Dominionism

[[File:Christian flag.svg|thumb|right|165px|The Christian Flag, a symbol used by many Protestant denominations.]]{{christianity}}{{bronze}}
{{cquote|We must base our laws on faith, not reason.|||Mark Rushdoony, son of [[R.J. Rushdoony]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100208134158/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2005/winter/casting-stones Casting Stones], SPLC</ref>}}
'''Dominionism''' or '''Christian sharia ("Charia")''' (and sometimes used interchangeably with '''Christian Reconstructionism''' and '''theonomy''', see below) is 
[[Star Trek|the desire to bring "order" to the Alpha Quadrant]]
 the belief that Christians should strive to create a [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] [[theocracy]] based around [[The Bible|biblical law]]. Note that almost no Dominionists actually call themselves such.  It holds that Christians should not withdraw from the earthly world to avoid becoming corrupted by involvement in earthly politics and patiently await the second coming of Christ, as old-school Christian [[fundamentalism|fundamentalists]] do. Rather, it asserts that Christians should seize earthly power and [[Christian Zionism|use it to forcibly fulfill biblical prophecies and bring him back]]. In the Catholic world, these debates about withdrawal/domination are played out behind closed doors, but in the Protestant world, it manifests as an open split between Fundamentalists and Dominionists. The [[United States]] is the Dominionists' stronghold, and seizing control of the US is the movement's first major objective.  

Dominionists believe that the ''civil'' laws laid down by the [[Old Testament]] (as distinct from the moral laws such as the [[Ten Commandments]]) should be enforced by reforming the U.S. legal system along [[Theocracy|theocratic]] lines, which would entail a substantial increase in the use of [[capital punishment]]. They also believe that [[Slavery in the Bible|biblical injunctions regarding slavery]] should be followed.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/19970718180101/http://religioustolerance.org/reconstr.htm Dominionism]". ReligiousTolerance.org. May 18, 2005.</ref><ref>Enyart, Bob. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20000815054659/http://www.theologyonline.com/DEATH.HTML God and the Death Penalty]". TheologyOnline.com.</ref><ref group=note>It should not come as a surprise that [[Fun:Jesusland|most of these people are white Southerners]].</ref> Dominionists are the direct, Christian equivalent of [[Islamist]]s demanding [[Sharia|Sharia law]]. 

Its ideology is promoted by authors such as [[Gary North]]<ref group=note>Gary North, however, represents a different view from many other dominionists. He believes Christians are to ''supplant'' the government, not take it over. Call this "anarcho-theocracy" if you need a good descriptor.</ref> and [[WallBuilders|David Barton]].<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/barton-kim-davis-should-not-be-jail-because-mans-law-not-allowed-contradict-gods-law Kim Davis Should Not Be In Jail Because 'Man's Law Is Not Allowed To Contradict God's Law']</ref>

==Origin of the term==
The term "Dominionism" comes from Genesis 1:26 and :28 of the [[King James Version]] of the [[Bible]]: {{quotebox|And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have '''dominion''' over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.}}{{quotebox|And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have '''dominion''' over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.}}

In every other verse of the King James Version where the word "dominion" occurs, the word either refers to God's dominion over the world and all of its people, or to the dominion of a king over his kingdom, as in Psalms 72 ("The reign of a righteous king"). This is the only time when the word is applied to all men.

Unfortunately, this misinterpretation of the original text may have altered world history for the worse. The original word is more accurately translated as "stewardship".

One explanation for this dodgy translation is that King James I — a [[Scotland|Scottish]] monarch who was trying to solidify his royal power after being crowned [[England|England's]] new king in 1603 — wanted his translation of the Bible (published in 1611) to reinforce his divine right to rule as he saw fit.

==Types of dominionism==
The term "dominionism" has become a catch-all for several ultraconservative Christian movements with theocratic tendencies. In its original sense, the word "dominionism" is not interchangeable with other terms like "Christian Reconstructionism". 

