| PIETY & POLITICS The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom The Rev. Barry W. Lynn New York: Harmony Books, 2006 |
Rating: 5.0 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-0-307-34654-4 | ||||
| ISBN-10 0-307-34654-4 | 261pp. | HC | $24.00 | |
The Reverend Lynn is the former Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the conservative Christian campaign against that constitutionally-mandated separation is his primary concern in this book.
"To the Religious Right, separation of church and state is a myth, a dangerous, anti-Christian principle imposed on the nation by judicial fiat in 1947. The results of church-state separation, they contend, have been rampant immorality, plunging SAT scores, increased godlessness in American society, and the literal 'persecution,' as the aforementioned Limbaugh titled his book, of 'people of faith.' To this I can only ask, 'What planet are the Religious Right living on?'" "I've spent nearly my entire adult life defending the separation of church and state from Religious Right attacks. Their history is wrong. Their analysis is wrong. Their attacks on the church-state wall are wrong." "I'll go farther. Their agenda for America is wrong. They have hijacked Christianity and claim to speak for all people of faith. They don't. The Religious Right represents a narrow, but powerful, segment of fundamentalists who have had the audacity to wed their faith to ultraconservative political movements. [***] For the sake of power in the halls of Congress and the White House, they have sold the Savior many of us hold dear down the river and now seek to use the power of the federal government to impose their theology on the rest of us as if we were still stuck in the Middle Ages. – Pages 2-3 |
Place: a "typical" American public library. Scene: the library's "ALA Reading Corner." A boy peruses Playboy's centerfold. Another reads a book titled Pipe Bombs Illustrated. Other titles on display are My Pal Manson and Naked Tennis. All from a cartoon in Citizen, the magazine of Focus on the Family. 1
Speaking of cartoons, the Religious Right is aghast at the threats they find "occulted" in television cartoons and animated films. Did you know Spongebob Squarepants is an agent for the homosexual agenda? 2 He must be gay; his best friend Patrick is a pink starfish. Also, the movie Shrek 2 promotes cross-dressing, 3 Disney's Little Mermaid features a penis-shaped coral formation, 4 and in The Lion King there's a cloud which spells out S-E-X. 5
To be fair, the examples Rev. Lynn points out are not the whole story. Mischievous or disgruntled animators have sneaked off-color images into several films and videos. But it takes luck or great effort to see them. So these are all straw-men too.
Rev. Lynn's quotation above describes the problem succinctly. But there is, of course, much more to say about it. The Religious Right presses their attack in a number of areas:
And, faced with resistance on any of these fronts, they try to portray themselves as persecuted victims of government suppression or amoral liberal culture. If Robertson and Falwell were being persecuted, I want some of that "persecution" too.
Below, drawn (mostly) from the book, are capsule6 descriptions of the empires that Robertson, Falwell, and Dobson have built. Clearly, they understand "rendering unto Caesar".
| Name | Activities | Gem Quote |
|---|---|---|
| Jerry Falwell (1933-2007) |
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"What we saw on Tuesday [9/11/2001], as terrible as it is, could be miniscule if, in fact, God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve." (page 18) |
| Pat Robertson (1930-2023) |
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"Just like what Nazi Germany did to the Jews, so liberal America is now doing to the evangelical Christians. It's no different. It is the same thing. It is happening all over again." (page 19) |
| James C.Dobson (1936- ) |
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"A lot of people were praying, and I believe Sarah Palin is God's answer." (Not in the book; h/t to Dispatches from the Culture Wars) |
To sum up: The overwhelming irony with all this fervor for theocracy from the Religious Right is that, once attained, it would lead to a church subservient to the state and with a dwindling congregation. That's been happening in Europe. Rev. Lynn repeatedly points out these truths. I'll also point out that he criticizes Democrats in these pages, as well as Republicans. Notable examples are Nancy Pelosi and Joe Lieberman (former Democrat; now independent). If you'll forgive me for mangling a metaphor, Barry Lynn is a man who has both his head and his heart on straight.
The message of this book is one it is vital to heed. Reverend Lynn conveys it clearly, and with large quantities of supporting evidence. The evidence is thoroughly end-noted, and the book is well indexed. Despite the fact that it contains a few mistakes, I have no hesitation in giving it top marks and calling it a "must read."
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