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Think of it in the frame of how a cult operates. The model isn't perfect, because we're talking about multiple different sects of Christianity, from mormon to evangelical, but it's close. You want to control information, movement, and social structure in a way that benefits you (the cult leader) personally. This requires a measure of authority. In case of the religious right as an "entity", this means stacking the deck with as many elected officials as possible who share your agenda. It's no different than doing like a state-level equivalent of what Quiverfull people do: homeschool your kids and don't let them interact meaningfully with outsiders, so that nobody ever reveals to them that their situation isn't normal; eventually they'll turn 25 and be more or less set in their ways. Only in most cases at the state level it's typically more rhetorical, along the lines of "jealously guard the status quo, and make sure that everybody knows their place and nobody gets uppity unless it's us." As many small towns will readily demonstrate, it's actually pretty easy to create a practical theocracy if everybody agrees to quietly ignore or disingenuously interpret the First Amendment, and the people who stay in that environment will come to believe that such a state of affairs is normal and correct. They have a position of privilege and a cult-like mentality, so they view outside influences trying to change them, for example by legalizing gay marriage or decriminalizing interracial relationships, as a direct attack on their fundamental beliefs. It doesn't make those people any less unsavory, mind you- their 1950s fantasy of a Leave It To Beaver world where racism and gender politics don't exist because nobody talks about it in public can only be possible at the cost of a boot on some minority's neck. Edit: Also, at least one of these factions believes, honestly and truly, that God is going to come down and end the world any week now, which is why it's difficult to get any of these assholes to do anything especially forward-thinking. Similarly, at least one of these factions believes it is absolute fact that our planet and everything on it was created, exactly as it currently is (technology notwithstanding), about 6,000 years ago, and that geological and fossil evidence of past events is a clever ruse from Satan. They cannot or will not conceive of a world that is capable of changing around them because God Didn't Make It That Way. deadly_pudding fucked around with this message at 14:30 on Apr 21, 2016 |
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Apr 20, 2016 18:48
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