* The weakest form of dominionism is often referred to as "soft dominionism" or "[[Christian nation]]alism" — it advocates writing certain Biblical mores into law (e.g., bans on [[gay marriage]]), but does not support a full-fledged theocracy. 
* "Hard dominionism" encompasses openly theocratic ideologies. 
** "Theonomy" is a subset of hard dominionism — it entails a separation of church and state powers, but with an official state religion and legal system that must conform to Biblical moral codes. Theonomy is influenced by legalistic [[Calvinist]] theology and often advocates for a devolution of power to more local levels of government.<ref>[http://www.forerunner.com/theonomy/theofaq.html What Is Theonomy? Theonomy FAQ], Jay Rogers, The Forerunner</ref><ref>[http://theonomists.blogspot.com/ Meet the Theonomists], Thomas P. Roche, SUNY Buffalo</ref> 
*** "Christian Reconstructionism" — launched in large part by [[R.J. Rushdoony]] (1916-2001) and his Chalcedon Foundation (founded 1965) — is the most well-known modern incarnation of theonomy (these terms are also sometimes used interchangeably). Christian Reconstructionism is also largely [[hyper-Calvinism|hyper-Calvinist]] and incorporates [[neo-Confederate]] ideology.<ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/r10.html Christian Reconstructionism], Apologetics Index</ref> 
* Another branch of this belief system which became more prominent shortly after the Christian Reconstructionist movement is called {{wpl|Kingdom Now theology}} or simply "Kingdom theology". Kingdom Now draws more on the [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal/Charismatic]] tradition.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150414193824/http://lefthemispheres.blogspot.fr/2011/11/kingdom-now-theology-new-apostolic.html Kingdom Now Theology and the New Apostolic Reformation], Left Hemispheres</ref><ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/l04.html An Examination of Kingdom Theology], Apologetics Index</ref><ref>See Chip Berlet's article [https://web.archive.org/web/20031001073500/http://www.4religious-right.info/ What Is Dominionism?] at Theocracy Watch for a fuller treatment of the term "dominionism."</ref>

==Conspiracy theory?==
Critics of the term "dominionism" have characterized it as a [[conspiracy theory]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100917110541/http://old.nationalreview.com/kurtz/kurtz200505020944.asp Dominionist Domination], Stanley Kurtz, ''National Review''</ref> or the "paranoid mot du jour".<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/dominionism-beliefs-among-conservative-christians-overblown/2011/08/17/gIQAb5eaNJ_story.html Be Not Afraid of Evangelicals], Lisa Miller, ''[[Washington Post]]''</ref> Critics tend to attack a [[straw man]] by asserting that there is no actual movement calling itself "dominionism".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150414193833/http://religiondispatches.org/archive/5008/paranoia_and_the_progressive_press:_a_response_to_wapo%E2%80%99s_religion_columnist/ Paranoia and the Progressive Press: A Response to WaPo's Religion Columnist], Peter Montgomery, ''Religion Dispatches''</ref> However, proponents of the term have acknowledged paranoid and conspiratorial overtones in widespread usage and criticized the characterization of dominionism as a unified, monolithic movement angling for [[New World Order|world domination]]. Sara Diamond writes:

{{quotebox|Conspiracy theorizing about the Christian Right's supposedly "secret" agenda involves highlighting the hate-mongering and bizarre ideas of a handful of Christian Right players while neglecting the broad popularity of dominion theology. There are a variety of ideological tendencies within the Christian Right. At the truly extreme end of the spectrum is a set of ideas proponents call reconstructionism, associated with only a small number of think tanks and book publishers. Many Christian Right activists have never even heard of reconstructionism, whose advocates call for the imposition of an Old Testament style theocracy, complete with capital punishment for offenses including adultery, homosexuality, and blasphemy.<ref>[http://www.publiceye.org/diamond/sd_domin.html Dominion Theology: The Truth About the Christian Right's Bid for Power], Sara Diamond, ''Z Magazine''</ref>}}

