Difference between revisions of "Christofascism"

Latest revision as of 08:55, 4 July 2012

Christofascism on Wiktionary

Christofascism (the name being a Wikipedia:portmanteau of Christianity and Fascism) is a concept in Wikipedia:Christian theology first mentioned by Wikipedia:Dorothee Sölle, a Christian theologian and writer, in her book Beyond Mere Obedience: Reflections on a Christian Ethic for the Future in 1970.^[1][2][3] To Sölle, Christofascism was caused by the embracing of authoritarian theology by the Christian church. According to Sölle, it is an arrogant, totalitarian, imperialistic attitude, characteristic of the church in Germany under Nazism, that she believed to be alive and well in the theological scene of the late 20th and turn of the 21st century.^[4][5] Usage of the term became much more prominent in 2006-2008,^[6] as a backlash against increasing usage of the word "Islamofascism" (WP) by conservatives in the USA such as David Horowitz(WP).^[7]

Anarchists may ignore either of these terms as ideological infighting, as the scholarship involved in such an assessment is minimal to say the least. Scholarly analysis of Fascism is itself dubious due to the inevitable dilution of the original Italian fascist history by comparison with Nazism, and then less and less accurate as more fascist groups are added.^[8]

Attitude should not be confused with correctness here; even Christopher Hitchens, for example, who has a long history of invaluable criticism of religion is nevertheless skimming the surface when it comes to a comparison of Islam and Fascism. There is no part of his list of attributes that Fascism and Islamism have in common that are intrinsic and fundamental parts of either.^[9] The same is true, in reverse, of Christofascism; while the argument is less politically motivated and more convincing, and is potentially accurate over a vast swath of Christianity's history, the scholarship is by comparison trivial and cursory. Compare the #Usage, below, with the Fascism article, or see Comparison of Fascism and Christianity.

Theological viewpoints[edit]

Tom Faw Driver, Wikipedia:Paul Tillich Professor Emeritus at Union Theological Seminary in New York, expressed concern "that the worship of God in Christ not divide Christian from Jew, man from woman, clergy from laity, white from black, or rich from poor". To him, Christianity is in constant danger of Christofascism, stating that "[w]e fear christofascism, which we see as the political direction of all attempts to place Christ at the center of social life and history" and that "[m]uch of the churches' teaching about Christ has turned into something that is dictatorial in its heart and is preparing society for an American fascism". Christofascism allows Christians, or disposes them, to impose themselves upon other religions, upon other cultures, and upon political parties which do not march under the banner of the final, normative, victorious Christ.^{[5][10][11][12]}

George Hunsinger, director of the Centre for Barth Studies at Wikipedia:Princeton Theological Seminary, regards the conception of Christofascism as being an attack, at a very sophisticated level of theological discourse, on the Wikipedia:biblical depiction of Jesus Christ. He equates what is viewed as Christofascism with "Jesus Christ as depicted in Scripture" and contrasts it with the "nonnormative Wikipedia:Christology" that is offered as an alternative by some theologians, which he characterizes as extreme relativism that reduces Jesus Christ to "an object of mere personal preference and cultural location" and that he finds difficult to see as not contributing to the same problems encountered by the Christian church in Germany that were noted by theologian Wikipedia:Karl Barth.^[13]

Douglas John Hall, Professor of Christian Theology at Wikipedia:McGill University, relates Sölle's concept of Christofascism to Wikipedia:Christomonism, that inevitably ends in religious triumphalism and exclusivity, noting Sölle's observation of American fundamentalist Christianity that Christomonism easily leads to Christofascism, and that violence is never far away from militant Christomonism. (Christomonism, also known as Wikipedia:Unitarianism of the Second Person]] (Wikipedia:Trinity), accepts only one divine person, Jesus Christ.) He states that the over-divinized ("high") Christology of Wikipedia:Christendom]] is demonstrated to be wrong by its "almost unrelieved Wikipedia:anti-Judaism". He suggests that the best way to guard against this is for Christians not to neglect the humanity of Jesus Christ in favour of his divinity, and to remind themselves that Jesus was a Jewish human being.^[14][15][16]

Usage[edit]

• Wikipedia:Chris Hedges observes the beginnings of American Christofascism during the Wikipedia:Great Depression, when "fundamentalist preachers such as Wikipedia:Gerald B. Winrod and Wikipedia:Gerald L.K. Smith fused national and Christian symbols to advocate the country's first crude form of Christo-fascism."^[17]
• Wikipedia:David Neiwert notes that "earlier forms of fascism in America were explicitly 'Christian' in nature" and describes Wikipedia:William Dudley Pelley's philosophies as "Christo-fascism."^[18]
• Sharon Welch refers to the "Christo-fascism" of the Wikipedia:Moral Majority.^[19]
• Episcopal priest Wikipedia:Carter Heyward, professor of theology at Wikipedia:Episcopal Divinity School, used the word "Christo-fascism" to describe political and social policies that exclude nontraditional families in the name of Christianity, a practice she described as "arrogant and blasphemous."^[20]
• Melissa McEwan, a campaign blogger for then-presidential candidate Wikipedia:John Edwards, drew criticism for the use of the term "Christofascists" on her personal blog.^[21][22]
• "Some might say that Christofascism is a growing problem in our secular society. In fact, all the "revealed" religions seem downright dangerous to me. The primary goal of Judaism, Christianity and Islam is to silence their critics by any means, in order to bring their beliefs to the fore." (Concord Monitor, December 2007)^[23]
• "Bush's silence is curious given his tireless campaign against 'Islamofascists,' extremists who seek to force people to conform to their Islamic faith. In this age of hyphenated fascism, what do we call Jews or Christians who want to force non-believers to swear to the Bible? Judeo-Christofascists? " (USA Today, December 2007)^[24]
• "While only one suspect assassinated Dr. George Tiller in the foyer of his Wichita church on Sunday, the shooter did not act alone...[A]s the news of the murder spread online, you could see the face of the American Taliban – shall we say Christofascists instead? – who have supported those who have shot and killed abortion providers, firebombed and invaded clinics and harassed desperate women on their way in or out of doctor's offices."^[25]

See also[edit]

• Wikipedia:American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America
• Wikipedia:Clerical fascism
• Wikipedia:Culture war
• Wikipedia:Islamofascism
• Wikipedia:Neofascism and religion

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Carter Heyward (1999). Saving Jesus from Those who are Right: Rethinking what it Means to be Christian, p. 11, Fortress Press.
• Ann Loades, ({{{year}}}). "Christian Focus: Radical Christocentrism in Christian Theology — By Clive Marsh," International Journal of Systematic Theology, 9, 365–368.

• Mary Grey, ({{{year}}}). "Diversity, Harmony and in the End, Justice: Remembering Dorothee Soelle," Feminist Theology, 13, 343–357.

• Daniel Webster. Pre-emptive War and False Security — Remarks to the Hudson-Mohawk, N.Y. chapter of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship. National Council of Churches.

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