Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism
Publishing House: Norton
WorkNameSort: Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism
Kingdom Coming grew out of Salon reporter Michelle Goldberg’s fear of the ascendant political machine of the Christian right, one she saw from the confines of her Brooklyn perch as hostile to cosmopolitanism in particular and democracy in general. ‘Christian Nationalistâ?� is the label she pins on a large swath of conservatives united by an unshakable belief in a biblically correct worldview that governs the affairs of state and self. Most culture war battle fronts are encapsulated in this very readable, if not always satisfying, primer on conservative Christianity, from Alabama Judge Roy Moore’s self-made martyrdom over the display of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom to the Christian struggles against homosexuality and abortion rights and for intelligent design and abstinence education. The Christian right has been the recipient of much media attention of late for a few simple reasons: despite their schisms they’ve become an extremely effective part of the Republican machine ‘ the AFL-CIO of the so-called moral set. What they’re really after, Goldberg claims, is not a fair political shake, but ‘dominionâ?� ‘ the right to rule.
This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2006.