{"id":107995,"date":"2025-02-08T20:03:13","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T04:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/02\/08\/and-if-you-look-this-way-youll-see-the-dead-body-of-the-separation-of-church-and-state\/"},"modified":"2025-02-08T20:03:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-09T04:03:13","slug":"and-if-you-look-this-way-youll-see-the-dead-body-of-the-separation-of-church-and-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/02\/08\/and-if-you-look-this-way-youll-see-the-dead-body-of-the-separation-of-church-and-state\/","title":{"rendered":"And If You Look This Way, You\u2019ll See The Dead Body Of The Separation Of Church And State"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
(Photo by Shawn Thew\/EPA\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Folks who were paying attention didn\u2019t really need Project 2025 to know the direction Trump and the far right were planning to take the country in. Back in 2022, it was obvious theocracy was approaching. And whether it was labeled Integralism<\/a> or White Christian Nationalism<\/a>, it was pretty clear that conservative Christianity would be taking a hold in the White House under a Trump presidency. The only real question was how strong the hold would be. Considering Trump just casually mentioned a Christian task force housed in the White House, it\u2019s gonna be pretty strong.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast announces that he’s signing an order directing AG Pam Bondi to head a task force “to eradicate anti-Christian bias” pic.twitter.com\/pa8yoGrsnT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 6, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Anti-Christian bias in the FBI? Maybe Trump is partial to some information in a secret dossier that the public isn\u2019t privy to, but the FBI has skewed Christian for a very<\/em> long time<\/a>. There might be some debate over if the right \u201ctypes\u201d of Christian are filling the ranks, be they Mormon<\/a> or Catholic,<\/a> but unless there\u2019s some secret Zoroastrian front calling all of the shots, whatever anti-Christian sentiment happening in the government is likely coming from other Christians squabbling over doctrinal differences. <\/p>\n

What does the anti-Christian violence and vandalism he\u2019s talking about even look like? Did it look like Dylann Roof shooting up a Black church and putting out his White pride manifesto before the cops took him to get Burger King? Or a Black church in Texas getting slurs spray painted and summarily burned down<\/a>? Or are those examples too \u201cDEI\u201d for God to come into the picture? This isn\u2019t to say that there aren\u2019t legitimate state v. faith conflicts where Christians are often on the losing side, but forgive me for assuming that Quakers being drafted despite their pacifism or Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses being forced to say the Pledge of Allegiance aren\u2019t at the forefront of the discrimination the task force will be chasing down. Let\u2019s not forget, this is Trump we\u2019re dealing with. It is much more likely that the \u201creal\u201d anti-Christian violence the Faith Office chases down will consist of people being \u201ctoo afraid\u201d to say \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d instead of \u201cHappy Holidays\u201d or having to go through all of the trouble of getting to the Supreme Court before you can discriminate against gay people<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Funnily enough, there should be a very familiar example of anti-Christian bias involving Trump. I know that these last few weeks have felt like the last few months, but do you remember shortly after he was sworn in as Trump Coin Manipulator in Chief and sat for a sermon at Washington National Cathedral? You know, the one where the pastor asked him \u2014 one of the most powerful men in the world \u2014 to take to heart Jesus\u2019s message and show mercy to the vulnerable? He wasn\u2019t too happy about that:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n

The \u201cso \u2013 called Bishop\u201d has a name. She is Mariann Budde. <\/p>\n

She had the audacity, in a House of God, to implore Trump to have mercy on LGBTQ youths. She further asked him to understand that all immigrants are not criminals. <\/p>\n

Sounds like something a man named Jesus might do. pic.twitter.com\/37gkhMzfmc<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sis (@ResisterSis20) January 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While the United States has no state language or religion, you don\u2019t have to live here long to know that they are English and Christianity, respectively. With that in mind, there needs to be a bright line to make sure that \u201canti-Christian\u201d doesn\u2019t slip into anti-everyone else. What is the anti-Christian \u201cviolence\u201d and \u201cvandalism\u201d we need protection from? Is it anti-Christian for a swearing President to opt out of putting their hand over the Bible<\/a>? Upside down Bible photo-ops? What are the consequences for such transgressions? Will hosting book readings by drag queens be deemed \u201canti-Christian\u201d because they don\u2019t honor God? Who will be the arbiter of what does and doesn\u2019t sufficiently honor God? Paula White? Will Klan rallies be protected by the First Amendment while protesting<\/em> a Klan rally would get the Faith Office sent after you because, at the heart of it, the Klan is and has always been a Christian group? We used to have a strong First Amendment that would nip questions like this in the bud and protect members of a religious minority from the tyranny of whatever faithful were in power. Now, all we seem to have are thoughts and prayers.<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Whatever Happened To Separation Of Church And State?<\/a><\/p>\n

