Rep. Mike Johnson, the newly elected Republican House speaker, used to conduct a seminar in churches premised on the idea that the United States is a “Christian nation.” This ministry, as he has referred to it, is yet more evidence that Johnson is committed to a hardcore Christian fundamentalism that shapes his views of politics and government.
The seminar, titled “Answers for Our Times: Government, Culture, and Christianity,” was organized by Onward Christian Education Services, Inc., a company owned by his wife, Kelly Johnson, a Christian counselor and anti-abortion activist who calls herself a “leader in the pro-family movement.” The website for her counseling service—which was taken down shortly after Johnson became speaker—described the seminar, which featured both her and Johnson, as exploring several questions, such as, “What is happening in America and how do we fix it?” The list includes this query: “Can our heritage as a Christian nation be preserved?” There were different versions of the seminar running from two-hour-long lectures to retreats lasting two days.
To paraphrase many others…those religious rules are for the believers in that religion, not for others. If I’m not in their little book club, I simply don’t care what their “god” says, nor do I ever have to be concerned with it, ever. Only they have to listen to their “god”. But there is no fun in that for those afflicted with the authoritarian mindset - they want to busybody others and be full-time Karens for everyone in the nation, if not the world.
The freedom of others to not only outright ignore their little bookclub’s rules, but also to mock their beliefs is exactly what the Christopaths hate and loathe about this country, though, since it was founded as a secular one. If anyone were to doubt this is not a thing with them, one only need to point out the phenomenon known as “fatwa envy”. I think if they are that unhappy about it, they should move somewhere more receptive to their regressive views about ruling over others in the name of their “god”.