The Holy Spirit &The 2012 Republican Presidential Primary Candidates
One of the trends I find "exceptional" about the USA today is the number of religious sects and cults participating directly in the electoral process. The leading contender for the Republican nomination for President, Gov. Mitt Romney, is a Mormon, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a religion considered heretical by many mainstream Christians like nearly all mainstream Protestant Churches and the Catholic Church.
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas began his Presidential campaign by organizing a “Christian only” evangelical, and "dominionist" prayer meeting called “The Response: a call to prayer for a nation in crisis.” “Dominionism” is the belief that holds the Holy Bible as dominant over laws made by man. For an examination of the relationship between Gov. Perry and the controversial “New Apostolic Reformation” movement, see the Texas Observer’s article “Rick Perry’s Army of God” http://www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/rick-perrys-army-of-god. “The Response” was a gathering of the different tribes of American fundamentalism – Christian Zionists, prayer warriors, apostolic and prophetic types, etc. – under the umbrella of political and spiritual revival, see Rachael Maddow’s special report: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908//vp/44098787#44098787
Like Governor Perry, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann espouses a "dominionist" religious perspective and spent her student years in law school studying the "dominionist" approach to society, law and government, see John Chait’s article in the New Republic: http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/90014/michelle-bachmanns-worldview.
Gov. Sarah Palin is a member of a "The Wasilla Assembly of God." The “Wasilla Assembly” is a member of the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1914, in the United States. The ‘Four Core Beliefs’ of the Assemblies of God are Salvation, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Divine Healing and the Second Coming of Christ. A dramatic insight into Pentecostalism is found in the 1997 film, The Apostle written, directed and starring Robert Duvall, as a charismatic “Pentecostal” preacher. Pentecostals are known to “speak in tongues:” see a clip from Duvall’s movie, The Apostle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FwMu9WW_bg.
The Apostle’s main character” Sonny” is what social scientists once politely referred to as “Other Protestants.” Sonny was actually a preacher in the traditional holiness movement, distinct from the Pentecostal movement, which believes that the baptism in the Holy Spirit involves speaking in tongues. Many of the early Pentecostals were from the holiness movement, and to this day many "classical Pentecostals" maintain much of holiness doctrine and many of its devotional practices, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiness_movement.
Modern “dominionism” is largely unknown to most Americans. The list of unknown schismatic sects, cults, groups, exotic beliefs and churches, which the contenders for the Republican nomination belong to or are in agreement with, is "exceptional." The religious fringe, it seems, has become the Protestant mainstream.
Today’s Republicans could be rebranded the “Christian Republican Party.” The center core of Protestant faith has migrated from “Liberal Protestantism” to an entrepreneurial-style, evangelist and fundamentalist faith, which votes heavily on the Republican Row. It was once believed that such sects originated mainly among the religiously neglected poor. Clearly, this is now no longer the case. It has been argued by social scientists that insecurity, differential status and anxiety characterize these religious movements. The effects of the Great Recession and the affects of geographic relocation and workplace displacement have contributed to a sense of anxiety and anomie among the American middle-class.
Ernst Troeltsch, the major historian of sectarian religion, has characterized the psychological appeal of fundamentalist religious sects in a way that might as appropriately be applied to extremist politics. A direct connection between the social roots of political and religious extremism has been observed in a number of countries. It was observed by the American sociologist S. M. Lipset, as early as the 1960s that, “the point here is that rigid fundamentalism and dogmatism are linked to the same underlying characteristics, attitudes, and predispositions which find another outlet in allegiance to extremist political movements.”
Many western democracies have “Christian Democratic Parties,” the US, because it is “exceptional,” has a “Christian Republican Party.” The candidates for the Republican nomination have made their religious views of scripture known, by degrees. To discover what these candidates deeply and sincerely believe requires the investigative work of a "large metropolitan newspaper."
The ascendancy of the “nouveau fundamentalist Protestant elite” to high leadership positions in the Republican Party needs to be understood as a serious step toward a profound redefinition of church and state in America. The ascendancy of hard-core chronic “know-nothing-ism” and “anti-intellectualism,” so eloquently written about by Columbia historian Richard Hofstadter, and sectarian belief systems, is undoubtedly "exceptional" for a modern mass political party with governmental responsibilities. While it is argued that Europe is experiencing a “crisis of faith,” the United States is experiencing a revivalism parallel with the Second Great Awakening of the 1800s.
