance, and underscores the dignity of the individual in the eyes of God.

Christo-fascism, on the other hand, refers to use of the faith of Christianity to impose a totalitarian ideology. Christo-fascists take that one step further and believe that they’re fighting primordial battles between West and East, good and evil, right and left, Christians and non-Christians.

Donald Trump and his most determined followers have used Christianity and the fear of declining traditional American values to further their ambitions even if it comes at the cost of the constitution. Despite his extensive personal moral, ethical, and criminal acts and failings, some of his followers are even convinced that Trump is God-sent and the successor of Jesus on earth.

Similarly, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson claims that God told him in a dream that he is the new Moses destined to lead America to a brighter future. Republicans across the United States have bought in and are implementing legislation to match their worldview.  

American right-wing Christians seek to impose biblical law in the United States much as Islamists seek to impose Sharia on the world, and they are succeeding in the more conservative states of the American union.

The first victim is women’s rights.

In the case of abortion rights, the “right to life” of an unborn child takes precedence over the rights of a woman over her body, based on biblical interpretation.

Alabama has just declared that in vitrio fertilisation will now be considered manslaughter since it the state’s view a fertilized egg is a child.

The Republican majority Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade and many interpret this as declaring open season on women’s rights. At the same time, Republican governed states have implemented draconian legislation against abortion and birth control, even when the pregnancy can be fatal to the mother.

The second victim is racial equality. Republican-run states have done everything possible to eliminate black history from their curricula and ban books that speak about racial inequality in the past or the present. As well, Republican run state legislatures have gerrymandered federal and state Congressional districts to ensure that right wing Republican Christo fascists control Congress and prevent African Americans from electing more liberal representatives.

Yet another obsession is sexuality. LGBTQ persons face persecution and young gay people are discouraged from coming out or seeking counselling. Books on alternative sexual preferences are banned, and discussions on LGBTQ issues in high schools and public universities are subject to the immediate dismissal of the teacher or professor involved.

As in all cultures, Christo fascists who claim to be defenders of religious values are usually the ones who exhibit the most cruelty towards those who do not share their views. Driven by religion, they practice misogyny and racism with no hesitation and hate and persecute those who don’t share their views.

They prefer to plunder state finances and deprive the poor of the good social policies that they need to get ahead rather than to pursue goals that would reflect the teachings of Christ.

They suspect liberal values and demonstrate fear of the unknown. They never bought into the counterculture of the 60’s nor the civil rights legislation of cultural values that exploded during that era and created such a profound change in the country. Their desire to “make America great again” harkens back to a society when racial discrimination was broad and deep and fundamentalist Christian values governed the voting white majority.

Christo fascists actually oppose the teachings of the Christ that they claim to follow and, in Trump, have created a Republican Jesus who reflects their distorted values.

Christo fascism is one of the elements dividing the United States and the religious teachings of the Christian right have become part and parcel of Republican political and social philosophy.

Even if Trump loses the election in November, Republicans will continue to govern in conservative states and confront the liberal values of those who believe in greater social justice. The huge megachurches will continue to draw tens of millions weekly across the country and their preachers will continue to extoll the virtues of the Republican ethos and reap the financial benefits.

Can this phenomenon be stopped at all?

It will be difficult.

Christian evangelism has been a fundamental political and social reality in the United States almost since its founding. One need only look at the Scopes Monkey trial of the 1925, the imposition of prohibition in the 1920’s, and the Jim Crow laws of post-Civil-War South (where the bible was used to justify racial segregation and deny African Americans their rights) to see how broad and deep the penetration of this phenomenon has been in the political philosophy of many Americans.

Christo fascism is ingrained in the psyches of many Americans, especially in the so-called bible belt of the Midwest and the South and can only be controlled when American leaders believe in and implement the separation of church and state throughout the country as stipulated in the constitution.

But defeat at the polls is not the only requirement.

Political leaders will have to address the alienation and frustration that these Christo fascists feel towards the constitution and the values of mainstream America and find a way to dilute these fears through social and political policies that produce results in their eyes.

Illegal immigration, economic inequity, and political alienation are the root causes for the strength of the Christo fascist movement among many Americans across the country.

Non-Trump supporters in the Republican Party will have to coalesce to defeat those who are imposing this philosophy on the party and move it back to its traditional role as the party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan.

And together with Democrats, who themselves must find a way to avoid catering the extreme left wing of their party, they will have to find a way to “take back America” and return a sense of balance and proportion to U.S. politics in a way that the vast majority of Americans feel represented in government and political discourse once again becomes civil.