Democracy is teetering on the edge.
Attacks come from many enemies. Authoritarians. Oligarchs. Technocrats. Christian nationalists.
However, one movement ties them all together: The Western Civilization Movement.
The Western Civilization Movement is a veiled ideology of ancient European Christendom. Dr. Brad Onishi outlines the history and strategy of this ideology in his new book, “American Ceaser: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America Into a Monarchy.” Brad recently appeared as a guest on Good Faith Weekly.
The greatest enemy to this movement is liberal democracy. The goal, according to Onishi, is to have “Christ as sovereign, biblical law as civil code, and democracy as heresy.”
Make America Great Again is more about taking the country back to the Puritan Era of the Massachusetts Bay Colony than the Deep South of the 1950s. Much of this thinking began with Rousas John Rushdoony (1916-2001), an American Calvinist philosopher, historian and theologian. Rushdoony is considered the father of Christian Reconstructionism, a framework that contends society should be constructed under a theonomy, a feudal Christian society that would bring every area of life under the Kingship of Christ.
Disciples of Rushdoony include C. Peter Wagner, Lance Wallnau, Lou Engle, Paula White-Cain and many well-known figures. Political figures who have aligned include J.D. Vance, Mike Johnson, Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth.
While the old conservative mantra was “small government”, this brand of conservatism sees government as a tool to impose its will on others. Instead of shrinking government, they will expand it to advocate rigid morality, impose legal restrictions, tamp down rights, attack democracy, oppose non-white immigration, oppress minorities, export nationalism through war, and restrict religious freedoms.
They even dare to call their cause “common good conservatism,” rebranding a phrase used by more justice-minded groups. However, their idea of “common good” means organizing society under their strict interpretation of scripture and the hierarchy they believe God has created in the world.
According to The New York Times reporter Lauren Jackson, this ideology has not only gone global, but it has also transcended religion. The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship met in London earlier this year as world leaders gathered to build a strategy to expand nationalism and Western Civilization.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the crowd, “We are part of one civilization: Western civilization. We are bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share, forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry, and the sacrifices our forefathers made together for the common civilization to which we have fallen heirs.”
Philip Gorski, a professor of sociology and religious studies at Yale, told The Times that the movement is gaining momentum because it’s large enough to unite conservatives. It transcends national borders, uniting them behind a single narrative and making them believe they are all on the same page.
As this movement gains momentum, the most terrifying reality is how close it is to achieving its goal, as evidenced by all that has happened over the last decade:
The U.S. Supreme Court is controlled by a conservative majority guided by antebellum principles.
The U.S. Congress has abandoned its responsibility while the Executive Branch moves toward monarchy.
Supermajorities in some State Legistatures could now override the people’s will.
The Voting Rights Act has been carved up.
Roe v. Wade has been overturned.
LGBTQ+ rights are being set back state by state and Immigrants’ rights are being denied.
Free speech is under attack. The free press continues to defend itself from government intrusion. The wall between church and state is crumbling.
Public education is facing a financial crisis. Unauthorized wars continue.
The stage is set for reconstructionists to begin shaping the government and culture into the Great Western Civilization where Christendom governs with a “benevolent” hand. Democracy, as we know it, will be disregarded and replaced with a feudal system as chosen representatives will make legal and policy choices for the citizens’ “common good.”
At this point, you may call me an alarmist. I truly hope you’re right.
But take a minute, pause, and really look around. In the words of Marvin Gaye, “What’s going on?”
While this news should shake us to our core, the good news is it’s still not too late. People of good faith can still rise up.
We can still take a stand. We can still mobilize to ensure inclusion, freedom and justice for all prevail. However, it will take all of us.
All people of faith and no faith must come together to reject this authoritarian movement. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents need to set aside partisanship in order to save whatever semblance of democracy we have left.
The future should not be about the West or East. It should not be a race towards Christendom, Jerusalem, or Mecca.
The race for the future should be about humanity living in the universe’s symbiotic existence. It should be about love. It should be about justice. It should be about the beauty of life.
Therefore, go vote this fall. Vote early.
Vote by mail or vote on election day. Just vote.
We might be running out of opportunities to do so.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
CEO of Good Faith Media.