A Field Guide to American Fundamentalism

Does fundamentalism take more than one shape?

Aside from writing about my Catholic journey for the paying subscribers of The Examined Life, I’ve shied away from writing about spirituality lately. I’ve opted to pen short stories, a serial novel, pieces about social media. Why? Because in my view, this epoch of the American religious experience has been fraught with peril, particularly for the writers.

Consider: over the last few years I’ve watched writers I love hold fast to the exclusivist claims of Christ. Some of their more progressive counterparts have labeled them “fundamentalist” or “colonized” or “empire” as if only knuckle-dragging white supremacists can hold fast to the historic teachings of the Church.

Consider also: I’ve seen more progressively-minded Christians hold to historic Christianity’s teaching on the poor, the immigrant, and the marginalized, and they’ve been labeled “woke” or “socialist” or “Marxist.” (These are terms which I’ve earned in the last calendar year, despite the fact that I’d call myself neither progressive nor conservative.)

Consider finally: there are those who by some stroke of grace or insanity have chosen to enter the Catholic Church. These have been called Colonized Woke Marxists—a hybrid bastardization of all things negative. It bends logic, but you know… logicking is hard.

I’ve shied away from writing about American faith not because I’m afraid of being labeled (I’m not), but because I find the conversations almost universally unhelpful, especially when not rooted in the realities of a local community. Over the last week, though, a variety of events lit my fuse. Those events in bullet fashion:

• I watched someone I’d long admired depart from the faith with a bevy of straw man fallacies—Christianity is capitalists, colonizing, uncaring, etcetera, etcetera, ad nauseam;

• an older friend (who did not live in Florida) lamented the fact that her church friends were so vocal about the Florida Governor’s decision to ban AP African American History in public school.

These two moments gave me pause, begged me to step back and examine the status of the growing American fundamentalisms. (Examining is kind of our thing here at The Examined Life.) As I did, I took note of the similarities in these two emergent groups in western Christianity (or post-Christianity). Don’t they share an ideological core? Both believe they own the Truth™ and that any opposing viewpoint is Deception™, facts be damned.

In a moment of admitted frustration, I took to the internet and created an Instagram post taking on the polarities emerging in my faith spaces and citing back to the long faith of history. I wrote:

The character and the caricature are not the same thing. Frankenstein’s monster may have some characteristics of man, but he is not man. Catwoman may have purred but she was no cat. There are simpler, historical expressions of quiet faith—ora et labora, hand to the plow, to the psalter, to the making of music or beer or refuge. These demonstrate a genuine article, something to hold with white knuckles….

(Click the image below to read the full caption.)

sethhaines

A post shared by Seth Haines (@sethhaines)

To say I was surprised by the response is an understatement. Often, I feel alone in my middle-grounded faith, a faith which neither subscribes to the notion that America is a “Christian Nation” nor to the fact that “Christianity is the faith of the capitalist colonizer.” I feel alone in holding firm to the historic teachings of the Church and its great saints. Come to find out, though, there are plenty of us out here in the wild, and we’re all doing our best to navigate this wonky landscape, often without a map.

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Over the last few days, I’ve considered this landscape, the flora and fauna. The result has been the beginning of a field guide of sorts—a Field Guide to American Fundamentalism to be exact. I’m providing the first entry of that field guide for the general audience. The second entry will be for paying subscribers, at least for the next few weeks. (I’m not interested in the drawing public attention the back half of the piece just yet.)

So, without further ado, enjoy the beginnings of A Field Guide to American Fundamentalism.

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Family Overview: Western Fundamentalist

The family of Western Fundamentalists is found scattered about the North American landscape. Typically marked by a rigid adherence to particular ideology, Western Fundamentalist are often identifiable by their red faces and loud mating calls. Fundamentalist of the Literalist genus tend to promote seven-day creation, strict Constitutional construction, and a sort of religiopolitical syncretization they call “God and Country.” Deconstructionist ideology supports more figurative interpretations of all things and promotes the radical decentralization of both power and spirituality. Both make exclusivist claims on the nature of spiritual practice and belief. Both tend to enjoy beer—Bud Light for those in genus Literalist, craft IPA for those in genus Deconstructionist.

An oddity of the family, both Literalist and Deconstructionist populations flourish when in close proximity one to another. As natural antagonists, both require those in their community to “choose sides,” leading to symbiotic growth by proselytization. Literalists embrace the term proselytization. Deconstructionists call it by other names, including “education.”

Each genera comprises one major species—American Christian Nationalist in genus Literalist and American Exvangelical in genus Deconstructionist. Both species view ideological questions and debate as attack. Exercise caution when approaching with opposing viewpoints.

American Christian Nationalist

Conservation status: Widespread and very common in southern regions of the United States, though significant populations can be found in the midwest. Pockets may be found in enclaves across the county, often called “intentional communities” or “home owner’s associations.” Mating preferences have been described as “missionary.” Reproduction of the species can only be described as prolific since 2016.

Family: Western Fundamentalist.

Genus: Literalist.

Habitat: Can be found in large numbers in Sunday meeting houses across the South, and increasingly, in midwestern fly-over country. Significant populations can also be found at the following places: legislative sessions regarding the criminality of immigrants; political rallies; abortion clinics; Black Lives Matters rallies (identifiable by their tiki torches or “All Lives Matter” placards); school board meetings discussing social issues, particularly issues relating to African American Studies and sex.

Although the more eccentric versions tend to wear red caps and teeshirts emblazoned with flags and firearms, many American Nationalist use their status to blend into society, making them more difficult to spot. Often white, middle class, and seen as “salt of the earth” professional in the community, some American Nationalist hide in plain sight. The American Nationalist can be identified by the frequency with which they discuss the following topics: the Constitution (particularly the First and Second Amendments); Critical Race Theory (particularly in opposition to it); Immigration (particularly in terms of wall-building); Sexuality (particularly if using the term “the gays” or some such corollary).

Caution: Can be volatile. Beware of large gatherings, particularly at inauguration events. Can create incendiary family atmospheres, generally around the holiday dinner table. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TAKE AWAY THEIR GUNS.