I was shocked that Jehovah's Witnesses got listed as Christians and not Mormons. And again, when I try to explain what is going on in our country through the lens of WCN, they have a hard time grasping that this can be happening.
People who've never been exposed to this zealotry have a hard time imagining its grip.
I was also surprised by the Jehovah's Witnesses listed as Christians. My pastor always taught they were going to hell along with Mormons, who were both "cults."
And the fights between my Catholic dad and my almost convert to JW mom were epic over whose religion was the "true" Christianity. That deserves its own memoir.
When my parents married, she was Methodist and he was Baptist. Neither were particularly religious. She refused to be Baptist because her mother believed Baptists weren't "real" Christians because they didn't believe one could lose their salvation. He refused to be Methodist because no woman was going to tell him what to do. So they compromised and joined a Presbyterian church. I was actually christened Presbyterian as a baby.
When we moved to SC, they joined the WCN Baptist church because it had a school, and tithing members got a discount. The school was the gateway drug to the cult.
Then they started telling every other family member they weren't "real" Christians, even if they were professing Christians and went to church. These other churches weren't the "right kind" of churches. They didn't teach the "right" gospel. Etc.
This is ALL OVER the place in White Christian Nationalism. It is going to be a shit show when these people start fighting each other for power.
I can imagine it was very alienating as you have written about. My JW grandparents were crafty about who they said that kind of stuff to, usually when they got someone one-on-one, and, of course, when they went door to door.
Well, they spent time with family who weren't JW, and it seemed to be o.k. because I think my grandmother was able to maintain boundaries. I know my uncle ( my mom's brother) kept himself and his family at a distance, and they didn't suffer the same tactics as my mom and our family did. Also, they didn't have many, if any, friends who weren't in the faith. As a child, it was hard to know what the other adults in their life felt until later, when I would hear my great-uncle blame my grandfather's death on "that religion".
Thank you for having the courage to keep reporting on Hegseth's vile outrages. And my empathy to all the fine U.S. military officers whose careers Hegseth is bent on destroying because they're the wrong (in his eyes) gender, or color, or flavor of belief.
Hegseth cannot have taken, in good conscience, his oath to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. He traduces that oath daily.
When the White House removed the US Constitution from its website after the inauguration, that was an intentional act. They have not been following the Constitution this entire time. They destroyed it that day. So of course Hegseth is not loyal to it. He was part of trashing it.
I'm sure Quakers are included because they were some of the "original white Christians" this crowd likes to point to from our country's founding. Trying to understand some of their thinking breaks my brain.
I went to Quaker meetings because I lived near a meeting house - they are all quaint and I was curious and I could walk to it. There was the grand puba who had comments followed by the insufferable silence wherein people made comments. Having just returned to Philly area from red neck GA, the word god falls out of the mouth easily. So I made a comment with god. The kind puba invited me to her farm home to discuss Quakerism. I was not chastised for saying god but I learned about the light and some dude who started it all. Sounds like the Mormons to me. A religion of convenience and certainly not christian. She was fun and sweet. She hated how the Penna farmland around her had been turned into developments - rape houses, one of which I lived in. Her son came by during one of our meetings to do something or pick something up and they spoke in the thee and thou tense. He lived in a trailer house on the farm and had a 9’ grand piano, maybe a bosendorfer, in the trailer. Reminded me of the “That Girl” episode wherein Anne Marie wanted a hobby so she rented a piano in her little NYC apartment. It was a grand piano. She had to serve dinner on it.
My church actually taught that Baptists were the only real Christians and that Jesus was Baptist because John the Baptist baptized him. All other Protestant denominations were “false” because they came out of the Catholic Church. I SHIT YOU NOT.
The partnership between the conservative Catholics, conservative Jews, LDS, and the Evangelicals has been fascinating to watch. As a person who grew up Southern Baptist, and who had parents who were more in line with South Carolina country baptist, this marriage of convenience has been fascinating. You are exactly right about how the other faiths are perceived, particularly by folks in the really southern and country church backgrounds. I have wondered when the turning against the Catholics would begin. LDS wasn't even on our radar as being remotely Christian. I was beginning to wonder if these old animosities had passed with the younger generations, and that they were not raised hearing the things that I heard growing up.
They've been passed along, and the younger generations are more radicalized in my view. Which will make this holy war worse once they start fighting each other for power. (As I warned in a 2024 series telling everyone this would happen.)
I didn't pay much attention when my mother referred to Obama as the anti-christ. I assumed she was just being racist. I now realize that the painting of Obama as the anti-christ was serious.
