Charlottesville, Virginia, July 8—Workers confront the Christian Fascist Ku Klux Klan
“I got the evangelicals,” bragged Donald Trump in September, 2016. This was only partly true. Some members of this US Christian movement were denouncing Trump for racism, sexism and religious intolerance. Trump was actually bragging that he had the support of the Christian Right. This religious political movement has existed for many decades in the US and is always important for Republican politicians.
US capitalists have made use of Christian rightists to give capitalism and US nationalism a religious basis. At various times, Christian rightists have organized support for the Cold War, the Vietnam war, Israel, bigger military spending, and racial segregation—not just in the South. They have opposed social welfare legislation, access to abortion, legal rights for gays and lesbians, and action on climate change.
This article will discuss some of the ideology of the Christian Right. It will summarize ways the US ruling class has promoted that movement.
Evangelicals
Evangelicals believe that each person must personally decide to accept Jesus. They often promote mass religious revivals that try to persuade people to convert. Many evangelicals claim that the Bible is literally true, and argue seriously about the meaning of biblical texts. The Christian Right is one arm of evangelical Christianity. There are only a small number of leftist evangelicals.
Several revival movements took place in the 1800s. But the ones that set the pattern for later revivals were led by Dwight Moody in the 1870s. Later, when US industry was growing rapidly, Moody’s revivals were financed by the biggest US manufacturers, railroad bosses and bankers, including Cyrus McCormick, head of McCormick Reaper in Chicago. These bosses hoped that religion would hold workers back from class war and communism. McCormick’s company was a target of the mass movement for the eight-hour day that led to a big strike in 1886. This strike established May Day as an international day for workers’ struggle.
Conflict Among Protestants
US Protestants have always been divided by race and class. About the time of World War I, there was also a major doctrinal split among US Protestants. So-called fundamentalists rejected modern scientific discoveries like the origin of humans by natural selection. They insisted that the Bible is true in every detail. They usually rejected social reform and tried to stand apart from the corruptions of society. Some of the more liberal Churches allowed less literal interpretations of the Bible. They preached a “Social Gospel” that included opposition to poverty and sympathy for the working class.
One of the disagreements in this split was about how to interpret Biblical prophecies. One view said that at any time Jesus could come back and take all Christians directly to heaven (“the Rapture”), leaving non-believers behind to suffer under the tyranny of an “Anti-Christ.” Eventually Jesus would come back and defeat the Anti-Christ. The millennium, 1000 years of peace and harmony, would follow. An opposite view claimed that humans would bring about the millennium themselves and Jesus would come back at the end of it.
This disagreement was and is taken very seriously by evangelicals. Those who believe the first view see struggle for a better life as futile. Just wait for Jesus. The second view is more optimistic and makes reform worthwhile.
The split in US Protestantism changed form over the years, but it hasn’t gone away. The Christian Right is closely connected to fundamentalist wing, which still tries to prevent teaching evolution. Although some evangelicals are concerned about climate change, those who are waiting for the Rapture are not likely to worry about the future of the Earth. It’s all up to God.
Next article: How US capitalists formed and promoted right-wing Christianity