Beware the religious invasion of our polity

Terry Lane

April 17, 2005

Right. Just one more thing about the consequences for us of American imperialism driven by hubris and justified by exceptionalism.

Brian Rotman in the London Review of Books sums up American chosen-ness thus: ". . . in America, where every dollar bill proclaims the nation's trust in God, where school children pledge allegiance each morning to God and the United States, where Jesus rules the patriotic lives of tens of millions . . . belief in the Almighty and the ongoing maintenance of American national identity are inseparable. Nowhere is this more evident and dangerous than in the fusion of evangelical Christianity and extreme-right imperialism that now controls the levers of American power. In thrall to the Bible and convinced once again of its Manifest Destiny, American exceptionalism continues to remake the world in its own image."

Whatever happens in America happens in Australia 10 years later. Already Australia is drawn into the aura of American arrogance and ruthless militarism. Is it possible that the organisations that have been so influential in controlling the Republican Party and the national agenda, could also be infiltrating political institutions here?

Dr Marion Maddox, in her book God under Howard, argues this is just what is happening. Originating in a secretive American evangelical organisation called The Family, a religious-political program has developed that has consequences for us.

The Family was founded in the 1930s and its most conspicuous events are prayer breakfasts for legislators, starting in the US and now common in many countries, including Australia.

It might seem a harmless enough project to get politicians praying, but there is more going on than meets the eye. Harper's Magazine reporter Jeffrey Sharlet infiltrated The Family's headquarters and training program and was dismayed to discover the influence it wields at the highest levels of American power.

The Family's technique is not to convert the world but to control the positions of power in society. This is sometimes known as Dominionism - "God's plan is for his people . . . to take dominion . . . to reign and rule".

Maddox sets out evidence of the influence of Dominionism on right-wing think-tanks, particularly the Centre for Independent Studies and the Tasman Institute, both of which have used pseudo-theological arguments to promote an ideal society in which the rich rule without restraint and High Court judges are reminded that the Mabo decision is, in Christian theological terms, heresy.

We tend to reassure ourselves that the average Australian is too naturally sceptical to fall for religious demagoguery, but the sinister elegance of the Dominionist program is that it doesn't care what the hoi polloi think as long as the ruling elite are doing God's will. And here we enter the realm of speculation.

When Peter Costello and John Howard turn up at Pentecostalist "prosperity" churches, apparently endorsing the new version of the Gospels that proclaims that God makes the good rich, are they attending as true believers or are they cynically appealing to a new constituency? This is one time where we might hope that a politician is running true to form, motivated by the deepest cynicism in single-minded determination to be re-elected. If the pretender to the Lodge is a true believer, then we are in trouble.

Maddox concludes: "Religion is a potent ingredient in our postmodern national mix. Our highly secular political culture cannot continue to overlook its intricacies."

Be afraid!


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