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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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