By Rmuse | 3 August 2018
Daily Kos
If Americans are the least bit doubtful that the Trump theocrats are on a White House-sanctioned global crusade to spread their savage version of Christianity, a recent announcement at the State Department should disabuse their reservations.
It is not a revelation that evangelical extremists yearn for an executive order from Trump asserting that punishing women for making their own reproductive choice is exercising religious freedom, and legal. It is also common knowledge among cognizant Americans that part and parcel of the religious right’s definition of religious freedom is brutalizing the LGBTQ community according to their Christian values. Now it is an official policy of the Trump administration intent on imposing the evangelical extremists’ style of religious freedom around the world; and any opposition to that imposition of religious freedom is officially religious persecution.
In yet another move legitimizing the evangelical rights’ bigotry and hatred, the Trump administration sent a clear signal that Christian America will no longer denounce countries that punish LGBT citizens or women for making their own reproductive health choices. In fact, going forward, nations that embrace religious-driven hatred leading to imprisonment and/or death of LGBTQ people, and abuse targeting women, will be rewarded by Christian America; because Christian-inspired hatred and bigotry exemplify Christian values according to Trump’s theocrats.
During an atrocity in a secular nation in Washington D.C., the Christian Values proclamation came during the State Department’s Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. The Trump theocrat honored to tell the world that Christian bigotry and hatred epitomize America’s Christian values was the director of Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney.
Mulvaney’s announcement entailed attacking the Obama Administration for threatening to withhold foreign aid to countries that punish women and members of the LGBTQ community. The evangelical right’s war on women and gays is now a global crusade sponsored by the Trump theocrats’ pushing a brutal version of religious freedom according to evangelical extremists.
Mulvaney said the theocrats in Trump’s administration will no longer encourage countries to abandon their draconian and deadly anti-LGBT and anti-women’s choice laws. Instead, Mulvaney defended criminalizing and punishing homosexuality as an American religious freedom issue, and that abusing and discriminating against women and gays embodies Christian values. According to Mulvaney and evangelical zealots, it is a disgrace that President Obama dared represent America as promoting women’s and LGBTQ rights.
The Trump administration will financially reward countries that oppress LGBTQ people – More: https://t.co/ZUOzQ9D2xs Trump administration will financially reward countries that oppress LGBTQ people https://t.co/BEt4PH8JZ8
— LGBTQ Nation (@lgbtqnation) July 31, 2018
As part of his remarks to the State Department’s Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, Mulvaney said:
Our US taxpayer dollars are used to discourage Christian values in other countries. It was stunning to me that my government under a previous administration would say, ‘We know that you have a law against abortion, but if you enforce that law, you’re not going to get any of our money. We know you have a law against homosexuality, but if you enforce that law, we’re not going to give you any money.’
That is a type of religious persecution that I never expected to see.
I never expected to see that as an American Christian, that we would be doing that to other folks.
I am here to let you know there a lot of people in this government who want to see things done differently. They want to do something.
What that means is that in the Trump theocracy denying women access to reproductive health care and criminalizing homosexuality indicates Christian values; while opposing discrimination against women and homophobia is religious persecution.
As Zack Ford at ThinkProgress noted, “Mulvaney’s implication that the Trump administration would turn a blind eye to anti-gay persecution around the world is consistent with actions it has already taken.”
As part of the religious freedom crusade promoting Christian Values globally, Trump already rejected a United Nations resolution condemning the use of the death penalty to target LGBTQ people. The Trump theocrats gave some lame excuse about not opposing the proper use of the death penalty, but it is noteworthy that Trump has mentioned that according to the head of domestic policy, Mike “preacher” Pence, proper use of the death penalty would be hanging all gays based on the Christian bible’s Old Testament rules.
It is also noteworthy that another Trump theocrat, Attorney General J. Beauregard Sessions proclaimed earlier this summer that America has ceased granting asylum to people who are victims of violence and abuse, and that America would be adding many new barriers to the asylum process. That includes new policies targeting LGBTQ people fleeing persecution to make it impossible for them to escape the brutal Christian values cult Trump’s theocrats are defending as part of their global religious freedom crusade.
It should be painfully obvious now that in America under Trump’s theocracy, Christian Values include criminalizing anything the evangelical extremist cult deems ungodly. And it is significant that the religious right supporting Trump’s theocrats are self-appointed authorities on what is ungodly, such as women’s reproductive rights and homosexuality. Further, anything resembling opposition to or non-compliance with those Christian Values is religious persecution. It is something that has been happening in America for a decade, at least, but it was never an official policy position until now.
Most Americans keeping abreast of the GOP’s crusade towards theocracy were already aware of what evangelical zealots considered religious persecution, but it has never been proclaimed publicly at the State Department by a high-ranking government official. However, it is now official and Americans should shudder at the revelation. It is a damn frightening prospect that anyone opposing the evangelicals’ brutal Christian values faces being accused of religious persecution; especially in an evangelical theocracy in the midst of an honest-to-dog religious crusade.
It is true that all Americans claiming Christianity do not embrace Christian values focusing on punishing homosexuality and criminalizing a woman’s right to self determination regarding her reproductive choices, but those Christians are not running the government. They are also not screaming in the streets that Trump and his theocrats do not represent Christian values. And why should they?
After all, they embrace the same Christian bible that the vicious evangelical extremist sect asserts gives them religious freedom to abuse women and gays – what they claim expresses their Christian values. And anyone opposing the imposition of Christian values is committing religious persecution. It is not a new policy by any means, but it is now the official position of America under Trump’s theocracy and it began in earnest the day of Trump’s poorly attended inauguration.
Mick Mulvaney Religious Freedom Conference
Can Trump outlaw gay marriage? BBC News
Can Religious Freedom and LGBT Rights Co-Exist?
Chris Hedges: “AMERICAN FASCISTS” The Christian Right vs USA
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So let me break it down for you religious zealots, Jesus Christ WAS NOTHING LIKE YOU MAKE HIM OUT TO BE. He walked with the people that the modern church would deem "untouchables" if anything he advocated for the very thing you reject. Your humanity!!!
Perhaps Trump should be put to death for adultery – 4 times at least I think.
That’s in the Bible.
If you believe you can’t pick and choose.