Religious Intolerance in America

These items come from Jews On First, whose motto is:

Jews responding to the Christian right -
because if Jews don't speak out, they'll think we don't mind

I first became aware of Jews on First when they broke the Delaware Pogrom story, an incident where Christian fundamentalists drove a Jewish and a Muslim family out of a Delaware town because they objected to overtly Christian prayer in a local public school.

The death of Jerry Falwell will not be mourned among those who believe strongly in the Constitution because his message of intolerance and hatred and his advocacy of unConstitutional mixing of church and state was about as unAmerican and immoral as you can get. This is the man who blamed 9/11 on American tolerance while the rest of use wree blaming it on religious extremism. It is unclear to me how Jerry Falwell differs all that much from the religious leaders in Iran.

Jerry Falwell's message of hatred, intolerance and unAmerican theocracy will continue to hurt America long after his death. Here are two items from Jews on First that illustrate how far right wing extremists have taken us from the liberal vision our Founding Fathers had for our nation.

Capitol Ministries: Making disciples for Jesus Christ in state legislatures:

Capitol Ministries aims to "reach every elected official in every nation of the world at every level of government with the uncompromised, saving message of Jesus Christ," according to its website. So far, the California-based group has, again according to its website, "singularly focused on establishing biblical ministries in State Capitols throughout our nation ... in order to make disciples of Jesus Christ within the political arena, at every level..."

So far, in addition to Pennsylvania, Capitol Ministries has established programs that include Bible study groups for elected officials (and separate study groups for their staffers) in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Programs in Montana and Missouri are set to begin and, the CM website says: "Our 2007 Ministry Leader Training Class, which commences in May, includes prospective Ministry Leaders for the following states: Maryland, Michigan, Illinois and Texas. If all goes according to plan, these four states will be online by the end of 2008."

The growing roster of states is worth noting because of Capitol Ministries' extremism.

The group's leader, Ralph Drollinger, is so extreme that the Los Angeles Daily News reported this month without qualification that he "has a long record of bashing Catholics, gays and mothers of young children who serve in the state Legislature..."

In his keynote address to the May 8th Harrisburg "Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast," Drollinger said it was important to challenge legislators to make decisions to "submit to Christ as Lord," according to Rabbi Paula Reimers of Congregation Beth Israel in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, who attended.

She also noted Drollinger's remark that it isn't necessary "to coerce one who has come to Christ as to how to vote."

There is more, but I can't stomach too much of the kind of fundamentalist extremism that Drollinger is spewing.

But another report from Jews on First outlines religious extremism and intolerance right in our Veterans Administration.

Jewish vet tells JewsOnFirst of repeated proselytizing by VA hospital chaplains.

David Akiba Miller is a disabled Navy veteran and an observant Jew. When he moved to Iowa City and went for care at the Veterans Administration Hospital there, he endured repeated efforts by fundamentalist Protestant chaplains to evangelize him in his hospital bed. Last week Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, held a news conference with Miller in Iowa City and declared his support for the vet -- including a lawsuit, should that become necessary. Please click here to listen to our recorded interview with Miller and to read his statement and news coverage.

This kind of crap is not just disgusting, it is, in a very real sense, illegal and unAmerican. Is it any wonder that hate crimes are up in America? Is it any wonder that Jews are feeling nervous about the rising fundamentalist Christianization of America and the intolerance it brings with it? This is why I do not mourn the death of Jerry Falwell. He was a religious fundamentalist whose message of intolerance was a very real threat against myself and my fellow non-Christian, non-Protestant Americans. Our Founding Fathers would not be pleased with the direction America is going.

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