Chip Berlet defends the use of the term while acknowledging its abuse: "Just because some critics of the Christian Right have stretched the term dominionism past its breaking point does not mean we should abandon the term."<ref>
[http://www.publiceye.org/feeds/public/christian-right-dominionism-and.html The Christian Right, Dominionism, and Theocracy], Chip Berlet, Political Research Associates
</ref>

== Dominionist theology ==
{{Main|Millennialism}}

Dominionism is often connected with the theological position known as [[Millennialism#Post-millennialism|postmillennialism]], which envisions a period of one thousand years before the eventual Second Coming of Christ during which the "Kingdom of God" will gradually gain ground against the forces that oppose it.  For that reason, these "hard dominionists" usually work towards a general Christianization of society in the belief that this will help bring about the "Kingdom of God" and (after a thousand more years) the Second Coming.

In this, they differ from the [[Millennialism#Post-tribulational (historic) pre-millennialism|premillennialists]], who believe that the Second Coming itself will mark the beginning of the millennium and that Jesus will do (or at least direct) the dirty work; thus, they tend to focus more on the conversion of individuals than of society as such.

Dominionists believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible.  As such, they believe that God "gave man dominion over the earth." 

===Orthodoxy===

Dominionism cannot be regarded merely as a hyper-literal take on Christianity; its central tenet has been opposed by some other Christians from the earliest days of the Church.

The precepts of the Mosaic Law have traditionally been divided into three categories by Christian theologians: the moral law (''e.g.'', the [[Ten Commandments]]), the civil law (the "constitution" of ancient Israel), and the ceremonial law (''e.g.'', the proscriptions against eating pork).

Also many Christians follow the tradition that both the ceremonial and civil laws were nullified with the coming of Jesus. At the Council of Jerusalem, described in [[RationalWiki:Annotated Bible/Acts#Acts 15:1|Acts 15]], it was determined that only certain moral precepts of the law applied to gentile Christians; [[Paul of Tarsus]] wrote extensively against "legalism," or the idea that Christians had to follow the whole Mosaic Law, saying that the whole point of the law was to lead the Jews to Jesus. This purpose having been fulfilled, the law was not in effect any longer. This position was later hammered out in detail, with the position being taken that the ceremonial law was "deadly" (could not be practiced at all) and the civil law "dead" (did not need to be practiced). St. Thomas Aquinas said:

{{quotebox|For if a sovereign were to order these judicial precepts to be observed in his kingdom, he would not sin: unless perchance they were observed, or ordered to be observed, as though they derived their binding force through being institutions of the Old Law: for it would be a deadly sin to intend to observe them thus.<ref>[http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0023/_P7C.HTM ''Summa Theologica'' FS Q104 A3 BP1]</ref>}}

In 1442, the Roman Catholic Council of Florence stated:

{{quotebox|Whoever, after the passion, places his hope in the legal prescriptions [of the Law of Moses] and submits himself to them as necessary for salvation and as if faith in Christ without them could not save, sins mortally. It does not deny that from Christ's passion until the promulgation of the gospel they could have been retained, provided they were in no way believed to be necessary for salvation. But it asserts that after the promulgation of the gospel they cannot be observed without loss of eternal salvation. Therefore it denounces all who after that time observe circumcision, the sabbath and other legal prescriptions as strangers to the faith of Christ and unable to share in eternal salvation, unless they recoil at some time from these errors. Therefore it strictly orders all who glory in the name of Christian, not to practise circumcision either before or after baptism, since whether or not they place their hope in it, it cannot possibly be observed without loss of eternal salvation.<ref>[https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/ecumenical-council-of-florence-1438-1445-1461 Ecumenical Council of Florence (1438-1445)]. Catholicism library at ewtn.com.</ref>}}

Most Dominionists pretend that they are followers of [[Calvinism|John Calvin]], if not the ''only'' true followers of that Protestant Reformer. But Calvin had even stronger views than Thomas Aquinas on that subject:

{{quotebox|There are some who deny that any commonwealth is rightly framed which neglects the law of Moses, and is ruled by the common law of nations. How perilous and seditious these views are, let others see: for me it is enough to demonstrate that they are stupid and false.<ref>''{{wpl|Institutes of the Christian Religion|Institutes}}'' IV:XX.14</ref>}}

However, as might be observed, the Dominionists have little reason for reinstituting the Mosaic civil law besides, "It's in the Bible!"

