Bush's Religious Imperialism

Religion can be a dangerous tool in the wrong hands because it so easily sanctions horrible violence and bigotry. This can be particularly true when religion is drawn into the service of nationalism, patriotism, and political goals. That, however, seems to be exactly what is happening in America today.

The Republican leadership, under the direction of President George W. Bush, regularly employs the language of religion and God to support and defend their policies around the world. Jim Wallis criticized this in Sojourners:

To this aggressive extension of American power in the world, President George W. Bush adds God—and that changes the picture dramatically. It’s one thing for a nation to assert its raw dominance in the world; it’s quite another to suggest, as this president does, that the success of American military and foreign policy is connected to a religiously inspired “mission,” and even that his presidency may be a divine appointment for a time such as this. ...

Bush has made numerous references to his belief that he could not be president if he did not believe in a “divine plan that supersedes all human plans.” As he gained political power, Bush has increasingly seen his presidency as part of that divine plan. Richard Land, of the Southern Baptist Convention, recalls Bush once saying, “I believe God wants me to be president.”

This is not, as some might expect, a matter which sits well with all Christians. Some may be quite eager to have the fortunes of America linked to their own personal religious vision, but not all:

Theologian Martin Marty voices the concern of many when he says, “The problem isn’t with Bush’s sincerity, but with his evident conviction that he’s doing God’s will.” As Christianity Today put it, “Some worry that Bush is confusing genuine faith with national ideology.” The president’s faith, wrote Klein, “does not give him pause or force him to reflect. It is a source of comfort and strength but not of wisdom.” ...

The Bush theology deserves to be examined on biblical grounds. Is it really Christian, or merely American? Does it take a global view of God’s world or just assert American nationalism in the latest update of “manifest destiny”? How does the rest of the world - and, more important, the rest of the church worldwide - view America’s imperial ambitions?

Consider, for example, the manner in which Bush quotes from the Bible or gospel hymns: he lifts passages which are oriented towards God and instead directs them towards America, as if America were itself divine. In the 2003 State of the Union address, Bush said: “The need is great. Yet there’s power, wonder-working power, in the goodness and idealism and faith of the American people.” The original hymn, however, said that there is “power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb.” Thus, for George W. Bush the power that lies in the blood of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is transferred to the American people. We all now are stand-ins for Jesus — we are told that we are all, collectively, ready to become the Messiah for the world.

Lest anyone think that this was an accident or a coincidence, Wallis explains that Bush did the exact same thing on the first anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks when he delivered a speech at Ellis Island. On this occasion, he cited the gospel of John: “This ideal of America is the hope of all mankind…. That hope still lights our way. And the light shines in the darkness. And the darkness has not overcome it.” In John, those last two lines were originally references to the Word of God and Christ.

This consistent and likely deliberate conflation of Christ and America should give any devout Christian a very good reason to pause and reconsider whether Bush is properly representing their religious faith. It is simply bad theology for Christians to presumptively assume the role of Messiah for the rest of the world — although it is consistent with American patriotism as it has manifested through history. Conflating Christ and America is idolatry, pure and simple, but for many Christians America has become a Golden Calf that they are quite happy to worship — and George W. Bush is their high priest.

Read More:

• Fundamentalism
• Religious Right
• Christian Extremism
• Religious Intolerance & Bigotry