Do you think the appointment of Prevost as Pope was a recognition of the break that is coming, or does he serve another purpose, such as modernizing, reigning in Opus Dei, etc. It could be both.
I was gobsmacked when I saw the article in the NYT about this activity. And to read that Congress has actually weighed in on it. WTH? I referenced the article to my maga sister in law who is sitting in the ICU with her critically ill daughter and she agreed this world is crazy. I’m a SBPK and I’ll never forget the first time somebody asked me if we only eat fish on Good Friday. In my head I’m thinking we’re lucky to afford a meal on any day that ends in Y let alone expensive fish some church day. That was back in the day when you whispered Catholic as if it were Cancer. My career Navy brother was on food stamps early on. I don’t even fill in religious preference on forms anymore and if I did it would be NONE or Go To Hell. And that approved list, most don’t do the JC thing, I think they are into Allah. Mostly, who f*ing cares?
Thanks for this post,Andra.Sorry it shaves years off your life..😔 Of course the media’s reporting on the military’s list and reversal was utterly lacking.
The Southern Baptist Conf is in Orlando this week and the two candidates running for prez claim they don’t have an abuse crisis.And of course they will try again to ban churches with women pastors.Should be interesting to see how it goes this year…
This timeline is shaving years off all our lives. Sigh.
I can only imagine that racist, women-hating organization will be a shit show in Orlando. It's hilarious that they claim they don't have an abuse crisis, when 90% of Evan Hurst's sexual predator list is SBC.
And our AG just released a legal opinion,rife with biblical references, saying school boards must release students for “religious instruction” while LifeWise Academy infiltrates the state…it.never.ends.
I definitely see that we get the whole christianist kitchen sink here. My family is Byzantine Catholic. Obviously not on here, but essential to my family’s faith and in fact the story of how they became naturalized Americans.
I was shocked that Jehovah's Witnesses got listed as Christians and not Mormons. And again, when I try to explain what is going on in our country through the lens of WCN, they have a hard time grasping that this can be happening.
People who've never been exposed to this zealotry have a hard time imagining its grip.
I was also surprised by the Jehovah's Witnesses listed as Christians. My pastor always taught they were going to hell along with Mormons, who were both "cults."
And the fights between my Catholic dad and my almost convert to JW mom were epic over whose religion was the "true" Christianity. That deserves its own memoir.
I can imagine.
When my parents married, she was Methodist and he was Baptist. Neither were particularly religious. She refused to be Baptist because her mother believed Baptists weren't "real" Christians because they didn't believe one could lose their salvation. He refused to be Methodist because no woman was going to tell him what to do. So they compromised and joined a Presbyterian church. I was actually christened Presbyterian as a baby.
When we moved to SC, they joined the WCN Baptist church because it had a school, and tithing members got a discount. The school was the gateway drug to the cult.
Then they started telling every other family member they weren't "real" Christians, even if they were professing Christians and went to church. These other churches weren't the "right kind" of churches. They didn't teach the "right" gospel. Etc.
This is ALL OVER the place in White Christian Nationalism. It is going to be a shit show when these people start fighting each other for power.
I can imagine it was very alienating as you have written about. My JW grandparents were crafty about who they said that kind of stuff to, usually when they got someone one-on-one, and, of course, when they went door to door.
Did people try to avoid being alone with them?
Well, they spent time with family who weren't JW, and it seemed to be o.k. because I think my grandmother was able to maintain boundaries. I know my uncle ( my mom's brother) kept himself and his family at a distance, and they didn't suffer the same tactics as my mom and our family did. Also, they didn't have many, if any, friends who weren't in the faith. As a child, it was hard to know what the other adults in their life felt until later, when I would hear my great-uncle blame my grandfather's death on "that religion".
Thank you for having the courage to keep reporting on Hegseth's vile outrages. And my empathy to all the fine U.S. military officers whose careers Hegseth is bent on destroying because they're the wrong (in his eyes) gender, or color, or flavor of belief.
Hegseth cannot have taken, in good conscience, his oath to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. He traduces that oath daily.
When the White House removed the US Constitution from its website after the inauguration, that was an intentional act. They have not been following the Constitution this entire time. They destroyed it that day. So of course Hegseth is not loyal to it. He was part of trashing it.
My church, Disciples of Christ, didn’t make the list. So I’m what? An infidel?
You are in the “Other religions” category.
Yet, they included Quakers.
I'm sure Quakers are included because they were some of the "original white Christians" this crowd likes to point to from our country's founding. Trying to understand some of their thinking breaks my brain.
