At the base of all policy disputes is a foundational question: What is government for? What sort of decisions are properly within the remit of the state, and which must be left to individuals exercising their own beliefs? The nation’s founders answered that question with the Bill of Rights, which is properly read as a list of things that government is prohibited from doing.
Those amendments answer a fundamental question: who decides, and that makes it an impediment to the “Christian” warriors who want to dictate how the rest of us should live. As most Hoosiers are aware, a lot of those warriors– beneficiaries of Indiana’s extreme gerrymandering–have been elected to Indiana’s embarrassing legislature.
You would think–okay, hope–that this year’s short session would curtail efforts to violate citizens’ individual rights, but you’d be wrong. The Indiana Citizen has recently reported on several bills that would, if passed, advance the desires of those “Christian” nationalists for control over Hoosier behaviors.
One of those is SB 88, which has passed out of committee “with all of the committee’s Republicans supporting the bill and the Democrats who were present opposing it.” It will be heard by the full Senate.
The Citizen tells us that the bill’s author, Sen. Gary Byrne, did strip some of the bill’s most controversial elements ahead of the vote, including a requirement that middle school civics courses teach the meaning and significance of “historic” documents like the Ten Commandments, and another that would have restricted how civics teachers could address race, gender identity and issues of inequality.
In its current form, SB 88 would add something called the Classic Learning Test to the list of college entrance exams state colleges and universities are required to accept. (Like the ACT and SAT.) The Classic Learning Test is described as “a conservative-backed standardized exam that emphasizes classical literature and Christian thinkers.” SB 88 would also expand the statutory definition of “good citizenship” instruction, requiring schools to teach students a version of “good citizenship” that includes graduation from high school, holding a full-time job, and waiting until marriage to have children.
(And here I thought “good citizenship” meant things like civic literacy, jury duty and voting…these days, I’d expand that definition to include protesting and when appropriate, civil disobedience.) As several Democrats noted, the bill would impose (some people’s) moral instruction under the guise of civics education.
The inability of Indiana’s GOP to distinguish between America’s legal structure and their carefully cherry-picked bible lessons is a common hallmark of Christian nationalism. A recent post from Lincoln Square highlights a recent publication from the Heritage Foundation, a follow-up to that organization’s Project 2025.
Do you believe that husbands should be in charge of their wives? Do you think that women who get a divorce ought to be ineligible for government benefits? Are you against gay marriage? Well, I’ve got good news for you!
The Heritage Foundation’s new report, Saving America by Saving the Family: A Foundation for the Next 250 Years, reads like a white Christian Nationalist fever dream.
There are legitimate disagreements among legal scholars about the intent/meaning of several constitutional provisions. There are legitimate disputes over the application of provisions of the Bill of Rights to contemporary realities the Founders could never have envisioned. But there is absolutely no credible scholarship supporting the notion that government should mandate behavior approved by a religious sect–or impose legal sanctions on behaviors that a given religion disapproves.
There is no historical basis for creating an American Christian theocracy.
Most religions–and most non-believers–share broadly-held views that are also moral: against murder, against theft, against aggressions of various kinds. Our government can and does forbid those behaviors–not because they violate some religious tenets, but because they violate the libertarian premise upon which our government was founded. That premise, articulated by Enlightenment philosophers and endorsed by America’s Founders, was simple and profound: Individuals should be free to pursue their own ends–their own life goals–so long as they do not thereby harm the person or property of someone else, and so long as they are willing to accord an equal liberty to their fellow citizens. Government’s role is to protect our individual liberties while keeping the strong from abusing the weak.
It is not government’s job to prescribe our prayers or to dictate when, how or whether we should procreate, and it’s none of government’s business who we may choose to love. Laws imposing the religious beliefs of these performative “Christians” on the rest of us are unconstitutional and profoundly unAmerican.
Majority members of Indiana’s General Assembly need to take a remedial civics course.
It would be nice of the Christian Soldiers were opposed to citizens being shot in the streets by ICE thugs. Where are they on state murders?
“Majority members of Indiana’s General Assembly need to take a remedial civics course.” I’m not sure that would help these true believers. After all, they’ll just go to church and have all that intelligent material thrown into a cocked hat. A belief is not a fact. The ten commandments are a contrived list made up by semi-/illiterate, fearful and self-ordained people – later modified by Roman emperors – to present ideals. Good for them.
