Theocracy Now?

Whatever the outcome of the

over President Bush's judicial nominees, the Christian Right is a stronger political force as a result of its now infamous "Justice Sunday: Stop the Filibuster Against People of Faith" telecast on April 24 of this year. The nation is not yet a theocracy, if mullah-run Iran or Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is the standard. But after four years of unprecedented access, far-right Christian fundamentalists are deeply embedded in government structures and ready to call the shots over the biggest prize, the U.S. Supreme Court. We are on the brink of a de-facto Christian state, and we should be very frightened for the future of religious freedom and diversity.

Consider the facts. The Christian Right has worked closely with the Bush administration from day one, and arguably they're within reach of what they want: funding for religious agencies, more religion in the public square, scientific research that reflects fundamentalist beliefs, a proliferation of restrictive laws and regulations governing sexual behavior and family relationships, limits on individual freedoms, a second chance to discredit evolution, shredding the New Deal safety net, and the opportunity to reverse Supreme Court decisions such as

and

. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has often spoken about imposing his biblical worldview through his work in Congress. This vision of the United States as a Christian nation with a mandate from God is being realized.

Why is it so hard to convince moderates about what is happening nationally and in their communities? There is nothing abstract about the "theocratization" of America. Ask parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, who are fighting for accurate, respectful sexuality education in their schools. Or the nine congregants who were ousted from their Waynesville, North Carolina, church last week because they refused to support President Bush. Or women who cannot have their prescriptions for birth control filled because a pharmacist doesn't approve of contraception on "moral" grounds. Theocracy is not an academic concept. The nature of life in America is changing.

Legislation has been re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to ensure that politicking in churches will be legally protected.

would amend the Internal Revenue Code to "protect the religious free exercise and free speech rights of churches and other houses of worship."

has also been re-introduced in the House, under the banner of protecting religious expression by requiring employers to accommodate the religious needs of employees. The positive side of this legislation--as a remedy for regrettable instances such as Jews being fired for refusing to work on the Sabbath, Muslim women losing their jobs over their request to wear a head-scarf, and Sikh-Americans being fired for wearing turbans--while compelling, must be weighed carefully against legitimate fears that it would provide a refuge for discriminatory actions and unwelcome proselytizing in the workplace under the auspices of abiding by one's religious principles.

In the area of women's private decisions about abortion, Christian fundamentalist religious beliefs about the fetus have been legislated for so many years, under the "right-to-life" cover, that the nation is virtually insensitized to the fact that there are pro-choice Christians who have completely different views about fetal life and women's moral agency.

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