== Dominionism in fiction ==

The "Republic of Gilead" in Margaret Atwood's ''[[The Handmaid's Tale]]'' represented one scenario of a Dominionist takeover in the United States after an environmental disaster drastically reduced the reproductive capacity of the population. You knew this government was off the deep end when you heard a reference to it being opposed by "Baptist rebels". Everyone thought the book was just some ultra-feminist overreaction to American society until [[Tea party movement|2009]].

Another example of Dominionism is ''If this goes on...'' by Robert A. Heinlein, where an evangelical preacher named Nehemiah Scudder takes control of the United States Government's Executive Branch and imposes fundamentalist law over the country.

Speaking of Heinlein, Joe Haldeman's ''The Accidental Time Machine'' dedicates a large portion towards a dominionist takeover of the Eastern seaboard, all run by a crazed religious robotic overlord with killsats!

Stephen Baxter's ''Titan'' presents a heavily isolated United States under the rule of a  [[Fundamentalist Christianity|Fundie]] president, in which, among other things, any kind of abortion is illegal and [[Donald Trump|a large wall]] has been built along the Mexican border.<ref>Stephen Baxter, ''Titan,'' Voyager (UK), 1997. ISBN 0002254247</ref> The old {{wpl|Ptolemaic model}} is seen as valid and following the Biblical interpretation, the sky is considered a solid dome beyond Low Earth Orbit [[Hypocrisy|except for people as pilots of military space planes]].<ref group=note>For the sake of completeness, [[NASA]] has merged with the Air Force and for PR purposes has basically become [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] meeting pseudoscience and (Fundie) Christianity.</ref>

''Victoria'' by William S. Lind, an ultraconservative writer, follows a dishonorably discharged USMC officer establishing [[Paramilitary woo|a group of self-described 'Christian Marines']] and having them take over the north-eastern states. They, along with a bunch of other [[Wingnut|similarly-minded]] factions, establish the Northern Confederation, [[Religious freedom|prohibit religions other than Christianity]], and equate the Ten Commandments with the Constitution as a source of law. Also, these good ol' guys effectively (as in 'not de jure') ban most electronics, (again effectively) push African-Americans from cities to the countryside, [[Kinder, Küche, Kirche|reassign all women to household positions]], [[Extrajudicial punishment|eliminate]] the [[Cultural Marxist]] academics, and discontinue the [[Entitlement program|sloth-encouraging, spoiling]] practice of [[Welfare state|free money and food stamp distribution]]. Oh, and they help their fellows to rise to power in other parts of the former USA — most notably, the New Confederacy in the South — and in the end join the global New Crusade™ against Islam. Notably, Victoria's regime is portrayed as mostly sympathetic to the point of utopia, in contrast to the dystopia that any other 
sane
 author would paint.

''We Are Legion (We Are Bob)'' by Dennis E. Taylor has the protagonist wake up in the future to find that the United States has been replaced by FAITH (the Free American Independent Theocratic Hegemony), a theocracy that came about from a successful coup by dominionists against an atheist president. Little is seen of FAITH's impact on the daily lives of its citizens, but we do learn that the Internet no longer truly exists and FAITH heavily restricts access to information in general.

