Christianism Is Authoritarianism

 I've said that America has a Christianist problem, and I stick by that. I want to be clear that there is nothing specific about most elements of Christian dogma that's problematic. Most of Jesus' teachings are profound and beneficent. 

Christianism, however, is not about the Beatitudes. It's a political ideology that centers some very odd interpretations of Christianity (largely drawn from Leviticus and Deuteronomy) in a framework of patriarchal authoritarianism. I've defined Trumpism and patrimonial authoritarianism, and that's pretty close to Christianism's desire for a strong, male figure to exert political control over women and children.

When we look at the abortion issue, we can see the clear preference from conservative Catholics and Protestant evangelicals for a strong consequence for women having sex and being required to have a child. There is no call from these quarters for men who impregnate women to be held financially responsible for raising the child; the focus is entirely on the women and doctors who are helping the women. 

As we are seeing in Ukraine, authoritarian systems often produce shitty outcomes, precisely because they are authoritarian. For all its myriad flaws, democracy allows for stress-testing policies and rigorous debate. While most of Joe Manchin's objections are preening grandstanding, he does have some arguments on the merits that could be addressed (whether addressing his concerns would change his vote is another matter). As a result, democracies less frequently blunder into things like Russia's disastrous invasion of Ukraine. The US invasion of Iraq was largely caused by shutting down debate and ignoring the will of the majority and led to the party that made that choice losing power.

All of this leads me back to Christianists - again conservative Catholic and Protestant sects - and their massive blind spot. One of the more disgusting developments in Republican politics is calling Democrats pedophiles, but if you want to find pedophiles, you're better off looking at patriarchal theocrats, because there is a direct link between believing in the dominion of White men over...everyone, and the exploitation of children or women.