Is There Christian Fascism in America?

We have to ask this question because former New York Times correspondent Chris Hedges is accusing what he calls the “Christian Right” of being a fascist movement dedicated to destroying American democracy. Hedges has even written a book detailing his allegations American Fascists: the Christian Right and the War on America, (New York, Free Press 2006).
Is Hedges right? Are Christian Conservatives fascists and do they constitute a threat to American democracy? In his book, Hedges presents no evidence to confirm his thesis, only vague editorializing about the intolerance of Conservative Christians. To make matters worse, Hedges makes no attempt to define fascism or compare Conservative Christians to historic fascist movements.
The best way to evaluate Hedges’ allegations then would be to produce a definition of fascism using knowledge about historic fascist movements and today’s American “Religious Right” to it. We should begin by making a list of the characteristics of historic fascist movements.
• Fascism was a totalitarian movement, all totalitarian movements are based around a coherent dogma usually a mixture of bad philosophy and pseudoscience. For example Marxism or the racial theories of the Nazis. The Religious Right has no coherent political ideology or religious theology. Its members include conservative Catholics, members of mainline Protestant denominations, Orthodox Christians, fundamentalists, evangelicals, Pentecostal Christians, Jews, Muslims and even some atheists and non believers. Politically its members lean to a traditional American conservatism centered on small government.
• Fascist movements are almost always socialist in nature, Hitler called his political party the National Socialists, Mussolini was an ex socialist. Both Hitler and Mussolini nationalized industry and engaged in the same kind of centralized economic planning as the Communists. Most members of the Religious Right are staunch capitalists who want lower taxes, less government regulation and more free enterprise. In terms of economics American liberals like Chris Hedges are closer to fascism than the Religious Right.
• Fascist movements being totalitarian want an all powerful government in control of all aspects of national life. An example of this was Nazi Germany where the state seized control of the schools, the universities and the media and used them for political indoctrination. The Religious Right favors limited government, its members would eliminate many government agencies including social programs and public education. The Religious Right would also reduce government interference in the economy.
• Fascist movements are undemocratic and have contempt for the rule of law. Both Hitler and Mussolini publically boasted of the plans to smash democracy and rule through might which they did once in office. Most members of the Religious Right show an almost religious relevance for the traditions and institutions of American democracy and the Constitution. As far as I know no major Christian leader has called for the overthrow of the US government and the imposition of a dictatorship.
• Fascists are militaristic and action oriented. They believe force is the answer to all problems and act accordingly. Before they seized power Mussolini’s Blackshirts and Hitler’s Nazis formed large private armies, performed military drills and engaged in numerous acts of violence against their enemies real and imagined. As far as I know there is not a single private army drilling outside any Church in America or a stockpile of weapons in the basement at Focus on the Family. If the Religious Right were a fascist movement it would have an army of stormtroopers and those stormtroopers would be terrorizing its enemies. I publically challenge Chris Hedges to find one Christian storm trooper in America today.
• Fascists are obsessed with leaders and dictatorship. Almost every fascist and Communist movement have been centered around a charismatic leader. The Italian Fascists had Mussolini, the Nazis Hitler, the Russian Communists Lenin and Stalin, the Chinese Communists Mao and so on. One of the Religious Right’s greatest weaknesses is that it is disorganized and has no real leader. Figures like Dr. Dobson and Pat Robertson are popular but their influence is limited. Indeed much of James Dobson’s appeal is that he is unthreatening, on his Focus on the Family radio show Dobson comes across as a sort of Christian Mr. Rogers dispensing fatherly advice in a folksy manner. Pat Robertson lost much of his influence when he ran for president and became a sort of joke. There is no single charismatic leader in the Religious Right only a broad movement of people who are uncomfortable with some aspects of modern American society.
Judging by these criteria the Religious Right (I use that term because not all of its members are Christians) is not fascist. Indeed as I’ve demonstrated the Religious Right is opposed to many of the key tenets of fascism.
This leads one to ask the question why is Hedges accusing large numbers of patriotic Americans who believe in freedom of being fascists? Ironically enough, Hedges himself answers that question by quoting an essay he is fond of Richard Hofstadter’s “The Paranoid Style in American Politics.” Hofstadter concluded that American political extremists end up emulating and imitating those that they oppose.
Judging from his book, Hedges comes across just like many of the cultural conservatives he fears. Like those on the Religious Right, Hedges is intolerant, dogmatic and paranoid. Much of his opposition to fundamentalist Christians stems from the fact that they reject his personal brand of Christianity. Hedges openly admits he refuses to engage in any sort of dialog with those he demonizes. Like many on the Religious Right Hedges is a paranoid, in his book, he openly admits he buys into crack pot conspiracy theories that President Bush won the 2004 election through rigged voting machines in Ohio. Most disturbing of all Hedges systematically dehumanizes those he criticizes labeling them fascists, Un-American, Christo-fascist and so on.
This of course leads us to a question, what would Hedges and those who share his beliefs such as Bill Moyers do to Conservative Christians if they were in power? In the past when groups of people have been labeled UnAmerican their basic rights have been trampled (for example FDR’s treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II). Hedges doesn’t say it but I wonder would he deprive Conservative Christians of their rights? Would he reactivate Joe McCarthy’s Committee on Un American Activities and have it investigate churches? Would he close Christian schools or have social workers take home schooled children from their parents and place them in foster care to force them to attend public schools? Would he have the FBI raid or investigate churches that didn’t pass his theological litmus test?
Such claims may seem far fetched and fantastic to us but they are the logical result of the kind of paranoid thinking Hedges is engaged in. We must not let any group in our society fall prey to such paranoia or all of our freedoms will be threatened. The real danger then is not from Christian Fascism but from those who casually and arrogantly use the term fascism to label those with whom they disagree.
One final note here, I’m not a Christian, I’m an agnostic who has long been a critic of Christianity. However, I must note that I find liberal Christians such as Chris Hedges (a graduate of Harvard Divinity School no less) and Bill Moyers to be just as intolerant and dogmatic as the Religious Right and in the end just as stupid. America would be a better place if these people spent more time trying to emulate Jesus and less time looking for enemies.