Yuge Fan Of Adultery And Greed Praises Christian Nationalism<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s<\/a>. \u00a0He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim,\u00a0a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor<\/a>, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at\u00a0cwilliams@abovethelaw.com<\/a>\u00a0and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The post And If You Look This Way, You\u2019ll See The Dead Body Of The Separation Of Church And State<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Photo by Shawn Thew\/EPA\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Folks who were paying attention didn\u2019t really need Project 2025 to know the direction Trump and the far right were planning to take the country in. Back in 2022, it was obvious theocracy was approaching. And whether it was labeled Integralism<\/a> or White Christian Nationalism<\/a>, it was pretty clear that conservative Christianity would be taking a hold in the White House under a Trump presidency. The only real question was how strong the hold would be. Considering Trump just casually mentioned a Christian task force housed in the White House, it\u2019s gonna be pretty strong.<\/p>\n

Anti-Christian bias in the FBI? Maybe Trump is partial to some information in a secret dossier that the public isn\u2019t privy to, but the FBI has skewed Christian for a very<\/em> long time<\/a>. There might be some debate over if the right \u201ctypes\u201d of Christian are filling the ranks, be they Mormon<\/a> or Catholic,<\/a> but unless there\u2019s some secret Zoroastrian front calling all of the shots, whatever anti-Christian sentiment happening in the government is likely coming from other Christians squabbling over doctrinal differences. <\/p>\n

What does the anti-Christian violence and vandalism he\u2019s talking about even look like? Did it look like Dylann Roof shooting up a Black church and putting out his White pride manifesto before the cops took him to get Burger King? Or a Black church in Texas getting slurs spray painted and summarily burned down<\/a>? Or are those examples too \u201cDEI\u201d for God to come into the picture? This isn\u2019t to say that there aren\u2019t legitimate state v. faith conflicts where Christians are often on the losing side, but forgive me for assuming that Quakers being drafted despite their pacifism or Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses being forced to say the Pledge of Allegiance aren\u2019t at the forefront of the discrimination the task force will be chasing down. Let\u2019s not forget, this is Trump we\u2019re dealing with. It is much more likely that the \u201creal\u201d anti-Christian violence the Faith Office chases down will consist of people being \u201ctoo afraid\u201d to say \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d instead of \u201cHappy Holidays\u201d or having to go through all of the trouble of getting to the Supreme Court before you can discriminate against gay people<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Funnily enough, there should be a very familiar example of anti-Christian bias involving Trump. I know that these last few weeks have felt like the last few months, but do you remember shortly after he was sworn in as Trump Coin Manipulator in Chief and sat for a sermon at Washington National Cathedral? You know, the one where the pastor asked him \u2014 one of the most powerful men in the world \u2014 to take to heart Jesus\u2019s message and show mercy to the vulnerable? He wasn\u2019t too happy about that:<\/p>\n

While the United States has no state language or religion, you don\u2019t have to live here long to know that they are English and Christianity, respectively. With that in mind, there needs to be a bright line to make sure that \u201canti-Christian\u201d doesn\u2019t slip into anti-everyone else. What is the anti-Christian \u201cviolence\u201d and \u201cvandalism\u201d we need protection from? Is it anti-Christian for a swearing President to opt out of putting their hand over the Bible<\/a>? Upside down Bible photo-ops? What are the consequences for such transgressions? Will hosting book readings by drag queens be deemed \u201canti-Christian\u201d because they don\u2019t honor God? Who will be the arbiter of what does and doesn\u2019t sufficiently honor God? Paula White? Will Klan rallies be protected by the First Amendment while protesting<\/em> a Klan rally would get the Faith Office sent after you because, at the heart of it, the Klan is and has always been a Christian group? We used to have a strong First Amendment that would nip questions like this in the bud and protect members of a religious minority from the tyranny of whatever faithful were in power. Now, all we seem to have are thoughts and prayers.<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Whatever Happened To Separation Of Church And State?<\/a><\/p>\n

Yuge Fan Of Adultery And Greed Praises Christian Nationalism<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s<\/a>. \u00a0He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim,\u00a0a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor<\/a>, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>\u00a0and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photo by Shawn Thew\/EPA\/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Folks who were paying attention didn\u2019t really need Project 2025 to know the direction Trump and the far right were planning to take the country in. Back in 2022, it was obvious theocracy was approaching. And whether it was labeled Integralism or White Christian Nationalism, it was pretty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":107971,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Williams-150x150-N62mgT.jpeg?fit=150%2C150&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}