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Authoritarian Leaders = Evangelical Role Models - Coggle Diagram
Authoritarian Leaders = Evangelical Role Models
Communism --> authoritarianism
Huge swing from just a few decades ago when these same post-soviet countries were part of the enemy of the christian US right → communism
Dana Rohrabacher— most anti-communist member of congress from Cali, worked under Goldwater and Reagan, then did 180 and is most pro Russia member of congress — pro Russia, what happened to his libertarian values
The Christian right's enemy no. 1 was communism for decades; as soon as the Soviet Union fell and swiftly became multiple authoritarian states, the Christian right began to do a 180 in their opinions of these states
Began to look at former Soviet states not as the enemy, but as inspiration-- because majority white states with blatant white supremacy, Christian supremacy, "traditional family values" i.e. anti-LGBTQ+, and firmly closed borders to refugees
coincided with U.S. passing landmark legislation and SCOTUS cases that headed in a progressive direction (Brown v Board, Obergefell, Roe...) and Christian right took any instances of civil/social justice reforms as a personal attack against their supremacy --> Eastern Europeans offered a respite for Christian nationalists who wanted authoritarian leadership to enact their white supremacist, transphobic, etc. legislation
Viktor Orban-- Autocrat prime minister of Hungary
openly creating “an illiberal state”
Undermined legitimacy of elections, outlawed abortion, controlled media, demonized immigrants→ cheered on by Trump
Called Hungary a “Christian democracy”
He is champion of many far-right Christian activists in US
“Thirty years ago we thought that Europe was our future… Today we believe that we are Europe’s future”
American Christian right allied with Eastern European authoritarians
Leads to declining support for American liberal democracy and subsequent support for authoritarianism
George Soros has become scapegoat for religious right
alliance of American alt-right/white supremacists with American religious right-- creates far-right coalition in American politics
Steve Bannon knew how to use religious right to elect alt right
Trump is just the most high-level iteration of the relationship between Repoobs and authoritarian leaders
Trump supported Mohammed bin Salman, Kim Jong Un, Erdogan, Duterte, Putin while ruining longstanding alliances with Western, democratic countries
Republicans love the "tough guy" leader
"Strongman Caucus"
Finkelstein managed to recast the word “liberal” as pejorative → US political strategist → hired by Orban for reelection campaign → very anti-immigration→ helped Orban win
Paul Manafort, Dana Rohrabacher, Ted Cruz, Steve King
Rohrabacher thinks immigration will lead to the “destruction of Western civilization”
Steve King invited Geert Wilders (founder of Netherland’s far right party) to speak to House Repoobs in 2015
worried about “cultural suicide” by admitting Muslim refugees
Used to be fringe, then named co-chair of Cruz's presidential bid
Death of the Shining City on a Hill
American Christian right is letting go of American exceptionalism to turn to Eastern Europe autocrats for inspiration about “pro-family policy”
Death of Liberalism/liberal democracy
As soon as liberal democracy stops working in their favor, Christian right wants authoritarianism instead
Thinks authoritarians stand up for “traditional values”
Openly embracing authoritarianism/dictators
Alexandr Dugin → Russian philosopher who argues that “the three chief political ideologies of the 20th century -- communism, fascism, and liberalism-- are defunct, and must be replaced with a fourth theory, emerging from Russia and rooted in “tradition””
Hero of Christian right in U.S.
Gave virtual speech in 2015 to Texas A&M university that was titled “American Liberalism must be destroyed”
Only reason democracy doesn't work for them is because they are clearly in the minority and thus can't win their hateful policies through free and fair elections
Under Obama, Repoobs/Christian leaders claimed that American democracy was “stifling the freedom of conservative Christians”
Christian right admires Benito Salvini as “pro-family” hero
“City on a hill” myth commonly used by Christian right during cold way → belief that U.S. was “a nation with a divine mission to be a beacon of freedom and democracy to the world”
Reagan used “city on a hill” to condone American exceptionalism and turned phrase into mantra of American nationalism/far-right christians
American Christian right want the EU’s liberal democratic values to fall → openly support and want authoritarianism
World Congress of Families
Hold conferences semi-annually around the world, mostly in authoritarian countries
Conference in Moldova with Igor Dodon, President who is staunch Putin ally, supporting the cause
Dodon’s ideas popular with Christian right, but unconstitutional in ways they connect church and state → Christian right embracing Eastern European ideas of right-wing authoritarianism
Have natalist vision that they think is under attack from liberalism (gender identity, aggressive feminism, death culture of natural family, etc)
Allan Carlson founded World Congress of Families
Thinks transgender rights undermining city on a hill status
Worried about “war on fertility” → contraceptives and decline of nuclear family
His hero is Orban
World Congress of Families concerned about “gender ideology” (coded language for LGBTQ+ ppl) was ruined the family → “continuous erosion of differences between a man and a woman could lead to dire consequences” -- Vasadze