Dominionism

Dominionism is a term used to describe various sets of theological/political ideologies held among a subset of persons identified with the Christian Right in the United States of America.

Major religious framework

Again remembering they operate within a framework of American exceptionalism, their key Biblical support tends to be Genesis 1:26, which, in the King James Version, reads

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

See also: Christian Zionism

While it is not strictly in the United States, affecting U.S. policy towards the State of Israel specifically and the Middle East generally are theologies including dispensationalism and dispensational premillennism. a theological approach that claims that "God relates to human beings via different covenants ("dispensations"). Dispensationalism is a set of beliefs that God has specific events in working with man. Among these is that Jews must return to Israel before the Messiah will come; the formation of the State of Israel was a key step in achieving this goal.

In dispensationalal millenialism, according Stephen Sizer, there is an assuption "that the boundaries of the land promised to Abraham and his descendants will be literally instituted; and that Jesus Christ will return to a literal and theocratic Jewish kingdom centered on Jerusalem."

Political subsystems

While there are a variety of schools of thought, each maintains that it is a duty of Christians to obtain influence or control government and initiate change in keeping with what are held as Biblical principles and laws. Within the religious right, there are at least three major belief systems:

• Religious conservatism, which intersects with social conservatism and traditional conservatism, accepts that it operates within a pluralistic society; lobbies for legislation and judicial action as guided by their beliefs, understanding that these are their positions, beliefs with any special authority within the system. People with these beliefs alone are not considered dominionists. Religious conservatism, of course, exists in other societies.
• Christian Nationalism or "soft dominionist" believe in American exceptionalism, which is not always religious, and hold that the exceptional nature of the United States is purely as a result of a certain Biblical view. They regard liberalism, humanism, feminism, and homosexuality are undermining the society. They also lobby, but are convinced their position is the only correct one. They try to block appointments of judges and other officials who do not agree with their "litmus test" positions. Still, they recognize the need to gain consent of the governed.
• Christian Theocracy or "hard dominionists" believe that authority must be held only by Christians, usually Christian men. They reject non-Abrahamic religions, non-Christian Abrahamic religions such as Judaism and Islam, and often other Christian denominations as having any right to govern. Some further identify:
  • Christian Reconstructionism, a theonomic movement that seeks to replace the secular governance model of the U.S. Constitution, creating a political and judicial system based on Old Testament Law, or Mosaic Law.

Justification in political theory

At various times, dispensationalists cite support in U.S. political documents such as the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, as well as, at a slight remove, the writings of the Founding Fathers. They also may cite certain court decisions, and some political writings not from the U.S. but from the West generally may be invoken.

Core Constitutional arguments

Perhaps the heart of these arguments are interpretations of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

That heart beats beginning with the italicized "Establishment Clause. Some interpret it as meaning a positive statement for religious practice in no way restricted by governmental authority. Others see it as guaranteeing a freedom from religion. Dominionists tend to see a meaning that the Constitution calls for no seperaration of church and state.

Declaration of Independence

Some dominionists argue that the Declaration of Independence is even more supportive of their position than is the Constitution. As a first observation, the Constitution does not contain the words "declaration of independence."

Second, the Declaration does contain phrases including "Laws of Nature", "Nature's God", "Men are created by their creator with certain inalienable rights", and a "firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence." Nowhere, however, does it have any references to Jesus Christ, the God of Christianity or the Bible.

Alan Dershowitz, a critic of what he calls the "hijacking of the Declaration" by Dominionists, cites 20th century Supreme Court justice Lewis Powell's comment "I would see no consitutional problem if school children were taught the nature of the Founding Fathers' religious belief and how these beliefs affected the attitudes of the times and the structure of our government.

Dershowitz, however, argues that these phrases meant different things to their 18th century author they do in 21st century legal English. He continues to quote Dominionist David Burton as saying "Many people erroneously consider the Constitution to be a higher form of government than the Declaration. However, under our form of government, the Constitution is not superior to the Declaration of Independence; a vilolation of the Declaration is just as serious as a breach of the Constitution (emphasis in origina). [t]he Constitution cannot be properly interpreted or applied apart from the natural law principles presented in the Declaration. The two documents must be used together to understand either one individually. Dershowitz, however, says "this view of the legal status of the Declaration has never been accepted by the courts, but it is accepted as gospel by many on the American Right.

Political activity

In the 2006 United States congressional election, Katherine Harris, in the Florida Baptist State Convention journal, God did not intend for the United States to be a "nation of secular laws" and that a failure to elect Christians to political office will allow lawmaking bodies to "legislate sin." Criticism was not limited to Democrats; Ruby Brooks, lovsl Tampa Bay Republican activist, found her comments "...offensive to me as a Christian and a Republican...it's the height of hubris...We hurt our cause with that more than we help it. Jillian Hasner, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said: "I don't think it's representative of the Republican Party at all. Our party is much bigger and better than Katherine Harris is trying to make it."