It's a good thing this is a Christian nation, 'cuz those damned atheists ruin EVERYTHING!

Yes, sir, no godless idolator (or Packer fan) is going to run MY country....

The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven not man's.

• Mark Twain

The problem with catering to the lowest common denominator, is that when society goes and lowers the bar, some idiot turns it into a limbo contest.

• Kyu Wolf

It amazes me that, out of the something like 3000+ religions in the world, Christofascists always seem convinced that theirs and ONLY theirs is the ONE, TRUE, and ONLY Faith. They’re so convinced of this that they’re willing to lay down the law and define members of other faith traditions as “less than” and thus unworthy of existing on the same plane as good, God-fearing White Conservative Christian Cisgender Heterosexuals (themselves).

And God help those of us who, like me, are atheists and reject the idea of a Supreme Being. We’re 30 miles over the speed limit in the fast lane on the expressway to Hell (which I might be worried about if I believed in Hell).

This means that Christofascists devote considerable amounts of energy to propagating the myth that they’re superior beings and, thus, the only ones worthy of political power.

Never mind the separation of Church and State or the 1st Amendment’s Establishment Clause. They care not at all about Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists or the 1791 Treaty of Tripoli, both of which firmly establish that American governance is secular and not governed by the Christian Church.

No, Christofascists believe they were to the manor born. They want to rule both Church AND State, and they have no particular reverence for the Constitution. To quote former President George W. Bush: “It’s just a goddamn piece of paper!!”

This brings me to the National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL), a group I’d heard of before but have paid little attention to. As it turns out, these folks take themselves and their beliefs pretty damned seriously.

In November, the National Association of Christian Lawmakers announced that Republican state Rep. E. Werner Reschke had been named the organization’s “state chair” in Oregon.

You could be forgiven for asking who E. Werner Reschke is. I live in Oregon, and I’d never heard of him…perhaps because he’s- at least to my knowledge- done nothing of note.

Of course, Oregon’s a blue state, but most of the population lives in the northern end of the Willamette Valley and leans Left. It’s not these folks the NACL is catering to.

No, they’re pandering to Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains (save for Bend) and south of the Willamette Valley. Most of that sparsely populated territory might as well be West Idaho…and several counties have already voted to secede from Oregon and become part of Idaho.

The NALC would almost certainly be laughed out of Portland as a collection of Right-wing Christofascist crackpots. And they’d deserve it…because they are.

The National Association of Christian Lawmakers is a collection of right-wing state and federal legislators and religious-right activists dedicated to electing “godly leaders in our nation at every level” for the purpose of seeing its “biblical worldview spread across the nation.” Founded by longtime religious-right activist and ardent Christian nationalist Jason Rapert, the NACL seeks to “take authority” over every level of government, primarily by feeding far-right model legislation to its members to be introduced in their respective states.

Reschke appeared on Wednesday’s episode of Rapert’s “Save The Nation” program and made it quite clear that he shares Rapert’s radical vision.

You can do this when God’s on your side….

When Rapert asked why it is important for Christians to be “involved in government and voting and be a part of the authority in our country,” Reschke pulled no punches.

“What drew me to it was primarily looking at our history, and the men and women who were part of that history and building this nation,” Reschke said. “Whether it’s George Washington, whether it was [James] Madison, whether it was Abraham Lincoln, whether it was Ronald Reagan—who was the first president I got to vote for—you go back through history and you look at the men and the struggles that they faced and the faith that they had.”

If Reschke were, in fact, “looking at our history,” he’d understand the separation of Church and State and the Establishment Clause of the Constitution’s 1st Amendment. Like so many Christofascists, Reschke is perfectly willing to claim what’s convenient to his beliefs and ignore what isn’t.

“Cherry-picking” for historical bits that fits their narrow agenda is characteristic of Christofascists like Reschke and NACL.

Unfortunately for him and the rest of the Christofascists in NACL, the Constitution isn’t a la carte; you don’t get to cherry-pick what fits your tastes and leave the rest on the table.

To Reschke, Christofascists are the ONLY people suited to be in public service.

“Those are the type of people that you want in government making tough decisions during tough times,” Reschke continued. “You don’t want a materialist. You don’t want an atheist. You don’t want a Muslim. You want somebody who understands what truth is and understands the nature of man, the nature of government, and the nature of God.”

And why wouldn’t you want an atheist or a Muslim? The problems that someone in government would face aren’t religious issues. They aren’t dependent on what someone claims as their preferred faith tradition.

As an atheist, I think I people like me be particularly well-suited to make the sorts of tough decisions one would encounter during tough times. A 2000+-year-old philosophy wouldn’t cloud my mind with doctrine lacking applicability to today’s problems. Nor would we be swayed by a fundamentalist dogma that might dictate an overly harsh and heavy-handed resolution.

