A growing number of religious churches support an ideology called Dominionism that calls for Christians to control or be the primary influence on the American government.
Who are the Dominionists and what do they mean for the future of democracy?
Sarah Riccardi-SwartzNortheastern assistant professor of religion and anthropology and Massachusetts author and researcher Frederick Clarkson said the once-obscure movement has gained political power in recent decades and plays a role in local and national elections across the United States.
Dominionism is an umbrella term for some groups of Protestants and some Catholics who interpret Genesis 1:28 in the Bible, which refers to humans dominating life on earth, as meaning that Christians should exercise control over most aspects of modern life. life, Riccardi- says Swartz.
“It's a utopian end-times eschatology,” he says.
“Most Dominionists, but not all, emphasize that the Christian church will mature and flourish and gain dominion over society before Christ returns.”
This teaching runs counter to established Christian doctrine, also called premillennialism, “which suggests that Christ must return first before a Christian kingdom is established on earth,” says Riccardi-Swartz.
“So the end game (of the Dominionists) is establishing a Christian kingdom on earth while we are still alive.”
Ending abortion, same-sex marriage and secular education are cornerstones of the movement, says Clarkson, senior research analyst at the Somerville-based Policy Research Associates.
“It's their idea of justice and what God requires of them,” he says. “The only legitimate education is through the lens of the Bible as they understand it.”
“They talk about getting rid of demons”
“They talk about Christianizing the public space. They talk about getting rid of demons,” says Riccardi-Swartz.
“It's really about spiritual warfare,” he says.
“They see themselves as warriors who fight not only demonic forces but also humans. Because they see people as demonically possessed by the spirit that is contrary to them.'
“In reality, what they're talking about is clearing the public sphere of people who aren't like them,” says Riccardi-Swartz.
When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis rephrased a passage of the Bible and told students at a private Christian college to “put on the full armor of God. Stand firm against the machinations of the left,” he was speaking to a political base of loyalists, he says.
“I think it's fair to call Dominion theology part of the toolbox of political radicalism.”
There are different groups of people who believe in Dominionist-style theology, and they're not always in sync with each other, Riccardi-Swartz says.
The so-called seven mountains of society
The Christian nationalists who participated in the January 6 uprising can be considered “fellow travelers” with the Dominionists since they “have the same end goal,” he says.
But “most Dominionists are not as violent or as prone to violence as we see among Christian nationalists, especially white Christian nationalists,” says Riccardi-Swartz.
There are a bewildering number of groups associated with the theological movement, with names such as the New Apostolic Reformation, the Latter Rain, Joel's Army, and the Seven Mountains.
The latter calls for Christians to be in control of the so-called seven mountains of society: family, arts and entertainment, media, education, government, religion and business.
The Oak Initiativeassociated with evangelical prophet and election denier Rick Joyner, calls for the emergence of effective leaders in the seven areas as part of a “spiritual awakening that lays the groundwork for course-correcting America's future.”
When Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake recently promised reporters that he would be their “worst nightmare,” he also promised that “We will also reform the media.”
Lake, who denies the legitimacy of President Biden's election, has been compared to a prophet in a charismatic christian publication.
“There is a mountain of media and they have to conquer it,” says Clarkson.
Some authoritarian groups absolutely want a theocratic form of government, others want to transform democracy but not abolish it all together, says Riccardi-Swartz.
At the most extreme, “there would be no more public schools,” he says. “The family would educate their children. There would be no social welfare efforts because the church would take care of all the needs of the poor.”
He does not speak for all religious conservatives
Riccardi-Swartz says that having a conservative Christian view does not mean that a person is a Christian nationalist or even a dominionist.
Bart Barber, the new leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, denounced Christian nationalism “60 minutes” several weeks ago, saying it goes against “everything I believe about religious freedom. … I object because Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
Riccardi-Swartz says the Christian radical right has been “slowly rising” in recent decades.
“The easy scapegoat of course is Trump. But these ideas existed long before Trump,” he says.
Social media and digital technology have allowed Dominionist groups to network and collaborate more effectively “than they did 30 years ago, even 10 years ago.”
“It's always been there and simmering. Now it's at full boil,” says Riccardi-Swartz.
How the sovereigns influenced the elections
Republican right-wing Christian gubernatorial candidate Douglas Mastriano lost the Pennsylvania race to Democrat Josh Shapiro.
But in many ways it wasn't really a defeat, says Clarkson.
With more than 40% of the vote, Mastriano “had a huge sleeper victory that was unprecedented in the United States.”
“We've never had another candidate like him in American history run for major office,” Clarkson says.
“We have an openly theocratic candidate who has said he is the voice of God,” Clarkson says. “People around him believe the same.”
Towards the end of a Facebook video of a March 15 campaign, Mastriano says, “God was speaking through a donkey. He's speaking through Doug Mastriano right now.”
“He remains a state senator and leads a group of people who meet weekly at the state Capitol to strategize,” Clarkson says. “The movement will continue.”
Mastriano's campaign coordinators came out of New Apostolic Reform churches and spent little money on ads, relying instead on social media networks like Facebook, Clarkson says.
That Mastriano's campaign did as well as it did “is amazing,” he says.
It's not just white men, Clarkson says, adding that women and people of color are also playing bigger roles in the NAR movement.
“If we see the seats being filled with people who actively support so-called electoral fraud, who are advocates of Christian nationalism, who have conspiratorial thinking, we don't know what will happen,” says Riccardi-Swartz.
“What will happen to the public schools? What will happen to gay marriage? There's a whole list of things on the agenda that will tell us a lot about the temperature of democracy in the United States.”
Get educated and vote
Riccardi-Swartz says education and information are key defenses against anti-democratic ideas.
“Be well read. Read widely,” says Riccardi-Swartz. Don't just read one newspaper or listen to one radio station, he says.
“If you hear people in your community espousing conspiracy ideas, call them out on it. Say, “I don't think that's really accurate. Can we do a survey and find out? Can we have a discussion about why you believe that?'
Clarkson says it's important to register to vote and then get out and vote. Lake, Mastriano and other election naysayers were defeated in the midterm elections.
“The Christian right is one of, if not the most powerful faction in American politics,” says Clarkson.
But the majority of Americans still believe in the separation of church and state, he says. “And that matters in a democracy.”
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