The Right Hand of Presidential Power: Christian Sharia?
August 2, 2017
Three announcements on Wednesday, July 26, signal that President Trump remains willing to use the Religious Right. Wednesday morning between 5:55 and 6:08 AM, President Trump announced in a series of three tweets that transgender citizens will no longer be welcome in the US military. Wednesday evening brought the White House announcement that Sam Brownback, the Governor of Kansas, will be the next US Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom. And Thursday morning brought news of the US Justice Department’s Wednesday brief to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan that federal civil rights law protecting against discrimination in the workplace does not protect gay workers.
These three notes all strike a chord with the Religious Right. And for flourish, the president tweeted a video from a rally where he names family and faith as the foundation of our society. Trump has spent the week playing to his base, and a significant part of that base are conservative Christians, who are currently represented by the man at sitting Trump’s right hand, Vice President Mike Pence.
Titillated by the sudden access they have to seats of power in the US political system, numerous evangelical Christian leaders—including many who would never endorse President Trump’s personal morality—are unflinchingly faithful in their support for him. Why?
Long have these figures proclaimed their version of biblical faith and worked for a national revival to stem the tide of sinfulness and waywardness that is, in their minds, sure to bring upon our country the judgment of a holy God. This is why Michelle Bachmann believes the Trump win was a supernatural endorsement of the religious right’s agenda, the last possible exit off a highway to the hell of gay and transgender rights. This is why Pastor Robert Jeffress hosted the “Celebrate Freedom” for-all-intents-and-purposes church service at the Kennedy Center, heralding President Trump (who Jeffress has called “the most faith-friendly president in U.S. history” as well as “the meanest, toughest, son of a you-know-what” to defend religious liberty) as a gift from God to defend the Christian faith. This is why pastors all around America preach from their pulpits that Christians’ religious freedom trumps the rights of gay Americans, from civil marriage to buying cakes.
Forget for a moment that Jesus befriended many whose sexual proclivities put them outside the norm, and took quite a lot of flak for it; it seems these faithful believe surely Jesus wouldn’t want any Christian in American to violate their religious conscience by serving a sinner. And these Christians are convinced this isn’t just a matter for the church; it’s a matter for the state. Vice President Pence signed as much into Indiana law in 2015.
Religious freedom acts and bathroom bills have made waves across the nation, at the behest of Christian political action groups who are convinced that they are doing the will of God and that it is their duty to see that the laws of the land reflect a version of moral righteousness consistent with their reading of the Bible.
And therein lies the problem: the power of a religious group to establish law according to their sacred text is the very thing many of these Christian conservatives decry under the name of Sharia law. “Sharia” is a term for the religious way of life in various Muslim communities based on the interpretation of the sacred texts of Islam. Many Christians fear a Muslim minority will work their way into power to impose their religious laws as the law of the land. Franklin Graham has said of Muslim immigrants, “If a person does not agree with our principles of freedom, democracy, and liberty, which we cherish, they should not be allowed to come. Without question, Sharia law is not compatible.”
Following that logic, many Christians join Franklin Graham in believing that someone who follows a different sacred text cannot be a true American. But what would Rev. Graham say about Americans who embrace principles of freedom, democracy, and liberty, but do not adhere to the Bible the same way he does? What about those who do not adhere to the Bible at all? The sentiment from the Religious Right very often is: But we speak for God, we are defending God’s will, we are protecting the country from God’s judgment.
There are genuine disagreements in this country over many issues, but when one side argues they want to enact God’s law, the other side has the religious freedom to question that claim—just as Christians are wont to do with regard to Sharia. In these disputes, the Constitution enshrines that no religion should be enforced with the power of the state.
A Gospel story comes to mind. Jesus’s disciples are well known for anticipating that Jesus would make an earthly power grab. Two disciples one day became bold enough to make a request of him, that they be granted seats on his right and left. They were confident he deserved power, and they wanted to be next to him when he got it. Jesus kindly let them know they had no idea what they were asking, and he took that opportunity to remind them that power in his kingdom is not about being first or greatest.
America First. Make America Great Again. Trump was elected on these slogans, largely thanks to Christian conservatives whose political representative he seated at his right hand.
