The socio-political project of the Christian Right
The battle now raging in many US states over women's reproductive rights is a direct result of the Christian right's efforts to impose its religious values on the spheres of the family and politics. The polarization around abortion in the United States is at a level where some of the leaders of these fundamentalist religious groups feed the idea of the coming advent of a second American civil war!
We must not think that some of the debates generated by the Christian right in the United States will not have an impact in Canada. Indeed, the recent release of the film Unplanned shows that this political-religious coalition "seeks to change" mentalities even in Canada. That is why it is important to beware of the fight being waged by some anti-abortion lobbies in the country. Groups like Campaign Life Coalition (with 200,000 members) and RightNow are working hard to get pro-life candidates elected. They won their bet by supporting provincial Conservative candidates from Ontario and Alberta. For them, the debate on abortion is a debate on human rights. Like Sam Oosterhoff, a 21-year-old Conservative MP for the 21-year-old Ford government, some people want to make the idea of having an abortion in Canada within 30 years unthinkable. However, if criminalizing abortion in Canada is difficult, it is possible for a provincial government to eliminate funding for institutions offering women the option of obtaining an abortion.
The political right of the Christian Right was felt when Donald Trump was elected President of the United States in 2016. Indeed, the rise to power of the US president comes from the fact that 81% of evangelical "white", so-called "born again" (voted again ) voted for Trump; which constitutes 61% of the 62 million evangelicals in the United States. According to polling firm Pew Research, Trump still gets his greatest support from white religious people at the age of two in the 2020 elections, 69% of evangelicals, 48% of those of major Protestant traditions, and 44% of Catholics, compared to the low percentage of Black Protestants, 12%, and non-White Catholics, 26%. The US president's racist comments on Twitter in recent days will further contribute to the polarization of this religious electorate in the United States.
Religious Coalition
But what is the Christian Right? It is a political religious coalition that is composed mainly of evangelicals and Catholics and Protestant fundamentalists. They also sometimes get the support of Mormons and some fundamentalist Jewish groups. This coalition federates around common causes such as anti-abortion activism, opposition to the rights of LGBTQ people and sex education classes, the promotion of prayer in school and the teaching of creationism (or intelligent design), the fight against euthanasia, and the safeguarding of religious freedom. The agenda of the Christian right is essentially this: the idea of a Christian nationalism where the establishment of Judeo-Christian "values" is the foundation of the law of the land.
To achieve its goals, the Christian Right adopts a so-called "Dominionist" strategy, where Christians are called to exercise power and dominate the world, according to their interpretation of a quote from the book of Genesis (1, 26-28). The most common representation of this tactic is that of the conquest of the seven mountains or spheres of culture (Seven Mountains Mandate or Seven Moulders of Culture), with a view to achieving the desired social transformation. They aim to "change mentalities" and society by influencing the spheres of religion, education, economics, politics, the arts, the media and the family. But why want to "change mentalities" and transform society? To realize the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth; it is to live the experience of the prayer of the Our Father: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6,10).
This sociopolitical project requires the mobilization of people belonging to groups that are rallied to the causes of the Christian right. For example, the dominionist groups of charismatic tendency succeed such mobilization by forming what they call "apostles at work"; people who aim to penetrate the seven spheres of culture in order to make the desired change.
As we approach the federal election in Canada, groups associated with the Christian right also seek to "change mentalities" by gradually introducing themselves into the various "spheres of culture" in the country. They are likely to support Andrew Scheer's party, the candidate who best represents his own socioconservative values. In fact, Andrew Scheer is currently in a better position than Stephen Harper, as there are currently six Conservative or Conservative provincial governments. Even if Andrew Scheer says he does not want to open the debate again on this issue, he says true?
We may know it in the near future.
We must not think that some of the debates generated by the Christian right in the United States will not have an impact in Canada. Indeed, the recent release of the film Unplanned shows that this political-religious coalition "seeks to change" mentalities even in Canada. That is why it is important to beware of the fight being waged by some anti-abortion lobbies in the country. Groups like Campaign Life Coalition (with 200,000 members) and RightNow are working hard to get pro-life candidates elected. They won their bet by supporting provincial Conservative candidates from Ontario and Alberta. For them, the debate on abortion is a debate on human rights. Like Sam Oosterhoff, a 21-year-old Conservative MP for the 21-year-old Ford government, some people want to make the idea of having an abortion in Canada within 30 years unthinkable. However, if criminalizing abortion in Canada is difficult, it is possible for a provincial government to eliminate funding for institutions offering women the option of obtaining an abortion.
The political right of the Christian Right was felt when Donald Trump was elected President of the United States in 2016. Indeed, the rise to power of the US president comes from the fact that 81% of evangelical "white", so-called "born again" (voted again ) voted for Trump; which constitutes 61% of the 62 million evangelicals in the United States. According to polling firm Pew Research, Trump still gets his greatest support from white religious people at the age of two in the 2020 elections, 69% of evangelicals, 48% of those of major Protestant traditions, and 44% of Catholics, compared to the low percentage of Black Protestants, 12%, and non-White Catholics, 26%. The US president's racist comments on Twitter in recent days will further contribute to the polarization of this religious electorate in the United States.
Religious Coalition
But what is the Christian Right? It is a political religious coalition that is composed mainly of evangelicals and Catholics and Protestant fundamentalists. They also sometimes get the support of Mormons and some fundamentalist Jewish groups. This coalition federates around common causes such as anti-abortion activism, opposition to the rights of LGBTQ people and sex education classes, the promotion of prayer in school and the teaching of creationism (or intelligent design), the fight against euthanasia, and the safeguarding of religious freedom. The agenda of the Christian right is essentially this: the idea of a Christian nationalism where the establishment of Judeo-Christian "values" is the foundation of the law of the land.
To achieve its goals, the Christian Right adopts a so-called "Dominionist" strategy, where Christians are called to exercise power and dominate the world, according to their interpretation of a quote from the book of Genesis (1, 26-28). The most common representation of this tactic is that of the conquest of the seven mountains or spheres of culture (Seven Mountains Mandate or Seven Moulders of Culture), with a view to achieving the desired social transformation. They aim to "change mentalities" and society by influencing the spheres of religion, education, economics, politics, the arts, the media and the family. But why want to "change mentalities" and transform society? To realize the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth; it is to live the experience of the prayer of the Our Father: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6,10).
This sociopolitical project requires the mobilization of people belonging to groups that are rallied to the causes of the Christian right. For example, the dominionist groups of charismatic tendency succeed such mobilization by forming what they call "apostles at work"; people who aim to penetrate the seven spheres of culture in order to make the desired change.
As we approach the federal election in Canada, groups associated with the Christian right also seek to "change mentalities" by gradually introducing themselves into the various "spheres of culture" in the country. They are likely to support Andrew Scheer's party, the candidate who best represents his own socioconservative values. In fact, Andrew Scheer is currently in a better position than Stephen Harper, as there are currently six Conservative or Conservative provincial governments. Even if Andrew Scheer says he does not want to open the debate again on this issue, he says true?
We may know it in the near future.