Retired Jacksonville teacher: Florida, nation suffering under 'tyranny of the minority'
Tyranny of the minority — in which the will of the individual and majority is overpowered — can take many forms. I grew up in an era of segregation and bigotry with restrictions to employment, education, housing and public venues. So I appreciate the uniquely American quality of advancing equal rights and justice, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity and sexual identity.
Today, many of these historic achievements and democracy itself are threatened by Christian nationalists (not to be confused with Christian evangelicals).
A recent analysis by the Public Religion Research Institute found that most Americans oppose theocratic rule. According to the study, Christian nationalists make up about 30% of the American population. They are a political movement, not a religious one, holding extreme theocratic views, believing the U.S. is a Christian nation and that the country’s laws should draw strictly from those values.
Robert P. Jones, president and founder of the institute, documents Christian nationalists' extremist ideology, its close links to the Republican Party and support for Donald Trump. Jones explained that the core idea is that Christians must take control of all parts of society, government, education, media and entertainment.
Other priorities include access to guns, restrictions on abortion access and LGBTQ rights, strict immigration limits, white supremacy and justification for political violence.
Letters: Who knew our parents had it wrong when teaching us to vote for best candidate?
Our Founding Fathers were concerned that religion and religious beliefs introduced into government would create a polarizing environment. The U.S. Constitution as written promotes freedom of and from religion, as well as the separation of church and state. It prohibits the government from interfering with citizens’ ability to worship as they wish.
In fact, God, Jesus and Christianity are not mentioned once in the Constitution. This is a core reason America is the greatest and most diverse country in the world.
In a 1790 letter to the Touro Synagogue of Newport, R.I., President George Washington wrote that “The government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens.”
Washington and our founders knew that the potential greatness of America resided in its ability to stand against the tyranny of the minority.
Karen Adler, retired teacher, Jacksonville
This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Civil rights advances, democracy threatened by Christian nationalists
