Mystic Politics

Freedom of Derision: The Right-Wing Religious War on America

‘From humble origins in America, the church has risen to lofty heights marked by affluence, political influence and social respect. Yet, according to church officials, they are being increasingly persecuted, and their rights are under sustained attack.’

Apolitical Apologetics: Christianity in Crisis

‘When we think of Jefferson as the great architect of the separation of church and state, this, perhaps, was what he meant by “church”: the purest, simplest, apolitical Christianity, purged of the agendas of those who had sought to use Jesus to advance their own power decades and centuries after Jesus’ death. If Jefferson’s greatest political legacy was the Declaration of Independence, this pure, precious moral teaching was his religious legacy. “I am a real Christian,” Jefferson insisted against the fundamentalists and clerics of his time. “That is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.”’

Captive Virgins, Polygamy, Sex Slaves: Marriage & Biblical Literalism

‘Traditionally, Republicans tend to run on a platform of God, guns and gays. This time, it’s God, gyne-policy and gays – a set of urgent priorities straight from the mouths of conservative bishops and evangelists who call themselves Bible believers. There’s no way to understand politics anywhere without understanding religion, but to an outsider American Christianity — and so American politics — can seem almost incomprehensible.’

Theocratic Conspiracy? Religion and Faith-Full Politics

‘With each passing day, religious topics are becoming increasingly significant in the presidential campaign discourse. The GOP presidential candidates are all too happy to discuss their faith, extolling their open and proud devotion to versions of Christianity. Such devotion, they suggest, makes them particularly qualified to become president. By the same token, this narrative suggests indirectly that President Obama has a different more “exotic” faith, which leads millions of people to believe — quite erroneously — that he is foreign or even a Muslim who is a pawn of a theocratic Islamic conspiracy.’

Youth Turned Off by Religion and Politics, Turn Away From Church

‘Young people are turning away from churches because they associate Christianity with Republican politics, a study reveals.’

White America: Religion plays starring role in GOP race

‘Indeed, as American society becomes less religious, it seems religion is playing a bigger and bigger role in Republican politics.’

In GOP race, voters divided over religion’s place in politics

‘More than half of Santorum’s backers say political leaders should rely on their religious beliefs while making policy decisions, but two out of three Romney supporters feel the opposite — that leaders should steer clear of their faith as they set policies for the country.’

Lords of Resistance: The Problem With Invisible Children’s Kony 2012

‘Kony is a grotesque war criminal, to be sure, but the Ugandan government currently in power also came to power through the use of kadogo (child soldiers) and fought alongside militias employing child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, something that Invisible Children seem wilfully ignorant of.

By blindly supporting Uganda’s current government and its military adventures beyond its borders, as Invisible Children suggests that people do, Invisible Children is in fact guaranteeing that there will be more violence, not less, in Central Africa.’

Visible Agenda: Kony 2012 Leader Suggests It’s About Jesus and Evangelizing

‘Is one of the biggest viral video in history Christian fundamentalist propaganda? Invisible Children’s founder lays out his agenda at Liberty University.’

U.S. adds the Vatican to its money-laundering ‘concern’ list

‘The Vatican has for the first time appeared on the U.S. State Department’s list of money-laundering centres but the tiny city-state is not rated as a high-risk country.’