== A threat to freedom? ==
Many people argue about personal freedom in a theocracy, but the dominionists themselves see no lack of freedom as they believe following the bible ''is'' freedom. (After all, the sorts of things they want to do wouldn't be restricted by a theocracy, would they?) As a result, a group of teachers and intellectuals from Cornell University created [[Theocracy Watch]] to combat the dominionism movement.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20031001073500/http://www.4religious-right.info/ Theocracy Watch]</ref>

==Connections to the United States Government==

Youth With a Mission, a small but highly influential organization within Dominionist circles, owns the building which houses [[The Fellowship]] in Washington D.C..<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-wilson/ensigns-c-street-house-ow_b_230015.html |title=Ensign’s “C Street House” Owned By Group Touting Plans For Christian World Control |date=08/11/2009 |author=Bruce Wilson}}</ref>  "The Word of Faith" theology, an ideology practiced in many pentecostal and charismatic churches which maintain allegiance to dominionist theology, has been reported to have ties to the Central Intelligence Agency which has been spreading the ideology to oppose communist regimes in South American countries.<ref>http://www.scribd.com/doc/64895311/The-Sword-of-the-Spirit-and-the-Central-Intelligence-Agency-1988</ref> Talk about destroying the village to save it!

{{anchor|American Taliban}}
==Talibangelicals==
[[Image:American Taliban.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Notice the similarities?]]
The '''American Taliban'''{{efn|This more often refers to an American Catholic who became a [[Zeal of the convert|Muslim convert and joined the actual Taliban]], {{wpl|John Walker Lindh||.}}}} or more often '''Talibangelicals''' is a derogatory but often accurate term for American dominionists. It was coined after the invasion of [[Afghanistan]], when the term [[Taliban]] became a household word. It is used to draw parallels between the militant tendencies of [[Islamic fundamentalism]] and those of dominionism.

The point of the phrase is to compare those who would make the [[United States]] into a country with a state [[religion]], or [[Morality police|inflict their religious views on others]] through government decree, to the Taliban government in Afghanistan, which 
was
 is once again also a repressive [[theocracy]].

Essentially, the American Taliban wants to transform the United States into a theocratic regime enforcing fundamentalist Christian law.

===Quotes===

[[File:J._B._Stoner.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"[[AIDS]] is a racial disease of [[Jews]] and [[Nigger]]s, and fortunately it is wiping out the queers. I guess God hates queers for several reasons. There is one big reason to be against queers and that is because every time some white boy is seduced by a queer into becoming a queer, means his white bloodline has run out." &mdash; {{wpl|J. B. Stoner}}]]

A website dedicated to this phenomenon<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060508192312/http://adultthought.ucsd.edu/Culture_War/The_American_Taliban.html Quotes from The American Taliban]</ref> has many illustrative quotes.  Here are some examples:

*"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only [[Hitler]] and his top officers. We [[War crimes|carpet-bombed]] [[German]] cities; we killed civilians. That's [[war]]. And this is war." &mdash; [[Ann Coulter]]

*"When science and the [[Bible]] differ, [[Biblical literalism|science has obviously misinterpreted its data]]." &mdash; [[Henry Morris]]

*"With all due respect to those dear people, my friend, [[God]] Almighty does not hear the [[prayer]] of a [[Jew]]." &mdash; Bailey Smith

*"Don't use the word '[[gay]]' unless it's an acronym for 'Got [[AIDS]] yet?'" &mdash; Bob Dornan

*"[[Sodomy]] is a graver sin than murder. – Unless there is life there can be no murder." &mdash; David Trosch

*"American Veterans are to blame for the [[homosexual|fag]] takeover of this nation. They have the power in their political lobby to influence the zeitgeist, get the fags out of the military, and back in the closet where they belong!" &mdash; [[Fred Phelps]]
*"The Islamic people, the Arabs, were the ones who captured Africans, put them in slavery, and sent them to America as slaves. Why would the people in America want to embrace the religion of slavers?" &mdash; [[Pat Robertson]]

*"Public officials are ministers of God assigned the duty of punishing the wicked and protecting the righteous. You cannot serve two masters: you must pick &mdash; God or [[Satan]]." &mdash; Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice [[Roy Moore]],<ref>[http://www.al.com//news/index.ssf/2015/06/roy_moores_lawyer_to_gov_bentl.html Roy Moore's lawyer to Gov. Bentley: 'Public officials are ministers of God']</ref> best known for flouting the Second Commandment by putting up an idol to the Ten Commandments

*Anything out of [[Theodore Shoebat]]'s mouth.