The decline of mainstream Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Episcopalians as forces affecting the direction of the Republican Party, has been statistically significant, and the rise of “Other Protestants,” and sects, has marked a realignment of voting patterns and political commitment.
Is it possible to image Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy organizing a 30,000 person “Catholics only” prayer service as a campaign launch? One of the famous quotes from Kennedy’s address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, during the 1960 national election, was, “I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for President who also happens to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters — and the Church does not speak for me.”
As a Royko-reading Chicagoan transplanted to DC, i found myself doing a lot of nodding as I read this article. This is an apt reminder about Obama. I would also say, as I did in my own blog yesterday (www.defendingobama.blogspot.com), that what worked well for Obama the candidate in the first round of the economic crisis, namely his "no drama Obama" thoughtfulness as Bush and McCain staggered during the TARP debate, feels now like passiveness because instead of staggering, the Republicans he is up against now are fueled with metaphysical certainty. He needs to reach deep into his Chicago roots and do a little Harold Washington fight back and trust that people know he has earned the right to fight/push. Anyway, thanks for this food for thought.
And also, he may have learned some skills when he was a community organizer for three years (1965-68, during the time of Cardinal Bernardin) and worked with a church-based community organization, originally comprising eight Catholic parishes on the South Side of Chicago.
The ideo. left who thinks a two week setback and advoidance of default is the one big battle lost, will have to do longer deeper thinking. The GOP was not and will not pass any Obama backed bill in the remaining term. So huffing puffing 'leadership' is a fraud. I say Obama goes into campaign mode from now to 2012 election while the GOP runs on no tax on the 3% of the well off. Anyone can beat that stupid stance. Demographics, money, economy's slow upturn, weak GOP candidates who will savage each other, all bodes well for a sweep of House Senate and WH. A pragmatic accommodationist is what we got and what we need. Who would the ideological left pick? Kucinich???
The Holy Spirit &The 2012 Republican Presidential Primary Candidates
One of the trends I find "exceptional" about the USA today is the number of religious sects and cults participating directly in the electoral process. The leading contender for the Republican nomination for President, Gov. Mitt Romney, is a Mormon, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a religion considered heretical by many mainstream Christians like nearly all mainstream Protestant Churches and the Catholic Church.
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas began his Presidential campaign by organizing a “Christian only” evangelical, and "dominionist" prayer meeting called “The Response: a call to prayer for a nation in crisis.” “Dominionism” is the belief that holds the Holy Bible as dominant over laws made by man. For an examination of the relationship between Gov. Perry and the controversial “New Apostolic Reformation” movement, see the Texas Observer’s article “Rick Perry’s Army of God” http://www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/rick-perrys-army-of-god. “The Response” was a gathering of the different tribes of American fundamentalism – Christian Zionists, prayer warriors, apostolic and prophetic types, etc. – under the umbrella of political and spiritual revival, see Rachael Maddow’s special report: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908//vp/44098787#44098787
Like Governor Perry, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann espouses a "dominionist" religious perspective and spent her student years in law school studying the "dominionist" approach to society, law and government, see John Chait’s article in the New Republic: http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/90014/michelle-bachmanns-worldview.
Gov. Sarah Palin is a member of a "The Wasilla Assembly of God." The “Wasilla Assembly” is a member of the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1914, in the United States. The ‘Four Core Beliefs’ of the Assemblies of God are Salvation, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Divine Healing and the Second Coming of Christ. A dramatic insight into Pentecostalism is found in the 1997 film, The Apostle written, directed and starring Robert Duvall, as a charismatic “Pentecostal” preacher. Pentecostals are known to “speak in tongues:” see a clip from Duvall’s movie, The Apostle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FwMu9WW_bg.
The Apostle’s main character” Sonny” is what social scientists once politely referred to as “Other Protestants.” Sonny was actually a preacher in the traditional holiness movement, distinct from the Pentecostal movement, which believes that the baptism in the Holy Spirit involves speaking in tongues. Many of the early Pentecostals were from the holiness movement, and to this day many "classical Pentecostals" maintain much of holiness doctrine and many of its devotional practices, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiness_movement.