In the United States, at least, the vast majority of people are somewhat literate to highly literate, able to follow the rules that govern the millions of their fellow citizens. It just seems so backward and primitive to rely on ancient (alleged) beliefs that have so many contradictions and counterproductive “laws”. No wonder Republicans default to them. They have to use fantasy and fairy tales to control their voters/adherents. Facts and egalitarian rules just don’t work for them.
Well, according to the recent Pew Research Center poll, Trump is even losing his MAGA/GOP faithful. I’ve already identified that many are going to the America First camp, while others continue along the Make Israel Great Again camp. Charlie Kirk was actually transition to the American First camp when most of his donors were Zionists. This may have triggered an organizational reset.
Those who also claim to be in the America First camp talk about being Christians, but maybe “woke Christians.” Tucker Carlson would fit this model.
In the Pew polls, that solid number who believe Trump is a moral actor is a solid 27%. These people occupy space in an alternate reality. The new batch of Epstein Files being released will not be good for Trump at all. I’ve already read several witness testimonies regarding Trump. Despite how bad they are, the 27% will ignore all of them and believe that Trump was sent by a god.
Also, I’ve sent an FOIA to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to get a copy of TPUSA’s Club Manual which the governor and assistant governor want in every Texas school. Asst Governor Patrick gave $1 million from his campaign funds to promote this project and if any teacher resists this club, they will be disciplined by TEA. We want to find out how much Christianity is involved in their manuals.
p.s. A memo was sent to all existing clubs across the country, that any discussion on Israel’s genocide or participation in pro-Palestinian marches will be cause for immediate loss of club licensure. There is a reason Erika Kirk first went to Bari Weiss at CBS News to discuss the assassination and transition. 😉
Yesterday’s Star reported the Indiana Senate has passed a bill (SB 87, I think) concerning mifeprostone, the “next day” abortion drug. It treats possession, sale, use, or recommendation of the drug as felonious crime. I only scanned the article, but it is clearly draconian, anti-woman, and breathtakingly intrusive into private life. It may be worth specific discussion with analysis by our host.
It would, also, be nice if these fake Christians would “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and “Be kind to strangers.”
But, these, like other suggestions deleted from the Christian bible, do not lead to holding power.
Vernon,
“In the United States, at least, the vast majority of people are somewhat literate to highly literate, able to follow the rules that govern the millions of their fellow citizens.” You are an optimist…see how people drive. Yes, they don’t murder or steal. Maybe the rules they follow are what they got from the Bible? Cynical Saturday…
Thank you, Sheila. As a Christian believer in loving all people and in “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you “, I am somewhat heartbroken by those who claim Christianity and support KKK beliefs. America, though not perfect, used to be the land of possible dreams and now, people don’t even want to come here, or stay here. And, they call that Christianity? I believe Christ would be angry and heartbroken.
So only divorced women would not be eligible for government benefits? If there was ever a red flag demonstrating the WCN fever dreams of dominion over females, this one has it in spades. Men get to access benefits regardless of marital status.
Who gets to decide? Supposedly, voters get to decide. Who decides who are eligible voters? Ah, there you have it. The fly in the ointment.
The arrest of reporters (all are black, no surprise)is a further step in the slide to autocracy. Racism is the basis for the cult’s allegiance. It won’t ever change.
The partial release of the Epstein files with several million pages still restricted says that this DOJ is completely corrupt, once again defying the Congress and multiple judicial orders. We really have no federal, or for that matter state and in some cases local, governments respecting the Bill of Rights. My copy of the U.S. Constitution becomes more a suggestion of possible rights and duties with every passing day.
I am fortunate enough to have a valid passport. However, I won’t carry it with me to be able to show my “papers”. It would be too easy for it to be confiscated, then conveniently “lost”, much like cell phones with incriminating recordings of agents’ abuses and crimes.
On a personal note, my partner and I have been IndyCar fans for more than 5 decades. Pensky’s caving to dump’s grandiose plans for a street race in D.C. to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding begs the question of just how many drivers and crew members are here on visas and who will be checking their status.
A legislator was quoted recently that he believes the Ten Commandments should be posted and taught in schools because
“Real Hoosiers are religious.” Question:
What’s a real Hoosier and what religion would pass the litmus test?