American Christians whose forbears once sought refuge from religious persecution now sit in seats of power. These Christians, of all people, should understand the moral imperative to use their cultural and political power to protect and defend others, including those with whom they disagree, dare we say, even their enemies. These Americans, of all people, should understand the political imperative not to deny anyone the rights of personhood. President Trump, Vice President Pence, Ambassador Brownback, and a host of others can herald religious liberty, but the principle of religious liberty means liberty for all or it is not worth defending.
These three notes all strike a chord with the Religious Right. And for flourish, the president tweeted a video from a rally where he names family and faith as the foundation of our society. Trump has spent the week playing to his base, and a significant part of that base are conservative Christians, who are currently represented by the man at sitting Trump’s right hand, Vice President Mike Pence.
Titillated by the sudden access they have to seats of power in the US political system, numerous evangelical Christian leaders—including many who would never endorse President Trump’s personal morality—are unflinchingly faithful in their support for him. Why?
Long have these figures proclaimed their version of biblical faith and worked for a national revival to stem the tide of sinfulness and waywardness that is, in their minds, sure to bring upon our country the judgment of a holy God. This is why Michelle Bachmann believes the Trump win was a supernatural endorsement of the religious right’s agenda, the last possible exit off a highway to the hell of gay and transgender rights. This is why Pastor Robert Jeffress hosted the “Celebrate Freedom” for-all-intents-and-purposes church service at the Kennedy Center, heralding President Trump (who Jeffress has called “the most faith-friendly president in U.S. history” as well as “the meanest, toughest, son of a you-know-what” to defend religious liberty) as a gift from God to defend the Christian faith. This is why pastors all around America preach from their pulpits that Christians’ religious freedom trumps the rights of gay Americans, from civil marriage to buying cakes.
Forget for a moment that Jesus befriended many whose sexual proclivities put them outside the norm, and took quite a lot of flak for it; it seems these faithful believe surely Jesus wouldn’t want any Christian in American to violate their religious conscience by serving a sinner. And these Christians are convinced this isn’t just a matter for the church; it’s a matter for the state. Vice President Pence signed as much into Indiana law in 2015.
Religious freedom acts and bathroom bills have made waves across the nation, at the behest of Christian political action groups who are convinced that they are doing the will of God and that it is their duty to see that the laws of the land reflect a version of moral righteousness consistent with their reading of the Bible.
And therein lies the problem: the power of a religious group to establish law according to their sacred text is the very thing many of these Christian conservatives decry under the name of Sharia law. “Sharia” is a term for the religious way of life in various Muslim communities based on the interpretation of the sacred texts of Islam. Many Christians fear a Muslim minority will work their way into power to impose their religious laws as the law of the land. Franklin Graham has said of Muslim immigrants, “If a person does not agree with our principles of freedom, democracy, and liberty, which we cherish, they should not be allowed to come. Without question, Sharia law is not compatible.”
Following that logic, many Christians join Franklin Graham in believing that someone who follows a different sacred text cannot be a true American. But what would Rev. Graham say about Americans who embrace principles of freedom, democracy, and liberty, but do not adhere to the Bible the same way he does? What about those who do not adhere to the Bible at all? The sentiment from the Religious Right very often is: But we speak for God, we are defending God’s will, we are protecting the country from God’s judgment.
There are genuine disagreements in this country over many issues, but when one side argues they want to enact God’s law, the other side has the religious freedom to question that claim—just as Christians are wont to do with regard to Sharia. In these disputes, the Constitution enshrines that no religion should be enforced with the power of the state.
A Gospel story comes to mind. Jesus’s disciples are well known for anticipating that Jesus would make an earthly power grab. Two disciples one day became bold enough to make a request of him, that they be granted seats on his right and left. They were confident he deserved power, and they wanted to be next to him when he got it. Jesus kindly let them know they had no idea what they were asking, and he took that opportunity to remind them that power in his kingdom is not about being first or greatest.
America First. Make America Great Again. Trump was elected on these slogans, largely thanks to Christian conservatives whose political representative he seated at his right hand.
American Christians whose forbears once sought refuge from religious persecution now sit in seats of power. These Christians, of all people, should understand the moral imperative to use their cultural and political power to protect and defend others, including those with whom they disagree, dare we say, even their enemies. These Americans, of all people, should understand the political imperative not to deny anyone the rights of personhood. President Trump, Vice President Pence, Ambassador Brownback, and a host of others can herald religious liberty, but the principle of religious liberty means liberty for all or it is not worth defending.