Who Would Jesus Despise?

All that aside, no one gets to tell me that my lack of belief in a Supreme Being makes me unfit for ANY role, whether in government or any other aspect of public life. My personal beliefs have no bearing on my fitness to serve in any role for any reason. In fact, I’d submit that Reschke’s Christofascism makes him particularly unfit to serve in a sensitive position because his fundamentalist views could cloud his judgment and serve only to inflame his considerable prejudice.

Late last year, House Speaker Mike Johnson received an American Patriot Award for Christian Honor and Courage from the NACL when he delivered the keynote address at its gala, during which he declared that God has raised him up to be the “Moses” who will lead this nation through “a Red Sea moment.”

How distressingly arrogant does one have to be to believe that “God” has “raised him up” to be the “Moses” to lead America through “a Red Sea moment?” I don’t know about my readers, but I read that, and my first thought is about how thoroughly delusional and self-righteous that sounds…and how Speaker Johnson really should be back on his Thorazine.

I have no problem with a politician’s religious faith and how it may inform the manner in which they live and/or see the world. But when they attempt to impose their beliefs on others or the country as a whole, that’s where I feel we must draw a line.

America is not a Christian nation. It IS a secular nation in which one is free to be a Christian if that is one’s choice, but that is a personal choice, not one that can or should be required of others. Not when more people have died from being murdered in the name of religion over the course of human history than from any other cause.

Christofascists make EVERYTHING worse….

Though I live in Oregon, I’ve never heard of E. Werner Reschke, and I’ll take that as a good thing. Religiosity has never been well-accepted here in the Beaver State. Oregonians, at least here in the Willamette Valley, are very accepting of the beliefs of others. Still, we react poorly when people want to force those beliefs on the wider population.

There’s a well-ingrained “live and let live” ethos in this part of the country, and Bible-thumpers don’t do well here. It’s one of the things that first attracted me to Portland, and it’s one of the reasons I love living here. I detest performative religiosity…and it turns out that most of the people who live here do as well.

E. Werner Reschke and NACL won’t find fertile ground in the Willamette Valley. They may have better luck in West Idaho Eastern and Southern Oregon, but that’s their problem, not mine.

I refuse to tolerate those who don’t understand that the “American Patriot Award for Christian Honor and Courage” isn’t the honor they think it is. That’s not patriotism, honor, and/or courage; that’s plain old Christofascism, and they’re card-carrying members of the American Taliban.

If these folks are Christians, I’m the living reincarnation of Josef Goebbels.

Just before I put this post to bed, Friendly Atheist dropped a newsletter in which E. Werner Reschke appeared to walk back his comments stating that atheists are unfit for public office.

Did someone have second thoughts, or were those size 14s not nearly as tasty as he’d suspected they might be?

Weeks after saying that atheists and Muslims shouldn’t hold public office, an Oregon lawmaker is acting like he never said it at all….

Rapert asked a softball question about why Christians needed to get involved in government, and Reschke’s response was telling for all the wrong reasons. Instead of saying Christians had a spiritual duty to shape society (or something like that), he argued that certain non-Christians were unfit for public life and didn’t deserve to be in positions of power.

He began by saying he admired the supposed Christian faith of the Founding Fathers before segueing into the people who shouldn’t be in government:

… “Those are the type of people that you want in government making tough decisions during tough times,” Reschke continued. “You don’t want a materialist. You don’t want an atheist. You don’t want a Muslim. You want somebody who understands what truth is and understands the nature of man, the nature of government, and the nature of God.”

“If you don’t understand those things, you’re gonna get things wrong,” he concluded. “In Oregon … we have a lot of people who are godless, unfortunately, leading the way and it’s the blind leading the blind.”

“If you don’t understand those things, you’re gonna get things wrong.” I’d say Reschke nailed it, but not nearly for the reasons he may have been thinking.

He clearly fails to understand the secular nature of American governance, so yes, he got that wrong. He also doesn’t know that the Constitution forbids religious litmus tests as a condition for running for office (despite this, seven states- including Texas- have laws requiring candidates to be Christians on their books).

Reschke also fails to understand that religious faith has nothing to do with one’s ability to make tough decisions under challenging circumstances. His original words left no doubt about his feelings on the subject.

He’s not subtle about his feelings. He doesn’t believe atheists or Muslims are fit to hold public office—the former because they have no religion and the latter because they’re the wrong religion.

He also felt perfectly at ease saying that—out loud!—to someone like Rapert, probably believing that the only people listening would be Christians who fully agree with them.

