Pulitzer-winning journalist on right-wing U.S. mega-churches and fascism
Journalist contends right-wing mega-churches are fuelling fascism in the United States
Fascism, the political madness behind Nazi Germany, is beginning to crown again and in the U.S., right-wing Christian churches are playing midwife to its birth, says a Pulitzer-winning journalist speaking this week in Victoria.
Chris Hedges defined fascism as an anti-democratic totalitarian political force. But unlike communism, another totalitarian force, the appeal of fascism is not based in ideology but emotion, he said.
“Fascism is emotionally driven rather than intellectually driven,” said Hedges. “It’s always about a Manichean world of blacks and whites, a world stripped of any kind of nuance, ambiguity or complexity.”
He said U.S. President Donald Trump relies on emotional appeal rather than ideology for much of his support, and has attracted the backing of right-wing Christian churches, especially some of the large, evangelical “megachurches.”
“Trump has no ideology himself so that the Christian right is very rapidly filling that void,” Hedges said.
He said outbursts against feminists or activists who speak on behalf of people of colour play into the views of right-wing Christians. The appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court is believed to be a precursor to overturning abortion rights.
Hedges will be speaking Thursday at the University of Victoria on “Christian Fascism and the Rise of Donald Trump.” The event is jointly sponsored by the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia and the UVic Centre for Studies in Religion and Society.
Hedges has a solid background in religion. After studying English literature at Colgate University, he earned a master’s degree in Divinity at Harvard, where he also studied classics. In 2014, he was ordained as a minister for social witness at the Second Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
He now teaches through Princeton University and heads classes at a state prison in New Jersey.
But it’s in journalism and books where Hedges earned his most widespread acclaim. He began his career reporting on the Falkland War from Argentina in 1982 for National Public Radio. He went on to report on wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua for public radio and the Christian Science Monitor.
Hedges spent seven years in the Middle East, mostly as bureau chief for the New York Times. In 2002, Hedges was part of a team from the Times that won the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of global terrorism. He has written 11 books, including War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning (2002), a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
He now writes a weekly column for the website Truthdig.
Speaking from Princeton, New Jersey, in an interview with the Times Colonist, Hedges said fascism, besides being emotional, is almost always driven by an appeal to race or ethnic solidarity.
He noted that fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini offered a return to the days of the Roman Empire and Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler conjured up a Nordic-style myth of Teutonic racial superiority reinforced with violence.
Violence is another characteristic of all totalitarian systems. But fascists tend to regard violence as a purifying act necessary for regeneration. Religion is enlisted in fascism to justify, even sanctify violence.
“There is now a belief that violence, particularly against Muslims, is religiously justified,” said Hedges. “It’s one of the reasons why Trump has so many supporters amongst Christian evangelicals.”
He said mainstream churches have bowed out of the political discussion. Many are now little more than “garden clubs for retirees.”
“I come out of that wing of the church that sees the Gospels particularly being addressed to the poor, the outcast, the marginalized and the crucified of the Earth,” said Hedges.
“The church can still have a very important prophetic role. There is still an important place for condemnation.”
Hedges speaks on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6:20 p.m. in Room 105 in the Hickman Building at UVic.
Admission is free and light refreshments will be served.