Steeplejacking

How is it that, in a time of widespread war, swelling inequality and environmental emergency, the question of gay rights is rending American churches in a way not seen since slavery?

This is not a spontaneous phenomenon. As Sheldon Culver and John Dorhauer reveal in this essential book, it is part of a carefully orchestrated campaign meant to undermine the liberal Protestant tradition and make Christianity synonymous with right-wing fundamentalism. It's hard to tell this story without sounding like a conspiracy theorist -- it is, after all, a tale of power-seeking reactionaries enacting a plan to infiltrate and undermine established institutions. Yet Culver and Dorhauer have carefully marshaled evidence linking fights in individual congregations to larger organizations like the Institute on Religion and Democracy, which is heavily funded by right-wing foundations. [ ]

Just as planned, right-wing groups have formed parallel organizations inside mainline congregations all over the country, often attempting coups against more liberal church leadership. Few churches caught in such struggles realize that they're part of a broader campaign, which is one of the reasons Steeplejacking is so valuable -- recognizing the systematic nature of the assault is a crucial first step in organizing against it.

A Baptist preacher once told me that members of the Christian right will always cross denominational lines for political reasons, but they'll rarely cross political lines out of religious solidarity. That's because the Christian right is a political movement masquerading as a spiritual one. It seeks to harness peoples' yearning for transcendence and anxiety about a quickly changing world to a punitive, partisan program. It's about power. Much more is at stake in the battle within the mainline churches than positions on a few wedge issues. The outcome of these struggles will determine whether America's historic Protestant churches remain firm voices for social justice or become mere adjuncts of the political right. [ ]

When I published my 2006 book Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, which was about the religious right in American politics, I thought I'd find an audience among my fellow Jews, secularists and civil libertarians, as well as gays and lesbians interested in the systematic way that homophobia has been used as an organizing tool. I've been both surprised and delighted by the enthusiastic reception I've found among liberal Christians. Throughout the country, such Christians have expressed despair at seeing their faith appropriated by forces utterly at odds with their interpretation of the gospels. Some have even confided that the very name "Christian" has become an embarrassment -- a heartbreaking admission. Very often, Christians ask me what they can do to reclaim their religion and stand against the right. The question usually leaves me humbled and a bit baffled, because, as a secular Jew, I'm not remotely qualified to answer it. Now, though, I know what to say: As a start, read this book.