== See also ==
{{collist|2|*[[Actions which demand the death penalty in the Old Testament]]
*[[Christian economics]]
*[[Christofascism]], which may or may not be the same thing as this.
*[[Christian Identity]], more or less this when it comes to non-whites.
*[[Conservapedia]], which comes dangerously close to this ideology.
*[[God Hates Fags]]
*[[God hates shrimp]]
*[[Joel's Army]]
*[[Millennialism]]
*[[Muslim Brotherhood]], the Islamic version of this (to an extent; it varies from country to country)
*[[New Apostolic Reformation]]
*[[Positive Christianity]]
*[[Slavery in the Bible]]
*[[Society for the Practical Establishment and Perpetuation of the Ten Commandments]]
*[[Spiritual warfare]]
*[[Taliban]], the infamous fundamentalist Islamic group who actually controlled Afghanistan from 1995 to 2001 as well as 2021 onwards, gives an idea of how the US might look if the Dominionists took power.
*[[The Fellowship]]
*[[Theocracy]]
*[[Essay:The American Taliban]]
*[[Hindutva]], after a fashion the Hindu version of this in its stronger forms
}}

== External links ==
*{{wpa|Kahanism}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080622170709/http://yerranos.wiki-site.com/index.php/Citizens_for_the_Ten_Commandments Citizens for the Ten Commandments], a website advocating Dominionism or something very much like it.
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc8XS-PxFFA A list of videos made by Theocracy Watch.]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071225092552/http://christianreconstruction.org/ Your Guide to the Christian Reconstruction Movement], a collection of links to material by and about Christian Reconstructionists
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110919175455/http://freethoughtblogs.com/rodda/ This Week in Christian Nationalism], a blog examining dominionism in US politics by [[Chris Rodda]].
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060616045052/http://www.mainstreambaptists.org/mob4/dominion_theology.htm Information About Christian Reconstructionism and Dominion Theology], archive by the Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists
*[http://lefthemispheres.blogspot.com/p/dominionism-series.html Dominionism Series at Left Hemispheres blog]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120203125943/http://www.alternet.org/story/152271/inside_the_christian_right_dominionist_movement_that%27s_undermining_democracy_/ Inside the Christian Right Dominionist Movement That's Undermining Democracy], Chip Berlet, AlterNet
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100219031822/http://www.ukapologetics.net/09/dominionism.htm What Are "Dominion Theology" and "Kingdom Now Theology"], Robin A. Brace, UK Apologetics
*[http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v08n1/chrisrec.html Christian Reconstructionism], Frederick Clarkson, ''Public Eye'' magazine
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20010819032027/http://ipc.faithweb.com/documents/THEONOMY.htm Theonomy: What It Is; What It Is Not], Pastor T. Mark Duncan, Immanuel Presbyterian Church
*[http://www.npr.org/2011/08/24/139781021/the-evangelicals-engaged-in-spiritual-warfare The Evangelicals Engaged in Spiritual Warfare], NPR (report on the New Apostolic Reformation, an off-shoot of Kingdom Now theology)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100415212905/http://www.religiondispatches.org/blog/2456/the_endurance_of_christian_reconstructionism The Endurance of Christian Reconstructionism], Sarah Posner, Religion Dispatches
*[http://p2.smu.edu/acambre/garynorth/ The Gary North is a Big Fat Idiot Page]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Christian fundamentalism]]
[[Category:Law]]
[[Category:Theocracy]]
[[Category:Totalitarianism]]

Categories: Christian fundamentalism, Law, Theocracy, Totalitarianism