Obviously, the Founders felt otherwise, which is why the Constitution explicitly says there can be no religious test for public office. Even if you make the argument, though, that Reschke wasn’t banning anyone from running for office but rather saying he just didn’t think non-Christians had the right sensibility for the job, it’s still disturbing. If a Muslim or atheist said Christians shouldn’t be in government because they were too gullible, there would be an outcry in the media.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s political arm, the FFRF Action Fund, sent a letter to Reschke condemning his comments. They also pointed out that the former presidents he cited by name—George Washington, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln—didn’t share his faith or at least the practice of it.

As a state representative, your duty is to support the state and federal Constitutions and to protect the rights of conscience of your constituents, not to promote your personal religious views, much less a Christian theocracy. Your oath of office has charged you with great responsibility over citizens, including those citizens who may not or do not share your personal religious viewpoints. You have shown that you are unfit for this responsibility. You should either apologize to all non–Christian and nonreligious citizens of your district, or you should resign.

It appears that Reschke may now be backtracking. In a statement to Oregon Public Broadcasting, Reschke claimed his words were “grossly taken out of context.” Unfortunately, he didn’t provide any clarification as to what he might have meant or what the original context should have been.

Reschke’s original words were unequivocal; it was pretty clear what he meant, and there appeared to be no room for misinterpretation- only Christians had the moral fiber and clarity to be allowed to run for office. Atheists and Muslims don’t have what it takes and shouldn’t be permitted to run for office because

You want somebody who understands what truth is and understands the nature of man, the nature of government, and the nature of God.

There’s no grey area, no room for interpretation in those words, nor in the rest of what he said. His claim that his words were “grossly taken out of context” was neither a denial nor a clarification. They blame those who heard what he said.

“Who ya gonna believe, me? Or your lying ears?”

Stay classy, eh?

That didn’t stop one Muslim colleague from chiming in:

“I am disheartened to see one of my legislative colleagues express views contrary to American values, the U.S. Constitution, and our collective aspiration of building a more perfect union,” [Sen. Kayse Jama] said in a statement Monday after OPB asked about Reschke’s remarks. “Our ability to live and work with our fellow Oregonians who speak different languages, pray or vote different ways, celebrate different cultures is our strength.”

To that, Reschke responded with all the sincerity of a child who got caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar:

“I believe Senator Jama is qualified to be a Senator, as well as any other currently serving legislator duly elected by the people or appointed by County Commissioners,” he said.

Well then, which is it? Was he lying to Jason Rapert or is he lying now? If you want to make an outlandishly insane statement, at least have the courage to stand by your bigotry!

Sarah Levin, founder and principal at Secular Strategies, was appalled by his language, telling me that his remarks “demonstrate how dangerous Christian nationalists are to our democracy” by treating atheists and Muslims as “inferior, second class citizens.”

Christofascists like Reschke have no problem with lying to protect themselves or their agenda. When you don’t respect your adversary, integrity and honesty are too often weaknesses that can impair your ability to achieve ultimate victory over evil and sin.

His attitude is representative of a wider hypocrisy within American society when it comes to Christianity. Too many Americans are willing to give a politician who claims to be a Christian a free pass for a crime or character flaw when they’d roast an atheist or Muslim for the same transgression. This holds true even if the Christianity claimed is purely performative.

American society is too often deeply hypocritical when it comes to religious faith. Even though American governance is, per the Constitution, secular, Americans would still sooner vote for someone who proclaims his or her Christian faith over someone who keeps their beliefs private. Or admits to being an atheist or a Muslim. After almost a quarter-millennium, the unspoken assumption is that there must be something wrong with someone who doesn’t have an imaginary Sky Friend. Or one associated, however tenuously, with terrorism.

Leading a life filled with morality, compassion, and kindness doesn’t require that life also be filled with religious faith. Suppose you require an imaginary supreme being to monitor your every thought, word, and deed 24/7/365 to be moral, compassionate, and kind. In that case, there’s every possibility you might be a sociopath.

I long ago determined that I could be moral, compassionate, and kind without religious faith…and so far, I think I’ve done pretty well. Good on you if you’re a Christian and that faith informs how you live your life. This world needs more people like you; I’ve chosen a different route, one that I believe in and that works for me.

We should not allow E. Werner Reschke or anyone else to impose their flavor of Christofascism upon America, and not only because it has little to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ. It also violates the Constitutional separation of Church and State and the proscription against religious litmus tests.

America is what it is BECAUSE of our diversity- in religion, country of origin, culture, language, sexuality, and/or experience. No one group should be allowed to impose their prejudice upon the entire country and make it the law of the land. That was never what the Founding Fathers wanted.

No American should ever be defined as an “inferior, second-class citizen.” Not even Packer fans. 🤗

(All of my posts are now public. Any reader financial support will be considered pledges- support that’s greatly appreciated but not required to get to all of my work. I’ll trust my readers to determine if my work is worthy of their financial support and at what level. To those who do offer their support, thank you. It means more than you know.)