Modern “dominionism” is largely unknown to most Americans. The list of unknown schismatic sects, cults, groups, exotic beliefs and churches, which the contenders for the Republican nomination belong to or are in agreement with, is "exceptional." The religious fringe, it seems, has become the Protestant mainstream.
Today’s Republicans could be rebranded the “Christian Republican Party.” The center core of Protestant faith has migrated from “Liberal Protestantism” to an entrepreneurial-style, evangelist and fundamentalist faith, which votes heavily on the Republican Row. It was once believed that such sects originated mainly among the religiously neglected poor. Clearly, this is now no longer the case. It has been argued by social scientists that insecurity, differential status and anxiety characterize these religious movements. The effects of the Great Recession and the affects of geographic relocation and workplace displacement have contributed to a sense of anxiety and anomie among the American middle-class.
Ernst Troeltsch, the major historian of sectarian religion, has characterized the psychological appeal of fundamentalist religious sects in a way that might as appropriately be applied to extremist politics. A direct connection between the social roots of political and religious extremism has been observed in a number of countries. It was observed by the American sociologist S. M. Lipset, as early as the 1960s that, “the point here is that rigid fundamentalism and dogmatism are linked to the same underlying characteristics, attitudes, and predispositions which find another outlet in allegiance to extremist political movements.”
Many western democracies have “Christian Democratic Parties,” the US, because it is “exceptional,” has a “Christian Republican Party.” The candidates for the Republican nomination have made their religious views of scripture known, by degrees. To discover what these candidates deeply and sincerely believe requires the investigative work of a "large metropolitan newspaper."
The ascendancy of the “nouveau fundamentalist Protestant elite” to high leadership positions in the Republican Party needs to be understood as a serious step toward a profound redefinition of church and state in America. The ascendancy of hard-core chronic “know-nothing-ism” and “anti-intellectualism,” so eloquently written about by Columbia historian Richard Hofstadter, and sectarian belief systems, is undoubtedly "exceptional" for a modern mass political party with governmental responsibilities. While it is argued that Europe is experiencing a “crisis of faith,” the United States is experiencing a revivalism parallel with the Second Great Awakening of the 1800s.
The decline of mainstream Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Episcopalians as forces affecting the direction of the Republican Party, has been statistically significant, and the rise of “Other Protestants,” and sects, has marked a realignment of voting patterns and political commitment.
Is it possible to image Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy organizing a 30,000 person “Catholics only” prayer service as a campaign launch? One of the famous quotes from Kennedy’s address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, during the 1960 national election, was, “I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for President who also happens to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters — and the Church does not speak for me.”
As far as I can tell, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, Obama is pretty much following the course he laid out in The Audacity of Hope. In that book he stresses the urgent need for healing some of the wounds caused by the fierce partisan battles that have plagued Washington pretty consistently since the Reagan days and certainly after the Bloody Battle of Bork. He charted not an agenda of radicalism but of bi-partisanship, finding common ground and building solutions on it. He even called upon the nation to engage in an open discussion on abortion to see if there is any common ground there upon which the two sides could agree that would at least lower the incidence of abortions and tackle the social and economic causes of abortion. (I wish he'd have done that!) But after three years of banging his head against the wall he now needs to do a Harry S Truman on this Do-Nothing Congress and call a special session of Congress and rail against them for their inability to do anything to take care of our most serious problems. What are the chances of that happening?
Rick Perry announcing his candidacy this last weekend: "It's time to get ... our citizens working in good jobs." Oh, you mean like a union job? Just how much do you think labor should earn? How much job security? What kind of benefits? What have you done to insure that? When Republicans talk about "good jobs," we should call them on it.
As a 2010 Obama supporter, I must demur. I was well aware then that Obama was no radical, and was most likely more politically conservative than, for example, I am. I did believe, however, that he fit pretty comfortably into the mold of a traditional liberal. What we seem to have gotten, though, is not a moderate liberal, but a moderate conservative, who would have been happy in the Republican party of only a decade or so ago. Even if he suceeds in getting reelected, it is no longer clear to me that he will make any effort to defend what remains of our tattered "safety net," let alone work to expand it.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2088018,00.html
Link to Fareed Zakira's new article that serves as a perfect compliment to the Steinfels column.