Christian Identity: Rationale for Hate
Religion and Revolutionary Social Movements
White Supremacy Movements
Conditions for development:
- regional predisposition
- rapid social change; threat to entrenched power
- general political climate nationwide
- recruitment using the Internet
- history of Nazi beliefs in America
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Notes:
Social movements are more common in industrial and post industrial
(modern) societies than in pre-industrial societies. The norms
that unite members of pre-industrial societies tended to be more
wide spread; people were bonud by tradition and less likely to
break those bounds with transformative social change. In modern
societies with diverse viewpoints and subcultures/countercultures,
opposing definitions can coalesce around social issues producing
agents of change. We will go over the four types of social
movements later in Chapter 23. However, it is necessary to
understand the definition of one of those types in order to
understand the character, causes, and consequences of this
social movement.
Revolutionary movements strive for transformation of the entire
society. These movements reject the existing social order and wish
to create a new society based on their conceptions, values, and
norms.
Several factors are linked to the development of white supremacy
movements in general:
1. They develop in regions pre-disposed to racist belief systems.
2. Rapid social change can undermine pre-existing definitions of
reality and this threatens some people. People who feel threatened
by new definitions of inclusiveness (for gays, women, minorities,
etc.) react with rhetorical violence and sometimes with aggressive
violence. In other words, white male privilege is no longer
unchallenged. This corresponds to deprivation theory since some
whites, and particularly some white males, percieve that they have lost status and
feel that they are being treated unfairly.
3. The political climate in America has undergone a shift to
the right in the past 20-30 years. This helps to legitimate
previously unacceptable realities. Some white supremacists
have moved into legitimate politics (such as David Duke) and
this further bolsters the more radical members of far right
extremist groups.
4. Recruitment efforts, especially those aimed at disaffected
youth, are facilitated by the Internet. Furthermore, despite the
sometimes harsh patriarchy of some groups, women have begun to
play an increasingly strong role in white supremacist
organizations. This makes it easier for the young Skinhead
to get a date.
5. Finally, the U.S. has a long history of right wing thought.
Most people are familiar with the Ku Klux Klan, which was
founded in Tennessee during Reconstruction. Fewer realize
the extent of Nazi and anti-Semitic ideologies prevalent in
America during the 1930s. Most of the leaders or founders of
today’s most notorious hate groups have direct or indirect
links to nativist, Nazi groups, or ideologues historically
flourishing in the U.S.
The materials in this presentation will summarize the basic
beliefs of Christian Identity, its historical origins, and
the consequences for violence inherent in its doctrine. Its
relationship with other far right extremists will also be
briefly covered. Resources used in this presentation appear
at the end with some specific articles mentioned in the body
of the Notes. For example, Daniel Junas discusses the
"Rise of Citizen Militias" at:
http://www.publiceye.org/rightist/dj_mili.html