I went to Quaker meetings because I lived near a meeting house - they are all quaint and I was curious and I could walk to it. There was the grand puba who had comments followed by the insufferable silence wherein people made comments. Having just returned to Philly area from red neck GA, the word god falls out of the mouth easily. So I made a comment with god. The kind puba invited me to her farm home to discuss Quakerism. I was not chastised for saying god but I learned about the light and some dude who started it all. Sounds like the Mormons to me. A religion of convenience and certainly not christian. She was fun and sweet. She hated how the Penna farmland around her had been turned into developments - rape houses, one of which I lived in. Her son came by during one of our meetings to do something or pick something up and they spoke in the thee and thou tense. He lived in a trailer house on the farm and had a 9’ grand piano, maybe a bosendorfer, in the trailer. Reminded me of the “That Girl” episode wherein Anne Marie wanted a hobby so she rented a piano in her little NYC apartment. It was a grand piano. She had to serve dinner on it.
I know nothing about Quakers other than visiting Philly meeting houses as part of a walking tour. 😂
such an important article… As others on this thread have said, being raised WCN/
S. Baptist/Assembly of God …I was made to believe that Catholics/JW/Mormon, were all bound for hell.
My church actually taught that Baptists were the only real Christians and that Jesus was Baptist because John the Baptist baptized him. All other Protestant denominations were “false” because they came out of the Catholic Church. I SHIT YOU NOT.
yep, I remember the same… And we were kind of church hoppers so I got to experience so many different iterations of this same belief.
The partnership between the conservative Catholics, conservative Jews, LDS, and the Evangelicals has been fascinating to watch. As a person who grew up Southern Baptist, and who had parents who were more in line with South Carolina country baptist, this marriage of convenience has been fascinating. You are exactly right about how the other faiths are perceived, particularly by folks in the really southern and country church backgrounds. I have wondered when the turning against the Catholics would begin. LDS wasn't even on our radar as being remotely Christian. I was beginning to wonder if these old animosities had passed with the younger generations, and that they were not raised hearing the things that I heard growing up.
They've been passed along, and the younger generations are more radicalized in my view. Which will make this holy war worse once they start fighting each other for power. (As I warned in a 2024 series telling everyone this would happen.)
I didn't pay much attention when my mother referred to Obama as the anti-christ. I assumed she was just being racist. I now realize that the painting of Obama as the anti-christ was serious.
It was racist, and it was serious.
Do you think the appointment of Prevost as Pope was a recognition of the break that is coming, or does he serve another purpose, such as modernizing, reigning in Opus Dei, etc. It could be both.
I'm not sure, but I think it's both.
We just don't seem to be able to evolve "anymore".
Fun fact: I wasn’t allowed to use the word “evolve” while growing up in WCN, because “evolve” is associated with “evolution.”
I was gobsmacked when I saw the article in the NYT about this activity. And to read that Congress has actually weighed in on it. WTH? I referenced the article to my maga sister in law who is sitting in the ICU with her critically ill daughter and she agreed this world is crazy. I’m a SBPK and I’ll never forget the first time somebody asked me if we only eat fish on Good Friday. In my head I’m thinking we’re lucky to afford a meal on any day that ends in Y let alone expensive fish some church day. That was back in the day when you whispered Catholic as if it were Cancer. My career Navy brother was on food stamps early on. I don’t even fill in religious preference on forms anymore and if I did it would be NONE or Go To Hell. And that approved list, most don’t do the JC thing, I think they are into Allah. Mostly, who f*ing cares?
I always said Project 2025 was a Christofascist manifesto.
Thanks for this post,Andra.Sorry it shaves years off your life..😔 Of course the media’s reporting on the military’s list and reversal was utterly lacking.
The Southern Baptist Conf is in Orlando this week and the two candidates running for prez claim they don’t have an abuse crisis.And of course they will try again to ban churches with women pastors.Should be interesting to see how it goes this year…
This timeline is shaving years off all our lives. Sigh.
I can only imagine that racist, women-hating organization will be a shit show in Orlando. It's hilarious that they claim they don't have an abuse crisis, when 90% of Evan Hurst's sexual predator list is SBC.
And our AG just released a legal opinion,rife with biblical references, saying school boards must release students for “religious instruction” while LifeWise Academy infiltrates the state…it.never.ends.
I definitely see that we get the whole christianist kitchen sink here. My family is Byzantine Catholic. Obviously not on here, but essential to my family’s faith and in fact the story of how they became naturalized Americans.
Of course they are excluded because the immigrant part isn’t important and must be erased. Sigh.
I believe you and this is exactly what scares me the most. This is very bad news for our country.